Chapter 930: A Sense of Déjà Vu
"Vernon Davis!"
"Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! The 49ers' tight end, number 85, Vernon Davis, just made an amazing play and a tricky catch!"
"The Saints' outside linebackers and cornerbacks clearly misjudged the play. Both defensive players hesitated for a moment because they were distracted by the route of the 49ers' wide receiver, number 19, Ted Ginn, which caused their positioning to be off."
"Lu Ke seized the opportunity and completed a seven-yard short pass to the left side of the center. Vernon Davis, who started from the left and was running laterally, caught the ball with a forward momentum, just like an outfielder in a baseball game, and pulled the football into his chest!"
"Davis' catch was a little shaky. The football bounced around in his arms, and he almost dropped it, but he managed to control it in time and went down, successfully completing the play. The two defensive players were less than three yards away, but they both lost their position and the chance to make a tackle. If it weren't for Davis' shaky catch, this play would have been even more dangerous."
"First it was Crabtree, and now it's Davis. The San Francisco 49ers' receiving corps is showing a strong sign of recovery."
"If there was any doubt about Crabtree's catch just now, there's no debate now. Lu Ke, Lu Ke is the one who's making these plays happen. From the tactical plan to the decision to throw, Lu Ke is showing a more mature and intelligent side of himself. In a split second, Lu Ke used a fake move to distract the defensive players. Everyone thought Ginn was going to make the catch, but Lu Ke then chose Vernon, successfully creating a mismatch. Let's take another look at that play!"
In the league, Aaron Rodgers is the master of the fake throw.
In fact, Rodgers' throwing motion is very unconventional. For coaches who teach the fundamentals of passing, the first thing they'd tell you is: don't copy Rodgers.
Many times, Rodgers' throwing motion is very awkward. Sometimes it looks like he's throwing a baseball, sometimes it looks like he's just tossing it carelessly, and sometimes his entire arm motion seems strange... But in a split second, Rodgers is able to use his forearm strength and wrist adjustments to get the football to the target area.
It might not be precise and could even be a little off, but because the receiver is also moving, it doesn't matter. He's always able to get the football to the target area on the receiver's route.
The passes that can't be predicted or caught, along with Rodgers' agile pocket movement, allow him to often use fake passes to fool the entire defense and break their coverage, ultimately completing the pass.
If you were to keep track, Lu Ke's fake throws have clearly improved this season, especially after the Week 7 game against the Seattle Seahawks. When the receivers' performance was inconsistent, Lu Ke would often use fake moves to disrupt the defense's rhythm and create more space for himself to throw.
Of course, fake moves require time. The prerequisite is either the offensive line's pocket protection can buy you more time, or the quarterback's pocket movement is flexible enough to buy you more time. Otherwise, a fake throw would be digging your own grave. A bunch of flashy fake moves might not fool the opponent but would instead trap you in a sack.
In the first pass to Crabtree and the second pass to Vernon, Lu Ke used his fake moves to change his throwing strategy in a split second. This unexpected choice yielded great results.
Even though Crabtree and Vernon are not at their best right now and didn't get many yards after the catch and were immediately surrounded, at least the 49ers' offense is able to function without Logan Newman. This ability is a sign of maturity and growth.
"This time it's Randy Moss!"
"Moss' route running created an open space of over five yards, and he easily caught the football!"
"Now, the San Francisco 49ers' short-passing game has completely opened up. The New Orleans Saints' cornerbacks can't make an effective defense. Lu Ke's accurate passes are cleverly finding his receivers. Does this scene look familiar? This is what Brees was doing earlier, and now it's Lu Ke's turn!"
"Moss completed a six-yard catch and then used his ability to get past the cornerback covering him and continued to move forward! Ten yards! Fifteen yards! Unstoppable. Moss' run with the ball is unstoppable! The Saints' safety, Roman Harper, came to the rescue and forced Moss out of bounds, preventing more yards from being lost!"
"Even so, the San Francisco 49ers have crossed the midfield and are pushing forward aggressively!"
"Before the game, we predicted that this would be a high-scoring showdown. As expected, the first drives of both teams were very impressive."
After Lu Ke and the offense took the field, they used a mix of short passes and runs to open up the game.
Facing a team whose defense was completely new this season and who seemed to be a little hesitant in their first drive, Lu Ke completely took control of the game. All four short passes and two runs resulted in yards gained, with a 100% success rate. They got four first downs in a row and were already past the midfield.
From the yards gained after the catch, you could see that Crabtree and Vernon were still in a slump, but they were at least able to make a catch. Moss, on the other hand, was hot, and with Ginn being a deep threat who hadn't caught a pass yet, the 49ers' offense was a force to be reckoned with.
Earlier, the San Francisco 49ers' defense put a lot of pressure on the New Orleans Saints' offense, and Brees had to use all his skills to move the ball forward. Now, the Saints' defense was only able to create limited pressure and was at a disadvantage in both tactical planning and player matchups.
So, Lu Ke accurately seized the opportunity.
The offense was at the opponent's 38-yard line, and there was a clear communication problem in the Saints' defense. The defensive linemen and linebackers were out of position.
Some were moving forward, some were moving back, and some were moving laterally. This would normally be fine, like a fishing net that would trap the entire offense. But the problem was that their routes weren't connected, and their balance was off during the movement. It was as if the holes in the fishing net were different sizes; some were as small as a pinhole, and some were as big as a huge cave.
This meant there were open spaces in the zone defense. Compared to the Chicago Bears' secondary defense last week, the New Orleans Saints' defense today was full of holes.
Moss, who thrives in zone defense, didn't face any pressure. He accurately found the open space in front of him and quickly ran into the receiving area. At the same time, Lu Ke didn't miss the opportunity. This was supposed to be a pass to Ginn, but in a split second, Lu Ke changed his mind. With a flick of his wrist, the football was thrown to Moss.
...
"Go!"
Ted Ginn ran out of the slot and sprinted down the right side of the center. He didn't hold back his speed and just let it all out.
In the blink of an eye, he had run ten yards, from the 38-yard line to the 28-yard line. Then he used small, quick steps to adjust his balance. His speed slowed a little, but he was still running at a high speed past the 25-yard line, and his feet were already close to the 20-yard line.
As the 49ers' best deep threat receiver, Ginn's every move was watched by the defensive players. Especially now that they were on the edge of the red zone, just within Lu Ke's throwing range, Ginn's threat level was increasing exponentially. The Saints' secondary defense was on high alert.
Two defensive players immediately closed in. One player tried to hold his position, and the other appeared between Ginn and Lu Ke's throwing lane. Although Ginn was still trying to find an open space, and he did get a three-yard throwing window, he was surrounded.
Meanwhile, Moss's route was completely different.
After the snap, Moss, who was on the outside of the right wing, ran forward for about seven or eight yards, then made a lateral cut into the middle. He ran along a small diagonal line, entering the center and the middle-passing zone, and saw the "fishing net" that was full of holes. He nimbly ran past the defensive players.
One! Two!
He saw a third player not far away, but that player had already run toward the distant Ginn. Moss immediately realized that this was his chance!
In fact, the physical distance between Moss and Ginn was only about five or six yards. Because the two players were running in different directions, one vertically and one laterally, the distance between them continued to increase. But the defense's change in focus had to be completely different.
Moss realized that Ginn had drawn most of the defensive players, and this was his opportunity.
Now it was up to Lu Ke to take it!
With a step, a turn, and a look back, Moss was ready to make the catch.
Sure enough, Moss saw a cannonball coming toward him. It wasn't a rainbow pass but a bullet pass. Clearly, Lu Ke was trying to catch the opponent by surprise. The pass was incredibly fast. A pass of about 15 or 16 yards seemed to be in front of him in the blink of an eye, landing perfectly on Moss's chest.
He got his hands ready, made the catch, and everything was that simple.
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