Chapter 966: Dazzling Plays
Because of the New England Patriots' surprise blitz, Lu Ke had to use all his strength to escape in the front field. The long delay completely messed up the short-passing play he had planned. All the routes and positions in the backfield were completely disorganized.
Lu Ke's breathing was still steady, his emotions were still calm, and his mind was still clear. As he moved, his eyes quickly scanned the field, looking for a receiver in the chaos. But the situation was a little unexpected. Based on his guess, the backfield should have been a matchup between four offensive players and four defensive players. The offense shouldn't have been at a disadvantage, but the reality was that...
The white and blue jerseys were completely entangled.
Fifteen yards directly to his right, a white jersey and a blue jersey were tangled together. In the center, about 35 yards away, a white jersey and two blue jerseys were tangled together. The deep area on the left was no longer clear. It seemed that two white jerseys and two blue jerseys were mixed together.
The numbers didn't seem to add up.
But Lu Ke's vision was blocked by the three-person confrontation in the center, and he couldn't see clearly. He couldn't even accurately judge the matchup between the offense and the defense.
At the same time, he could see in his peripheral vision that the confrontation on the left side of the line had started to break up. Some players were running back to cover the deep area, and some players were chasing Lu Ke. The entire field had become a blur.
To make matters worse, the loud noise and boos inside Gillette Stadium made the figures on the field even more blurry, making it impossible to take a shot.
There was no time.
The more tense it got, the calmer he became. Lu Ke's fingertips tightened. With a step forward, his right arm, which was bent back like a full moon, was pulled to the extreme. The power of his body and arm were completely integrated. He pushed off the ground and threw the ball with all his might. The brown ball made a thrilling arc, like a long sword being unsheathed!
A white streak instantly streaked across the hazy, dark blue sky above Gillette Stadium.
Logan Newman, who was on the left side of the team's formation and was charging forward in a straight line, realized that something was wrong. He ran ten yards and didn't see a pass. He ran 20 yards, and the drive still hadn't ended.
But Logan still didn't panic.
According to the plan, this should have been a short pass. The target should have been Michael Crabtree on his left or Chad Hall on the other side. The sidelines on the left and right were the focus of the entire drive. After catching the ball, they would continue to advance if they could. If not, they would immediately go out of bounds, because the team needed to consciously control the game time now.
But the game still hadn't been stopped, which meant that Lu Ke hadn't thrown the ball yet and hadn't given up on throwing it either.
At this time, out of the four receivers on the field—Moss, Crabtree, Hall, and himself—he was the one who understood Lu Ke the most. Once that guy entered his "Bloody Bambi" mode, he would definitely not surrender easily!
So, Logan not only didn't stop but also continued to run forward quickly. His previous steps were for blocking and running a route. Power was more important than speed. But now, he increased his speed to the maximum, charging from the 20-yard line to the 30-yard line.
At the same time, Logan quickly turned his eyes to look for Lu Ke's position.
At this moment, Logan noticed that Lu Ke had thrown the ball.
It was a rainbow pass. The estimated landing spot should be around 40 yards away. The exact spot depended on the arc's height. The position was in the central area near the left side, and the falling range was still impossible to accurately determine. The current known information was still a bit simple, but it was enough for Logan.
Logan looked back and made a quick sweep. The receiver in the central area was Randy Moss! It wasn't him, but Moss, who was diagonally in front of him! It was Moss, who was facing the direction of Lu Ke's throw!
His defender had given up on covering him and went to cover Moss, which left him open. Meanwhile, Moss was in a double-team situation with two players. Now, Moss had no way to quickly break free, and making a tough catch in a desperate situation was not Moss's strength.
Clearly, Logan would have been a better target.
However, Logan believed that Lu Ke must have a reason for his choice. The field he saw was completely different from the field in Lu Ke's eyes. So, without any hesitation, Logan changed his direction and ran quickly toward Moss's position.
Logan intentionally charged toward the safety Devin McCourty, who was blocking Moss from behind.
Originally, McCourty was covering Logan, but after judging the position, McCourty gave up on Logan and teamed up with his teammate to double-team Moss. Now the positions were reversed. Logan targeted McCourty and used his shoulder to hit him to break his balance. After the hit, he turned and ran.
McCourty's steps clearly started to become chaotic.
But Logan didn't pay too much attention. He then went around McCourty and Moss and charged toward the outside linebacker Tracy White, who was running to cover and fill the gap from the other side.
Because Lu Ke's release time was too long, some players continued to try to sack Lu Ke, while others gave up on the confrontation with the offensive line and started to cover. However, the four receivers and the four secondary defenders were already far enough apart, more than 35 yards from the line of scrimmage, so the players who were rushing to cover couldn't keep up. White was the only one who arrived.
Logan caught White's steps immediately. Moss was already facing two defensive players, and he definitely didn't need a third one to mess things up. So, Logan quickly ran up to him to create more space for Moss to catch the ball.
At this moment, Moss felt like a small boat in a storm. His feet couldn't stand still. The defensive players on his left and right completely blocked his position and were constantly bumping into him. He couldn't find much of a gap to accelerate or get away.
But how could the battle-hardened Moss just surrender? He constantly stepped back, facing the two defensive players with his back. Then he pushed back hard, constantly using his shoulders to shake and bump them to disrupt their rhythm, forcing them to also step back to maintain their position. This also prevented them from using their full strength. Even if they were in position, they couldn't move and were just falling into Moss's rhythm step by step.
Slightly raising his chin, he quickly looked around the field. Moss was still constantly looking for a breakthrough to create more space for his teammates to catch the ball. But in the next second, Moss caught the flight path of the ball, which was flying toward him like it was crossing the sky.
Shouldn't this have been a passing play to the two sidelines? He and Logan were just decoys. So why was the ball flying toward him now?
Something had obviously gone wrong.
Facing the unexpected, Moss showed his ability to react on the spot. He quickly adjusted his steps with small steps, and his pace instantly increased by one level. At the same time, the weight and force of his steps back suddenly increased. He used the change in force and mass to change the balance of the confrontation between the offense and defense. In an instant, he could feel that the two defensive players' steps had become chaotic.
At this moment, the defensive force from the back right side was gone, and there was a sudden surge.
Moss knew that the opportunity had come!
Using the power of his waist and abdomen, Moss straightened his back. The space between him and the two defensive players immediately widened slightly. If it was a tight, man-to-man defense just now, it was now a close-range defense with their heels touching their toes. There was a distance of a hand's length between them.
This was enough for catching the ball in a flash.
His eyes quickly caught the flight path of the ball and he made a judgment: Lu Ke's pass was still a little far. He was about 36 or 37 yards away from Lu Ke, and this pass should be around 40 yards. If he continued to run like this, he would miss the ball.
In a fleeting moment, his muscles and body reacted instinctively before his consciousness could finish calculating.
He jumped in place without any run-up. His body was still shaking, but the power of his calves instantly burst out, and he was in the air. His outstretched hands were in the most relaxed and tense state: focused, meticulous, and calm!
The ball was falling fast and spinning at a high speed. Moss could catch the ball's spinning trajectory in his pupils. Then, his hands, which were placed in the path of the ball's fast-falling parabola, felt the real texture of the leather. His fingertips and palms squeezed toward the middle to control the ball!
Now, he didn't need to think about continuing to advance. Controlling the ball was the only goal.
But this was not an easy task. Lu Ke's pass arc was a little too big, so the force hadn't been completely unloaded. If it were any other quarterback, it might not be a big deal. But Lu Ke was a quarterback who was known for his precise control. The control of his force and spin was very delicate. The falling speed was faster than the passing speed, so the force and spin were also stronger.
In addition, Moss was in mid-air, and the two defensive players behind him were charging toward him again. With the impact of two forces, one from the left and one from the right, one from the front and one from the back, Moss's body could not control the force. He felt as if his fingertips were dancing wildly, and it looked like the ball was about to break free from his hands.
If he dropped the ball, that would be the result. He couldn't regain control of the ball and might even let the opponent intercept it before he landed.
At this moment, Moss caught a glimpse of a white figure in front of him. His pupils instantly widened. He then pushed the ball out... just like that.
He pushed it away. He just pushed it away.
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