"Now, it's time to witness another skill of a quarterback." Before the drive began, Kirk further explained to the audience, "Controlling the clock, controlling the rhythm of the game, and keeping the victory firmly in your hands. This is a basic, simple skill, but not every quarterback can master it."
The game was nearing its end, with three minutes and sixteen seconds left. The score was 10:24 in favor of the San Francisco 49ers. The Bengals needed two possessions to catch up, which meant the 49ers were in control.
In this situation, the offense's goal isn't to score more touchdowns or points, but to run down the clock. Generally, the coaching staff would use a lot of running plays. Each running play could eat up six to ten seconds. The quarterback could also use up all forty seconds of the play clock before snapping the ball at the last second and then running the ball to consume even more time.
They could do this repeatedly, and even if they had a three-and-out, they could still run off about a hundred seconds without needing complex plays.
However, if a running play resulted in a big gain or a surprise passing play resulted in a first down, the offense could repeat the process and continue to run down the clock.
The more time they ran off, the smaller the window for the opponent became.
More importantly, passing carries a huge risk of being intercepted or returned for a touchdown. Running carries less risk. The running back focuses on protecting the ball and doesn't get greedy with the run, so the danger of a fumble is almost nonexistent. Also, when the quarterback hands the ball off to the running back, there's no chance of being sacked.
In short, it's the safest and most correct choice in every way.
Unless a rare event occurs, like a running back fumbles the ball and the opponent gets possession and returns it for a touchdown, or the quarterback and running back have a botched handoff and don't run off much time, resulting in a quick three-and-out. Such rare events have happened in football games, and more often than you'd think.
So, as Kirk said, what we need to witness now is another skill of the quarterback: game control. It's not about controlling the offense, but about controlling the pace of the entire offensive drive to effectively run down the clock.
After returning to the field, I lined up the offense but wasn't in a hurry to snap the ball. I still followed my usual habit of reading the defense.
I kept replaying Jim's instructions in my head. "Run the ball, run the ball, and run the ball." All I had to do was snap the ball and hand it off to the running back—not Marcus Lynch, but Kendall Hunter. The rest of the work was up to Hunter. He would just need to charge forward like a tank, and that would be it.
There was no strategy involved, and no skill involved. Jim kept repeating himself, giving me the same instructions three times because he knew that rookie quarterbacks often have a strong desire to show off and can't help but want to make a big play. This often leads to mistakes with irreversible consequences.
But at this moment, I had a different idea. "Coach, the Bengals are in a strong run defense. Hunter won't be able to get two yards, and he might even lose yards."
The familiar voice in my headset wasn't Jim Harbaugh's, but Brian Hampton's, who was sitting in the "War-Room" above the field.
The War-Room is a fortress of on-site command for every team. Data analysts, the general manager, and the player personnel manager would all be there. If the team owner was in a good mood, they might even leave their luxury box and come to the War-Room to boost morale.
For every play, the coaches on the sidelines communicate directly with the War-Room and then give out instructions. Generally, the head coach is the one who makes the final decision. Occasionally, a powerful general manager might take command and give out instructions during the game.
On the San Francisco 49ers team, Trent Baalke knew his place. He didn't interfere with the team's strategy and gave Jim Harbaugh full authority. So, the one in charge in the War-Room was Brian Hampton, the team's tactical director. He was responsible for summarizing the data from all the data analysts and, in conjunction with the team's playbook, providing real-time feedback during the game.
In terms of strategy, Brian, Jim, and I were on the same line and communicated directly. If the offensive coach, defensive coach, quarterback coach, linebacker coach, etc., needed to communicate, they would switch channels on their walkie-talkies to interject.
"Lu Ke, stick to the plan, stick to the plan!" Brian repeated the instruction, seemingly with no intention of listening to my suggestion.
"What I mean is, if we use a short pass to catch them off guard and ensure a high completion rate, we can use the players' running to run off more time. This is much more reasonable than Hunter running into a wall and ending the drive," I said, giving my opinion again.
This time, Brian looked down at the field from above.
The Bengals had seven players stacked on the front line, like a wall of iron, completely blocking all running routes. The four players on the second line were a little further back, standing six or seven yards away, defending against potential passes. Overall, they had almost given up on the blitz and had completely shifted their defensive focus.
Everyone knew that the 49ers were going to run the ball.
Brian sighed softly.
Normally, everyone would know the 49ers' next move, but all teams would still choose to run the ball. The strategy of running down the clock is simple and effective, and there's no fear of the opponent figuring it out.
But there were still three minutes and sixteen seconds left in the game. The 49ers not only needed to run down the clock, but they also needed to get a first down to further shrink the Bengals' window.
"Jim, it's your call." It was a fifty-fifty chance. Brian wasn't the one to give the command; Jim was.
Jim stood on the sidelines, with his headset on, pacing back and forth. He paused for a moment and looked at me, scrutinizing me carefully. "Lu Ke, do what you think is best." At heart, Jim was a gambler; he always had been.
I didn't answer. Instead, I took a step forward and started to change the play. But the 49ers' players didn't move, and the Bengals' players didn't move either. It seemed like everyone was convinced that this play change was a smoke screen.
After stepping back again, I stood in the pistol formation. Hunter was on my right, four yards away.
Without any fancy fakes, I snapped the ball directly. After receiving the ball with my hands, I quickly took a step back and moved to the right, but after only two steps, I caught a glimpse of a Bengals player on my right.
It was an outside linebacker who surprisingly went for a blitz. Taking advantage of the 49ers' offensive line being outnumbered—five against seven—he lightning-fast got around a player and charged into the 49ers' pocket diagonally.
"Hunter!" I shouted. Then, whether Hunter noticed or not, I quickly changed my running direction and moved to the left. The time spent in that back-and-forth was quick. I didn't hesitate anymore. I raised my hand and threw the ball. Even with the slight delay, it was still a quick throw of only about two to two-and-a-half seconds.
The football flew high, soaring over the wall of defenders, and then landed accurately in the gap between the defensive line and the second line. It was about a five-yard pass. A 49ers player came out of a group of defenders, jumped up lightly, and made the catch.
"A pass! It's a pass!" Kirk also expressed his surprise in the broadcast booth. "Number eighty-eight, Logan Newman, easily caught the football and then began to push forward with force. The Bengals' defense was completely caught off guard and couldn't keep up. Newman gained thirteen yards before being tackled! Beautiful!"
"Both teams have made a small adjustment to their strategy," Teddy said, circling Bengals outside linebacker Manny Lawson on the screen. "At this most tense moment, the Bengals went for a single-man blitz, and it worked very well. But Lu Ke keenly sensed the danger, quickly evaded it, and then quickly completed the pass. Wow, this short and intense clash was still brilliant!"
"The 49ers are starting their drive again! Is that a quick snap?" Kirk and Teddy hadn't even finished their commentary when an exclamation came. Kirk quickly commented, "In a flash, Lu Ke jumped up slightly and completed another five-yard short pass. This time, it's Michael Crabtree who caught the football. Using his physical advantage, he powerfully pushed forward for a nine-yard gain, and they're just one yard away from another first down."
"Hoo-hoo-hoo," Kirk couldn't help but laugh heartily. "Two consecutive surprise quick snaps, and they've only used up less than thirty seconds, but the San Francisco 49ers have successfully gained twenty-two yards. Everyone thought they were going to play passively and run down the clock, but they're continuing to advance? Now, the Bengals' defense is in a complete panic."
"This is truly surprising to everyone. Do you hear that? The exclamations in the broadcast booth haven't stopped," Teddy said, also laughing. "Kirk, what do you think? On the next drive, will the 49ers choose to pass or run?"
"They only need one yard for another first down? Hmm, I'd say... Lu Ke will run it himself." In this tense moment, Kirk made a small joke, with the subtext being: no one can predict the 49ers' next offensive choice. "This is getting more and more difficult for the Bengals. Now they have to decide whether this is a run to run down the clock or a pass to continue the drive!"
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