American winner takes all

Chapter 283 The first away game

In the training hall, Ethan threw the rugby ball in his hand. The spindle-shaped dark brown ball eventually found Michael Owen at the deep end. The latter jumped up, easily got the ball in his hands, and put it in his arms. , holding the football in one hand, he bypassed the opposing training team members and successfully completed the breakthrough.

"Feel it? What a great John Elway passing route," Dave Campo said next to Ethan.

"For me, it's because of Michael Owen's outstanding personal strength that he can easily win the ball." Ethan thought about the different passing methods mentioned by Dave in his mind, looking unpretentious. And the passing is often conservative. Ethan recalled the game videos he had watched. Many times, John Elway would choose a very conservative passing route. While other quarterbacks throw passes behind them, Elway throws them forward.

The advantage is that the receiver can get the ball more easily, but the problem is that getting the ball still requires pressure from the defender.

"Remember, in passing, the first priority is catching the ball. Don't forget how you beat Troy by trying more passes."

Dave mentioned.

"Before the next game, I need you to change your passing habits and move closer to John Elway, so that you can cooperate with more running tactics. Compared to John Elway, you are more suitable for dual-threat tactics."

Dave stated his request and he was ready to make drastic changes to Ethan before the next game.

Ethan was thinking of the special record set by John Elway. He was the only quarterback to score four rushing touchdowns in the Super Bowl.

Dave Campo clearly wants to strengthen himself as a dual-threat quarterback.

Not only Ethan, the new head coach also requires the entire offensive team to make tactical adjustments to adapt to Ethan.

Troy Aikman is a typical passing quarterback. As a "glass man", it is really difficult for him to run a lot of the ball.

Now that the offensive team's tactics have been adapted to Ethan, it is obvious that Ethan has been regarded as the starting core.

This was unexpectedly easy for Ethan. He originally thought it would take a lot of effort to get the main quarterback position, but he didn't expect it to be so easy.

After receiving Dave's order, the other members of the offensive team also understood it more or less.

During the training break, many team members came over and took the initiative to chat with Ethan. The expressions on their faces seemed very friendly and even eager. Even running back Emmitt Smith and wide receiver Michael Irvin were among them, obviously considering the four points. Wei has a special relationship with the team, and many players hope to have a good relationship with Ethan.

As for the defensive team, Dave Campo's preparations need to be more detailed, and he has made a lot of targeted adjustments to the tactics currently used by the Broncos.

As a defensive coordinator, Dave is obviously better at defense.

A week passed in a flash. On Friday night, the team's staff worked overnight to sort out the players' personal belongings. On Saturday morning, the Dallas Cowboys players took a chartered flight to Denver.

Denver, the capital and economic center of Colorado.

Before Ethan traveled through, his impression of Colorado was limited to the Grand Canyon.

In fact, many Americans have the same stereotype of Colorado—endless red soil.

"Colorado" in Spanish means "red" or "ruddy". Colorado is located in the midwestern United States. It can be understood as a more populated version of Nebraska with more beautiful natural scenery.

The population distribution in the state is also surprisingly consistent with that of Nebraska, with 95% being white and less than 3% being black.

In the same way, just as Alabama has the Crimson Tide and Nebraska has the Corn Harvesters, Denver State has a football team with a strong civilian base.

This team is neither the Buffaloes of the University of Colorado nor the Rams of Colorado State University. After all, these two teams are really inferior compared to the Nebraska Cornhuskers next door in terms of performance and history. Not enough.

As a result, the Broncos' Orange Crush has undoubtedly become the largest fan group in the state.

As a professional football team established at the same time as the Dallas Cowboys in 1960, the Denver Broncos are undoubtedly one of the most successful teams in the NFL. They won the Lombardi Trophy last year, which brought the Broncos' prestige in the state to a new level. A new peak, and the Denver Broncos are fully staffed and have not been disrupted by too many injuries. According to multiple media outlets and spinach voting with their feet, the Denver Broncos are strong contenders for this year's Super Bowl.

Facing such a Denver Broncos team, the Cowboys are under a lot of pressure.

As soon as the bus left the airport, the Dallas Cowboys received a "warm welcome" from local fans.

Ethan looked out the window at the fans holding up bulletin boards with bad words, and then closed the car curtains.

Out of sight is pure.

Ethan then put on his headphones and chose to close his eyes and rest.

Speaking of which, this is still his first professional away game.

·

"Dear viewers, it's another weekly football weekend. Welcome to watch this episode of NFL on FOX. The first round of the game has come to an end. The 49ers defeated the New York Jets at Candlestick Stadium without any risk and won the season's first 36-30. In a victory, the two sides directly exchanged the lead in the fourth quarter, and the advantage changed eight times. Jets quarterback Glenn Foley played bravely in this game, showing a dazzling performance that was not inferior to Stephen Young's. score……"

"Similarly, the Green Bay Packers also defeated the Detroit Lions at home, with the final score locked at 38-19. It can be felt that Brett Favre took all the anger of last year's Super Bowl defeat on his opponent. A poor lion..."

"As the leader of the American League Central Division last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers easily defeated the Baltimore Ravens on the road. Kordell Stewart, who once performed a miracle in Michigan, did not perform well in this game and almost ruined the team's future. This round of the main Coach Bill Cowher benched him and hoped he could adjust as quickly as possible."

The host talked about the previous round of competition.

"In 20 minutes, the second round of the daytime regular season between the last Super Bowl champion and the Dallas Cowboys will be played on time. Now I would like to ask my colleague Jillian to introduce to you the players from both sides of the game..."

The 3D title "Contest Briefing" with the Heinz Ketchup sponsorship ad flashed and the scene switched to the other side of the studio.

Compared with the seated host, the female host named Jillian Barberie is standing, wearing a white shirt with an open collar, revealing a very deep "ratings line" ", the hem of her shirt was tucked into a tight black skirt. As she turned sideways and pointed at the big screen behind her, some exaggerated curves were revealed, and her dark golden hair was like a waterfall.

The majority of the football audience is male, and most TV stations will choose a female host with a body that is so hot that she can have a sense of physical impact as one of the partners. Who is called the American Southerner and the majority of African-Americans?

"Troy Aikman suffered a severe concussion in the last game and was determined to miss today's second round. According to the list given by the Dallas Cowboys office, Ethan O'Connor's name is at the top... As the former Hayes Mann Award winner, Ethan O'Connor, who missed his junior season, was a first-round selection by the Cowboys in this year's draft."

"He once played the entire game in the first preseason game, replaced Troy who left in the last round, and helped the Dallas Cowboys win. Many people have high hopes for his performance. I don't know about Ethan O'Connell Can the rushing that Na is good at appear in the upcoming game..." Jillian spoke quickly.

Hot as hell, in terms of professionalism, these female hosts are no exception. After all, the competition in the rugby viewing market has reached a fierce level.

"Generally speaking, the performance of these rookies remains to be seen. I believe this contest with the last Super Bowl champion will become a convincing enough touchstone."

"Ethan?"

Ethan, who was sitting in the locker room, heard someone calling his name.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the concerned eyes of head coach Dave Campo.

Ethan shook his head and stood up immediately.

He just rehearses the tactics he will use in the game in his head.

"Put on your protective gear, young man..." Billy Davis said from the side.

The protective gear for each position is slightly different. For Billy Davis, as a wide receiver, the shoulder and chest pads are made of plastic fiber and aluminum alloy spacers, which ensure that they are light enough and give athletes maximum protection.

There is no doubt that the craftsmanship and materials used in NFL protective gear are much more sophisticated than those used in college.

As for the thickness of the protective gear worn by quarterbacks, it is between that of wide receivers and forwards, but Ethan is personally more accustomed to heavier styles, trading a little speed for maximum protection.

When putting on the protective gear, Ethan saw Billy take out a ten-dollar bill, carefully fold it in half twice, then carefully stuff it under the shoulder armor, and then jump twice to ensure that the note would not fall out.

"This is my prayer ritual. It will bring me good luck." Billy noticed Ethan's eyes and said with a smile.

Ethan turned his head and looked at Michael Owen on the other side, who was picking through a pile of goggles one by one.

"This is Owen's habit. He will carefully select the best colors before the game." Billy explained.

The team staff will bring all these gadgets that contain personal preferences, such as offensive left tackle Larry’s big teddy bear. I really don’t know why this guy who stands like a bear has a soft spot for stuffed toys. .

As for the jerseys, not to mention, Ethan has dozens of them in his cabinet, and he can wear any one he wants. Not to mention, the team will use thousands of towels in a game.

The team's preparations for these games are almost extravagant and wasteful. The purpose is to maximize the ability of the players to exert their strength.

When head coach Dave was giving his final pre-game speech, Billy leaned into Ethan's ear and whispered.

"Young man, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Even if you lose this game... it doesn't matter. After all, the opponent is the Denver Broncos. This is just a job. As long as the boss and coach can accept your performance, you can always get promoted!"

It's not good to be heard by others like this. Billy was completely speaking from the perspective of a friend, imparting some experience to Ethan on how to "get along" in the NFL.

Ethan smiled, turned around and followed his teammates through the tunnel, bursting into Mile High Stadium amid white smoke.

Ethan's eyes suddenly opened up, as if he was in a huge tsunami. Looking around, he saw a huge wave composed of orange water. The dense crowd looked like pixels on a TV to Ethan.

The current Texas Stadium is still smaller than the home stadium of the Denver Broncos, which can accommodate a full 80,000 people.

Minutes later, the crowd's cheers intensified significantly as the Broncos entered the field.

As the countdown on the big screen ended, Ethan saw Emmitt Smith participating in the coin toss as captain.

The Dallas Cowboys were finally free from the persecution of Ethan, the old hapless man, and won the coin guessing round and got the first down.

Ethan thought about the results of this week's training... and announced the tactical command.

On the first offense, the Dallas Cowboys arranged an unusual running ball position.

Ethan received a pass from center Mike Kiselak under his crotch, moved his hands down, then turned around and decisively chose to run the ball.

The Broncos' defensive team was extremely experienced and directly exposed Eason's fake move. The sideline position that was originally responsible for rushing the pass rushed directly towards running back Emmitt Smith.

It turns out that as soon as Ethan got the ball, he used his turned vision to cover the ball and handed the ball to Emmitt Smith. The subsequent running of the ball was just a fake move to cover the running back.

Emmett twisted his body, exerting force on his waist before contacting the sideline, and then his whole body jumped high as if it were equipped with a spring. Using inertia and the powerful strength of his waist and abdomen, his body did a side somersault in the air.

Compared with gymnasts, rugby players don't have that much preparation time, and they often make moves subconsciously. I'm afraid only Emmett, a physique freak with rich experience in competitions, dares to do this at the beginning of the competition.

The whole audience exclaimed, and the Dallas fans in the away stands were particularly excited.

It was just a beautiful move that only allowed him to cross one sideline. When he landed, at least five Broncos players were rushing toward him.

And Emmitt Smith not only kept moving his feet, he even raised his arms, and the next moment he threw a football toward Ethan's position.

Speed ​​is not what Emmett is best at. In contrast, good vision and outstanding arm strength are his only abilities as a running back.

This allows him to have significantly more receptions than other running backs in the league, and also gives him the ability to block when rushing.

Likewise...he can also pass the ball.

Dave Campo has talked about changing the Dallas Cowboys' tactical system before, and this is one of the changes.

In the new tactical system, Ethan will share part of the ball running tasks!

This will greatly increase the difficulty for the defensive team in preventing runs, especially since Ethan's ability to run the ball is not weak.

Emmett has had a lot of passing practice this week, and the ball was passed just right.

The first time he received the ball, Ethan spread his legs and ran as fast as he could...

(End of this chapter)