"Ahhhh! Wuh Wuh Wuh!"

Inside Ford Field, the home fans' taunting was in full swing. The chemistry within the stadium was so intense it was almost suffocating. The high-stakes matchup between the two teams was heating up. The give-and-take, uncompromising, head-on collisions were showcasing the charm of football to its fullest.

The fans in attendance were spontaneously joining in, truly becoming a part of the game.

Home fans were hoarsely making noise to create more difficulties and frustrations for the away team. Meanwhile, the visiting fans, who occupied one side of the stands, were trying their best to suppress their urges, to avoid getting into a cheering war, hoping to provide a purer environment for their players—at least so the quarterback's tactical instructions could be accurately conveyed to his teammates.

But this was truly not an easy task, especially when seeing the sea of Honolulu blue surging and spreading out with a terrifying momentum. The visiting fans couldn't help but get excited, wanting to join in and create a confrontation. The two teams were locked in a battle on the field, and the fans in the stands were not about to give up either.

Closing their mouths, controlling their actions, staying calm, and suppressing their emotions at this moment was an incredibly difficult thing to do.

Standing on the field, Lu Ke was gradually getting used to the constant noise and taunting. He used clear and simple gestures to convey the play:

A screen pass. This was a screen pass play.

In offensive play-calling, a screen pass is a very common basic tactic, but with a two-tight-end setup, the power of the screen pass would be further enhanced.

This is because, during the execution of the play, the quarterback acts as bait, like a mage kiting in a video game, to draw the defensive players in. Then, before a tackle or hit occurs, the quarterback quickly throws a short pass to a receiver, who uses his own abilities to gain yards.

Correspondingly, two tight ends and a large wide receiver are all players with excellent physical abilities. They can create a mismatch in the short-passing area and also create a bulldozer-like drive. This gives the quarterback more options in a screen pass and allows for a quicker release.

After confirming the responsibilities of each part of the offense, there was no extra discussion. All the players returned to their positions. The San Francisco 49ers' offense was now speeding up, hoping to use the momentum from before to continue their drive. Their tempo needed to be faster and faster.

Lu Ke's gaze fell on the defensive players, trying to read the defense, but the Detroit Lions' defensive players seemed to not have had time to discuss tactics again. They just lined up in a basic defensive formation, which was impossible to predict or decipher.

This was exactly the effect Lu Ke wanted to achieve: to disrupt the opponent's defensive plan with a fast offensive tempo.

So, without any hesitation, Lu Ke called the snap.

Standing in the pistol formation, Lu Ke grabbed the football with both hands and quickly dropped back to create space. He pretended to look at the players' running positions, but his attention was fully focused on the opposing defensive linemen to see how many defensive players were following him. Was the kiting successful?

Lu Ke then noticed that something was wrong.

A blitz. The Detroit Lions' defense surprisingly decided to blitz.

Since the start of the game today, the Lions' defense had indeed blitzed several times, but the overall effect was average, and the San Francisco 49ers' offensive line withstood the pressure. So, the proportion of Lions' blitzes had been relatively reduced, with more energy focused on defending the short-passing area.

Now, the Lions suddenly chose to rush the quarterback. And coincidentally, the 49ers chose a screen pass play. What did this mean?

In a screen pass play, the offensive line's task is still to block the defensive players, but the focus has relatively changed. Instead of protecting the quarterback, their main goal is to clear a path for the running back and receivers. The entanglement between the offensive line and the defensive line gives the receivers more space to run and drive.

After all, the quarterback is the bait in a screen pass play.

Now, one side was opening the door to clear a path, and the other side was driving straight in with a powerful invasion. This was almost like inviting a wolf into the house!

So, before Lu Ke could even finish his dropback, he saw Mike Iupati and Jonathan Goodwin pushing the defensive linemen to the sides to clear a running lane, opening the door wide to welcome the Lions' linebackers into the pocket. The collision of the two teams' plays immediately put Lu Ke in a dangerous situation.

Oh no!

He could see at least two linebackers quickly approaching. One was the number fifty-five middle linebacker, Stephen Tulloch, and the other was the number fifty-four outside linebacker, DeAndre Levy.

Mike Iupati, in the middle, immediately noticed the tactical mismatch. He pushed his defensive end opponent with all his might to try and stop Tulloch, but his opponent was not going to make it easy for Iupati. They constantly tangled and interfered, and Iupati was immediately in a predicament of having to defend two players. He was outnumbered, and Tulloch's steps were only hindered for a moment. He couldn't be stopped.

Joe Staley, on the right end, was matched up with Levy, but his vision couldn't see the tactical changes on the blind side to his left. He was still executing the screen pass play, not blocking Levy but constantly pushing him to the outside. This had no restraining effect on Levy. Levy shifted his center of gravity to get around Staley and then bypassed the entire line to rush into the pocket.

The chaotic scene in his vision was incredibly clear. He could even see Tulloch and Levy's menacing, gaping mouths. All of Lu Ke's muscles were on high alert. He could immediately throw the ball away, abandon the play, and avoid a sack or a hit. But this wasn't Lu Ke's style. His dropback was still not panicked, and his brain began to work quickly.

He was not going to give up easily. "Absolute Footwork!"

First second.

Lu Ke's feet continued to drop back in a steady and powerful manner. He quickly lifted his chin, trying to find a passing target in the dense crowd, but there were too many heads piled up in the short passing area. The entanglement between the offensive line and the defensive line blocked Lu Ke's vision even more. He could only see helmets moving, and he couldn't even determine the matchups between the players.

So, Lu Ke had to drop back again and again. His steady steps continuously created space. The original four-yard space had now become more than ten yards. This allowed him to see the entire field, and the chaotic scenes gradually began to become clear.

But then, Tulloch bared his fangs. After breaking through with his positional advantage, Tulloch raised his hands high. He was trying to disrupt the quarterback's vision and intercept the low-arching pass curve while also ferociously pouncing on Lu Ke, trying to get the first sack of the game.

Second second.

A light step back, a turn, a gentle brush. It seemed like a simple technical move, but it was like a ballerina dancing on a high-wire rope. His lifelong training was put on full display with the grace and elegance of his footwork.

With just one step, Lu Ke avoided Tulloch's sure-fire sack. He could even feel a surge of air behind him. Tulloch's right hand seemed to be within reach. The hot temperature of his skin was so close yet so far. It was almost burning Lu Ke's back, but he ultimately failed to make contact. He just fell down heavily, like the Leifeng Pagoda collapsing.

All the power in his body erupted from his toes. A short and powerful stomp, a light tap, and then his entire body, like a spring, darted to the left. His peripheral vision then saw Tulloch "sliding on the grass," with large patches of grass flying up into the air.

With almost no time to breathe, Lu Ke saw Levy's figure, relentlessly giving chase.

Third second.

After Levy got rid of Staley's push-block, he made a horizontal charge and pounced fiercely on Lu Ke. He barely avoided the Tulloch, who had missed the tackle, then lowered his center of gravity and used his shoulder to knock away Iupati, who was relentlessly trying to make a play. Then he could see Lu Ke's back in front of him.

So close. He could touch him just by reaching out, without even having to straighten his arm!

Levy raised his hands high and quickly moved to tackle Lu Ke around the waist like lightning. The palms of his hands could even feel the strong wind rushing past the sides of Lu Ke's waist. But before he could even close his hands, he watched Lu Ke accelerate and then accelerate again.

What was going on? Why was Lu Ke's footwork so light, so agile, and so fast after he left the pocket? Why didn't Lu Ke's footwork seem clumsy like a pocket quarterback? Instead, it had the grace of a running quarterback.

In that instant of surprise and hesitation, there was no time to react. Levy realized that he was half a beat too slow, and his feet couldn't keep up. He could only throw himself forward, trying to tackle him in a dive, but he only saw Lu Ke's heels rise high, trying to avoid his tackle with a high-knee motion.

Levy fell heavily, and the force of gravity was now accelerating him at two or three times the speed. His hand only managed to grab Lu Ke's ankle. Before his fingertips could even feel the real sensation, all that was left was a handful of air.

He missed? He failed?

But Levy still raised his hand a second time without caring, grabbing Lu Ke's ankle forcefully. He didn't even know if it was his left or right foot. Then, his palm suddenly exerted force and pulled back. Even if he couldn't complete the tackle, he had to disrupt Lu Ke's running rhythm and center of gravity!

🗒️NOTE:

New chapters drop Three times a day, every Monday through Sunday! Plus, you have the power to unlock more: we'll release Three bonus chapters for every 300 votes! Let's get this story moving together.

Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz

Explore up to 30 chapters in advance!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.