“Wow, wow.” After two consecutive exclamations, Mike Tirico continued his commentary. “What a shame. The first drive was undoubtedly spectacular. Both teams showed great form, but it’s a shame that the San Francisco 49ers ended their first drive with an interception.”

“This is the sixth interception for rookie quarterback Lu Ke this season. Obviously, he is not a rattled quarterback. He has only six interceptions in Week 15, but in today’s game, the Steelers have put tremendous pressure on the 49ers’ offense. They’ve been playing all-out from the very first second of the game. So, what do you think about the first drive? Jon?”

Tirico was responsible for setting the stage. Of course, his personal interpretation of the game was also very insightful. His effortless analysis of tactics was enough to make people’s eyes light up, so in just a few words, he immediately got the audience into the game.

Jon Gruden, as a former head coach, was the first to speak. “You can tell that the Steelers’ strategy today is very targeted. They’re putting enough pressure on the pocket, but they’re not blitzing the quarterback easily.”

“Notice that their linebackers and defensive linemen are all players who have the ability to blitz the quarterback at any time. Today, they are just content with quickly compressing the pocket, creating pressure and urgency, and giving the opponent enough psychological and situational impact. At the same time, they can put more players on passing and running defense.”

“Leaving a threat of a quarterback blitz there but slightly shrinking the defense backward gives the defensive group more options and makes it more difficult for the opponent’s offense to guess what they’re doing.”

“In that drive, the 49ers had a total of 11 plays, including three runs and eight passes, but the Steelers only gave up 33 yards, truly building one steel curtain after another in the short and medium pass areas.”

“The linebackers and cornerbacks complement each other, and the cornerbacks and safeties are completely connected. The defense is built layer by layer from the outside in, seemingly leaving the backfield open for Lu Ke’s long passes, but it relies on the pressure from the first defensive line to compress Lu Ke’s passing time and space, thereby accumulating an advantage for the defense behind them.”

“You can see that the Steelers are very well-prepared. They have given up on blitzing the quarterback and backfield defense, but they have formed a connection one step at a time, starting from pressuring the pocket. They are willing to let certain receptions happen and even give up some yards. It doesn’t matter, but they can accumulate pressure little by little and then use the players’ individual abilities to stop the drive at a critical moment. Undoubtedly, the Steelers are very well-prepared in terms of tactics.”

“The last interception, which seemed to be an individual effort by outside linebacker James Harrison, was actually the result of the accumulated pressure.”

As a former head coach, Gruden’s perspective was more comprehensive and macro, interpreting the game from a tactical level. Then, Tirico turned to Ron Jaworski, a former quarterback, and asked for his opinion.

“Jon has analyzed it from a tactical level. I’ll talk about Lu Ke’s performance just now,” Jaworski said, skillfully taking over the conversation. “In fact, I think Lu Ke couldn’t have done any better. As Jon said, the defense lined up a steel curtain layer by layer and didn’t leave much space for Lu Ke, but Lu Ke still managed to get three first downs and cross midfield through short passes and tactical arrangements, which is truly remarkable.”

“However, in my opinion, Lu Ke’s passing control today is still not very precise,” Jaworski added, changing the subject. “Among the eight passes, there were two incompletions and one interception. Including these three mistakes, there were also two mistakes in the other five completed passes, for a total of five passes with errors.”

“Four of them were slightly thrown too far,” Jaworski quickly pulled up the replay and used a yellow marker to circle the mistakes. “You can tell that Lu Ke’s feel for the ball is not very accurate. Because of the gloves, the touch of his fingertips is too dull, so he has to use more force, which makes him prone to overpowering the pass.”

“The two successful catches were made by Vernon Davis and Logan Newman, who used their tight end body advantage to get into position. The interception was an instance where Ted Ginn Jr. lost his position and was one-on-one with James Harrison. The pass was slightly off, so Harrison, who was behind him, used his airborne advantage to forcefully snatch the football from Ginn’s hands and complete the interception.”

After the analysis, Jaworski also concluded, “The influence of today’s weather and the live broadcast of the game can be seen more or less. However, this is only the first drive. The rest of the game is still worth looking forward to. Now it’s up to Lu Ke to make adjustments and adapt to the rhythm of the game as soon as possible.”

“Yes, in the first drive, both sides went back and forth. The 49ers successfully crossed midfield but unfortunately ended with an interception, but the intensity and the excitement of the game were eye-opening,” Tirico concluded. “The rest of the game is worth looking forward to. Now, Ben Roethlisberger is about to lead the offense onto the field.”

Lu Ke stood on the field with his hands on his hips. A mouthful of stagnant air was stuck in his chest. He couldn’t spit it out or swallow it, and his eyes were fixed on the Steelers’ defense on the other side, unwilling to look away. This was the strongest defense he had ever faced in his career. Not even the pressure and urgency brought by the Baltimore Ravens were this intense. It was like facing a steel curtain in a storm. It was completely airtight. Every pass, every run, and every tactical choice had to be calculated, calculated, and calculated again.

Since the game started, the San Francisco 49ers had the first possession. Now, three minutes and thirty-five seconds had passed, and they had only gotten three first downs, barely crossing midfield. One of the first downs was even helped by a defensive penalty, and in the end, they ended with an interception. They were completely at a disadvantage, and it felt like every muscle in his body could feel the pervasive pressure. This defense in front of him definitely deserved the title of the best in the league.

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive formation was a “3-4” formation, with three defensive linemen and four linebackers. On the defensive line, Casey Hampton was a nose tackle by trade but had a more specific and unique role on the field. In the past nine years, he had been to the Pro Bowl five times and won the Super Bowl twice. He was one of the best nose tackles in the entire league, capable of taking on two or even three opponents by himself.

Cameron Heyward, a defensive end, was this year’s 31st overall pick in the first round. He had won the Big Ten championship for three consecutive years, and he had an outstanding performance this season. He had three tackles on his own in the last game, which was extremely rare for a defensive end. Brett Keisel, a defensive end, was a two-time Super Bowl champion and a member of the All-Pro First Team last year.

On the linebacker line, the two inside linebackers, James Farrior and Larry Foote, were also two-time Super Bowl champions. The former was even named the Pittsburgh Steelers’ MVP in 2004. The two outside linebackers, James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, were also Super Bowl champions. The former was a two-time champion, and the latter was a one-time champion. Woodley was selected to the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro First Team last year, while Harrison was an undrafted rookie in 2002 but was selected to the Pro Bowl for four consecutive years since 2007 and won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2008.

Harrison was the player who just made the interception. The front line of the defense was a star-studded lineup. The secondary was also not weak. The two cornerbacks, William Gay and Ike Taylor, were both Super Bowl champions, and both had the ability to force fumbles and make interceptions. Gay even had the ability to return interceptions for a touchdown. The two safeties were Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu. The former was an undrafted rookie in 2002, a one-time Super Bowl champion, and had his best performance this season, not only making five interceptions but also getting two sacks. The latter was a legendary player. In his eight years in the league, he had been selected to the Pro Bowl seven times, won the Super Bowl twice, and was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year last year.

Every defensive player was a well-known figure in the league: nose tackle Hampton, defensive end Keisel, outside linebacker Harrison, outside linebacker Woodley, safety Clark, and safety Polamalu. They were all key players, and their talent and strength were outstanding. They were also in top form this season. In comparison, the two cornerbacks didn’t seem as brilliant, but their defensive strength could not be underestimated at all, especially within the entire defensive system, their excellent skills made it completely airtight. Among the 11 defensive players, Lu Ke couldn’t even find an obvious weakness.

After seven days of preparation, the theoretical samples and content were already incredibly difficult. After entering the game, the difficulty doubled. The only feeling was—he couldn’t breathe, he truly couldn’t breathe. Ending this drive with an interception was a terrible thing.

“But this is not the worst thing.” Even though this was Lu Ke’s real thought in his mind, he still felt it was absurd, but it was the truth. The interception was not the worst situation. Not being able to find any holes or gaps in the entire defense was. Now, Lu Ke felt like he was standing in front of a steel wall, helpless.

“Damn it,” Lu Ke cursed under his breath, turned around, and left the field. He had to start going through the playbook now. This feeling of being cornered was something Lu Ke had never experienced in his short career. He needed to calm down and clear his mind. This game was much more difficult than he had imagined!

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep