Chapter 487: Broken to Pieces
The Bank of America Stadium was like a pressure cooker. The pressure gradually increased to the extreme, and it seemed that it might explode at any time.
Ten yards in first gear.
Peterson seized on the vigilant mentality of the Kansas Chiefs and did the opposite. He simply chose to run the ball and maintain the initiative at the tactical level.
Blount, the number one running back who had almost no room to perform in this game, was not willing to be stolen away by Clement. He finally showed his bulldozing ability. When advancing on the hard ground, Blount faced the tight defense of the Kansas Chiefs' frontline defense. Gained three yards hard.
Although the number of yards was limited, Blount fully utilized the heavy and solid characteristics of the ground attack, and the confrontation was deadlocked, effectively consuming the game time.
Reid, used up the first timeout.
Seven yards on second gear.
Foles faked a fumble pass to hand Blount the football for the second straight time.
But this time, the Kansas Chiefs defense obviously kept up with Peterson's tactical rhythm, and three people intercepted Blount.
Blount tried to repeat his old tricks, regardless of the number of yards, refusing to fall to the ground or dead ball, gritting his teeth and continuing to stalemate, and wasting time in this way.
However, this time he failed to withstand it and collapsed under the pressure. After all, it did not consume much time.
Reid, used up the second timeout.
Third gear and six yards.
The situation suddenly changed.
So, how will Peterson choose tactics, continue to run the ball on the ground to consume time, play steadily, and avoid taking extraneous risks at this time; or choose to pass the ball to break the deadlock, try to win the first offense, and continue to allow the Philadelphia Eagles offense to stay On the court, pushing your opponents to despair?
Prejudgment, layout, and game play.
Revis believes that the two coaches, Peterson and Reid, must be scheming against each other and their brains are running at high speed; however, for him, things are not complicated.
Look at tonight, he chose to play hard with one yard on fourth down twice, and the "Philadelphia Special" turned the Super Bowl into a Pro Bowl performance. He had long yards on third down more than three times and chose to take risks five times. Trust Clement and Burr. A little-known undrafted player like Dun is full of ambitions from strategy to tactics.
Moreover, the entire game was executed well. The Philadelphia Eagles truly played the boldest, most confident, craziest and most passionate game of the entire season.
In Revis' view, the tactical layout of the third-gear offense is of no value for discussion at all——
Peterson is going to pass the ball, 100 percent of the time.
Moreover, it should be a high probability event that Clement or Ertz will be used as a passing target to break through Revis' defensive side.
This time, Revis was ready.
Taking a deep breath, Revis maintained a high level of concentration and temporarily put all distracting thoughts behind him. Feeling the slightly shaking knees and hot muscles, he was no longer afraid, but began to enjoy the signals sent by his body, the burning feeling. Let him return to his peak years five years ago. He enjoyed confrontation, welcomed confrontation, opened his arms and embraced confrontation.
"attack!"
Foles called the kickoff.
The Kansas Chiefs chose to raid, with five people rushing the pass, and the pressure was fully stepped up.
Obviously, Reid also chose to be tough and dealt with the crisis with an absolutely tough attitude——
what does that mean?
Simple and direct, this means that the linebackers step up and target the quarterback. Naturally, they have no way to assist in zone defense, and the second-line defensive tactics evolve into man-to-man defense.
This kind of tactic was not used frequently by the Kansas Chiefs tonight. The fundamental reason was that the cornerbacks were weak and couldn't stand man-to-man defense, so that defensive coordinator Sutton had to use zone defense many times. Therefore, the Kansas Chiefs' defense The team was not able to sack Foles tonight, not even once.
In fact, Revis is the league's top man-marking cornerback in a decade.
Generally speaking, cornerbacks often have the ability to mark wide receivers and continue to defend vertically and deeply. There are many such cornerbacks in the league; Revis's excellence lies in his horizontal defensive ability and vertical coverage ability. Outstanding, and there are no problems on the left and right sides. The top-level change of direction, explosive power and close footwork are all the best among the best.
It is precisely because of this that Revis won the title of "Island King". He can cover the entire field and make any top receiver fail.
At his peak, Revis enjoyed the pleasure of challenging the opponent's top receiver. He became stronger when he encountered a strong player, which was a nightmare for all the top receivers in the league.
In the past few years, people have said that Sherman has surpassed Revis in his prime; in fact, this is not the case. Sherman's ability is limited to the left side of the defensive zone, but Revis can cover the entire field and follow the receivers. To the ends of the earth.
Of course, that is past glory.
In recent years, his physical function has seriously declined. Revis relies more on his judgment, touch, intuition and experience to complete defense. Close-up marking can no longer keep up with the rhythm. From a typical man-marking cornerback to a cross-border area cornerback, Revis’s playing style has also been constantly adjusting. And now, Revis has to mark again.
So, who?
Ertz.
Ertz, of course.
Still need to wonder?
He, the "Island King" Revis, will always face the opponent's number one wide receiver, even if it is a tight end.
The difference is that Revis was not reckless and didn't rush to attack immediately. He was not worried about Ertz's size, but instead lured Foles' pass.
Otherwise, if Ertz serves as a decoy and Foles passes the ball to Clement, the Philadelphia Eagles can easily complete the third gear transition. This situation happened more than once or twice today.
Continuously adjusting in small steps, Revis was fully focused, scanning Ertz and observing Foles, while not forgetting Clement. This is the basic requirement of zone defense; but Revis always remained patient until Foles passed the ball. The moment he takes action.
Foles was feeling the pressure, too, as the Kansas City Chiefs' five-man pass rush exploded into a desperate effort as Houston ripped open the pocket and rushed Foles.
Danger!
Foles didn't risk trying to escape the sack, otherwise it would be a disaster if he dropped the ball at this time, so he took action.
The passing target is——
Ertz.
Immediately, Revis started, stepped forward, stood in front of Ertz, cut off the connection between Ertz and Foles, and took off early.
Ertz was startled.
Obviously, Ertz did not expect that Revis did not interfere personally, but intercepted the pass one step ahead. This was an empirical judgment that Revis was not in the best physical condition.
Ertz panicked.
Watching Revis take off in front of him, Revis completely stretched his body, leaned back, and extended his arms to the extreme.
The football fell tremblingly, passed Revis's fingertips by a hair's breadth, and continued flying.
Missed it.
Ertz: Coming.
Revis: Damn it.
How could Revis miss this interception if he was at the peak of his physical condition?
Unfortunately, there is no if.
But Revis still didn't give up, refused to give up and surrender——
Bang bang, bang bang.
The heart is still beating.
Feeling the pull of gravity, the body fell to the ground with a heavy weight, supported by one foot on the right leg, and used the strength of the waist and abdomen to complete a 180-degree turn in the air. Without hesitation, like a moth flying into a flame, without hesitation, Throw the body out.
Fight as if it were burning life.
Bloom, as if you were shattered into pieces.
Bang bang. Bang bang.
The roar is surging.
(End of chapter)