Chapter Two: The Closer to Defeat, the Stronger I Become

The offensive coordinator shook his head. “He has no first-team reps.” “I have the reps,” Lin said. “I ran behind the starters at every practice.” “Running behind a play isn’t a rep.” “Then throw to the man who didn’t practice it but can still catch, or throw to the man who practiced it and isn’t on the field.” The headset line went silent. Grant stared at him for two seconds. “Option route. Drop it, and you can walk home.” Before the snap, Lin noticed Hall’s inside toe pointing slightly outward. Hall was protecting the out-breaking route, trusting a safety behind him to cover the middle. But the safety’s eyes were fixed on Eli.