342 - Three Against One

"He's going deep! Callahan wants another eighty-yard touchdown, but Fernando Bryant was waiting for it. He's stayed right with Donald and broken up the pass," the CBS play-by-play announcer said.

Far downfield, Fernando even gave Nolan a thumbs-up.

Jacksonville had identified Nolan as its biggest problem well before kickoff. Defensive coordinator Dom Capers, Carolina's head coach the previous season, had spent days with the other coaches cataloging the Angels' tendencies and rehearsing answers. They thought they had him figured out.

Nolan wasn't rattled by the failed shot on first down. His teammates gathered around him to discuss the next play.

On the Jacksonville sideline, Capers picked up a laminated call sheet. It covered nearly twenty plays Los Angeles favored on second down.

"Linebackers, watch the run. He'll probably give it to Edgerrin. Ends, keep squeezing the pocket. Bryce, be ready if Callahan takes off. Make him work for it. And tell the free safety to keep his eyes open. Nobody gets behind him." Capers relayed his instructions along the sideline. He had an answer for almost everything the Angels usually did.

His defense had spent well over a hundred hours on their film. A championship quarterback was still a quarterback. If Capers had read the tendencies correctly, they could shut him down.

On second down, Nolan threw deep again, releasing the ball before Jacksonville's secondary could adjust. Fernando reacted faster than most. He reached for Donald to slow his route, but speed was the receiver's greatest asset. Over a short distance, he could accelerate with almost anyone in the league.

Fernando couldn't get a hand on him. Donald caught the ball in stride and ran untouched into the end zone.

"Eighty yards on second down! We haven't seen the Angels take that shot in this situation before. Jacksonville prepared for the tendencies, and Callahan just went straight past them."

Nolan exchanged high fives with his teammates on the way off the field.

The Jaguars had worked hard to strengthen their defense this year. The Angels hadn't spent the week standing still either. They had brought an entire set of unscouted looks.

Sometimes the best adjustment was to call the same play twice.

Capers swore under his breath. He hadn't expected that.

Jacksonville's offense answered with another sharp drive. The first quarter ended with the Jaguars threatening the Angels' end zone; they would resume from the same spot after the break.

The pressure was back on the defense. Holmgren joined Reid and Rhodes in offering suggestions.

The brief stoppage did little to quiet the crowd. The Angels' cheerleaders took the field, and another round of cheers rolled through the Rose Bowl.

When play resumed, the defense followed Reid's suggestion and dropped into Cover 4. It stopped Jacksonville's first-down attempt to score. On second down, the Jaguars changed quarterbacks again.

Rhodes hurried to adjust. His players were still struggling with the differences between the passers. Jacksonville didn't reach the end zone, but it gained eight yards and left the defense almost no room to retreat.

Mark Brunell returned for third down. A quick bullet into the end zone put the Jaguars back in front.

The Angels still couldn't stop them.

All three coaches looked toward Nolan. They couldn't count on the defense to win this one. That left the offense, and most of the burden would fall on him.

He looked as calm as ever. During the second quarter, he kept showing Jacksonville things it hadn't seen on film, including an unusual direct-snap package with no quarterback under center.

Capers searched his call sheet in frustration. None of this was on it. He tossed it aside. "Callahan! He's the problem. Stop letting him get the ball out so easily!"

On the Angels' next play, Jacksonville changed its pressure. Both ends attacked, with two linebackers coming behind them.

The sudden adjustment caught the protection off guard. Edgerrin James couldn't get across in time to pick up the extra rusher.

Nolan escaped the pocket. With the passing lane in front of him closing, he transferred the ball behind his back from his right hand to his left, then flipped it to the slot receiver on the weak side.

The defenders hadn't seen the transfer. The receiver secured the ball before they realized where it had gone.

On the sideline, the three coaches let out the breaths they'd been holding. Most quarterbacks would already have been on the ground.

"I don't think he cares what a quarterback is supposed to look like throwing the ball," Rhodes said.

"Imagination," Holmgren said, delighted. "That's an artist at work." The longer he coached Nolan, the more he enjoyed it.

"Helps when your body can actually do what you imagine," Reid murmured.

"Jacksonville did its homework, and he still found a way out," the announcer said. "How do you prepare for that?" Even under that kind of pressure, Nolan made the escape and throw look effortless.

The Jaguars attacked with three quarterbacks and three different approaches. The Angels answered with one. Neither offense could pull away.

In the stadium and in living rooms across the country, viewers were getting a show unlike anything they could remember: three passers taking turns against a man who seemed determined to match them all.

By halftime, the broadcast's ratings had climbed well clear of the other games in its time slot.

Late in the third quarter, James caught Nolan's pass near the sideline and dove through the pylon. The score was tied at 28. Each team had scored four touchdowns, and neither had scored on a field goal.

The cheerleaders had almost forgotten they were supposed to be facing the stands. Every time Nolan took the ball, they turned to watch him.

"You think he can win this?" Kristen asked McKenna.

"Of course he can." McKenna had known in college that he was different from the other players. Watching him now brought back memories of the time they'd spent together there.

Lacey was impressed too. This was her second season watching him from an NFL sideline, first with the DCC and now with the Angels. He was noticeably better than he had been in Dallas.

And this was only his second year. What would he be like in a few more? She shook her head, then remembered what Kelsey had told her the day before. Heat crept into her face.

Nolan came off with the offense. The game had moved at a punishing pace, and several teammates were breathing hard. Even the skill players looked worn out. His linemen had it worse.

"One quarter left," Holmgren said, passing out water. "You want the first three to mean something? Then find a way to finish."

Jacksonville was at least as tired. Switching among three quarterbacks meant switching among different demands on the entire offense. The Jaguars also had an older roster than the Angels.

"You're getting most of the fourth quarter," Tom Coughlin told Brunell.

The rotation couldn't last all afternoon. Coughlin had expected to build a lead before the fourth quarter, but Nolan had ruined that plan. With his offense wearing down, he had to go back to something more familiar.

When Brunell stayed in, Reid brightened. "They can't keep it up."

He grabbed the Angels' own call sheet, where they'd charted Jacksonville's offense, and bent over it with Rhodes.

Brunell took a few deep breaths. He was in his seventh NFL season. He knew this was when a quarterback most needed to stay calm.

Now he understood why people called Nolan a savior.

If they'd gone head-to-head for the entire game, Brunell wasn't sure he would have liked his chances. But Jacksonville was still in it. He wasn't about to concede anything.

He moved the Jaguars steadily downfield with a series of quick, accurate throws.

On the sideline, Reid and Rhodes reached a decision. Reid passed the new instructions down the line to be signaled onto the field.

Jacksonville kept driving.

Brunell took the snap and spotted a receiver breaking open. He released a tight spiral toward him.

A white jersey cut across the throwing lane.

The Rose Bowl gasped.

Champ Bailey got there first.

"Intercepted! The Angels have it!"

It was the opening Reid had been waiting for. Jacksonville had studied Nolan, but he'd studied Brunell too. The quarterback kept returning to a particular throwing window, only to find Bailey too close to the receiver. Reid had told the corner to give him a little room, then break as soon as Brunell started his throwing motion.

If the pass went elsewhere, Bailey would be out of position. It was a gamble.

This time, it paid off.

After three quarters of trading scores, the Angels finally had the extra possession Reid had been looking for.

The rest was up to Nolan.

Several Jacksonville defenders watched him come onto the field with growing unease.

The fourth quarter usually brought out his best. Everyone around him was wearing down. Quarterbacks endured less physical strain than most other players, and his strength made the difference even greater.

Dallas had seen it in the Super Bowl, when he'd strung together seven straight runs at the end.

Now he drove at Jacksonville the same way, forcing tired defenders to chase him and absorb one collision after another. Their resistance began to give.

Then it broke.

"He's through three defenders! Still going! Fifteen, ten, five... oh, my!"

Instead of going around the safety, Nolan launched himself over him in a forward flip. He stumbled on landing, caught his balance, and finished the touchdown run.

The cheerleaders were right beside the end zone. They'd seen every second of it, including the landing that had nearly spoiled his flourish. Several laughed in relief.

"He's incredible," Belinda whispered, watching the helmeted figure.

She'd captained Jacksonville's cheerleaders. She knew better than most how hard it was to beat this team. Nolan was making it look almost like a one-man job.

With him leading the Angels, they could be one of the league's best teams in a few years.

'Could he build a dynasty here?'

Across the field, Coughlin and Capers shook their heads. They could feel the game slipping away.

They hadn't expected Nolan to improve so quickly. And then there was the quarterback waiting for him next week.

"Next one might tell us who's the best quarterback in the league this year," Coughlin said with a rueful laugh.

Nolan had been extraordinary. His next opponent's quarterback was producing a miracle of his own, emerging from obscurity with a start that might be even more remarkable than Nolan's rookie season.

There was still half a quarter to play, but the Angels' touchdown had changed the game. Nolan made the extra possession count too, adding another score before Jacksonville answered with a late touchdown. Los Angeles held on to win at home.

The final was 42-35. Eleven touchdowns between them. When the football shows ran the week's ten best plays on Monday, this game supplied nearly half the list. The top spot, though, didn't belong to Nolan. It belonged to the Rams' Kurt Warner.

...

In the Angels' cheerleading practice room, the game was still the main topic.

"You know sales of our outfits went up dozens of times overnight?" Lacey asked, coming in with her handbag still on her shoulder.

"How do you know that?" Kristen had just finished changing.

"The team's online store tracks sales. Our outfits are the best-selling item now. Even ahead of Nolan's jersey." Lacey could hardly contain herself.

"Why don't we sell them in stores too?" McKenna asked. "Making people order online is a pain. We might sell more."

"Because this is the future. There's a lot more room to grow online," Belinda said. "They opened a forum for us last night too, with a discussion group for each of us. Have you looked? People are asking for more performances. Thirty thousand have joined mine already."

If she put out a photo book and every one of those thirty thousand bought a copy, she'd make a fortune.

"Who has the biggest group?" Kristen asked.

"Who do you think? Rachel. Seventy thousand." Belinda sighed. "That DCC name really does mean something."

Kelsey might have drawn the most attention if she'd been appearing with them. Her absence had given Rachel a head start.

Rachel came in while they were still talking.

"Kelsey's taking today off, so you're stuck with me for practice." She laughed. Since leaving Dallas, she'd seemed visibly happier.

Kelsey wasn't the only one taking time off. Katherine and Nolan were absent too.

He had brought four pregnant women to an upscale private medical center in Los Angeles for their prenatal appointments.

The doctor turned out to be someone he knew.

"Layla. I didn't expect to see you here." Nolan smiled at the physician whose face had always reminded him of Vivien Leigh.