Defensive reading.

It's a must for every quarterback before kicking off, but what exactly is this action to observe?

First, observe the configuration of players on the field; Second, observe the position of the defenders; Third, observe the changes in defensive tactics. It can be simply summarized as follows: based on the learning content of repeated viewing of the pre-game game video, read and analyze according to the actual game situation, establish the entire pattern of offensive and defensive confrontation, and then interpret the game. If you can, you need to make predictions based on real-time changes.

It's called a defensive read! It's a detail of the game that the head coach standing on the sidelines and the tactical director standing in the war room can't capture, and only the quarterback can control it, but it's an essential part of every offensive process, and in a fast-changing game, it can directly determine the effect of offensive tactics.

Of course, this is not an easy task.

Everyone has their own blind spots, just like a chess game, some people have a better view of the big picture and can switch between offense and defense with ease; Others have more intuition and are able to find the right gap between attack and defense, even though they can only see part of the game. The same goes for quarterbacks.

Defensive Reading, Defensive Reading, Defensive Reading.

Every quarterback coach repeatedly emphasizes this during training, even if a quarterback can't see the game and can't make predictions in advance, he should at least be able to read the game at a basic level, feed it back to the head coach, and then make changes to the offensive playbook—as is the case with role players.

The entire league knows that Lu Ke is a player who plays with his head, the first of which is defensive reading, excellent global interpretation ability and excellent defensive prediction ability, which allows Lu Ke to seize more advantages in the offensive and defensive confrontation, create more space for his teammates in the offensive group, and also win more tactical layout space for Hubble.

But to what extent Lu Ke's defensive reading can reach and to what extent it can affect the direction of the game is something that onlookers can't speculate.

Similarly, the difference between pocket quarterbacks and running quarterbacks is reflected in defensive reading.

When the running quarterback chooses to read the option to attack, they will make a alignment arrangement in advance, and then deliberately leave a lineback to be alone, which makes their defensive reading simple and straightforward, and they only need to make corresponding changes on the spot according to the movement of the single lineback, and the offense can be completed.

Such tactics are too simple and crude, suitable for the college game, and in the professional league, it seems pediatric. Although the league's three running quarterbacks are always able to win games, it's like a trick in a battle game, and it's really hard to convince the crowd with a cunning special tactic to win the game.

This is also the difference between Kaepernick and Lu Ke.

When Kaepernick is on the court, his defensive reading is always too sloppy and too simple, and he tends to miss details and make predictions, which makes him have to rely more on his own instincts/abilities to complete the game, and it also puts Hubble in a dilemma where he is forced to use more reading options to attack.

Originally, the reading option offense could win the game, and there was nothing about it, as the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins have proven, even if they were complained about "a trick fresh", but a victory is a victory; But the problem is that the reading option offense is more dependent on the strength of the ground offense, and the San Francisco 49ers' running guard group is far from being the best in the league, and the receiving team has also faced many difficulties this season, and the offense has finally fallen into a vicious circle.

When Lu Ke stood on the court, although his feel and movement had not fully recovered, it still took time to get used to it; But there was no slowness in the brain's awareness, and the three-week absence did not have any effect at all, and the advantage of defensive reading was already evident in advance.

The San Francisco 49ers have fallen into the habitual routine of the past three weeks, and the Houston Texans have also fallen into the fixed impression of the past three weeks.

So, should he change his tactics on the fly and continue with passing?

Three weeks ago and now, Lu Ke's tactical choice inevitably showed some hesitation and hesitation. But it was only for a moment.

Subconsciously, Lu Ke stepped on his left foot and moved his left knee again, and a choice had already been made in his mind: if he was afraid of taking risks and fearing failure, then his career would not unfold at all.

Lu Ke straightened up again and began to change his tactics.

"Hawaii! Hawaii! Hawaii! Honolulu! Pineapple strawberry! Hawaii! Hula! Red bean smoothie! Grape Mango! Cherry bananas! Honolulu! Hawaii! Blue 80 Red 60! Blue 80 Red 60! ”

The spectator stands of the entire Candlestick Stadium were silent, and Jeff Locke wanted to scream excitedly: the familiar Lu Ke is back on the court again! Temporary modification of tactics! Dazzling codes! Calm in control! Before the offense began, Lu Ke fought for more advantages for the team through the unique position of quarterback.

The series of complex tactical slogans just now was almost incomprehensible to both laymen and insiders, and only the quarterbacks and their own offensive teams understood what they meant.

To put it simply, there are only three words that make sense in all utterances:

Hawaii, which means "reversal" - that is, the tactics are reversed, and the running tactics arranged during the gathering are changed to passing tactics, if not specifically explained, that is, short passes; Blue 80, which means the running route of the left wide receiver, and red 60, which means the running route of the right wide receiver, although the wide receiver's position has not changed, the running line has changed with the Gathering Merchant tactic.

Except for these three phrases, everything else is nonsense.

That's the quarterback's slogan — and it's just one of two hundred or three hundred, and if the defenders try to decipher the code, they're likely to lose focus, lose the slightest distraction, and even if they can, the offense may have been done.

Just like the current offense, the San Francisco 49ers have put on a pistol formation with a multi-line offensive formation, and there are already countless combinations of running routes; And with the change of Lu Ke's tactical slogan, the offensive formation immediately became "five external connections" -

Marcus left his position, stepped up on a diagonal line, stood on the right slot, and partnered Jean, so the entire offensive formation had five receivers, three on the left and two on the right, although it was a combination of two wide receivers, two close forwards and one running back, but all five players were able to complete the catch, which is also known as the "five outside formation".

Normally, the five-outside formation is more paired with a shotgun formation, so that the quarterback can win more time to observe the pass; But now Lu Ke is still standing in the pistol formation, which also means that the shooting speed of the whole offense will be faster, and short and medium passes are high probability events, but it should not be forgotten that Lu Ke's best rainbow pass can often be shot in a short period of time but create more space for the receiver to advance.

In other words, there are more potential alignments on offense, which has been a killer feature for the San Francisco 49ers over the past two seasons.

In the face of such a situation, the best way for the Houston Texans defensive team to respond is to raid the quarterback, reduce Lu Ke's observation time and shooting time as much as possible, and create more pressure on the front line; But the problem is that after Lu Ke changed his tactics, he did not leave time for the defensive group to adjust, and between entering and exiting, the offensive and defensive opportunities have changed.

"Attack!"

Sure enough, after the tactical slogan was changed, Lu Ke didn't leave much breathing space, and directly announced the kickoff, and the Texans defense team could only respond on the spot.

Front-line pressure.

The Houston Texans' defensive front line still captured the changes in the fighters, especially Watt, who rushed forward without hesitation at the moment of kickoff, and still showed his excellent ability to grasp the fighters, understand the changes, and execute the tactics.

But Watt's teammates hesitated — not Watt's other two defensive forwards, but two outside guards.

The Texans' two outside linebacks are third-grader second-round pick Brooks-Reed and second-year first-round pick hitney-Mercilus, both of whom have some quality but are far from being able to read the game compared to Watt.

After kickoff, because the 59ers' five receivers rushed forward too fiercely and too quickly, the short pass area immediately became popular, Brooks and Messirus's vision was affected to varying degrees, and the pace of the front clash of the quarterbacks both hesitated, and they were not able to support Watt at the first time and implement the front-line pressure strategy to the end.

This also made the Texans' three defensive forwards have to face the 49ers' five offensive forwards, and the number confrontation is immediately at a disadvantage.

To make matters worse, the 49ers' offensive front line was already prepared in advance, with Joe Stanley and Mike Rupatti on the left teaming up against Watt, completely abandoning his original position and blocking Watt's forward rush one step ahead.

What does this mean?

This means that Lu Ke has enough time to observe!

The advantages created by the dislocation of defensive reading and on-the-spot change tactics were immediately revealed, and Lu Ke stood in his pocket and steadily adjusted his pace, one step! Two steps!

Because he didn't need to move, just the pocket foot adjustment, Lu Ke's left leg had no effect at all, his vision captured the movements of the two outside guards, and he noticed that Brooks and Messirus both stepped forward and left the defensive position in the short pass area, so he immediately raised his right hand to complete the pass.

Poor passing time!