Chapter 227 A cold sweat
"Rookie VS Goat"?
Haha.
Brady was very calm and confident. He stepped onto the grass with his head held high. He believed that he could reverse it. He not only believed it, but knew it.
This confidence is not groundless——
Judging from the entire game, the New England Patriots only punted once, which was the last wave of offense in the fourth quarter. All other advances were scored, either touchdowns or free kicks, and none was missed in the whole process.
It is true that Brady is not in his best condition today, but he will teach the rookies a lesson about what it means to be the best in the league and what it means to be the best in history:
Winning when you are in your best condition is a matter of course. Every professional player can do this, otherwise it would be better to go home and farm; but being able to find a way to win even when not in the best condition is great.
Brady, indeed, has two brushes.
The offensive line, which was just criticized by Brady, improved its condition and performed well, providing solid and reliable pocket protection and buying time for Brady.
After two consecutive waves of offense, the New England Patriots were trapped in third gear, but at the critical moment Brady still found a gap and completed the third gear transition.
Brady is performing CPR on the New England Patriots' offense, not only extending life, but also staying close to midfield and firmly taking the initiative.
The key is tight end Gronkowski.
As mentioned earlier, for a long time, the role of tight ends focused on pick-and-roll and coverage. Although they also played the role of catching the ball, because of their bulky size and slow speed, they were between running backs and wide receivers. However, the positioning is not clear and the effect is relatively limited.
Until two players changed history:
Graham of the New Orleans Saints and Gronkowski of the New England Patriots.
Their strength and physique allow them to have stronger confrontation and breakthrough capabilities, and can even play the role of armor breaker; at the same time, they have good speed, and their powerful and heavy advancement can often continue to advance after encountering a grapple.
Instead, they integrated the advantages of running backs and wide receivers, played an irreplaceable role, and completely reversed the important position of the tight end in the era when passing was king.
Fans often ridicule and complain about the New England Patriots' offensive tactics:
"Find the big Gron in third gear".
In other words, in the third gear dilemma, Brady will most likely look for Gronkowski. Even if the defensive team sees through it, Gronkowski can solve the problem through his own personal ability, and the defensive team cannot stop him at all.
Some teams even have to send two people to guard in the third gear of offense and defense, or even three people to help surround Gronkowski. Such tactics may lead to one thing and lose the other. It is one thing to have three people to help defend and still be unable to stop him. disaster.
This is Gronkowski's ability.
It's the same thing in front of me.
In two consecutive third-down situations, Brady connected with Gronkowski without exception, relying on his most reliable and stable passing target to solve the problem——
Corny, but effective.
How to stop Gronkowski is a question that the entire league needs to worry about.
Until Kansas Chiefs defensive end Allen Bailey gave the answer, at least it was a way of solving the problem.
Ten yards in first gear.
The two forward lines were in a stalemate. Bailey immediately noticed Brady's intention to connect with Gronkowski and was ready to catch the defensive team off guard.
After all, this is first gear, not third gear.
but!
Bailey was highly focused and immediately saw through Brady and Gronkowski's intention to connect. He immediately stood up straight and raised his hands to form a block, just like in a volleyball game.
Brady's passing status was mediocre today, especially the control of the short passing area. The passing arc was obviously not high enough and was directly intercepted by Bailey.
Just a little bit of an interception, just a little bit of a miss.
The entire Gillette Stadium broke into a cold sweat, including Brady.
Gronkowski was unable to do anything with all his strength. He watched the pass being intercepted halfway and was unable to do anything.
After escaping death, Brady immediately realized that the situation was further tense.
Ten yards in second gear.
If you don't want to fall into the dilemma of having to risk long passes to gain long yards on the third gear, then the second gear offense must play smarter and take more risks. In fact, this is indeed the case. Brady is going to try a long pass in the second gear.
However, the Kansas Chiefs defense, which had always been suppressed in the first three quarters of today's game, really showed an amazing performance in the fourth quarter.
Raid!
More than just a surprise attack, linebacker Houston broke through like a dagger from the outside. He cut into the pocket in three or two steps and pounced on Brady like a wolf.
Brady: Oops.
If it were normal, Brady might have made a hasty move to avoid a sack, but the most critical moment of the game was now reached and time was running out. If he didn't take risks and fight hard, he would have no chance.
Therefore, Brady continued to hold the ball, tossing and turning, trying to dodge Houston's sack, continue to find the passing target, and reverse this predicament.
Facing Brady, who is as hobbled as an old bullock cart, Houston will naturally not miss the big gift.
A pounce, a hug.
Houston grabbed Brady accurately and crumpled Brady into a ball without mercy.
Huh!
The entire Gillette Stadium took a breath of cold air, but the exclamations had not yet had time to leave their mouths.
"Drop the ball!"
"God!"
"The football fell out of Brady's arms, a fatal fumble."
The live broadcast room was stunned, watching Brady being ravaged and rubbed like a rag. In the chaos, football broke free.
"Houston!"
"Justin Houston, he took control of the football before Brady did."
"Possession transition!"
"The first transfer of possession of the game, the Kansas Chiefs defense grabbed the throat of fate with an unparalleled performance at a critical moment."
"Intensity! Explosion!"
"When we keep talking about the qualities that the Kansas City Chiefs lack, what are we talking about?"
"This is the scene in front of me. It is the team's ability to continuously burst out on the ground to complete a large number of yards. It is also the team's defensive team's ability to use tough methods to continuously break the opponent's offensive momentum, and even create a transition of ball possession."
"Now, the initiative to win or lose has come to the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs."
"You can see on the screen that Brady is very angry and loses control of his emotions again."
Damn it!
After all, Brady couldn't control himself, slammed his helmet to the ground, and yelled.
Hell, hell, hell!
A short pass was almost intercepted.
A long pass in the second gear was sacked and the ball dropped.
This wave of offense by the New England Patriots encountered all-round suppression, and Brady was forced to leave the game before he even had a chance to connect with Gronkowski.
This also means that they need to expect the Kansas Chiefs offensive team to make shocking mistakes, otherwise the victory in this game will not belong to them.
Leading for nearly three quarters, only to be crushed in the fourth quarter?
What's going on? What kind of script is this?
Even Brady, who has seen countless storms, still lost control.
"Grass!"
Now, there are only sixty-three seconds left before the end of the game. You can tell with your toes that the Kansas Chiefs will use a ground attack to consume time. They don't need to attack, they only need to run out of time to win, unless that player The rookie running back also had a fumble.
Wait, wait—
No...it can't be right? Is it really...?
(End of this chapter)