Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 560 Grappling Techniques

"why?"

Despite the embarrassment, shame and depression, Jones controlled himself, regained his focus, temporarily put aside his dignity and pride, and returned to football.

He knew that Levi was always willing to help without hesitation; moreover, whether on the offensive or defensive team, Levi was always learning new knowledge.

Not only these newcomers who have just entered the league, but even veterans like Houston, Johnson, and Berry who have been in the league for many years are occasionally speechless when asked by Levi.

"Why are you always able to escape tackles?"

After a pause, Jones corrected himself.

"Why do my tackles always get undone?"

Ah, that’s it.

Levi suddenly realized that there are many people in the rugby team, everyone has his own troubles and difficulties, everyone has his own challenges and breakthroughs; but the cruelest thing about competitive sports is that there are still many bottlenecks that cannot be broken through by relying solely on talent or solely on hard work.

Jones is already a junior this year, and if he still can't find his place in the team, they all know what's going to happen next.

The team may not even have to wait for the rookie's four-year contract to end. Next offseason, the team may consider other potential ways for Jones.

In the eyes of many people, the defensive line is just a pile of meat without a brain, relying entirely on physical confrontation. Their game is often about collision, collision, and collision again.

It is for this reason that the great achievements of Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt come from strong bodies and outstanding talents. Both of them spend a lot of time in the gym lifting weights, which seems to confirm this idea.

Of course, this is partially true, and a strong body is crucial for a defensive lineman and the foundation upon which their game is built.

But in fact, the technical content of the defensive front line is much more than imagined. They are not just blindly colliding or purely confronting, they also need skills -

Basically, lower your center of gravity, maintain balance, use your strength, and use a twisting posture to knock down your opponent, then cut into the pocket to sack or rush the quarterback.

These details are all techniques, just like wrestling or sumo. It seems to be pure strength, but in the fierce competition between top masters, techniques other than strength play an important role.

In addition, another key technical action in grappling is observation. Defensive forwards need to observe the opponent's center of gravity and accurately grasp the opponent's waist or thigh to avoid being confused by false moves and being thrown away by the shift of center of gravity.

Things are definitely not that simple.

Therefore, it is often seen in competitions that even if the tackle has been completed, it is still possible to escape.

From a technical point of view, Jones in front of him is not someone Levi, a running back, can give instructions on the tackling techniques of professional defensive linemen.

Last season, Jones' missed tackles and sacked players were not resolved. Although his playing time increased, his performance exceeded his rookie season, and he had 6.5 sacks, his inability to complete tackles at critical moments was also exposed, so he was not able to get a starting position.

In Levi's opinion, there is still room for improvement on the technical level, which should be left to the defensive line coach to solve. The perspective he can provide comes from the running backs.

Or in other words, the one being tackled.

"Eyes." Levi said.

Jones: ??? "What kind of comic is this? So the next step is to talk about fighting spirit?"

"Haha." Levi laughed out loud. It was rare for him to see another side of Jones. "What I mean is that your eyes reveal that your judgment is inaccurate, or you are not sure about my next step."

"In daily training, the tackles are like sponge pads and wooden stakes, and our teammates don't give their all, so our brains don't work at a high speed."

"But in a formal competition, the opponent will not wait for the tackle. We will observe, predict and plan, and we will try every means to get rid of the tackle." "So, either you make a plan of your own and prepare to start from there, take the initiative and complete the tackle; or you need to calm down and observe the details such as footwork, knees, hips, shoulders, etc., observe the center of gravity and balance, and rehearse the possibilities that may exist next in your head, adjust your grappling movements, and be prepared to deal with them."

"When I first started playing rugby, the first lesson Coach Burns taught me was to think. I need to learn to think, stay patient and calm. Rugby is a sport that requires more of the brain than you think."

In Levi's opinion, Jones still hasn't gotten used to the professional arena, even though he is about to enter his junior year this year.

In college, I relied on physical confrontation, often taking the lead and trying to suppress others with absolute strength.

After entering the professional league, I still used the same method, but I found that there were more and more times when my strength could not be suppressed, and then I was stunned.

Of course, the coach will also direct these contents, but the players' comprehension abilities vary, and some are just slow to warm up; plus, with a large number of players, it is difficult for the coach to accurately monitor the progress of each player, and the gap between players naturally widens.

Jones was slightly stunned, thoughts swirling in his mind.

Finally, he looked at Levi expressionlessly, making people wonder if his brain had crashed, but he finally spoke, "You mean..."

pause.

"Observe and think?"

Levi nodded. "Why don't you try to practice it? Before every start and tackle, or more precisely, before kicking off, give yourself some space."

Jones didn't answer. He just stood there, lost in his own thoughts.

This was the scene that Mahomes saw when he arrived at the training base. He could see Levi's smile and the two of them bumped fists.

"Didn't you say we should adjust our biological clock today?" Levi asked.

Mahomes shook his head. "I woke up automatically when the time came. I should increase the amount of training today, and then when the time comes in the evening, I will resist sleepiness and continue to read the tactical manual. I will force myself to sleep a little longer tomorrow morning. We will be together at your house tonight?"

Levi, "Okay."

Mahomes glanced at Jones secretly and asked, "How did you make him crash?"

Levi, "If you want, I can also let you freeze and see."

Mahomes was trying very hard to hold back his laughter and was almost about to burst out laughing.

Although they arrived at the training ground early, surprisingly, other players also arrived one by one, showing precious enthusiasm.

Especially for the defending champions.

Then, Kelsey showed up.

Seeing Levi and Mahomes, Kelce yawned and waved his hands, "That damn JJ."

At this time, far away in Houston, Watt, who was lifting weights, suddenly sneezed, looked around with confusion on his face, and then continued lifting weights. The clanging sounds were like a symphony.

When Reid arrived at the training base, there were still thirty minutes before reporting time, but more than half of the team's players had already arrived, showing a rare spirit, which made the coaching staff excited.

Defending the title is a brand new challenge.

Inadvertently, Levi saw a familiar figure in front of him. He opened his mouth wide and looked stunned, not hiding his surprise at all.

(End of this chapter)