"Hut!"
Lu Ke's steady, powerful voice boomed across Candlestick Park, and the offense charged forward like a stampede. On the left side, Crabtree was on the outside and Ginn on the inside. They were about five yards apart and sprinted out like wild horses, their heads down, their speed at its maximum. Both seemed determined to run deep routes. On the right, Williams was on the inside and Logan on the outside. They were even further apart, about seven yards. Both swung their arms and pounded their feet forward with great force, showing no intention of stopping in the short passing area. The four players were like four sharp blades, their powerful runs creating a destructive force.
One player's running was steady and forceful, with the ability to catch short and medium passes. Another player's running was light, agile, and full of changes, posing a threat in the medium and long passing zones. This was the case for the receiver duos on both sides of the offensive line. They attacked from both wings, dazzling the defense with their rapid and powerful momentum. The running routes were full of possibilities and dangers. Coupled with Lu Ke's accurate passes and smart distribution, they could hit any spot and be unstoppable. In the first half of the season, the 49ers had defeated many opponents with this offensive formation.
In an instant, the New York Giants' defense sounded the alarm. A fleeting moment of panic caused them to react a split second too slowly. Then, the professional athletes' reflexes kicked in, and each player started to cover their "man" tightly, following them step by step. In a hurry, the Giants could only play man-to-man defense. In terms of play design for this drive, the 49ers had the upper hand, and the Giants were forced to react.
Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul cursed to himself. As a key player on the defense this year, Jason Pierre-Paul was in great form, and his instincts were sharp. He had smelled danger when Lu Ke changed the formation, but before he could react, the ball was snapped. Jason Pierre-Paul could only follow his instincts and react immediately. Among the Giants' defense, Jason Pierre-Paul was the only player who kept up with the pace of the offense. But it wasn't enough.
In the man-to-man defense, Jason Pierre-Paul was covering Kyle Williams. After the snap, Williams sped up to his maximum, not looking at the defensive formation or his teammates' routes, but just focused on his own world, accelerating and accelerating again. Jason Pierre-Paul used his physical strength to stick with Williams, but something still felt wrong. His peripheral vision scanned the field, and his alarm bells rang again.
On the 49ers' left side, which was the Giants' right, after running seven or eight yards, Crabtree cut inside into the middle of the field. One of the two players covering the medium passing area immediately stuck to him. Ginn, on the other hand, sped up to his maximum and gradually shook off the cornerback covering him, breaking into the deep passing area. In the entire 49ers' offense, no one could match Ginn's pure speed. Ginn was like a dagger piercing through a cloth sack, revealing its sharp edge. The other player covering the medium passing area immediately moved to cover him, and even the safety at the back started to slowly move to the right side. If Ginn broke through the defense, he would be the last line of defense.
Jason Pierre-Paul felt something was wrong. His alarms were blaring, but he didn't have enough time to think because Williams was so difficult to cover. Williams' speed and power were not top-notch, and Jason Pierre-Paul was able to position himself to deny him any space to catch the ball. But Williams was relentlessly moving toward the deep part of the field, and his route was not a straight line; it was a diagonal line at a fifteen-degree angle, slowly inching into the middle of the field. In the one-on-one matchup, Jason Pierre-Paul had the upper hand and had shut down all of Williams' catching possibilities. He was also getting closer to Crabtree's catching area and could come in to support the defense at any time. So, Jason Pierre-Paul quickly scanned the field, looking at the quarterback to figure out his passing route.
Wait, the ball wasn't in the quarterback's hands anymore. The offensive linemen were standing still, and the defensive linemen were turning around in a panic and running toward the backfield. What happened? Only two seconds? Lu Ke had already thrown the ball? The speed of that throw was too fast! Was it a short pass? If it was a short pass, it would be to Williams or Crabtree. Where was the ball? He didn't see the ball's trajectory. What was going on?
Jason Pierre-Paul's muscles were tense. He looked up, and the sun was a little blinding. He could only vaguely see a shadow gliding across the sky, like an eagle with its wings spread, soaring peacefully. The air rippled like a wave, and the majestic posture of the soaring bird revealed an elegant beauty. It was a rainbow pass? So, it wasn't a short pass but a deep one!
Damn it! It really was a deep pass! The 49ers' offense had lined up in a formation that suggested a deep pass, and they had honestly executed a deep pass, with no tricks or schemes, but they had still completely outsmarted the Giants! At this moment, Jason Pierre-Paul finally realized something was wrong. A deep pass, it was a deep pass!
From a three-dimensional perspective, in the Giants' formation, not counting the four defensive linemen, the other seven defensive players were scattered all over the field. In the middle, three defenders were covering two receivers. On the right side, there were two defenders and one receiver. There was also one defender at the very back, but that safety was moving toward the right side. This meant that on the left side, there was only one defender covering one receiver.
"Damn it!" Jason Pierre-Paul cursed to himself. The 49ers' running routes had completely broken the Giants' defensive formation, fully exploiting the weaknesses of man-to-man defense and creating a positional advantage. If Lu Ke's passing lane was toward his right side—the Giants' left side—from the very beginning, and it was a deep route, then this quarterback was terrifying. His ability to read the defensive formation and set up the passing routes was chilling. This was definitely a tactical genius!
Now, Jason Pierre-Paul could only pray, "Not the left side, not the left side." The best-case scenario was the right side, to the fastest player, Ted Ginn Jr., so they could create a three-on-one situation. But when he turned his head, Jason Pierre-Paul couldn't help but groan: He didn't know when, but Logan Newman had already entered the 20-yard line and was now breaking past the 15-yard line!
"Crap!" Jason Pierre-Paul couldn't help but curse. His eyes were on the cornerback who was in one-on-one coverage with Logan, Prince Amukamara. "God, no way? Is it this rookie cornerback again?" The same one who had just missed tackling Vernon Davis.
Head down, sprint, accelerate. Logan's mind was completely empty, all distractions were tuned out. After the adrenaline kicked in, his running speed gradually increased. The rookie cornerback, Amukamara, who was covering him tightly, was not a skilled positioner and was relying on his physicality to disrupt Logan's rhythm.
Every time Logan shifted position, Amukamara would use his raw physical strength and speed to get back into tight coverage. After a collision, it wasn't enough to bring Logan down, but it did disrupt Logan's footwork, making his running a little scattered and annoying. The same thing happened at the beginning of the season, and Logan could only grit his teeth and bear it. His physical talent was at a disadvantage in terms of strength, and the advantages he had in high school and college were gone. His ability to catch deep passes was fading against the black cornerbacks.
But for the past few weeks, Logan had been doing strength training with Lu Ke. Under that maniacal supervision, Logan hadn't gained much weight, but his explosive muscle power had improved. So, Logan wasn't impatient. He sprinted, collided, adjusted his rhythm, and sprinted again. Starting from the 40-yard line, he passed the 30-yard, 25-yard, and 20-yard marks. Then Logan started to adjust his footwork, turned slightly, and in an instant, he saw the football, which had completely left Lu Ke's hand, still in the air.
In an instant, Logan took a few small, quick steps, deliberately disrupting his running rhythm. He saw Amukamara's feet start to get tangled, and then Logan suddenly accelerated, unleashing all the energy in his muscles. The change of pace, without any warning, immediately created a small gap. It was a gap of less than three yards, but it was enough for Logan. He turned, took a step back, and kept adjusting his footwork while watching the football's parabola.
It was a back-shoulder fade! The ball's final landing spot would be behind Logan's left shoulder, avoiding the danger of the defender intercepting or batting the ball down. Logan immediately got into a catching position, but before he could raise his hands, Amukamara was on him again like glue. The young black cornerback's physical strength was on full display. Logan had used everything he had, but he had only managed to create a small, brief opening.
But even though the catching window was extremely narrow, it was enough for Logan. Maintaining his backward-running posture, he took a big step, then another big step, and then pushed off hard with his feet, jumping up. His body leaned back dramatically, looking like a high jump. He flew high, raising his hands, ready to catch the ball. Just then, Amukamara reached out and grabbed the collar of Logan's jersey, pulling hard, pulling hard.
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