Chapter 940: Letting Go 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Because of the clear division of labor and responsibilities in football, even though it’s one complete team, there are still slight differences within it: the offense and defense are different; within the offense, the quarterback group, the receiving unit, and the offensive line are different; and wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs are also different.

Now, with Randy Moss, as the quarterback, Lu Ke had done his part. The rest needed to be handled within their own small group.

Logan and Marcus both looked in the direction Lu Ke was looking, but Marcus’s expression was a little hesitant. "Are you sure? He’s always been unwilling to have more contact with us."

"No, I’m not sure," Lu Ke said bluntly. "But... I think today might be a breakthrough."

Now that the anger had completely subsided, Lu Ke began to calmly think about what had happened. Recalling the locker room incident, it was still a disaster. But maybe they could take advantage of this disaster to completely resolve or even kill the negative effects of the "excessive praise" strategy and start paving the way for the playoffs and even the Super Bowl.

After all, as the saying goes, plum blossoms blossom from the bitter cold, and a sharp sword is forged through hard work.

Will this disaster be the beginning of their downfall or a turning point that reverses the situation? No one can know without trying.

Of course, it was just a "maybe." Now, all Lu Ke had to do was turn that "maybe" into a "definitely."

Logan and Marcus exchanged a glance, and Logan immediately clenched his fist, showing his "loyalty." "No problem, we’ll do our best."

Marcus, who wasn’t mentally prepared, widened his eyes and mouthed a protest at Logan: That’s Randy Moss!

The famous Moss was just as well-known for his bad temper as he was for his skills and talent. No one on the team dared to mess with him except for Lu Ke, who had a death wish. What’s more, Moss and Lu Ke had just had a "war" today. Wasn’t it a death wish to go find Moss now?

Logan’s eyes widened, and he mouthed back: Trust Bambi. We should trust Bambi!

Lu Ke could always see things they couldn’t. In the conversation they just had, he revealed so much information about the media, the defense, the fans, and so on. They couldn’t see the whole picture, but Lu Ke could. What’s more, Logan had just made a huge mistake today, and if he didn’t make up for it in time, he would be in a lot of trouble later.

For Logan, he would rather face Moss than face Lu Ke. Moss just had a bad temper, and at worst, they would get into a fight. But with Lu Ke... he might not even know how he died.

"What’s wrong? You have questions?" Lu Ke noticed Marcus and Logan exchanging looks and asked.

"No, no, no." Marcus waved his hands. "No problem, I think it’s fine. I was just telling Logan that we’ll go find Ted right away and see what we can do. What about... Michael and Vernon?"

Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis had a slight resurgence in their performance in this game. The direct reason was that Moss was attracting a lot of attention. The same offensive strategy would be used in the next game, so Moss was the key. They didn’t have to worry about Crabtree and Vernon for now.

"I’ll handle it," Lu Ke said simply.

He knew that locker room issues and mentality issues were not something that could be solved just by talking about them. Players are living, breathing people, independent individuals, not data in a video game that can be fixed by changing a number. They still need time, communication, and reconciliation.

Lu Ke didn’t know when the issues would be resolved, or even if they would be, but there was no turning back now. He could only take it one step at a time. He had hoped that Randy Moss, who had experienced the Patriots’ perfect season in 2007, would be the key to solving the problem, but it seemed he would have to rely on himself.

After that, the entire team bus was silent. It wasn’t just the bus with the offense and special teams, but also the bus with the defense and the coaches.

Kip Krist walked back dejectedly and shook his head at offensive coordinator Craig Roman, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, and others. He then sat down heavily in his seat.

Facing the looks from his colleagues, Kip rubbed his face with his hands and said with a puzzled expression, "He said not to worry, that football players are just full of hormones, and it’s fine once they let it out." After saying it, Kip still found it unbelievable and kept exclaiming, "How can that be? How can that be fine? What is wrong with him?"

The whole team quickly found out what had happened in the visiting team’s locker room. This was the most serious conflict the team had experienced in two seasons, and it could even be described as an "internal feud."

This was a tricky problem, a difficult problem to solve. Everyone knew that any team in any collective sport could encounter such a problem. But no matter what, the head coach had to take on the responsibility of solving it because he was the most suitable person.

It was no secret that Jim Harbaugh was not good at handling locker room issues. Just now, Kip suggested they go and talk to Harbaugh to ask for a solution. The other coaches all said to give Harbaugh more time. If they asked Harbaugh now, they probably wouldn’t get a clear idea.

But even so, they didn’t expect Harbaugh to take it so lightly.

"He doesn’t not want to solve it; he just doesn’t know how," Craig said, scratching his head.

Kip looked up. "Was he like this at Stanford University?"

Craig Roman and Vic Fangio were both Harbaugh’s colleagues at Stanford. Although it wasn’t for long—they were only there for the 2010 season—they had a good working relationship. So, when Harbaugh joined the 49ers, he brought them with him as his trusted men.

Craig and Vic exchanged glances, then nodded and said in unison, "Yes."

Locker room issues were truly not Harbaugh’s strength. In fact, it was his biggest weakness, because Harbaugh himself had a hot and impatient temper. Once he got angry, he cursed more fluently than the players. He was also critical, troublesome, demanding, and self-centered, and he didn’t differentiate between friends and foes.

Asking Harbaugh to handle a locker room issue was like throwing a match into a gas station.

"So what do we do now?" Kip was just a quarterbacks coach. He had served as an offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers, but only for one season. His ability was not in leading a team. He was competent at coaching a single group of players like tight ends, wide receivers, or quarterbacks, but he often made mistakes as a play-caller.

Craig let out a small breath. "We still have to handle it. For now, let’s talk to the captains separately and see what the situation is like in the team, and then we’ll meet up." He said this to Vic. Since the problem was between the offense and the defense, they could only handle it separately for now.

Vic couldn’t help but rub his temples. "I think the offense is mostly fine. Bambi will handle it. But the defense’s problem is much more complicated..."

"Patrick and Ahmad can both solve the problem. One is serious, and the other is relaxed. If they work together, the problem will be solved. I think the defense’s problem is simpler. How about we switch?" Craig complained mercilessly. "Bambi is good. He’s good at everything, and he’s willing to take responsibility, but he’s still just a second-year player. He still lacks experience."

"I think his performance in the locker room today was great. He was able to stand in a neutral position and scold both sides, getting the situation under control. But in doing so, the offense’s morale will be severely hurt, and the defense will be gloating. Bambi’s solution was not the most perfect, but it was the most appropriate," Kip said, giving his opinion.

Facing the looks from Craig and Vic, Kip spread his hands. "I’m always on Lu Ke’s side. Your looks won’t change anything. Even if Alex Smith was still on the team, I don’t think he could have done better than Lu Ke."

"Sigh... I hope so." Craig’s worries were still there, weighing heavily on his chest.

The atmosphere within the team was incredibly tense. You could feel it as soon as you entered the airport.

The offense and defense didn’t get into any more arguments or fights, but everyone was silent. They didn’t even make eye contact. Even though they were all standing together, there was no communication or conversation. The quiet and tense atmosphere made it look nothing like they had just won 11 games in a row; it looked more like they had just lost 11 games in a row.

This tense atmosphere continued onto the plane and never let up.

You could say that all the suppressed emotions that had built up over the entire season had exploded. You could even say that all the pressure they had endured for two seasons had been released. Now, everyone needed a period to cool down.

As for what would happen after the cooldown period, no one could say for sure.

In the high-pressure environment of the plane, the pressure on his eardrums was increasing little by little, and Lu Ke felt more and more annoyed. He was thinking about how to solve the problem between the offense and the defense, but he couldn’t find a suitable solution. His mind just kept wandering, and the more he thought, the more complicated and intricate it became. His head was about to explode.

If he could, Lu Ke didn’t want to worry about these things. But he couldn’t.

In the end, Lu Ke left his seat and walked back and forth in the aisle to relax. It didn’t help much, so he went to the small open area next to the restroom, as if just being in a spacious area would help him breathe. Then, Lu Ke saw Patrick Willis.

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