Chapter 137 135: All or Nothing
After Jim Hubble announced that Lu Ke would be using the Shotgun Formation, the atmosphere in the locker room became somewhat strange.
"Jim. Are you drunk?" That was Craig Roman's first reaction. Not just that he'd been drinking, but that he was truly drunk. In his eyes, Jim Hubble could never have made such a decision unless he had completely lost his mind.
Everyone said that the power of the offense was in the quarterback's hands. Peyton Manning's ability to change plays on the fly, confuse the defense, find weaknesses, and complete a pass was the stuff of legend. But in the Alliance, the real authority over the offense belonged to the head coach and the offensive coaches.
Quarterbacks who could truly seize control were few and far between.
It was common throughout the Alliance for a head coach and quarterback to have tactical disagreements. Situations where an overly controlling coach refused to give the quarterback any freedom, only for the quarterback to start rebelling and changing plays on the field without permission, were rampant. This often led to a complete falling out, forcing team management to choose sides.
Choosing to use the Shotgun Formation didn't mean the head coach was handing over tactical authority to the quarterback. It was simply one of countless options in the playbook, a tactic chosen to maximize the quarterback's abilities. The real control over the plays still rested in the head coach's hands.
But this decision did mean that Jim trusted Lu Ke's passing ability. He trusted Lu Ke's judgment on the field. At the same time, Jim was placing the entire firepower of the offense squarely on Lu Ke's shoulders.
That alone was shocking enough!
Even Kip Kester, standing off to the side, was dumbfounded. The other players were even more so. For a moment, even Lu Ke himself was completely stunned.
All eyes, burning and sharp, fell upon Jim. But for Jim, this hadn't been an easy decision either.
He knew. He knew it all. The subpar physical attributes. The rookie quarterback's on-field judgment that needed polishing. The way passing ability inevitably declined under pressure. The need for a stable run-pass balance. The massive ups and downs of a first-year player's performance... He knew every single one of those considerations.
He wasn't an idiot.
But Jim also knew that the first-half statistics didn't lie.
In the first quarter, the 49ers' offense had been primarily pass-oriented. Lu Ke's performance—his defensive reads, his passing judgment, and so on—had been outstanding. Especially in the first eight minutes, the entire offense was roaring with power and flair. In addition to the two touchdowns, their offensive drives had also been satisfactory.
In the second quarter, Jim had adjusted the strategy to focus more on a run-pass balance. This was partly because he was worried Lu Ke couldn't handle the full burden, and partly because he hoped the run game would open things up. But the 49ers' offense immediately got bogged down in a quagmire. The efficiency of both the run and the pass plummeted, and they failed to cross midfield even once.
The statistics showed that his attempt to have the running backs alleviate the pressure on the passing game had, in fact, dragged down its efficiency.
At the very end of the data report, the recommendation from the data analysts was: "Recommend increasing the pass-to-run ratio."
Data analysts aren't football professionals. They are typically top students and experts in mathematics, statistics, or operations research. Some have never even watched a football game or played any sports. During a game, their job isn't to analyze formations and personnel matchups, but to analyze the game's flow and trends based on the data, and then submit a report.
As for how to interpret the report and strategize for the game, that was the coaching staff's job.
All thirty-two teams in the Alliance were equipped with data analysis teams. But during an actual game, whether to adopt their suggestions—and how to adopt them—varied wildly from team to team.
Jim was a young coach, only forty-eight years old. He kept up with the times and wasn't rigid in his tactical choices. As long as it led to a win, he was perfectly willing to use college-level tactics. He also wasn't bound by traditional ways of thinking; modern technical analysis and training systems could absolutely give a team a greater edge.
Calming down and stripping away Lu Ke's identity as a player of Chinese Descent and a rookie, it wasn't hard for Jim to arrive at an answer. This was a quarterback with outstanding passing efficiency, but also one who lacked physical strength. His strengths lay in reading the defense and improvising, while his weaknesses were slow footwork and an inability to handle tackles and pressure.
The first time was during a scrimmage at the Rookie Training Camp. Over ten offensive downs, Lu Ke had unleashed his full firepower, an offense that flowed like quicksilver. That had left a deep impression on many of the coaches.
The second time was during a surprise scrimmage at his tryout. Over twenty offensive downs, Lu Ke showcased his outstanding deep-ball ability and his control over the game's rhythm, almost single-handedly demolishing the scout team's defensive players.
The third time was tonight. In the first two drives, over seven offensive downs, he made five passes. His pre-snap reads and post-snap decisions were all commendable. He had practically scored two touchdowns by himself. Of course, Lu Ke hadn't completely ignored the running backs; his use of play-action and draw plays was impressively deceptive. Even without a balanced attack, he still threw the opposing defense into chaos.
And so, Jim made a bold hypothesis—
Even though he had been the one to choose Lu Ke as the team's backup quarterback, the fact that he was a player of Chinese Descent had inevitably clouded his judgment, leading to a skewed assessment of Lu Ke's true abilities. 'Perhaps this first-year quarterback is even better than I thought. Perhaps this Chinese-American rookie quarterback can be the key to victory.'
More importantly, even though Lu Ke had a perfect Fonderick test score, he'd had limited time with the playbook, and his execution of the plays was still lacking. 'Rather than stick with that,' he thought, 'it's better to use a relatively simple and direct passing scheme, something like a college offense, to maximize Lu Ke's strengths.'
After hesitating again and again, Jim finally made his decision: go all in!
At his core, Jim was a gambler—decisive and sharp. As things stood, Alex Smith wouldn't be able to play until at least Week Three, and Colin Kaepernick until at least Week Four. This meant that for the first two games, Lu Ke was their starting quarterback.
So, rather than hesitate and drag things out, it was better to make the call now. The San Francisco 49ers were still leading 14-10. They could use the third quarter to observe the new strategy, and they could still make adjustments in the fourth quarter. This would also help them prepare for the next game.
The worst-case scenario? They lose tonight's game. Even worse? They'd have to replace the quarterback for the next game. That was it.
It was a difficult problem, and yet it wasn't. Jim didn't carry that baggage. Chinese-American quarterback, rookie quarterback, weaknesses and strengths—none of that mattered. What he needed was a formula for winning games. Now, he saw a glimmer of hope, so he was going to take the risk. 'It's not as difficult as I imagined.'
Looking at the dumbfounded Lu Ke and ignoring Craig's questioning tone, Jim raised his voice and asked, "Do you have any questions?"
Lu Ke, stunned for a moment, shook his head and replied simply but firmly, "None." His hands unconsciously clenched into fists. 'This is my chance. How could I possibly back down? On the contrary, my blood is boiling. I'm raring to go!'
Jim nodded in approval. "Besides the Shotgun Formation, you can use Lynch if you need to. His receiving ability is decent." Using the running back's pass-catching skills to create a fifth receiving target, in addition to the four regular receivers, could often open things up. "Also, when you need a power run, give it to Hunter. We'll communicate about the specifics based on what's happening on the field, but I need you to keep a clear head! Do you understand what you're doing?"
"Beat the Sea Eagles." Lu Ke's answer wasn't what Jim had expected, but he liked it a lot. A faint smile appeared on his face as he gave a slight nod of approval.
Then, Jim turned to the players on the Offense Line. He began to analyze their mistakes and successes from the first half, and pointed out the players on the Sea Eagle Team's Defense Line who required special attention.
After he finished with the offense, Jim moved on without a moment's rest to the Defense Team to give them their instructions. During the short halftime break, there was no time to actually sit down and rest.
Logan and Marcus both came over and clapped Lu Ke firmly on the shoulder. With a meaningful look, they started to joke, "Bambi's about to go off now. A full-power Shotgun, tsk tsk. This game is about to get interesting." The other players on the Offense Line roared with laughter.
Standing off to the side, Brylen Edwards was still fuming. He snuck a glance at Colin, then said sarcastically, "The first half was a total disaster. A failure is a failure. I really don't know what he's doing. People will think we don't have a brain." The brain of the offense is the quarterback.
As the discordant voice drifted over, Logan took a step forward. His powerful Tight End's frame pushed back Brylen's slender Wide Receiver build. From behind him came Lu Ke's retort, "I'm pretty sure there's only one person here without a brain. You know, puppets have never had brains."
He was mocking Brylen, calling him Colin's puppet who had no brain of his own.
The entire locker room erupted in laughter, and the tense atmosphere dissipated significantly.
On the other side of the locker room, the atmosphere for the Seattle Seahawks wasn't any better.
After Pete Carroll finished laying out the strategy, his sharp gaze swept across the room, only to be met with a sea of listless, dispirited faces. He exploded with anger. "The game isn't over! Are you all ready to lay down your arms and surrender right now? Are you really scared of a rookie quarterback? Of a Chinese-American quarterback? If so, should you just give up on the rest of the season right now? Huh?"
Pete was furious, roaring as spittle flew from his mouth. 'Unacceptable. Impossible. It shouldn't be happening.' They couldn't lose to Lu Ke. There was no reason for it; it was as simple as that. This was a game they could not lose. The way the first half had played out, its result, was a heavy weight pressing down on Pete's chest, so stifling he felt like he was about to explode.
"Get up! All of you, get up!" Pete roared at the top of his lungs. "Victory! Victory! Victory! That is our only goal! There is no other outcome!"