Chapter 957: Chapter 957: Using Every Trick in the Book

Chapter 957: Using Every Trick in the Book

During halftime, the San Francisco 49ers were busy, and the New England Patriots were not idle either. In this game of wits and strength, Belichick once again had the upper hand. The second half had just begun, and he took advantage of the 49ers’ offense not being in the zone yet to give them another blow.

Throughout the first half, the defense’s quarterback rush tactics were aimed at pressuring and impacting, trying to create more difficulties and chaos. But who would have thought that in the first defensive play of the second half, they would suddenly go all out, catching Lu Ke completely off guard and sacking him for a loss of eight yards?

Moreover, the momentum of the entire rush was incredibly powerful. Wilfork and Mayo, the two players, sandwiched him from the left and right. The powerful impact was comparable to the one that injured Ted Ginn in the NFC Championship game last season. If Lu Ke hadn’t used "Iron Skin and Steel Bones" in time, he would have been at risk of getting injured.

Being forced to use a special skill in a passive situation was not a waste, but it still made him feel a little frustrated.

However, Lu Ke knew that this was exactly what Belichick wanted—to take the initiative at the beginning of the second half, further demoralize the opponent, and firmly control the pace of the game. If it were Lu Ke, he would have chosen this kind of game pace.

Now, there was no time to dwell on his thoughts. Lu Ke was not annoyed or frustrated. He quickly stood up and saw Staley and Iupati waving their fists and preparing to confront the other side. Even Goodwin’s face was not good, and he was condemning the other side for their aggressive defense. Their emotions were getting out of control.

"I’m fine!" Lu Ke quickly called out. "I’m fine! I’m great!" Lu Ke walked quickly forward, and before the chaos began, he stopped his teammates and yelled at them. "Calm down! Calm down! We have already lost yards. We don’t need to lose more with a yellow flag penalty!"

"Focus on the game! Please, look at me. All of you look at me. They want us to lose our minds, but the only thing we need to do now is to play offense. Hurry up, focus all your attention!" Lu Ke gathered his teammates in the most concise and fastest way possible.

This was the Lu Ke that the 49ers’ players were familiar with, with a sharp look in his eyes and a fearless fighting spirit.

First, the locker room, and then the sack. Now, the players’ focus was finally gathering, and the rhythm in their bodies was slowly waking up.

Without any nonsense, Lu Ke immediately started to set up the play. "Listen, on this down, we will do this."

The puzzled voice of tactical director Brian Hampton came through his headset. "Bambi?"

"Let him finish," Jim Harbaugh stopped Hampton from interrupting and listened quietly to Lu Ke’s tactical plan. Because there wasn’t enough time during halftime, they didn’t have time to create a detailed strategy. They just had to take it one step at a time, and the in-game tactical plan really needed more creativity.

After Lu Ke had finished, Hampton in the tactical room couldn’t help but take a deep breath, while Harbaugh simply nodded his head. "Just like that." He didn’t even question or hesitate.

So, the 49ers’ offense lined up again.

This was a multi-route offensive formation in a shotgun formation. Faced with a second and eighteen yards, the 49ers looked like they were going for a full-on passing offense. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

On the left, Mario Manningham, Ted Ginn, and Logan Newman stood in a relatively central area. Manningham and Newman were in front, and Ginn was behind, forming an inverted triangle formation.

On the right, Chad Hall was all alone. He was positioned slightly to the inside, with about five yards of space between him and the right tackle, Alex Boone, leaving the slot position open.

Marcus Lynch was in the slot on the right, forming an inverted triangle with Boone and Hall.

Finally, there was Lu Ke.

Lu Ke had now cleared the backfield and was standing about six yards away from Jonathan Goodwin. Because of the sack just now, they were getting closer and closer to their own end zone, so Lu Ke couldn’t spread out the space completely.

Read the defense, read the defense, read the defense.

The Patriots’ defense still hadn’t changed their tactics. Lu Ke could clearly see that the middle linebacker, number 51 Mayo, was constantly shifting his weight, looking like he was ready to pounce at any time. Was this a smokescreen? Or was it their real tactic?

Since the other side was playing mind games, how could Lu Ke fall behind?

Lu Ke stood up straight and changed the play:

Marcus on the right and Ginn on the left swapped positions horizontally. The entire formation was still the same, so had the 49ers’ offensive strategy changed? Or had it not?

After waiting for a moment, the Patriots’ defense still didn’t change anything. They were not affected.

"Hut!"

Lu Ke didn’t hesitate anymore. He used a series of dazzling snap count calls as a cover and then officially snapped the ball.

On the right, Ginn rushed forward quickly along the slot opening, pushing his speed to the limit. But just as his foot passed the linebackers, he ran a post route and used small steps to adjust his position, pulling an outside linebacker to cut inside toward the center.

Hall, on the other hand, ran a straight line. When he saw the cornerback, Aqib Talib, start to move with him, Hall not only didn’t dodge but also went straight toward Talib. The two of them were like "You are the wind and I am the sand," going toward the sideline of the intermediate passing area.

On the left, Logan and Manningham rushed forward together. After about five, six, or seven yards, the two of them suddenly hit the brakes, turned around, and made a move to catch the ball. Their movements were not in sync, but they maintained a relatively consistent pace within a certain range, mobilizing all the defensive players in that short-passing area.

One second.

All the routes happened within one second. The entire 49ers’ offense was on the move. This was clearly a passing play, but where was the ball?

Excellent defensive players like Wilfork and Mayo always kept a little bit of their attention on the quarterback. They had to be ready to change at any time based on the quarterback’s actions. Sometimes, they also had to be able to figure out the quarterback’s play. This time, they immediately caught Lu Ke’s movement, but... why was the ball in Marcus’s hands?

Rewind the clock by one second.

After the snap, Goodwin bent down and gave the ball to Lu Ke, but surprisingly, Lu Ke didn’t lift his hand to pass. Instead, he ran forward with the ball like a running back. At the same time, Marcus took a step back sideways. In just two steps, Marcus and Lu Ke met, and Lu Ke handed the ball to Marcus.

It was a running play.

Even though they lined up in a shotgun formation, this was a running play!

Logan and Manningham’s routes pushed the defensive players away, while Ginn and Hall’s routes diverted the defense’s attention. Then, Marcus continued to move forward along the left side, gaining more ground.

The Patriots’ defense reacted immediately. They continued their defensive tactics from the first half and didn’t rush forward to cut off Marcus’s running space. Instead, they followed the routes of Logan and Manningham, completely blocking off any space for a long gain. This was the case for the receivers, the tight end, and the running back.

Back to normal time.

Marcus was running with the ball, while Logan and Manningham also turned around and moved forward toward the deep areas, clearing the way for Marcus like a bulldozer.

Because of the special defensive tactics of the Patriots, there was no compressed space in the ten-yard short-passing area. In addition, Lu Ke’s trick play gave Marcus a moment to move forward. As a result, Marcus’s first half of the run was incredibly easy. But just as he ran for about six or seven yards and his speed had just picked up, he saw a solid wall in front of him.

The left cornerback, Arrington, the left safety, McCourty, the left outside linebacker, Tracy White, and the middle linebacker, Jerod Mayo, had all surrounded him. At the same time, the left defensive end, Chandler Jones, was also closing in quickly.

Five players formed a circle, completely surrounding the three offensive players. They were like fish in a barrel.

At this time, it was clear that all the offensive and defensive players were seriously leaning toward the same side, so much so that they were almost about to tip over.

But at this moment, Marcus suddenly hit the brakes, stopped in place, turned around, and lifted his right arm, throwing the ball in an arc. He lightly threw it over the dam formed by the remaining offensive and defensive linemen and found the quarterback, Lu Ke, standing behind them!

A backward pass, a trick play!

Because of the special nature of the defense, there were no defensive players within three to four yards of Marcus, which gave him enough space to adjust and throw the ball. After the ball left his hand, the defensive players were still not in position, which meant...

The Patriots’ defense was completely fooled.

But was it really that simple?

Lu Ke watched the ball’s arc, but his quarterback instincts warned him of danger. It was clear that Marcus’s pass was not stable or up to par. There was no control at all. And the wind had started to blow again. The erratic wind made the ball’s flight path even more bizarre. It was wobbling and seemed like it could drop at any time or fly into the sky.

Considering that Lu Ke’s catching ability was only 40, the situation was not good, it was really not good.

Without any hesitation, Lu Ke used a special skill:

"Absolute Footwork!"

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