After he caught his breath, Charles also calmed down and took over the conversation, rescuing Matt from the hot seat.
"You should look at the breakdown of the 49ers' offense," Charles said, with all his attention focused on the topic. "Although the offensive line's pocket protection isn't top-notch, allowing for multiple sacks and hits, almost all of the problems come from the blind side. The fourth-year player Chilo Rachal and the second-year player Mike Iupati aren't top-tier linemen. Their performance is inconsistent."
"But besides that, the 49ers' right defensive line is outstanding. Not only do they provide good pocket protection, but they also contribute a lot to opening up running lanes. So, we can see that under the precise tactical arrangements of offensive coordinator Craig Roman and offensive line coaches Mike Solari and Tim Drevno, the quarterback is given enough time to observe the field at the right time and in key moments, leading the team to continuously move forward."
Just as Spencer and Melissa were about to interrupt, Charles raised his right hand again to stop them, as if he could block their words from a distance. "What I mean is that Lu Ke is a system quarterback. In the team's offensive system, he's qualified, and he has indeed delivered a good performance, but the one who's truly leading the team to victory is the coaching staff led by Jim Harbaugh, not Lu Ke. Lu Ke is a chess piece, in the right place at the right time."
"So, it's wrong to discuss whether Lu Ke is an excellent quarterback. He's a qualified quarterback, but not an excellent one." Unconsciously, Charles's words and phrasing had changed a little. Compared to his blunt and disdainful attitude three weeks ago, this was a qualitative leap. "The problem now is that Alex Smith is also a qualified system quarterback, and he's even better than Lu Ke, but he's also older than Lu Ke. So how should the 49ers' coaching staff choose?"
"In my opinion, the 49ers can win no matter which quarterback they choose," Matt said, nodding in agreement. "Because what's winning is the entire system, the entire strategy. Jim Harbaugh is replicating his success at Stanford!"
Spencer shook his head repeatedly, with a helpless look on his face. "So, you're telling me that 'the catch' against the Cowboys last week wasn't Lu Ke's credit? And the strong comeback after getting sacked four times against the Bengals this week wasn't Lu Ke's ability?"
"The system. Spencer, this isn't your first year watching football, is it?" Matt immediately retorted, and the two of them began a fierce debate about the team's tactical system and the quarterback's individual performance. They discussed the fundamental reason why the San Francisco 49ers were able to win. Matt even gave the most direct example:
The trick play in the Bengals game was a typical system offense because it disrupted the roles of the players and used a deceptive tactic to confuse the opponent, ultimately achieving a surprising victory. This was an offense that was accomplished by the coaching staff, not by the quarterback's individual ability and tactics. The credit should go to the coaching staff.
"Guys, calm down, calm down," Charles, who usually has the hottest temper, uncharacteristically kept trying to calm everyone down and then drew all the attention to himself. "The reason why I say that Lu Ke is a qualified quarterback and not an excellent one is best proven by his physical fitness. In today's game, he was sacked four times, which is unprecedented. The team doctor came on the field twice, which shows that he's starting to struggle with the intensity of an NFL game."
Charles brought up an undeniable fact. "His weight still needs to be increased, and his strength still needs to be trained. In the system offense, he looks more like a statue, responsible for constantly snapping the ball. As for the in-game changes in tactics, you all saw that the offensive players didn't even move. It's clear that this is a tactic the coaching staff is using to confuse the opponent. And he succeeded!"
"What I mean is that he lacks the ability to adapt to the pace and intensity of the league. As the season progresses, his shortcomings will continue to be exposed, and he'll fall behind quickly. Even if it's not next week's game, it's only a matter of time before the fifth week's game. The problem now is, do the 49ers realize the seriousness of the problem?
After only three weeks of games, everyone is eager to praise this quarterback just because he's Chinese-American, as if achieving this level of success is already amazing. But this is unfair. We need more time to observe!"
Charles said with a sincere expression, as if he was genuinely concerned about the San Francisco 49ers' situation.
But Melissa didn't buy it at all and interjected, "What about Joe Montana?"
"What?" Charles seemed to be startled and shouted.
"Joe Montana!" Melissa repeated. "When Montana entered the league, all the coaches and scouts didn't think his physical fitness was good enough. They thought he was too thin and couldn't handle the intensity of the league or make fatal deep passes. So what happened in reality?"
The reality was that Montana used his tactical awareness and game sense to build solid pocket protection for himself. He led the team to a lot of success and created countless glories, becoming one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Many people even thought that the "one of" wasn't necessary.
"Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous!" Charles slapped the table hard. "You're comparing these two players. The reason Joe Montana is great is that he is one of a kind. No one can replicate his miracle! Lu Ke is too far, far behind Montana!"
Looking at Charles, who was fuming with anger, Melissa spread her hands helplessly. "My point is, everyone at the time didn't think Montana was good enough because of his body type and completely ignored his command on the field. Are you not making a similar mistake now?"
This time, it wasn't just Charles and Matt. The other commentators also started chattering and giving their opinions. Comparing a rookie player to a legendary player was often a move that "attracted hate."
Spencer shouted almost hoarsely, "What about Kurt Warner? Doesn't Lu Ke's story look like Warner's path when he entered the league?"
"First Montana, then Warner." Charles said with a speechless expression. The sarcastic smile returned to his face, and a look of disbelief and disdain flashed in his eyes. "What are we doing now? Listing the greatest quarterbacks in the world one by one and then casually linking Lu Ke to them, thinking that he can also create a miracle? God, have you all gone crazy? We're discussing a rookie, a rookie who has only won three games! Can you please calm down?"
Most of the commentators agreed with Charles's words. "Before we focus on the fourth week of the regular season, we need to first see who Jim Harbaugh chooses to be the starting quarterback. If, and I mean if, Lu Ke can be the starter, then we can look at his performance in this week's game, and everything will be settled."
"You said that last week," Spencer said, ruthlessly complaining. But everyone was entitled to their own opinion, which was also the reason why "Inside the League" was so popular.
After three weeks of the regular season, Spencer was no longer fighting alone. In "Inside the League," two factions had gradually formed. One faction recognized Lu Ke's performance, while the other still had doubts. The controversy still existed. As Tony Romo said, an undrafted rookie had to carry the burden of "proving himself" throughout his career.
But the situation was indeed changing little by little, forming an interesting balance. This was competitive sports: victory was often the most convincing evidence.
Not only in "Inside the League" but also outside of the show and outside of the league, Lu Ke's influence was also growing.
Whether it was being a starting quarterback as an undrafted rookie or getting a three-game winning streak as a Chinese-American player, these were undeniably hot topics. Not to mention his excellent performance, which was comparable to Aaron Rodgers. For the audience and most fans, the excellent quarterback rating was indeed shocking, and it had triggered countless discussions and attention online.
But the real breaking point came from a TMZ report.
After entering the internet age, all industries had developed comprehensively. TMZ was a gossip pioneer that had developed based on the internet. After it was founded in 2005, its main focus was on Hollywood. TMZ was an abbreviation for "Thirty-Mile Zone," which specifically referred to the Los Angeles area.
Gradually, TMZ made a name for itself and even became an industry leader with authority. Now, when people measured the truthfulness of a gossip story, they asked, "Has TMZ confirmed it?"
So, TMZ broke away from the entertainment industry, and its coverage began to expand to various fields, including sports.
This time, TMZ published a headline news: "The real-life 'Jerry Maguire,' Leigh Steinberg, officially announces the signing of Lu Ke, the league's first Chinese-American starting quarterback."
After the news came out, it immediately triggered a chain reaction. Not only because of Leigh's status in the industry and unique style, which meant that Lu Ke's prospects for the next five to ten years were worth looking forward to, but also because of Lu Ke's Chinese-American identity, which meant that the development of the Chinese-American market had truly been brought to the table.
Perhaps, soon, the league would work together with Lu Ke.
Although it was still too early to tell, the power of the name "Leigh Steinberg" was simply too great. Coupled with the momentum of a three-game winning streak in the regular season, this had indeed put Lu Ke in the spotlight, and everyone inside and outside the league had started to take the appearance of this player seriously.
It was all real. Regardless of whether Lu Ke could continue to be a starter in the future or whether his performance could remain consistent, the reality was that the impact of this Chinese-American quarterback on the league was rippling out. This was how history was made!
This noisy and bustling discussion spread like wildfire during the short rest days. For the first time, San Francisco's Chinatown also felt this heat wave.
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