Chapter 996: Chapter 996: The Demeanor of a Strong Person

Chapter 996: The Demeanor of a Strong Person

The Seattle Seahawks’ defense could surpass the San Francisco 49ers and temporarily rank first in the league. They were clearly not to be underestimated.

However, the San Francisco 49ers’ offense could maintain its strength throughout the long season and was still the biggest threat in the league. They were not to be underestimated either.

Facing the Seahawks’ defense at home, with its overwhelming momentum, and showing an aggressive and dominant attitude in two consecutive defensive downs, Lu Ke once again showed his big heart and the demeanor of a strong person that he had developed throughout the season. Not only was he not flustered, but he became even calmer.

The Seahawks’ defense didn’t blitz the quarterback at all, which gave Lu Ke enough time and space. So why should he panic?

Standing in the pocket, Lu Ke’s feet moved in small, steady steps. He didn’t leave the offensive line’s protection, but he kept looking for a passing target while adjusting his position. After two full sweeps of his vision, Lu Ke didn’t hesitate anymore. He raised his right hand and made a passing motion toward the right side.

The target was Logan Newmann!

At this moment, Logan was tangled up with Richard Sherman. Sherman seemed to have already anticipated Lu Ke’s passing choice and was tightly holding Logan’s position. He was completely focused, determined to completely cut off the connection between Lu Ke and Logan today and not make any mistakes.

However, in the physical confrontation, Logan was not at a disadvantage. He used his shoulder to push against Sherman’s block and quickly stopped and turned around, making a move to receive a pass behind his shoulder.

Sherman followed him step by step, and the defensive attention of Earl Thomas and the other players on the same side also shifted. Although their weight didn’t move, their feet began to adjust.

Immediately after, Lu Ke quickly pulled his right hand back, held the ball himself, and moved horizontally to the left, voluntarily leaving the protection of the pocket. Without observing the defensive players’ positions, he raised his right hand while moving quickly, found Randy Moss, who was cutting horizontally from the left to the right, and tried to make a pass.

The Seattle Seahawks’ defensive players were highly focused and got into position very quickly. They immediately determined Lu Ke’s passing intention. Two players blocked Moss’s potential path, and another player was also quickly approaching, forming an encirclement.

Moss might be able to complete the catch, but he definitely wouldn’t be able to continue moving forward.

But... Lu Ke still didn’t pass. His horizontal movement didn’t stop at all. His raised right hand was just a fake. He then pulled his right hand back, protected the football in front of him, and decided to run with the ball himself. This simple action made the Seahawks’ front line defense fully alert.

Because of the two consecutive fake outs, the receivers were given space to continue moving forward, forcing the defensive players to follow them closely. Now, a gap of about 12 or 13 yards had appeared in the front left of the San Francisco 49ers’ offense. Lu Ke could completely run along the 30-degree angle toward the sideline without encountering any resistance and get out of bounds before the defensive players could form an encirclement.

This was not good news for the defense.

First, Frank Gore, and then Lu Ke. Once the Seahawks’ ground defense was broken, the subsequent defense would be even more difficult. Just look at the result of the Seahawks’ first offensive drive. What’s more, the 49ers’ strength wasn’t their ground game, but their passing offense. If even their weakness was performing well, then the situation would become even more serious.

You could then see the offense and defense moving quickly in the same direction amidst a huge wave of sound. The entire defensive formation was quickly compressing, like dark clouds gathering before a summer storm. In a single breath, they had formed a huge black mass.

The menacing and fully focused expressions did not hide their true intentions at all: if the defensive players could tackle or hit the quarterback head-on, they would definitely not show any mercy. How could they miss an opportunity to catch a lamb that walked into a tiger’s den?

Lu Ke’s running with the ball was still not as graceful as Aaron Rodgers’ or as powerful as Cam Newton’s, but he was slowly developing his own running style. He was nimble and quick, running and observing at the same time, never giving up any chance to pass.

Just as his feet were about to cross the line of scrimmage, he made an emergency stop, made small adjustments in place, raised his right hand, and used the twisting force of his waist to force a pass. Then he threw a high and long rainbow pass that flew across the entire field and quickly flew toward the right side.

This wasn’t the first time.

In the last game against the New England Patriots, Lu Ke had used this tactic twice to make important progress. The Seattle Seahawks had been mentally prepared for this after watching the game footage over and over again.

But the problem was that, just like a scrambling quarterback’s read-option offense, Lu Ke’s tactic was a variation of the read-option offense, and it was hard to defend against. What was even more fatal was that there were too many possibilities on the right side now: Logan Newmann? Ted Ginn Jr.? Or Randy Moss? Or even Frank Gore?

It was only then that people realized that, without them knowing, the main force of the offense had gathered on the right side, while most of the defensive players had gathered on the left side, like two groups of species moving in opposite directions during a great migration. The situation suddenly became tricky.

The rainbow pass flying quickly through the air was impossible to accurately predict. Four receivers could all be the target. Now, the head-on confrontation between the receivers and the secondary defense began.

"To the right! To the right! Lu Ke’s pass is going to the right!"

"Logan Newmann is accelerating to get rid of Richard Sherman! Sherman is hit by Newmann while dropping back and loses his balance a little. Newmann has gotten away. Sherman immediately chases after him, but Newmann makes an emergency stop! He ran past him! Sherman ran past him!"

"Wait, Ted Ginn Jr. and Frank Gore are also accelerating with all their might!"

"Ginn and Gore both ran past Earl Thomas’ defensive line. The other safety, Kam Chancellor, is trying to run back, and his running route overlaps with Randy Moss’. Moss is caught in an encirclement by Chancellor and outside linebacker K.J. Wright. Moss is running back! Huh, why is that?"

"Thomas has successfully blocked Frank Gore’s position, but... Ginn is running at full speed! Ginn! Ted Ginn Jr.! The San Francisco 49ers’ number 19, Ted Ginn Jr.!"

"Ginn is now a single receiver!"

"Chancellor and Thomas are running back. Ginn’s speed has reached its peak. He has crossed the midfield line and is still running! Newmann has hit Sherman, who was trying to help with the defense. Sherman has lost his balance, and he and Ginn have missed each other. Sherman can’t catch up immediately!"

"Ginn! All eyes are on Ted Ginn Jr. now!"

"Sherman hasn’t given up. Sherman has blocked Frank Gore’s position. Gore is trying to disrupt Thomas’s running rhythm. Now, Sherman’s timely appearance has messed up the entire offensive and defensive plan! Thomas is still affected, and Chancellor is still desperately chasing!"

"Newmann! Newmann has come up. He is trying to block for Ginn!"

"Chaos. The entire backfield has become chaotic. The crisscrossing offense and defense between the players are too complicated. Ted Ginn Jr. has crossed the 30-yard line, and the football is falling! The football is falling quickly! This is a typical sign of Lu Ke’s long-pass technique. It suddenly speeds up as it falls to disrupt the defensive players’ judgment of where it will land. Only teammates who are used to it can accurately judge it."

"Wait! Wait! Jesus Christ!"

"The target is not Ted Ginn Jr.! It’s Logan Newmann!"

"Oh my God! The San Francisco 49ers’ number 88, Logan Newmann, made a cut inside, came to the middle of the right side, and ran a ’post route.’ At this moment, Chad Hall’s route for blocking has returned. His shift in attention has earned Newmann a five-yard space to catch the ball! Who would have thought that this would be the landing spot of a post route!"

"Newmann! Logan Newmann!"

"This is a 48-yard long pass! Newmann caught the football on the 29-yard line! Unbelievable! This is absolutely unbelievable!"

"Newmann is rushing forward! Hall made a crucial block! He hit Chancellor, who had smelled the danger and was running back to defend! Hall has once again contributed! There are no defensive players around Newmann! Newmann!"

"25 yards! 20 yards! 15 yards! 10 yards! Touchdown! This is a touchdown! The San Francisco 49ers have scored a touchdown with a miraculous long pass from outside the world. This reminds people of Lu Ke’s first career pass in the first week of the 2011 regular season. It was also against the Seattle Seahawks, also a connection to Logan Newmann, and also ended with a touchdown!"

"Absolutely brilliant! This is so brilliant!"

"Facing the overwhelming momentum of the Seattle Seahawks at home, the San Francisco 49ers once again showed their unyielding spirit! The Seahawks’ defense had just given up on the blitz, but it became a loophole for Lu Ke to break through. With three consecutive fake outs and blocks, the entire play was incredibly clear. From the very beginning, he had been aiming for the post route, crossing more than half of the field to find Logan Newmann, who was thought to be on a blocking assignment, and scoring a touchdown!"

"Wow! Besides a sigh of admiration, what else can you say? Wow!"

"Wait, wait, the excitement isn’t over yet! The San Francisco 49ers have chosen a two-point conversion! My God, at CenturyLink Field, Lu Ke is taking over the rhythm of the game and becoming the master of this stadium! He is showing absolute dominance! What... what in the world is going on?"

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