Chapter 1070: The Force of Thunder
Among the entire Atlanta Falcons' defensive lineup, the strongest and most outstanding players are undoubtedly the two safeties, Thomas DeCoud and William Moore.
Before this season, these two safeties, who entered the league in 2008 and 2009 respectively, didn't have any particularly brilliant performances. But the new defensive coordinator, Mike Nolan, who joined in the offseason, injected a different kind of energy into the team's defense. Their overall strength has improved significantly, and the synergy between DeCoud and Moore has become the team's most important gate.
Although DeCoud and Moore's individual abilities are relatively limited, and they are slightly inferior to the Seattle Seahawks' Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, the entire defensive team's tactical execution and teamwork are exceptionally outstanding. Their performance this season can be said to be on par with each other, and they are particularly good at defending deep passes.
One of the major highlights of this game was the head-to-head confrontation between Lu Ke's deep passing ability and the safeties' combined ability to lock down the field.
However, so far, Lu Ke's entire offense has been solid and steady, without showing any brilliance. People were almost forgetting about this matchup. But at this moment, without any warning, Lu Ke unleashed his signature move. A quick-release rainbow pass, like a long sword being drawn, shined brightly as it flew over Candlestick Park.
"Whoosh," a light and silent sound of cutting through the air.
"Bang," a loud and explosive sound of power.
...
Logan Newman was steadily adjusting his steps. His opponent was Sean Weatherspoon, number 54, one of the defensive captains and an outside linebacker.
Weatherspoon joined the Falcons in 2010 as the 19th overall pick in the first round. But in the past two seasons, he hasn't been able to meet the expectations of a first-round pick. It's not that his performance was bad. He still showed the irreplaceable and important role of a blue-collar worker, but he was just slightly below expectations.
At this time, Weatherspoon's footsteps were a bit hesitant. He was making a judgment: should he drop back to cover the short passing area, or should he follow Logan deeper into the long passing area?
A linebacker's main coverage area is the short pass. Once they start to accelerate and run, Weatherspoon's defensive ability will gradually decline. The deep pass area is not his comfort zone. Especially now that the quarterback still had control of the football and hadn't thrown it, this meant that the short passing area was still dangerous.
Weatherspoon's peripheral vision quickly glanced to his right. Inside linebacker Akeem Dent was tangled up with Vernon Davis. The two of them were holding their ground against each other, unable to break free, and were slowly advancing into the medium passing area in the entanglement.
Akeem was slowly losing his position. Although Vernon's receiving form has not yet returned to its peak, his blocking and tackling ability are still unquestionable. What's more, Michael Crabtree's performance in the last game was the best example. Who could say that it wouldn't be Vernon's turn in this game?
Weatherspoon was quickly making a judgment.
Logan noticed Weatherspoon's hesitation. This is the difference between an elite linebacker and a blue-collar one. In a fast-changing game, every judgment, every observation, and every decision must be made in an instant. Even a thousandth of a second of hesitation can lead to a completely different result in an intense confrontation.
Logan instantly accelerated.
He had been advancing steadily, but all of a sudden, he released all of his power. He crossed his feet and left Weatherspoon behind. He then took two big strides to increase the distance between them, and it visibly widened at a rapid speed. He continued to push forward with an unstoppable force.
The area where Logan and Weatherspoon had just been entangled was around the 38-yard and 37-yard lines, about 15 yards away from the line of scrimmage. Now, Logan suddenly accelerated. He had already crossed the 35-yard line in two big strides, and he was about to cross the 30-yard line in the blink of an eye.
Weatherspoon noticed Logan's acceleration immediately. But in a flash, his conditioned reflex was not to chase Logan. Instead, he looked at Lu Ke again, trying to defend according to the quarterback's pass. Although a race between a person and a ball is a definite loss, their feet were already 15 yards apart. This meant that the defense still had a small chance, didn't it?
In the next second, Weatherspoon saw the high arc of the rainbow pass. Every cell in his body was on high alert. He immediately turned around and chased after Logan.
But in that moment of hesitation, the distance between Logan and him had already increased to five yards, which was outside of the hands' reach. Although speed was not Logan's strong point, it was also not Weatherspoon's strong point. Strictly speaking, Weatherspoon was even at a disadvantage. He could only watch as the distance between them grew.
He couldn't catch up.
Weatherspoon was full of frustration. He could only hope that his teammates would be able to cover.
The moment Lu Ke threw the ball, the two safeties, Moore and DeCoud, also noticed the arc of the pass and immediately realized that their judgment was wrong. They immediately dropped back to cover. However, their positions were relatively far away, about nine to ten yards from Logan. They had to go full speed to catch up, and after that, they would still need to make a tackle. The situation was not optimistic.
...
Logan's feet crossed the 30-yard line, and he could see the two safeties in his peripheral vision, quickly dropping back to cover from the left and right.
But the most urgent thing right now was Lu Ke.
Logan did not continue to accelerate. Instead, he maintained a steady speed. He turned his head and looked for Lu Ke's position. He saw that Lu Ke had already thrown the ball, and the football was in its rapid ascent phase. This meant that Lu Ke had already thrown the ball when he had just shaken off Weatherspoon and hadn't had time to accelerate.
What great synergy!
Logan used his peripheral vision to make a quick judgment on the arc of the pass. His feet began to accelerate, and he continued to run, crossing the 25-yard line. When the 20-yard line was right in front of him, he slightly adjusted his body, turned his back about 60 degrees, and got ready to catch the ball.
Then his feet crossed the 20-yard line. He could see the football rapidly falling. He still needed to continue running for a distance, but now the two safeties were in front of him, about to close in. A collision between the three of them seemed imminent.
Logan took a deep breath and held it. He pushed off the ground with his right foot, releasing all of his energy at the speed of the last ten meters of a 100-meter dash. Then, the safety on his right, Thomas DeCoud, was the first to collide with him, disrupting Logan's rhythm.
Logan gritted his teeth, controlled the center of gravity of his body, maintained a stable posture with his upper body, and raised his hands to his chest. The football dropped with a "whoosh," like a swallow returning to its nest, and went into Logan's arms. But before his hands could secure it, the other safety, William Moore, immediately came in to collide.
Moore, as a strong safety, collided fiercely and powerfully, pushing Logan to the right.
Logan's body was in the air and had no way to resist. He flew over like a sandbag. His weight, momentum, and inertia all combined. Logan was like an oversized fist, hitting DeCoud with a direct punch.
DeCoud only had time to tackle Logan. He had not yet had time to get a stable footing when he was hit head-on. He flew out like a kite with a broken string, with no way to tackle or stop him.
The main force was all on DeCoud, which greatly reduced the impact on Logan. His hands firmly gripped the football. He landed with a thud. Without his hands to maintain balance, he could only rely on a confusing series of small steps to control his body, which was not an easy thing to do.
To make matters worse, Moore was still tangled up with Logan and had not given up.
Fortunately, Moore, just like Logan, had lost his center of gravity and balance after the fierce collision. He was trying to control his body in a dizzying state. He was mostly relying on his instincts to fight, trying to further disrupt Logan's footing and make him completely lose his ability to advance.
...
"Logan Newman!"
"My God, under the pincer attack of two safeties, William Moore and Thomas DeCoud, Newman made an incredible power catch! He used his own strength to resist the collision of two safeties and successfully caught Lu Ke's surprise deep pass! This catch once again shows Newman's top-tier ability!"
"Unexpected, this is absolutely unexpected!"
"Lu Ke chose a super deep pass without any warning. He found Logan Newman, who had just shaken off the man-to-man coverage of outside linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, with a 33-yard pass. A fatal blow that tore through the entire Atlanta Falcons' defensive blockade. Completely unexpected! The 49ers' offense, which had been silent for an entire quarter, has finally awakened!"
"Newman!"
"Newman is trying to control his body! Moore is still colliding! But Moore's own center of gravity and balance are also unstable. Newman is taking big strides! Newman! Newman! Newman has regained control of his body! Moore still hasn't given up! Moore is still chasing! But Newman is starting to accelerate!"
"My God! Newman straightened his knees, and he's crossed the 15-yard line! The 10-yard line! Moore! Moore's speed doesn't have much of an advantage over Newman. The distance between them has not increased or decreased. Moore barely touched Newman's back! Moore launched a tackle! But this did not disrupt Newman's center of gravity!"
"Newman! Newman has already crossed the five-yard line! Newman! Logan Newman rushed into the end zone and scored a touchdown! My God, a touchdown! This is a touchdown!"
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