Chapter 1032: Disrupting the Plan

Marcus Lynch faked a run, acting as a decoy to draw in the defense, and then turned to pass the ball back to Lu Ke. In the open space, Lu Ke would re-adjust and re-aim. By having his teammates run their routes one or even two steps ahead of time, he would create a passing lane and be able to find a way, whether it was a short or long pass.

This was a trick play that the San Francisco 49ers had used successfully time and time again.

On the very first play of the game today, no one expected Jim Harbaugh to be so audacious as to use a trick play. The Seattle Seahawks’ defense was caught completely off guard, but they had prepared for this exact situation. After a moment of shock and daze, they immediately reacted.

Forget about Marcus, and focus on Lu Ke. The front of the defense had to get its attention back on the quarterback, and only then could the secondary defense make the corresponding adjustments.

But no one expected that in this trick play, Marcus would indeed be the one to throw the ball, but the target would not be Lu Ke. Instead, he would throw the ball forward to Logan Newnam.

Why Logan?

Considering Marcus’s limited passing ability, controlling the ball’s placement and power was out of the question. He could only rely on a stable receiving target to make up for his passing deficiencies. Logan was the best option, the one with the best form, the strongest in a one-on-one matchup, and the best at positioning. He was the perfect choice. The main strengths of the other three receiving players were not in this area.

As expected, Logan lived up to his potential. With a sudden stop and turn, he lightly jumped and used his left palm to catch the ball that had gone off course. Then, with a quick retrieval, he successfully brought his left and right hands together, and then controlled the ball on his chest.

As his feet touched the ground, Logan quickly surveyed his surroundings.

Cornerback Brandon Browner was completely occupied by Randy Moss and was now standing close to the sideline. The two linebackers, Leroy Hill and Bobby Wagner, were hitting the brakes, but their feet had clearly already moved towards Marcus and were now tangled up with him. In their anxiety, both of their steps were a bit messy. As for the "heavy" men on the defensive line, their speed at getting back was not a concern.

In a flash, Logan had made his assessment. He shifted his body weight backward, seemingly swaying precariously, but his footwork was completely under his control. He used his core and thigh strength to stand firm, and then used the momentum from his backward lean to increase his starting speed. He pivoted on his left foot, made a quick turn to the left, and stomped his right foot on the ground. Without stopping, the energy stored in his muscles exploded.

The entire movement was done in one fluid motion, showcasing Logan’s receiving talent to its fullest.

After he turned around, the Seahawks’ backfield was completely exposed.

On the left, Browner was still entangled with Moss, constantly moving closer. Moss’s ability to block was not his strong suit, so he could only delay Browner for a moment. On the right, Sherman was far away, and there were two other players, Vernon Davis and Ted Ginn Jr., between him and Logan. It would be very difficult for him to get close in a short amount of time.

In the backfield, Earl Thomas didn’t rush forward impulsively. Instead, he kept adjusting his balance to match Logan’s running route and pace, ready to make a tackle at any moment.

The real trouble came from Kam Chancellor, who was a part of the trapezoid-shaped cover that the secondary defense had formed.

Chancellor was a strong safety, which meant he was a powerful safety who corresponded to the tight end’s strong side. He had absolute strength in both positioning and hitting. He could choose to either move forward to assist with the running defense, move left or right to assist with the tight end’s defense, or choose an assist based on the quarterback’s passing target.

To a large extent, Browner, Thomas, and Sherman would determine the base defensive quality of the Legion of Boom, while Chancellor’s performance would determine the ceiling of the Legion of Boom’s performance for the entire game.

Now, Chancellor had his eyes on Logan.

His step-up speed was very fast. He was already closing in on Logan the moment he landed and turned. Even though his balance had been slightly shifted by Marcus’s trick play, the impact was almost negligible. He only needed two small steps to complete his move forward.

Chancellor knew Logan’s main characteristics. In a pure physical confrontation, even though Chancellor was a strong man at 6 feet 2 inches and 232 pounds, Logan’s size was still a bit bigger than his. He would have a hard time gaining an advantage when tackling on the move. But Chancellor was very experienced at dealing with big receivers or strong tight ends and wasn’t afraid of a head-on confrontation.

Chancellor didn’t go for top speed. Instead, he kept adjusting his footwork with small steps, lowered his center of gravity a little, and then charged toward Logan’s waist and shoulder. His main goal was to throw off the opponent’s balance, and then he would follow up with a series of physical interferences to disrupt the opponent’s forward momentum.

But just as the two were about to collide, the red jersey in front of him suddenly blurred, as if it had shifted position.

Chancellor didn’t look up. Instead, he continued to push and charge his entire body forward. He could feel the heat of muscle-on-muscle contact, but... he didn’t make a clean tackle! They had somehow missed each other!

Damn it!

As Logan rushed forward, he immediately spotted Chancellor’s position. After two games against them this season, and after a week of repeatedly studying game film, along with Lu Ke’s real-life drills and instructions, Logan had a clear and accurate understanding of Chancellor’s first reaction.

He didn’t run in a straight line. Instead, he kept changing his rhythm with small steps, like a boxer’s agile footwork. He was moving forward and defending at the same time. The changes in his footwork were the foundation of his offense. Just as the two were about to collide, he barely dodged Chancellor’s head-on charge, like a skilled matador.

Chancellor’s body hit his right arm, which shook Logan’s balance, but it didn’t change his forward momentum.

Then, Logan’s feet suddenly sped up. He gained a long forward momentum in his wobbly steps. Before the defenders on his left and right could get close, Thomas, who was guarding the backfield, charged forward like a high-speed train. With a fierce tackle, he threw Logan off balance for the second time before Logan had fully adjusted.

Logan stumbled and fell to the ground awkwardly. Browner then arrived and tapped Logan, ensuring the play was dead and ending the advance.

But it was too late. The damage from the first wave of offense had already been done.

"Wow, who would have thought that the first completed pass of this game would be from Marcus Lynch to Logan Newnam? This is another combination from the three musketeers from UCLA, and it worked wonders on the very first play!"

"Lynch completed an eight-yard short pass. Newnam jumped up easily to catch the ball and then dodged a head-on tackle from Chancellor. Chancellor, who has had a great season, missed his tackle on that play. Then, Newnam continued to move forward. If Thomas hadn’t been so focused, this offensive drive would have been even more devastating!"

"Even so, Logan still advanced for nearly fifteen yards after the catch, moving from his own 47-yard line to the opponent’s 30-yard line in one go. First, a kickoff return, and then a trick play. The San Francisco 49ers are still showing great form in this Divisional Round game."

Even though he couldn’t keep going, Logan quickly got back on his feet and started stretching his limbs, as if he had just finished warming up, in front of Chancellor and Thomas.

There were no extra words or actions, but the provocative meaning was very clear, and it was much more sophisticated than Sherman’s clumsy clowning around.

After that, Logan turned around and walked away, quickly returning to the San Francisco 49ers’ huddle, ready for the next play.

Impulsively, Chancellor took a step forward, ready to do something, but in the end, he didn’t do anything. He swore and spat on the ground and then returned to his position. He swore he wouldn’t make any more mistakes on the next offensive play. Never again!

But...

Is anything ever "absolute" in this world?

At least on this field, when facing Lu Ke, Chancellor’s "absolute" wasn’t so absolute anymore.

"Attack!"

Lu Ke once again decisively announced the snap count. He hadn’t used any disguises for two consecutive plays, just like a college rookie who had just entered the pros and only knew one snap count, "attack." It was as if he hadn’t had time to learn any other plays. But Lu Ke’s fast-paced play-calling had unconsciously increased the entire offensive rhythm.

Chancellor stood five yards behind the linebackers, completely ignoring all the receivers. His full attention was on the quarterback because he knew that all the plays would start with Lu Ke.

He could see Lu Ke, who was in a shotgun formation, calmly take a step back and carefully survey the positions of all the receivers. He moved half a step to his right, but then with a quick pivot, he moved to the left. While moving sideways, he raised his right hand to make a throwing motion.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the passing target from Lu Ke’s throwing motion. It was Marcus Lynch coming out of the slot!

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