American winner takes all

Chapter 137 "Ice Bowl" (14)

"On January 1982, 1, the San Diego Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals met in the American League Finals. At that time, the weather in Cincinnati was very cold, with the temperature only minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-9 degrees Celsius) and the wind speed reaching 22.78 kilometers per hour. This It's the coldest NFL football game to date."

"This game was called the "Freezer Bowl" because the entire stadium was covered with ice and snow, and the players and spectators were shivering from the cold. In such an environment, it was difficult for both teams to perform at their normal level. , there were a lot of turnovers and fouls. Especially the Los Angeles Chargers coming from a warm, nice place."

"Before the game even kicked off, Chargers running back Chuck Mancini exited the game before the game even started with frostbite."

"Chargers quarterback Dan Fitzpatrick was beaten badly by the Bengals defense in the first quarter and lost feeling in his fingers from the cold, leaving him unable to control passes."

"Chargers receiver Kellen Winslow caught a long pass in the second quarter, but didn't realize he had gone off the line and continued sprinting forward, crashing into a parked Golf. On the golf cart.”

"Chargers backup running back Charles Alexander rushed 61 yards and ended up with a touchdown, Los Angeles' only touchdown of the game."

"They ended up losing the game 27-7. This was the only time the Chargers made it to the AFC Finals, so obviously it was a nightmare encounter."

"After the game, the players said 'we didn't lose to our opponents, we just lost to the weather'."

"Now, another team from Los Angeles will face the same situation. At least this group of boys made a good start and no one left the game directly due to frostbite..."

The voice of on-field analyst Mike Patrick echoed throughout the game.

Compared to his two colleagues, Joe Sisman and Mark Maloney, he has not participated in any professional football games, but is a senior sports reporter for ESPN, covering many sports including football, basketball and baseball. kind of sports competition.

At this moment, Ethan was standing on the sidelines of the game, looking at the teammates around him. Many of them were hunching their necks at this moment. It could be seen that even if they wore extra thermal clothes under their jerseys, they were still freezing.

After Mark kicked off, the first time the players from both sides came into contact, Ethan saw two Norman players fall down because of the slippery ground.

The Wolfpack's returner did not rush forward immediately, but observed it for less than two seconds, and then moved laterally to the left side of the field.The Norman players are more concentrated in the center right area.

This allowed the opposing returner to easily pass the Wolfpack's half-court 30-yard line.

Double-teamed by two opponents, the Wolfpack's returner chose to turn around and get around easily.

Crossed the Wolfpack's half-court 40-yard line.

At the 45-yard line, Albert swooped and hit the returner, but failed to catch him. On the other hand, the opponent's returner only staggered a few steps and quickly returned to running status.

Successfully advanced to the midfield fifty-yard line.

At the 45-yard line of the Norman half, a figure approached the opponent's returner. The returner wanted to turn inside, but was blocked by Ethan's teammate, and the returner's speed also improved. Slowing down, he was caught up by his Norman teammates chasing behind him.

Seeing that there was no possibility of a breakthrough, the returner chose to touch the ground, and finally stopped at the Norman half-court 43-yard line.

Ethan looked at the defensive teammate on the field who blocked the opponent's returner at the critical moment. The name behind him was very clear. It was the safety guard Leno who had just returned to the team not long ago.

He is still a backup safety and is placed on the special teams team.Also on the special teams team is former running back Ford.

He completed this defense with calm judgment and calm response.If it weren't for him, Ethan felt that he would have been pushed forward by at least 15 yards by the opponent's returner.

"57 yards! This is an extremely outstanding return. In the first elimination game, the Normans were returned for a touchdown at the beginning. It seems that the Normans' return defense needs to be strengthened."

"As for Norman's own counterattack...Norman didn't even have a first-half counterattack this season! I must admit that Ethan O'Connor sacrificed his luck in exchange for an excellent body."

In NCAA and NFL games, the average return yardage hovers around 20 yards.

Obviously judging from this result, the Wolfpack's counterattack did achieve very good results this time.

As for luck...Ethan doesn't want to talk about that topic.

Relying on the outstanding performance of the returner this time, the Wolfpack was able to kick off the offense in the Norman half.

As expected by Ethan, Brad Otter is used to trying to pass the ball, but the two receivers have been firmly targeted by the corners. From the beginning of this game, the Norman defensive team adopted a one-on-one approach. marking strategy.

Combining Brad Otter's tactical characteristics, Thomas judged that he only needed to hold down the deep end and sides of the Wolfpack to contain the Wolfpack's offense.

The situation was not what Thomas expected. All passes in the first two offenses failed.

In the third gear, Brad Ott also changed his mind. He faked a pass and then threw the ball to the defender nearby. The opponent rushed forward and gained 4 yards.

If you can't get six yards on fourth down, it will directly change the offense and defense.

"We should call a free kick..." Thomas, standing next to Ethan, whispered.

The result was contrary to Thomas's judgment. The Wolfpack chose to play hard in the fourth gear, and Brad Ott asked the offensive team members to line up.It is still a shotgun lineup that deflects the ball, even abandoning the fullback who just got four yards, and has three wide receivers.

Ethan heard the tactical coach of the defensive team not far away, acting as the on-site defensive coordinator, constantly shouting from the sidelines.

At the beginning of the fourth offense, the wide receiver standing on the outside of the front line chose a corner (far-end cut-in) route. Together with the two original wide receivers on the field, the three of them broke into the deep end to create a defensive situation for the Normans' second line. caused some trouble.

Or panic.

At this moment, Bradault, who was retreating, raised the ball and made his signature long serve.

Albert, who is responsible for marking and interfering with the quarterback, raised his head high and prepared to interfere with Brad Ott who was passing the ball.

The next second, Brad did not take the ball away, but immediately twisted around and started running the ball.

Although Brad, who is tall and has long arms, is obviously not good at attacking with the ball in person, so that his small steps look a bit funny, it does not affect the effectiveness of his tactics. He is even ready to imitate the previous defenders in the face of defensive players. In the All-Star Game, Ethan's sliding tackle on the ground was imitated very poorly. In the end, he almost rolled sideways and crossed the first offensive line.

"This is Brad Ott's first time running the ball this season. Although his posture is a bit awkward, at least it has achieved good results. The Wolfpack has a new round of offensive opportunities!"

The commentator revealed the change in Brad Ott.

"It's really easy." Thomas couldn't help but sigh in a low voice.

He was not referring to the ease with which the Wolfpack team was capable, but with the ease of mentality.

Being able to get this first offense was due to Brad Otter's successful tactical arrangement. Judging from the final decisive running of the ball, it should have been planned from the beginning, but three wide receivers were replaced, which was almost deceived. The whole Norman team.

The second is the impact of local weather.The cold weather made the movements of Norman's teammates seem a bit sluggish and stiff.

Last but not least - the influence of mentality.If the Wolfpack is under great pressure in this game, they will definitely choose to take a free kick in the fourth gear.But it happened that the entire Wolfpack team didn't really care about the outcome of this game. Instead, they had the magic touch just now.

This first attack also completely allowed the Wolfpack to find its touch. In the next few attacks, the Wolfpack followed the same tactics, with three wide receivers to resolve the deep end of the defense, and the offense was mostly short-yardage ground attacks. , Brad Ott's only successful pass successfully found a teammate standing in the corner of the zone, which also allowed the Wolfpack to score a touchdown and complete the additional score by kicking the ball.

It can be said that in addition to the changes in opponents, there is another more important variable in this game-the weather.

Ethan looked up and could feel the snowflakes falling into the metal mask melting on his face, making it cool and cold.

Before going on the field, Thomas whispered a few words to Ethan...

Ethan nodded and then led the offensive team onto the field.

"The Ethan O'Connor we are looking forward to finally appears, let's see how he will cope in the ice and snow..." the voice of the on-site commentator came.

At this time, Ethan looked at the flea next to him. His face was flushed. Although he would not admit it, he could not deny that the fever would have a certain impact on him.

Ethan's own thoughts, including Thomas's extra instructions before coming on the stage, all point to one tactic - running the ball!
When the field environment is not good, only short-yardage running balls have enough stability.

Moreover, the Wild Boar is not here in this game, so the pressure on the pocket is relatively high, and the pass is more susceptible to interference.

No matter how you look at it, it should focus on short-yardage offense on the ground.

It can be said that the burden of this game fell on Eason and running backs Munster and Cooper, and the others played more of a cover or confusion role.

The first round of offense started, very much in Ethan's personal style, with many teammates using fake moves in succession. Ethan finally used a weird behind-the-back pass to throw the ball to Cooper.At the same time, Ethan's entire body also completed activation.It directly acts as a screen to block incoming defensive ends and linebackers.

Facing the strong defenders, Ethan seemed to be at ease, using one on each hand, one against two, but he did not lose at all.

He tightly hugged the two opponents, and the opponents could only hook their hands in vain to try to intercept Cooper, but due to the distance, they were unable to interfere with Cooper in the slightest.

And Ethan's key block also completely cleared the first obstacle in front of Cooper, allowing him to successfully rush out of the kickoff line.

By the time he was blocked by the second line of defenders, he had already gained 6 yards, and he could get the first down with another four yards.

"Oh, what did I see? Ethan O'Connor is indeed well-deserved. He is like an NFL professional player on the high school football field. One person can actually block two people and perfectly clear the way for his teammates. It can be said that relying on Ethan O'Connell Thanks to the matchup advantage accumulated by one player, the two Norman ground attackers can easily cross the service line..."

In other words, as long as you run the ball, no matter how many yards you have, at least you have yards.

"It can be said that if the Norman team's running tactics are 100% certain, it will obviously put great pressure on the Wolfpack!"

"Besides, I haven't seen such an 'authentic' rugby game for a long time..."

(End of this chapter)