Chapter 1083: Judo Technique

A key offensive and defensive showdown after an interception. Both offense and defense clenched their teeth and brought their game faces on.

The Atlanta Falcons’ defense suddenly changed their formation, sacrificing a safety and freeing up a linebacker, which strengthened their ability to pressure the front line and showed a powerful stance to blitz the quarterback. But after the snap, the Falcons’ defense didn’t hesitate at all. Except for the defensive line, the other three lines all dropped back to engage in pass coverage!

An inside linebacker and two outside linebackers, no matter their position, had no intention of stepping up to rush the passer. They all chose to drop back at the same time, their figures covering the entire short-pass area.

Nicholas was in close man-to-man coverage with Vernon Davis. Weatherspoon quickly moved to his left and joined his teammates William Moore and Dunta Robinson to help cover Logan Newman and Ted Ginn Jr. Akeem Dent stayed in place, steadily shifting his center of gravity, his eyes fixed on Kendall Hunter’s footwork.

The Atlanta Falcons were gambling, a big gamble. They were betting that Lu Ke would choose to pass and would most likely choose a long pass.

Even though in the last drive of the San Francisco 49ers, the Falcons’ defense made a wrong judgment, thinking Lu Ke would choose a long pass. But instead, Lu Ke found Randy Moss with a medium pass and completed a crucial drive. But the Falcons’ defensive coordinator, Mike Nolan, still believed that a long pass was the most likely outcome. After all, at the opponent’s 41-yard line, this was still within Lu Ke’s attack range, and this quarterback’s audacity was far beyond what they could have imagined.

You could see it from the Falcons’ defensive formation now.

Weatherspoon was sprinting toward Ginn, not Logan, because Logan had run back in the five-yard area, while Ginn had already broken through the 30-yard line and was continuing to sprint forward. Thomas DeCoud in the backfield was also sprinting toward Ginn, not Moss and Vernon on the other side, where the defense was relatively weak, because both of them were still in the short-pass area.

In other words, the Falcons’ defense also made a preemptive judgment and started to move in advance, hoping to regain a slight head start in the defensive confrontation.

The entire defensive secondary was quickly dropping back, but Mike Nolan still had a backup plan as an insurance: Akeem Dent.

Akeem was constantly adjusting his footwork in place, not dropping back easily. He was waiting quietly. If there were no changes, he would stand by. But if there were changes...

Like now.

Moss on Akeem’s right and Logan on Akeem’s left, both players had run back. The assigned cornerbacks didn’t rush up immediately. Instead, they deliberately left some space open, waiting for Lu Ke to complete the pass. They would then stop the drive in the short-pass area.

If Lu Ke chose a short pass, the defense wouldn’t mind, because it meant they could gain more time and accumulate the defensive pressure little by little.

But Lu Ke didn’t choose Moss or Logan. He chose Hunter.

Before the snap, Hunter, who was standing behind Lu Ke, didn’t immediately start moving. Instead, he stood under the cover of the offensive line, slightly adjusted his footwork, and delayed for about two beats before starting to move. He quickly attacked along the slot on the right, and his acceleration was completely unleashed. He was unstoppable as he continued to sprint forward.

Akeem’s heart was overjoyed. He had him!

Hunter didn’t have the ball, but his forward sprinting speed had already reached its peak. After sprinting out, he instantly crossed the parallel line of Logan and Moss’s positions, flying toward the goalpost like a tiger descending a mountain. His forward momentum showed no signs of stopping. He was clearly aiming for the medium-pass area or even the deeper long-pass area.

This meant that Hunter was the target of the pass!

Akeem remained highly focused. As a middle linebacker, assisting with the short-pass area and covering the running back were his daily jobs. Although speed wasn’t his strength, it wasn’t a running back’s strength either! Now, he had already dropped back in advance, leaving enough defensive space, which gave him the upper hand in the defense.

Akeem was using small, quick steps to adjust his center of gravity. He then tightly cut off Hunter’s forward direction. He didn’t choose to defend him closely. Instead, he was always moving in a position about two yards away from Hunter, waiting for Lu Ke’s pass. As soon as Lu Ke released the ball, he would step up to break up the pass or disrupt Hunter’s receiving rhythm and center of gravity. He would always be in an unbeatable position.

It was at this moment that Lu Ke passed the ball.

Akeem’s pupils slightly contracted. In this drive, Lu Ke didn’t choose to release the ball quickly. Instead, he slightly delayed his release, just like Hunter’s start. This made the entire defensive secondary push toward the deeper area, with at least 15 to 20 yards of space from the line of scrimmage. He could clearly feel that the backfield had become very crowded.

But in the next second, Akeem’s eyes widened in confusion. He was full of questions. What was going on?

Lu Ke was waiting for Hunter’s run.

According to the plan, this was indeed a delayed slot pass, and Hunter was the target. But the Falcons’ preemptive judgment and movement put Lu Ke in a difficult situation. Hunter’s current receiving position was very bad. Even a small mistake could lead to an interception.

This was exactly the same situation as when the 49ers’ defense intercepted Matt Ryan just now. He had to change his passing target.

In his peripheral vision, Lu Ke could see Logan on the right. It was a short pass of about four or five yards. Logan should be able to complete the catch, but the efficiency of the drive was too low. This was not what Lu Ke wanted to see. Before the snap, he had already realized that all four receivers were being covered by defenders, and the receiving space was relatively limited. Now, he had to change his passing target at the last minute, so he needed to be even calmer.

"Falcon’s Eye."

Without any hesitation, Lu Ke used his special ability again. In fact, this season, the number of times Lu Ke used his special abilities had decreased significantly. He was gradually learning to rely on himself to face and solve problems. It wasn’t easy, but he was doing a good job. Now, in this critical situation, he wouldn’t hesitate to use his special ability.

That three-dimensional curve with intersecting red and green lines appeared again. All the passing routes and their risk factors were presented in his mind.

Without a doubt, Logan and Moss in the short-pass area were the best passing targets, but Lu Ke noticed another passing target: Vernon Davis!

Decisively, Lu Ke threw the football with a small arc, projecting it toward the medium-pass area on the left.

Vernon was in man-to-man coverage with Nicholas. Because Nicholas’s position was right on the defensive line, he was in a face-to-face, tight defense with Vernon. After the snap, Vernon instantly released his strength to the maximum and collided head-on with Nicholas. He then used his strength and momentum to push away Nicholas’s block.

Indeed, every receiver was in a man-to-man coverage situation, or even a two-on-one disadvantage, but the receiver’s individual ability was an unpredictable factor.

Vernon’s form seemed to have finally awakened from its slumber. He used his shoulder to fiercely push away Nicholas. He then went around the outside and sprinted forward. Nicholas was at a complete disadvantage in the confrontation. He couldn’t even stand steadily. In just a blink of an eye, he lost his position.

But Nicholas still didn’t give up. He tightly held his position with his right hand. As he was retreating, he instinctively grabbed Vernon’s collar with both hands. Once again, he used a judo technique, trying to flip Vernon over. In this emergency, he no longer cared if it was a foul.

Vernon hadn’t anticipated such a foul move, but luckily, he was constantly speeding up, and his strength and rhythm had the upper hand. He felt the pulling force from his collar. He used his shoulder to push forward fiercely, creating a counterforce. He instantly used his strength to disrupt Nicholas’s center of gravity. He put his hands on Nicholas’s shoulders and pushed down hard.

"Bang!"

Nicholas was flipped over and fell to the ground. His back hit the ground hard, kicking up a spray of grass. Even in the broadcasting room, you could feel the pain, which made people wince.

A yellow flag was thrown!

But the referee didn’t blow the whistle to stop the play. It was unclear whether it was an offensive or a defensive foul.

Although he was slightly delayed, Vernon still broke free from Nicholas’s grasp. He then quickly sprinted forward at a 60-degree angle to his front-left. He ran about 10 yards in a flash. He couldn’t help but quickly turn his head to look at his quarterback, because he was on the left, which was the blind side. According to habit, it was not easy for Lu Ke to find his breakthrough, so he was observing the situation.

He was sprinting and observing at the same time.

Then, Vernon’s feet sprinted past 15 yards, and Lu Ke noticed his open space. The two of them didn’t even have time to exchange glances. Lu Ke threw the football with an arc, quickly sending it over. Vernon immediately made a judgment: It was a slightly low pass arc, and the landing spot should be around 22 or 23 yards. He needed to sprint forward a bit more.

Accelerate!

Accelerate again!

In his peripheral vision, he could see that cornerback McLain on this side and safety DeCoud in the backfield were both quickly dropping back, forming a pincer movement from the front and back. But Vernon wasn’t nervous at all. The adrenaline rush made him extremely calm. His eyes were completely focused on the football, and he didn’t even care about the incoming defensive collision.

He quickly adjusted with small, quick steps. As he was about to reach the landing spot of the football, he brought his feet and arms in, like a cradle, and steadily caught the football in his arms.

He caught it! He caught it!

A 23-yard long pass, Vernon once again successfully completed a beautiful catch!

But the question was, what was that foul just now? Whose yellow flag was it?

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