After Jim Harper announced that Lu Ke would use the shotgun formation, the atmosphere in the locker room was a little weird.
"Jim. Are you drunk?" This was Craig Roman's first reaction, not drinking, but drunk. In his opinion, it would have been absolutely impossible for Jim to make such a decision if he had not gone crazy.
Although everyone says that the offensive power lies in the hands of the quarterback, Peyton Manning's ability to temporarily change tactics before the offense, confuse the audience, find loopholes, and complete passes is talked about by countless people. Tao; but in the league, the real offensive power is actually in the hands of the head coach and offensive staff coach.
There are very few quarterbacks who can truly take the initiative.
Even the team's head coach and quarterback had tactical differences. The head coach was too controlling and refused to give the quarterback any chance, but the quarterback began to resist and changed tactics without authorization on the field, which eventually led to The two sides broke up and asked the team management to choose sides. Such situations are common in the league.
Choosing a shotgun offense does not mean that the head coach hands over tactical authority to the quarterback. It just chooses a tactic that can maximize the quarterback's ability. It is one of countless choices in the tactical manual. One, the real tactical control is still in the hands of the head coach.
However, this decision means that Jim believes in Lu Ke's passing ability, and Jim believes in Lu Ke's on-field judgment. At the same time, Jim also places the entire offensive team's firepower on Lu Ke's shoulders.
This is shocking enough!
Even Kip Kleist, who was standing aside, was dumbfounded, not to mention the other players. Even Lu Ke himself was stunned for a moment.
All eyes fell on Jim hotly and sharply, but for Jim, this was not an easy decision.
He knows, he knows, what physical fitness is not up to par, what rookie quarterback's on-field judgment needs to be polished, what passing ability will inevitably decline in confrontation, what passing and running balance needs to be stabilized, what first-year playing field Performance fluctuates too much... He knows all the considerations.
He is not a fool.
But Jim also knew that the first-half statistics didn't lie.
In the first quarter of the game, the 49ers' offense was still based on passing. Lu Ke's defensive reading, passing judgment, etc., performed very well, especially in the first eight minutes, the entire offense was vigorous and impressive. In addition to the two touchdowns, the offensive progress was also satisfactory.
In the second quarter of the game, Jim adjusted his tactics and paid more attention to the balance of passing and running. On the one hand, he was worried that Lu Ke would not be able to shoulder the heavy responsibility. On the other hand, he also hoped to open the situation by running the ball. However, the 49ers' offense suddenly fell into a quagmire and ran the ball. And the efficiency of passing the ball has plummeted, and it has never pushed past half court once.
Statistics show that he tried to let the running backs share the pressure of passing the ball, which actually dragged down the efficiency of the passing game.
At the end of the entire data report, the recommendation from the data analyst is: It is recommended to increase the passing ratio.
Data analysts are not rugby-related practitioners. They are often top students and professionals in mathematics, statistics, and coordination. Some even never watch rugby or participate in any sports. During the game, their task is not to analyze the formation of the game, but to analyze the trends and trends of the game based on the data, and then submit a report.
As for how to interpret reports and plan games, this is the job of the coaching staff.
Each of the thirty-two teams in the league is equipped with a team of relevant data analysts, but during the specific game, whether and how to adopt it vary greatly.
Jim is a young coach, only 48 years old this year. He keeps pace with the times. He will not stick to tactical choices. As long as he can win, college tactics can be used. He also will not stick to traditional ways of thinking. Modern technical analysis and training systems can give the team more advantages.
Calm down and peel off Lu Ke's Chinese identity and rookie identity, Jim can easily come up with the answer: This is a quarterback with outstanding passing efficiency, but also a quarterback with insufficient physical confrontation ability; his advantage is that Defensive reading and adaptability, the disadvantage is slow movement and insufficient ability to resist tackles and interference.
The first time was a temporary training match in the rookie training camp. Lu Ke was in the tenth attack with full firepower and mercury flowing down the ground. This left a deep impression on many coaches at the time.
The second time was a trial assault training match. On the 20th offensive, Lu Ke showed excellent long passing ability and game rhythm control ability, almost completely destroying the defensive players in the training group.
The third time was tonight. In the first two attacks, there were seven attacks and five passes. Whether it was the judgment before passing the ball or the choice after kick-off, it was remarkable, almost relying on oneself. Scored two touchdowns. Of course, Lu Ke doesn't completely get rid of running backs. The judgment and choice of fake running and real passing, fake running and real running have a really good confusing effect. Even if there is no balance between passing and running, the opponent's defensive players are still in chaos.
So, Jim boldly made a hypothesis——
Although he made the decision to choose Lu Ke as the team's backup quarterback, the identity of the Chinese-American player was still at play, blinding his eyes and causing deviations in his judgment of Lu Ke's strength. Maybe, this first-year quarterback is even better than imagined; maybe, this Chinese-American rookie quarterback can be the key to victory.
More importantly, even if Lu Ke's Feng Derrick test scored full marks, the reading time of the tactical manual is limited, and the implementation of the tactics is still not enough; instead of this, it is better to use a relatively simple and crude passing tactic, similar to college tactics, to make Lu Ke Ke's advantages are brought into full play.
After much hesitation and hesitation, Jim made a decision: all in one go!
At heart, Jim is a gambler who kills decisively and neatly. As it stands, Alex Smith won't play until at least Week 3, and Colin Kaepernick won't play until at least Week 4. This means that in the first and second games, Lu Ke was their starting quarterback.
So hesitating and procrastinating, it is better to choose now. Now the San Francisco 49ers still lead their opponents with a score of "14:10". They can use the third quarter of the game to further observe their tactics. The remaining fourth quarter can still be adjusted randomly while also preparing for the next game. .
Worst outcome? Lose tonight's game; worse case scenario? Substitute quarterback for next game. That's all.
This is a problem, but not a problem. Jim doesn't have those baggage, such as Chinese-American quarterback, rookie quarterback, shortcomings and strengths. What he needs is the formula to win the game. Now that he sees a glimmer of hope, he gives it a try. Not as difficult as imagined.
Looking at the dumbfounded Lu Ke and ignoring the questioning Craig, Jim raised his voice and asked, "Do you have any questions?"
Lu Ke was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said simply but firmly, "No." He couldn't help but clenched his fists with both hands. This was his opportunity. How could he be timid? On the contrary, now I am already excited and excited to try!
Jim nodded in affirmation, "Outside of the shotgun formation, if necessary, you can use Lynch. His catching ability is good." Use the running back's catching ability to create a ball outside of the four receiving players. The fifth receiving point can often open up the situation. "In addition, when you need to rush the ball strongly, leave it to Hunter. We will communicate based on the specific situation on the field, but I need you to keep a clear mind." Mind! Do you know what you’re doing?”
"Defeat the Seahawks." Lu Ke's answer was not the answer Jim expected, but he liked it very much. He showed a shallow smile and gently nodded his head in agreement.
Then, Jim looked at the offensive line players, began to analyze their mistakes and experience in the first half, and pointed out the players that the Seahawks' defensive line needed to focus on.
After finishing the offensive team, Jim walked non-stop to the defensive team and began to explain the tactics. They couldn't really sit down and rest during the short intermission.
Both Logan and Marcus came over, patted Lu Ke hard on the shoulder, with meaningful expressions on their faces, and joked, "Bambi is going to show off next, a shotgun with full firepower." , Tsk, the game is going to be exciting now." The offensive line players burst into laughter.
Braylon Edwards, who was standing nearby, was still upset. He glanced at Colin secretly, and then said sarcastically, "The first half of the game was a disaster. If you are not qualified, you are not qualified. I really don't know what you are doing. People think we don’t have a brain.” The brain, the brain of the offense is the quarterback.
The discordant voice came over, and Logan stepped forward. The strong body of the tight end pushed Braylon's thin body of the wide receiver out, and Lu Ke's counterattack came from behind, "Here There's only one mindless one, I'm pretty sure. You know, puppets have always been mindless."
This is a mockery of Braylon as Colin's marionette and having no brains at all.
Everyone in the entire locker room burst into laughter, and the tense atmosphere dissipated a lot.
On the other side of the locker room, the mood wasn't much better for the Seattle Seahawks.
After Pete Carroll laid out his tactics, he glanced around sharply, only to see a lifeless and listless look, which made him furious. "The game is not over yet! You are ready to disarm now." Surrender? Are you afraid of even a rookie quarterback, even a Chinese-American quarterback? So for the rest of the season, wouldn't it be better for you to give up now? Huh?"
Peter's whole body was extremely angry, and he roared with foam at the mouth. It's not allowed, it's impossible, it shouldn't be, they can't lose to Lu Ke. There is no reason, simply that, this is a game that cannot be lost. The progress and results of the first half of the game were pressing heavily on Peter's chest, so dull that he almost exploded.
"Get up! Everyone get up!" Pete shouted at the top of his voice, "Victory! Victory! Victory! This is our only pursuit, there is no other result!"
