The first half of the game was really boring. Not only the home audience seemed to be out of energy and lifeless; even the 49ers fans sitting in front of the TV seemed a little disinterested and lacked interest.
It's not because the game is too boring, with both sides constantly taking turns in strikeouts, punts, and kickoffs; it's because the game is too natural, everything is within reason, and there is not even a little surprise, from the process to the result. This is true.
The St. Louis Rams, playing at home, worked very hard. From the defensive team to the offensive team, they were trying their best to find a way out, but the gap in strength made their efforts in vain.
Throughout the first half, the offensive team was not able to push past half court, not even once, not even a chance for a free kick. They just kept punting, punting, and punting. Such a game was really disappointing. Even the Seattle Seahawks' offense has exploded with energy, but Sam Bradford, who set many rookie quarterback records last year, is still in a sluggish state and languid.
Although overall, this year's Rams offense is in a mess, scoring less than ten points in seven games, and the offensive level has declined at an alarming rate; but today, facing the 49ers defense, they were helpless and completely helpless. The ability to fight back seems more like a fantasy.
When the buzzer sounded at the end of the first half, their scoreboard was still "00", zero points, not a single point scored.
An ominous premonition is coming. Is history going to repeat itself?
The Rams not only have to face the situation of a 49ers double play in the season, but also have to face the terrifying situation of a double play in the season?
Just imagining it in my mind makes me shudder.
On this side, the offensive team has no hope; on the other side, the defensive team is also losing ground.
Throughout the first half, the defensive team has been trying their best. Whether it is frontline pressure or second-line defense, they are trying, but the results are far lower than expected. Lu Ke always seems to be able to find the loopholes of the defensive team, and then downplay it. The ground tore apart the defense with one pass, leaving the defensive team exhausted.
Of course, the performance of the Rams' defensive team this year is also abysmal, but compared to the offensive team, it is still slightly better, averaging 25.2 points per game. Two wins and two close-to-win games were all achieved by the defense team. Down, at least not a total collapse.
But today, facing the top-notch 49ers, they were completely defeated and embarrassed.
In the first quarter, two running touchdowns were lost, and in the second quarter, one passing touchdown and one running touchdown were lost——
At the beginning of the second quarter, Lu Ke connected with Vernon for a touchdown; before the end of the first half, Marcus once again completed a one-yard touchdown run.
In the entire first half, the San Francisco 49ers only faced four third-down transitions, and all of them were successful. The third-down transition rate was 100%, and the touchdown success rate was also 100%. Their absolutely strong performance completely left their opponents breathless. Even more relaxed and comfortable than the last game against the Seahawks.
When the players from both sides entered the locker room, the scoreboard above the court clearly displayed, "0:28", which was extremely dazzling and stung the eyes of the home audience.
Even the strength of their anger has disappeared, leaving only a bustling noise surging quietly, not cheering, nor cursing, more like a group of headless flies fooling around, and the buzzing sound makes people feel more excited. I was getting more and more irritable and wanted to get up and leave immediately, but I couldn't seem to find the motivation. I couldn't help but start asking questions:
Can there really be a recovery in the second half?
The glimmer of hope deep in their hearts, the bond of the last game of the season, and the determination shown by Bradford in the opening moments made the home audience hesitate to stay in an atmosphere of confusion and anxiety. , finally avoiding the dilemma of a large-scale exit.
This is a good beginning. But, it's still slim.
Throughout the entire first half, the St. Louis Rams' offense, defense and special teams were all lackluster, and their tactics and confrontations were at a disadvantage; while the San Francisco 49ers dominated the game with one passing touchdown and three running touchdowns. , the two running backs Marcus Lynch and Anthony Davis successfully destroyed the opponent's defensive front.
Among them, Lu Ke's performance is still eye-catching.
"17 of 21 passes, 80.95% pass success rate, a total of 229 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions."
"A series of statistics have created new highs in Lu Ke's career. This is the first game in which his passing success rate exceeded 80%, and it is also the first game in which his passing yards exceeded 200 yards in the first half. game; more importantly, only twenty-one pass attempts were attempted, resulting in a season-high average of 13.47 yards per attempt."
"As of the first half, Lu Ke's quarterback rating is 130.85. The PFF rating depends on post-game data, but it is at least 1.5 points. This shows Lu Ke's outstanding condition! Obviously, the candidate for the season MVP I am willing to support Lu Ke as the candidate, at least he can afford to be a candidate."
"The most important thing is that Lu Ke's control of the game has been further improved, and he has gradually begun to find breathing space in running the ball. This is the most direct proof. Although Marcus Lynch and Anthony Davis are good running back, but the difference in performance between the first half and the second half of the season more reflects the rule that running breakthroughs come from strong passing."
"By the way, the entire San Francisco 49ers offensive team successfully advanced 385 yards in the first half, of which the running ball successfully advanced 156 yards, which also created a new season high for the team. The ball has exceeded 100 yards per game, and Marcus alone has 96 yards. He is only 4 yards away from the second 100-yard game in his career."
"In other words, Lu Ke's growth can be clearly felt in this game."
"For a rookie quarterback, an excellent season performance is undoubtedly a good start, but the most valuable thing about Lu Ke is that his progress and improvement throughout the season are very obvious, and you can clearly feel his growth rate. This is different from today's match against another player. It's such a contrast with Sam Bradford at one end."
"Of course, that's unfair."
"Last year's No. 1 pick Bradford has been plagued by injuries this season, and his performance has declined significantly, which is disappointing; but objectively speaking, Lu Ke's improvement throughout the season is indeed a vivid interpretation of the other players' performance. In a word: A full glass of water is good, but it also means there is no room for growth; a half glass of water is not good, but it means there is still room for substantial improvement.”
"In the first half of the game just now, Lu Ke gradually became more and more comfortable with timing and proportional control of the balance between passing and running. He was always able to predict loopholes in advance. This ability of prediction is eye-catching. The playoffs are about to begin. "At the beginning, every playoff team's defense should start to have a headache now, how to defend the rookie quarterback."
During the halftime break, Teddy and Kirk quickly launched a comprehensive explanation and analysis, and began to make suggestions for the St. Louis Rams to see how the second half of the game should reverse the disadvantage, continue the suspense, and avoid entering garbage time early - otherwise, For the broadcasters, the ratings and viewer numbers are really not good.
When the players from both sides came on the court again, Teddy once again noticed the changes in the San Francisco 49ers, "I'm not sure, but now you can see that Lu Ke appeared on the court wearing a down jacket, and Eric Smith and Scott Torshin are warming up on the sidelines, is this a signal?"
St. Louis is located in the geometric center of the United States. Since there are no large mountains or bodies of water around it, the temperature difference between winter and summer is huge. The coldest temperature in winter can reach minus 30 degrees.
St. Louis is not plagued by snow today, and the temperature is not too bad. Although the temperature is minus three degrees, it is calm and windless, so the body temperature is not too bad.
However, in order to maintain body temperature and muscle heat, especially to avoid fatigue and sleepiness caused by hot and cold after sweating, the team will all put on coats, hats, and gloves when taking a break on the sidelines. Gloves to maintain a relatively constant temperature.
It is precisely because of this that Teddy noticed the changes on the sidelines, but did not dare to be too sure.
At the first moment, the Fox TV camera lens captured the scene in time. Alex and Scott on the side were indeed actively warming up; and Lu Ke was still not idle. He and offensive coach Craig Roman, Quarterbacks coach Kip Chryst stood together, discussing the playbook.
Not only that, there was nothing special about the other members of the offensive team. They were busy doing what they usually do during breaks. The whole atmosphere seemed relatively relaxed, and there were no clues to be discerned.
All speculations can only stay at the guessing stage, and we dare not draw conclusions easily. In this atmosphere filled with countless suspense, the St. Louis Rams came on the court and started attacking, kicking off the second half.
But it is a pity that Bradford still had no touch at all. He only scored one first offense, then struck out and ended the game with regret. Under the spotlight, the San Francisco 49ers offensive team appeared again.
"... Alex Smith! The No. 11 backup quarterback Alex Smith has officially made his debut! Lu Ke took the initiative to applaud Alex and stood on the sidelines to cheer for his teammates! It seems like There is no problem at all, which means that the San Francisco 49ers have begun preparing for the playoffs!"
"In the second half of the game, Jim Harper handed over the offensive burden to Alex Smith. And Lu Ke, who has suffered from colds in the past two weeks, will further gain rest time."
"Is this... is this an unexpected situation? Strictly speaking, this is a reasonable situation. Wow, maybe we can really look forward to the second half of the game."
