Chapter 214: A crisscross of teeth
The NFL 2017 season started a bit interesting.
No one expected that Levi would declare his presence in such a way and respond to media questions and fans' provocations in a new way. The viewing index of this season opener skyrocketed.
However, if you want to get a glimpse of the suspense of the game's outcome from this special team's touchdown, you may be doomed to be disappointed. Things are obviously not that simple.
Be it Brady or Belichick, they can join forces to create a dynasty. There is no doubt about their heritage and strength. They have experienced countless storms, quickly established a foothold, and responded immediately——
touchdown.
Responding with a touchdown is the best comeback in football.
At the beginning, the Kansas Chiefs were supposed to be the first to attack, but with Levi's kickoff return touchdown, the ball came into the hands of the New England Patriots. Amid the overwhelming cheers at Gillette Stadium, Brady led The offensive team came on stage and officially started their title defense journey.
As a strong candidate for GOAT, Brady is not the type with explosive passing power like Brees and Rogers, nor is he the type of tactician like Manning. His best and most outstanding ability is short passing.
It's not that he can't pass the ball long, but his strongest weapon is in the short passing area.
He is always able to accurately read the intricate offensive and defensive confrontations, find spaces and routes, and accurately push the football into the arms of his teammates.
Short frequency, fast, accurate and efficient.
And we can stay clear-headed and calm even in extremely difficult and dangerous times; most importantly, we can often minimize risks.
Therefore, Brady is good at fighting hard battles. Even if it is windy, rainy, freezing, or in a desperate situation, he can always control risks and take the initiative by relying on short passes. This is a very outstanding ability.
However!
What is very surprising is that when he debuted today, Brady aimed at the connection between short passes and intermediate passes, relying on tactical layout to create a matchup advantage, completely catching the Kansas Chiefs defense team off guard.
In this wave of offense, Brady only used nine offensive gears. It took two minutes and 47 seconds to reach the Kansas Chiefs' red zone.
Facing the Kansas Chiefs defense that was extremely tough in the red zone last season, the New England Patriots unexpectedly chose to attack on the ground. Running back Mike Gillislee bulldozed his way into the end zone and won the home team's victory. Scored a touchdown to tie the game.
finally!
Gillette Stadium finally returned to normal, regained its enthusiasm, released a steady stream of energy, and put pressure on the Kansas City Chiefs fiercely.
However, Brady did not show any special performance, nor did he show off his power to Levi. In his opinion, this is just daily life, and there is nothing worth showing off——
Basic operations.
After the touchdown, Brady simply shook his fist and left the field.
The championship temperament is evident.
Everything is as expected. The defending champions are still at the peak of their form. They are still strong contenders for the Super Bowl this season. This game is bound to be a tough battle.
In less than four minutes of the opening game, Gillette Stadium had already witnessed two touchdowns. Although the Kansas Chiefs' touchdown was not scored by the offensive team, Collinsworth's view was still confirmed:
In this game, The two offensive teams are the focus. Facing the opponent's low-key but outstanding defensive team, whoever can continue to maintain the offensive momentum will take the lead in the suspense of victory. The rest will depend on on-the-spot performance.
Details determine victory or defeat.
After all, this is the collision between the No. 1 seed and the No. 2 seed in the American League last season, which is basically equivalent to the strong showdown in the American League finals in the playoffs.
Stalemate, this is inevitable——
"28:34".
The away team is in front and the home team is in back.
At the end of the third quarter, the New England Patriots had a slight lead.
The two teams teamed up to score four touchdowns in the first quarter, demonstrating their strong firepower, and this continued into the second and third quarters. The New England Patriots scored on an extra free kick in the second quarter to take a three-point lead into halftime, and scored another free kick in the third quarter to enter the final game with a six-point advantage.
As the game progressed, the problems of the two teams gradually came to light.
In fact, Brady's passing status today was average——
Short passes rely more on accuracy and timing; medium and long passes rely more on tactical coordination and teamwork:
The offensive linemen's pocket protection buys time for the quarterback to pass the ball, and the wide receiver's route running cooperates to create a gap in the one-on-one matchup.
No wonder that in the first wave of offense, Brady opened the game with a pass.
As of the third quarter of the game, Brady's pass success rate is less than 50%.
For a quarterback, less than 60% is an ugly number, and elite quarterbacks can often maintain a stable above 65% and frequently increase to 70%.
It can be seen from here that Brady is in mediocre condition.
It is precisely because of this that Brady continues to find gaps through his reading ability; and after entering the red zone, he hands the important task to the running back——
If the running back succeeds, it's a touchdown; otherwise, it's a free kick.
Although Brady and the New England Patriots are not in their best form, Brady and the New England Patriots are accustomed to slow seasons; but Belichick still found a way to help Brady advance, making the Kansas Chiefs' defense team particularly embarrassed.
34 points in three quarters, which is a high score in a football game.
It's hard to believe that Brady is still in average shape.
At critical moments, the New England Patriots' two top receiving stars stepped forward. Wide receiver Danny Amendola and tight end Rob Gronkowski ensured that Brady always Able to find passing targets and complete continuous advancement.
This is the foundation.
The Kansas Chiefs didn't do too badly either.
The real regret is that the defensive intensity and efficiency in the red zone have declined, and they have not been able to stop the opponent, especially when Brady's short passing state is so poor that he cannot connect with tight end Gronkowski to chase the touchdown. If something goes wrong, it is unsatisfactory.
At the same time, on the offensive side, Smith's passing status was very good today, with full firepower, playing right into Reid's hands. The entire offensive strategy focused entirely on passing——
So much so that Levi and Hunter didn't get many opportunities to perform.
This is different from the Crimson Tide Storm. Shaban often relies more on the ground attack, but Reid still subconsciously believes more in the passing attack.
It can be seen from the number of times he has held the ball that as of the third quarter of the game, Levi has only held the ball eleven times. Such data is only one-third or even one-quarter of that during the Crimson Tide Storm, and is almost invisible.
Hunter, of course, had even fewer, holding the ball just seven times.
Therefore, Levi and Hunter have never found their form.
When the Kansas Chiefs' offense is blocked, the ground cannot open up the situation. In the final analysis, the dilemma is the same as the past two seasons:
When toughness is really needed, the Kansas City Chiefs lack a little explosiveness——
It's not that the performance was bad, in fact Smith has performed very well; it's just that it wasn't good enough.
As a result, entering the fourth quarter, the Kansas Chiefs trailed by six points.
Judging from various signs, the goddess of victory is waving towards the New England Patriots, and they instantly dream back to the encounter in the 2015 playoffs. So, will the Kansas Chiefs be defeated at Gillette Stadium again this time?
(End of this chapter)