Chapter 1085: Chapter 1085: Losing One While Gaining Another
Chapter 1085: Losing One While Gaining Another
The Atlanta Falcons’ defense was still looking for a change. They used a mismatch to create man-to-man coverage while also freeing up their right cornerback Dunta Robinson and safety Thomas DeCoud in the backfield. They almost gave up on rushing the quarterback and gained more of an advantage in pass coverage. In the end, they were still intimidated by Lu Ke’s long passes, so would they get what they wanted?
Read the defense. Read the defense. Read the defense.
Lu Ke’s peripheral vision had already noticed that the countdown clock had officially entered its last ten seconds, but he still didn’t panic. He calmly completed all of his reads of the defense and immediately had a plan in his mind. But it was too late to change the play now. There was no time, so he could only yell out two sets of numbers. After quickly yelling them out, he couldn’t confirm whether his teammates had received the signal, and then he decisively called the snap.
"Set hut!"
It was almost a buzzer-beater snap. After Jonathan Goodwin snapped the ball, the countdown clock hit zero. This was a special situation. If the referee determined that the clock had already hit zero before Goodwin threw the ball, it would be a "delay of game" penalty. On the other hand, if the referee determined that Goodwin snapped the ball before the clock hit zero, it would be a legal snap. The difference was a matter of milliseconds, and it mainly depended on the referee’s judgment.
A delay of game penalty would cost the offense five yards.
But Lu Ke had no time to think about this now. He was fully focused on his play design. As long as he didn’t hear the whistle, their offensive drive couldn’t stop.
Lu Ke quickly dropped back without any hesitation. He made an adjustment and moved two steps laterally to the right.
On the right wing, Logan Newman was the first to start. He collided head-on with Asante Samuel but didn’t get tangled up. He only used the burst of his momentum to push Asante out of position and then ran straight toward the 75-degree radiating direction on the right. At the same time, Ted Ginn Jr., who was behind Logan, stepped to the left and then darted out from Logan’s shadow, charging forward fiercely along the inside line.
The moment Asante lost his balance, he didn’t have time to grab Logan, but then he saw Ginn darting out. With a small step, he adjusted his body and charged toward Ginn. The two of them got tangled up, but Ginn’s forward momentum had a stubborn bullfighting spirit, and he forcefully made Asante’s feet retreat. The two of them instantly ran out more than ten yards and were still sprinting straight toward the end zone.
Logan, who had shaken off Asante, couldn’t shake off William Moore. Moore immediately cut off Logan’s path, but Logan gave up on his plan to run in a straight line. Instead, he ran in a small parabola toward the pylon. The two of them were in a confrontation of speed and strength. Moore couldn’t get into position in advance, so he was forced to get tangled up and sprint forward. Unknowingly, he had already run out more than ten yards, and the end zone was within reach.
Even though Ginn and Logan hadn’t been able to create an open space, with Lu Ke’s passing accuracy, there was still a passing lane, so the entire defense followed Lu Ke’s footsteps and started to lean toward the same side.
At the same time as the snap, Sean Weatherspoon joined the three defensive linemen and executed a surprise blitz without any warning. He didn’t go around the outside and into the pocket. Instead, he charged forward with his teammates, using the space between Jonathan Goodwin and Anthony Davis to create a chaotic rhythm and then gain the upper hand.
But Lu Ke’s movement was very decisive. It seemed that he had already planned all the tactical details before the snap. He made the first move, moving toward the 49ers’ right, which was the Falcons’ left. His lateral movement was very fast. He even seemed to be preparing to run out of the pocket, which immediately put the defensive line in a predicament.
They had to move laterally to their left because there were no defenders on the left side anymore!
Asante and Moore had already been tied up and were dropping back, so the front was completely empty. And the only mobile player, Weatherspoon, had voluntarily stepped up and wasted his advantage, getting stuck in the mud of a static battle. If they wanted to stop Lu Ke now, they had to break free from the offensive line and quickly make a cover on the left.
Whether Lu Ke chose to run with the ball himself or pass, this side was now open. Although Lu Ke was a traditional pocket quarterback, no one could forget his 28-yard rushing touchdown in the divisional game last season.
Danger! Danger! Danger!
The entire Atlanta Falcons’ defensive front became anxious. They were moving and trying to get away at the same time, but the 49ers’ offensive linemen were exceptionally difficult to deal with. In the "bang, bang, bang" of collisions, they used their confrontation to the maximum, leaving no space horizontally or vertically, trapping the defensive linemen in quicksand.
One step! Two steps! Three steps!
After Lu Ke moved three steps laterally to his right, he made an emergency stop with his right foot, and his body quickly moved in the opposite direction. The speed of his sprint was even twice as fast as before, like a shadow clone, disappearing after only leaving a lingering image in the air—at least from the eyes of the defensive linemen.
They had been tricked!
On the left wing! It was the 49ers’ left wing! Wasn’t the left wing heavily defended?
What was the situation on the left wing?
With the snap count, Michael Crabtree instantly burst with speed and strength. With just one big stride, he got tangled up with Nicholas. He used his left shoulder to hit Nicholas’s left shoulder. The powerful collision made the two of them create a revolving door-like mismatch, and Crabtree regained his forward momentum.
Using the momentum of the crisscrossing force, Crabtree shifted his footwork and advanced diagonally to his front-right.
He could see the figure of inside linebacker Akeem Dent in the middle not far away, so Crabtree’s running arc slightly contracted toward the inside, basically parallel to the defensive line and offensive line. He moved quickly along the narrow channel in the middle toward the other side.
Nicholas’s balance was only temporarily shaken. He was a half-beat behind, but then he quickly caught up. In the short time it took for Crabtree to adjust his footwork, he returned to his position and got into man-to-man coverage with Crabtree. The two of them then got tangled up and started to move laterally.
Akeem’s reaction was a bit slow. He subconsciously dropped back two steps, leaving some space open, letting Crabtree and Nicholas both pass by. His footwork was a bit hesitant. Should he defend Kendall Hunter? Or should he assist in covering Crabtree?
While Crabtree was moving across, Lu Ke’s feet were still moving to the right, which also meant that Crabtree could become a target in the short-pass area. Akeem had to take this into account. His feet also reflexively moved a few small steps with Crabtree, making a center of gravity shift that allowed him to assist at any time, but he didn’t rashly abandon his position.
At the same time, Vernon Davis, who was on the same side, was running a different route.
Vernon, who was on the inside of the left wing, sprinted forward and collided with the defensive end John Abraham who was covering him.
In the head-on confrontation, Abraham was almost unable to resist Vernon’s powerful collision. His feet were forced to retreat, but in his peripheral vision, he saw Hunter darting out from Lu Ke’s side. Since Lu Ke had moved laterally to the other side, could it be that Lu Ke’s movement was a distraction, and Hunter was the real ball carrier?
In a flash of lightning, Vernon was about to break free from the defense. Abraham then let go with both hands. He gave up on covering Vernon and made a lateral move, appearing in Hunter’s path.
Vernon, who had regained his freedom, started to sprint forward along the slot, but he had only run five yards when Akeem had already captured Vernon’s movement. He then gave up on Crabtree and quickly moved to assist in covering the undefended Vernon.
However, Akeem had just shifted his center of gravity. Now, with a secondary start, his speed was naturally not as fast as Vernon’s, who was sprinting at full speed. His feet were already behind. His covering speed was not enough. Seeing that Vernon was about to run past his defensive position, he could only try to stop Vernon with a holding foul, but he didn’t have time to raise his hand. He could only watch as Vernon accelerated and sprinted past him.
At this time, Thomas DeCoud, who was in the backfield, became the last line of defense.
Now the entire Atlanta Falcons’ backfield was on high alert. DeCoud had no way of defending Ginn, who had already entered the deep area, because the line of scrimmage was at the 18-yard line. Even a small mistake would mean giving up a touchdown. He couldn’t care about Ginn anymore. He could only defend Vernon.
Losing one while gaining another.
This was the biggest weakness that the Falcons’ entire defensive backfield was afraid of. DeCoud didn’t hesitate. He decisively charged toward Vernon. He saw Vernon’s full-throttle sprint and got into position in advance, stopping Vernon. But his feet still couldn’t completely hold his position.
If Abraham hadn’t let Vernon go, DeCoud wouldn’t have been in such a difficult situation. So, what about Abraham?
Everyone’s attention was on Vernon, but Kendall Hunter was still not slacking off or taking anything for granted.
Hunter didn’t slow down his rhythm. Almost at the same time as Lu Ke started to move to the right, he also started to move to the left. Under the cover of Vernon and Crabtree, he went around the slot space, continuing to move laterally to the left for about four to five yards, and then sprinted straight forward.
Just as his feet crossed the line of scrimmage, Hunter could see Abraham sprinting toward him. But Hunter was calm. He paused his footwork slightly and made a fake move, swaying left and right. He then stepped to the right and faked out Abraham’s static defense, brushing past Abraham and continuing to sprint forward.
Hunter wasn’t distracted. All the other players were already tied up, but there was still one more defensive player:
Cornerback Dunta Robinson!
This was his next target!
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