Chapter 86: Iron Wall
Bang!
Hardly and heavily, Levi felt as if he had been hit by a truck. A ferocious force rushed over unreasonably and horizontally. His internal organs surged earth-shakingly, and he couldn't help but groan.
but!
Before he could regain his footing, a second force hit him head-on again, knocking down Levi's last force supporting his body, and then his body lost control and collapsed.
Boom, it hit the ground heavily, like a spark hitting the earth.
The pain instantly swallowed up the brain like a tide. Every muscle and cell in the body felt the impact and squeeze of the force. All the surging emotions were squeezed into the chest, suppressed, and suppressed again——
Dull, frustrated, angry.
Whoops!
Lungs, burning.
The blood is boiling.
But he couldn't vent it. He hit the wall, hit the wall, and hit the wall again. Continuously hitting the wall suppressed all the passion, and the whole person seemed heavy and low.
Levi has never been so embarrassed.
It’s the first time since spring training camp first stepped on a football field.
Although Shaban had expected that this would be a tough battle, the actual situation exceeded expectations, completely surpassing the fierce battle at the University of Mississippi, and undoubtedly became the biggest test of the Crimson Tide Storm this season.
Of course, the situation is not that simple——
After eight consecutive victories, the team is inevitably a little relaxed. In addition, both the mental and physical levels have reached a critical point. The effects of dopamine and adrenaline slowly fade away, and fatigue begins to appear. The steps are heavier and the reactions are slower. Even the high-spirited His fighting spirit is also strong on the outside but hard on the inside.
In a long season, ups and downs are inevitable.
But in Levi's view, there is no need to make excuses. So far, his opponents have performed better. They are not only prepared, but also performed well. It is that simple.
The LSU Tigers, like the Crimson Tide Storm, choose a "3-4" defense with three defensive linemen and four linebackers.
Obviously, their head coach Ogierang carefully studied the situation of the Crimson Tide Storm, and made targeted adjustments to fully realize the talents of his defensive team, and performed well from the beginning of the game.
Ogilong's defensive strategy is very clear——
Cut off the ground attack.
In terms of pass defense, Ogilong used two cornerbacks, one linebacker and one safety to defend in man-to-man defense, corresponding to the four catch points of the Crimson Tide Storm, without investing a lot of troops in defense.
But in terms of ground defense, Ogilong invested a lot of troops in supplementary defense. Not only did he use two linebackers and a safety guard to jointly mark the running backs, but he also continuously used a linebacker to harass the quarterback's passes like a guerrilla team. The ball, the frontline confrontation always maintains pressure.
It can be seen at a glance that this is a special tactic for the Crimson Tide Storm. They would rather the Crimson Tide Storm defeat themselves with a passing attack than refuse to give in on the ground attack and defense.
Ogierang's confidence comes from the players' individual abilities and from teamwork.
The LSU Tigers defensive team in front of them has a group of outstanding players, the biggest star of which is undoubtedly Jamal Adams.
Adams, a junior, is a safety guard with explosive physical fitness, both speed and strength. He can play as a strong guard or a roaming guard, and his coverage ability is terrifying.
Whether under the previous head coach or under the current head coach, Adams' ability is obvious to all. He has early locked in a position as a first-round pick next year. He is even considered by many scouts to be the strongest safety in this NCAA.
Ogierang's defensive tactics revolve around Adams.
It has been said before that the main task of the safety guard is to guard the backfield and be responsible for defending long passes; but the strong defenders are often tougher and are responsible for facing off against the tight end. Occasionally - in very occasional cases, Some teams will also use strong defenders or cornerbacks to assist in ground defense.
Ogierand, did just that. Adams' position, ahead and then ahead, is almost behind the linebackers. His task is to mark the tight ends and running backs, focusing on the running backs.
If the Crimson Tide chooses a passing attack, Adams can fill in at any time; if the Crimson Tide chooses a ground attack, Adams will step up immediately.
To put it simply, the entire defensive tactical layout is planned with Adams as the core.
At the same time, Adams has the support of a great group of teammates.
Linebackers Duke-Riley and Kendell-Beckwith are not top-notch in terms of personal abilities, that is, they are at the level of a third- or fourth-round pick, but such blue-collar players The players are dedicated and solid enough, and completely trustworthy.
Riley and Beckwith's only job is to guard the running back.
No matter what the situation, the two people's footsteps will follow the running back for the first time, unless the quarterback has passed the ball, and they will assist in the pass defense.
In addition, coupled with the defensive front that may suddenly attack at any time, that is to say, Ogilong uses at least three players and even four players to mark the running backs, stacking the defense with an airtight numerical advantage, and completely interrupting the ground attack. , forcing the Crimson Tide to pass the ball in such a way.
Ogielong is betting that the Crimson Tide's passing attack can't open things up.
First, bet that Hurts won’t dare to pass the ball long.
Therefore, the positioning of the safety guards is both advanced, which is basically equivalent to completely releasing the long pass area and placing heavy troops on the front line of the confrontation between the two sides.
Second, betting on Hurts’ short pass may encounter challenges——
Ogilong didn't just let Hurts pass the ball casually. Cornerback Dre'Davious-White is a player with the ability to be a first-round pick, and cornerback Donte-Jackson Slightly inferior but still at the level of the first three rounds, they are responsible for man-to-man defense.
Different from ground defense, in terms of pass defense, Ogilong relies more on the personal abilities of his players and relies on them to defend man-to-man alone.
It doesn't matter even if the defense fails, at least it needs to keep a close eye on Hurts' passing target so that he cannot pass the ball easily and must face pressure.
Third, bet that Hurts tends to get confused under pressure.
Ogilong took full advantage of his four linebackers. In addition to two linebackers marking the ground attack, the other two linebackers' positions were erratic.
Occasionally, he assists in short pass defense; occasionally, he assists in ground defense; occasionally, he joins the defensive front to launch a surprise attack, giving Hurts enough pressure.
Under various arrangements, Hurts' shortcomings of being inexperienced and slightly immature were exposed, and the passing defense faced a series of severe tests.
In the past, the Crimson Tide Storm were always able to solve problems through ground offense, relying on running backs to advance to disrupt the situation, relieve the pressure on Hurts, and then win space for the passing attack; but today, Ogierang's targeted crowd tactics completely blocked it. Ground attack, Crimson Tide Storm's attack was paralyzed immediately.
It requires personal ability and teamwork, and Louisiana State University has indeed shown its determination to achieve success.
"0:0".
The second half has begun, but the score remains at the same level.
Although LSU's own offensive team also hit the wall continuously and encountered cruel treatment from the Alabama defensive team, they were pushed to the ground and rubbed hard; but similarly, the Alabama offensive team was not able to open up the situation.
Just now.
Levi's ground ball, hit the wall again, double tackle, standard set, and again.
The tenth update.
(End of this chapter)