Logan Newman was cursing at the moment.
Logically, he should have been fully focused on his feet and hands and not be distracted at all. But looking at the football's flight path and the power of the pass, he couldn't help but curse: Damn Bambi! He wasn't a character from Naruto, so how could he run so fast?
But the curse was just a fleeting thought. He immediately became highly focused, running at his maximum speed. His peripheral vision didn't catch any defenders. This was a battle between him and the football. It wasn't enough. At this speed, he would miss the catch.
In a moment of pure reflex, Logan raised his right hand high, his entire body tensed to the maximum. Then he stood on his tiptoes, leaped forward, and jumped slightly. After his fingertips touched the football, he gave it a gentle push, and then he opened his wide palm, securely wrapped the football, and pulled it back into his arms with force.
In the next moment, he fell heavily, hard, and firmly onto the turf, sending up a large amount of grass clippings.
He caught it!
"Newman! Newman! Newman!" Kirk's brain was completely overwhelmed, and he could only keep shouting the same name to express his shock and excitement. "Newman made the catch. Newman's speed was at its maximum, but he's not a wide receiver. He's a tight end, so his speed naturally can't compare to a wide receiver. Just when he was about to miss the catch, he completed a one-handed catch with a dive! Fantastic! This is so fantastic!"
Teddy, sitting next to him, couldn't help but bang on the table and whistle. "A one-handed catch! A one-handed catch! This is unbelievable. This is a 46-yard super long pass. This is a 46-yard one-handed catch! The pass was beautiful, and the catch was even more beautiful. Wow, the young offense of the San Francisco 49ers is showing their unparalleled talent and energy! Let's watch the replay, folks. Please, let's watch the replay!"
"Ahhh!" The entire Paul Brown Stadium was going crazy. No, that's not the right description. It should be half heaven, half hell crazy.
The Bengals fans couldn't believe their eyes. They had just been celebrating their team's two beautiful defensive drives, feeling excited, and then they were hit with a fatal blow. It all happened so fast that they couldn't react. The 49ers fans, on the other hand, went from being extremely depressed to being extremely crazy in an instant.
Cliff was the first to stand up, holding the flag high and waving it with all his might. Jeff, who was sitting next to him, immediately got the hint. He stood up and screamed like crazy, "Bambi! Bambi! Bambi!" A 46-yard super long pass. Lu Ke once again showed his strong heart, coming back from the dead.
The 49ers' fan support was so weak that it couldn't compete at all. It was not comparable to the support at Candlestick Park. But Logan didn't care. He went to the stands where the 49ers fans were, pounded his chest like King Kong, and vented his excitement and joy.
At the same time, Kyle Williams, Ted Ginn, and the others all rushed over, hugging Logan and celebrating wildly. But Logan shook off his teammates, turned around, and shouted at the quickly approaching Lu Ke, "Who is the son of light? Tell me, who is the son of light?"
Even Logan himself couldn't believe it. As a tight end, speed was his weakness, and size and strength were his strengths.
But after entering the league, he was still on the lighter side and often couldn't gain the upper hand in confrontations. He relied more on his talent and agility to complete catches and touchdowns. He wasn't like a tight end or a wide receiver, and Logan actually faced a lot of pressure. He was almost sick of the diet he had been on to gain weight in the past few weeks.
Today, Logan completed such an incredible catch, so he was naturally very excited.
He rushed over to Lu Ke and shouted like crazy, "Who is the son of light?"
Lu Ke rolled his eyes and said, "John Ward." He was Lu Ke's wide receiver partner in college who had now retired and returned to a normal life.
Logan clearly didn't expect that answer, and his emotions were immediately choked up. He let out a surprised burp, and his teammates around him all burst into laughter, not giving him any face at all. This made Logan scratch his head in frustration. "Hey, me, me! The answer is right here. Can you pay attention to me?"
"After we get the touchdown," Lu Ke said simply, patting Logan on the shoulder and then quickly saying, "Time is tight. We need to speed up. The Bengals will definitely still use a blitz. We have to pick up the pace." After a short pause, the coach's play call came through his headset.
"Wow, even watching the replay again, I'm still amazed," Kirk couldn't help but exclaim. "This is a trick play. The 49ers' play completely fooled the Bengals' defense. They used Lynch to fake a powerful run, and then, through Lynch's pass to Lu Ke, they completely broke free from the defense. The entire field opened up, and they completed a 46-yard pass. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!"
In a trick play, the word "trick" is key. The word can be translated as a practical joke, a sleight of hand, a deception, a gimmick, or a clever tactic. On Halloween, the children's catchphrase when they go trick-or-treating is "trick or treat," and the word "trick" is in that phrase.
Such an offense, in short, is about playing a trick.
Within the rules, you unexpectedly choose a strange combination of tactics. For example, you have a running back throw a pass, or a punter acts as a quarterback and throws a pass out of nowhere.
According to NFL rules, you can throw an unlimited number of lateral or backward passes on each play, and any player can throw a pass, but there are three restrictions:
First, on each play, you can throw an unlimited number of backward and lateral passes, but you can only throw one forward pass.
Second, if the player with the ball has crossed the line of scrimmage, they are not allowed to throw a forward pass, but they can throw a backward or lateral pass.
Third, in the offense, the five offensive linemen are not allowed to receive or throw a pass unless a player has hit the football after it was thrown and changed its flight path, in which case they are allowed to catch it.
In the last drive, Lu Ke cleverly used these rules. When Lynch threw the pass, Lu Ke was slightly behind him, allowing Lynch to make a backward pass. Then, Lu Ke reorganized the offense and successfully completed a big-yardage drive.
The purpose of this kind of play is to catch the opponent off guard, but the risk is huge.
Because football is a sport with very detailed specialized divisions of labor. A running back is a running back, and an offensive tackle is an offensive tackle. Their positions are different, so their training, physical types, and styles are all different. The slightest carelessness could lead to terrible consequences, such as a fumble or an interception.
Just now, Marcus Lynch was not a quarterback, so he didn't have the skills of a passer. The pass was wobbly, and the passer, the receiver, and the spectators all broke into a cold sweat.
However, there is another exception in a football game.
That is changing positions. Many players play multiple positions in high school and college, and some are even asked to play different positions after entering the league. For example, the competition for a quarterback is very fierce, and many quarterbacks from college switch to wide receivers, kickers, or returners after entering the league. Such players can play a major role in a trick play.
However, the risk of a trick play is still too great. It's possible to use it once or twice in a game, but if you do it more often, the opponent will be highly focused, and it won't be as easy to trick them. The consequences and cost will be very heavy.
After being stopped on two consecutive drives, Lu Ke boldly called for this trick play.
He noticed that the Bengals' defense was rushing too hard. The deep coverage was very weak, and even the cornerbacks and safeties were always focused on the front of the field. The entire defense's aggressive mindset was like a spear, not a shield. As long as the Bengals' defense met with even the slightest resistance, the shift from advantage to disadvantage would happen in the blink of an eye.
It was very risky, but he succeeded.
In fact, if he had a choice, Lu Ke would have preferred to use the special skill "Absolute Steps," because the purpose of this drive was to disrupt the opponent's rhythm, deflate their momentum, and get the offense back on track. But before the third down, Lu Ke discovered that a special mission had appeared in the system!
Before today's game, Lu Ke had checked the system, and the game missions were released on time, and there was nothing special.
"Game missions:
Complete a touchdown in the regular game; mission requirement: none; mission reward: base points +1 for each touchdown.
Achieve a certain pass completion rate in the regular game; mission requirement: pass completion rate of at least 60%; mission reward: base points +1.
Win the regular game; mission requirement: none; mission reward: base points +3."
There were three mission options, the same number as in the second week. The specific details of the missions were a little different. The second week required passing yards, while this week required a pass completion rate.
The subtle differences showed the system's control over the details of the game. However, Lu Ke still had too little game experience to identify or understand how these differences would be implemented or reflected in the game. The only thing he knew was that his passing choices in this game needed to be more careful.
But overall, there was nothing new about the game missions. Other than that, Lu Ke was sure that there were no special missions. That meant that the special mission appeared after the second drive ended. The system gave him a mission based on the real-time situation of the game.
There were only forty seconds between each drive, and Lu Ke didn't have time to look carefully. He only had time to quickly scan it and then he realized:
The special skill was disabled.
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