Following Walt's face, I saw Scott and Alex warming up. It was a simple scene, but the aning was clear.
In the quarterback competition, avoiding injury was a prerequisite for
to stand out. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have the right to compete, just like Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick before. Now, I was only showing so signs of a potential injury, and the team was already making contingency plans.
Facing Walt's kind reminder, there was a battle between an angel and a devil in my mind.
One voice was shouting at
to tell the truth, saying that an injury could affect not just one or two gas, but my entire career. I shouldn't risk everything for a small gain. The other voice was yelling that this was not an injury at all, just so muscle tightness, and there was no need to make a big fuss. I didn't have much of an advantage to begin with. If I were to admit to a minor injury, my situation would surely beco even more difficult.
In a flash of an eye, the devil got the upper hand.
"Doctor, thank you, but I'm really fine," I said.
Walt didn't buy it at all. "Whether you're fine or not is for
to say."
In competitive sports, playing with an injury is a common thing. Sotis, the team will hide a player's condition because they need them to keep fighting. Sotis, players will ask the team doctor to hide their condition because they need to stay on the field to fight. Such situations are not uncommon in the league.
Walt started another simple check. At the sa ti, the situation on the field was constantly changing.
Andy Dalton, who was back on the field, showed incredible focus and dedication. He truly awakened the strength of a second-round, 35th-overall pick, proving with his actions that his quarterback rating of over 100 in the first two gas was no fluke.
In a drive that lasted six minutes and thirty-three seconds, he had seven successful passes out of ten attempts, along with four successful running plays, and successfully entered the red zone. With a brilliant and accurate eight-yard pass, he successfully connected with this year's first-round, fourth-overall pick, A.J. Green, scoring the Bengals' first touchdown of the ga!
The pressure to score was on, and they delivered.
Andy Dalton and A.J. Green, these two rookies, shone in this drive, both delivering outstanding performances. Dalton, in particular, was a key player, converting two third-down plays and narrowly leading the team to a continuous advance. Even when compared to , he was in no way inferior.
Inspired by my brilliant performance, Dalton was also motivated. He gradually broke free from the constraints of playing at ho and the pressure of his first-ever full-ga start, and truly focused on the ga, playing at his best!
The two number 14s on both teams seed to have co to life at this point, showing good form. The ga's chemistry was continuously sparking. However, the San Francisco 49ers' offense didn't get to go on the field yet because the third quarter had ended before the Cincinnati Bengals completed their extra point kick. All the suspense and excitent were left for the fourth quarter to decide the winner.
The check was over. Walt looked
over carefully. The young face was still smiling, looking calm, confident, and full of life. Finally, Walt couldn't help but laugh. He patted
on the shoulder. "Go on the field. The team needs you to get a few more touchdowns. But, rember to take an ice bath afterward."
"That's for after the ga," I said with a lighthearted joke.
After Walt turned and left, I stood up, stretched my limbs, and tried to relax my muscles. But the faint tightness still lingered. My arm and back muscles were still slightly sore. Whether this counted as a minor injury was yet to be seen. What was certain was that this persistent tightness would affect my passing.
When making a passing motion, the nerves are tense, maintaining a high level of focus. But the body is relaxed, especially the throwing hand, which must maintain a soft feel and a natural looseness to ensure that the fingertips can fully control the football. Now, my whole body felt like a stretched rubber band, and the impact was inevitable.
Standing on the sidelines, I used the short break to do so simple yoga poses to relieve my muscles and nerves. The ga wasn't over yet, and I needed to be back at 100%.
The last quarter of the ga began. The Cincinnati Bengals' special teams went on the field first. After successfully kicking the extra point, the score was narrowed to "10:17." This was a score that could be overco with just one drive. So, the pressure was once again on the San Francisco 49ers' offense and , especially with Dalton having just delivered a perfect drive and with the montum on their side.
"A back-and-forth ga, it's really great to watch!" Kirk's comntary jumped in at the right ti. "They returned a touchdown with a touchdown. Now, the Bengals' montum is back. The question is, can the San Francisco 49ers show enough toughness to keep their lead? Or will they start to run down the clock and try to hold onto their lead?"
I went back on the field.
The Bengals' defensive coaches had been using a power blitz for three consecutive quarters, with enough success to not be stopped, but they still couldn't prevent the 49ers from scoring. This was a real challenge for them. After entering the fourth quarter, they finally made a slight adjustnt.
The front line was still a "4-3" formation, but the three linebackers were standing a little further back. They could bypass the offensive line's blocks and launch an attack. They could also cover for the cornerbacks and safeties at any ti, playing with more players than the offense and to so extent, curbing the montum of short and dium passes.
The sa formation, but it had a similar effect as the offense's pistol formation, with endless variations and possibilities.
I keenly caught the change in the defensive formation's focus, but the analysis in my headset was a little behind. Things on the field change in a flash. You often have to seize an opportunity in just a thought. So, I didn't wait for the play to be changed or set up. I made a quick decision and snapped the ball, just like a no-huddle offense.
After the snap, I didn't hesitate. I turned around and handed the football to running back Marcus Lynch.
Lynch held the ball with both hands and quickly ran forward. He kept an eye on the offensive and defensive lines out of the corner of his eye and imdiately noticed that there was a large group of players in the middle. With a sudden stop and a quick turn, Lynch stayed close to the back of his offensive lineman, running in a circle, and charged out from the right side of the offensive line, which was also the slot receiver's running route.
The Bengals' entire defensive formation took a small step backward. This small step created a small gap between the offensive and defensive lines. For a passing play, this gap was useless. But for a running play, it was a space to accelerate and advance.
Lynch made a strong six-yard advance before a defensive end and two linebackers stopped him in ti, not letting him continue to sprint.
In the previous kickoff, the Bengals' special teams had kicked the ball out of bounds. So, the 49ers' drive started from their own 20-yard line. Lynch's run had successfully led the offense to the 26-yard line.
It was now second down and four yards to go.
The San Francisco 49ers lined up again in a pistol formation, but with a slight change.
The offensive line in front was still a five-man formation. Michael Crabtree was on the left side, and Logan Newman was on the right side. Four yards behind the offensive line, I stood there. On my left was the standard pistol formation running back, Marcus Lynch, but on my right, Kyle Williams was also lined up next to .
Like two guardians, on my left and right.
This symtrically balanced dual-wing formation was not a regular pistol formation. What's more, Ted Ginn was lined up far, far away on the left side, a little behind the horizontal line of the offensive line. The entire formation was a bit strange.
The Bengals' defense on the other side had to make a corresponding adjustnt. A linebacker moved up and lined up with the four defensive linen. Five players against five offensive linen, still showing a power blitz stance.
But at the sa ti, the zone defense was changed to man-to-man coverage. One player stood alone in front of Ginn for one-on-one coverage. Two cornerbacks were assigned to Newman and Crabtree respectively. Two linebackers were spread out on both sides of the defensive line, ready to blitz.
Finally, there was one more player, about six or seven yards back, responsible for defending the secondary.
My pupils narrowed slightly. The entire defensive formation ford a picture in my mind. This was a blitz formation, with the passing defense covering as much as possible. So, what did that an? It ant that the run-stopping area in the middle was weak, while the running and passing lanes on both sides were squeezed due to the linebackers' positions.
I glanced at Atkins out of the corner of my eye. Atkins's blitz and sack status was excellent today, so his desire to attack was incredibly strong. He might even charge forward with a lot of force.
In a flash, my mind was racing with thoughts. Among the various tactical combinations, I made an imdiate decision.
I took a step forward and shouted the snap count again, changing the play at the last mont. This ti, the 49ers' offense was still unmoved. None of the players changed their positions, which imdiately made Atkins feel a sense of unease. But before this feeling could spread, I had already retreated back into the pistol formation and announced the snap.
There was no ti to think. Atkins charged forward fiercely, tearing through the offensive line with the strength of a bull and barreling toward . But as soon as he broke through the pocket, his peripheral vision caught a figure who was running with the ball. The red-brown object in his arms was a football!
Damn it.
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