Bab 25: 025 Steady and Steadfast
Fury! Roar!
Fury! Roar!
The voices of seventy thousand people lingered in the air above Bryant Denny Stadium for a long time. Although Li Wei knew that the Crimson Tide in front of him wasn't their enemy, merely glancing at his own white jersey made him feel the layers of pressure pouring down, making him feel incredibly small.
However, it was precisely because of this that a sense of pride surged within him.
A storm, what of it?
Let the storm rage fiercer then!
The more difficult it got, the calmer he became, the more dangerous, the more exhilarated he felt, and Li Wei's thought process became clearer. Then he realized he had been too hasty.
Because the first drive was too seamless and straightforward, and given that there had been no real challenge in spring training camps, Li Wei had been overly assumptive. Although he continuously emphasized that Football was a team sport, he hadn't fully realized the pressure and impact brought about by a united Defensive group.
Naturally, he appeared too eager for quick results, always desiring significant yardage.
But Clark had told Li Wei that a running back's ground advancement always faced numerous difficulties, gaining a yard or two was normal, and getting tackled behind the line of scrimmage, losing yards was also common, which would be negative one yard or negative two yards. Therefore, the average yardage gain for a running back was typically three to four yards. If they could surpass five yards, they were among the elite of the elite.
In other words, small yardages were normal, and fierce head-to-head collisions were commonplace.
The mindset needed a slight adjustment.
"Hey, Batman, are you ready? It's our turn to go on."
Beteman lacked confidence and was somewhat parched. Now that the starting team had burst with energy and displayed their true strength, while the whole stadium was cheering them on, could they possibly not stop the starters' momentum?
Hearing Li Wei's words, Beteman turned to look and instantly saw Li Wei's bright eyes and calm smile, exuding a confident and easy aura from within, which made him involuntarily swallow his saliva.
Li Wei met Beteman's gaze, "This time, we fake a run and go for a real pass, how about that?"
Beteman blinked; although he lacked confidence, looking into Li Wei's eyes, he replied, "Alright."
Li Wei noticed Beteman's uncertainty, revealed a big smile, and stretched lazily, "Hey, buddy, you're not fighting alone."
Beteman felt a bit more at ease.
Then, the White Team's Offensive group took the field.
At the twenty-five-yard line.
First down.
Beteman took a deep breath and involuntarily looked back at Li Wei. He didn't know why, but seeing the determined nod from within Li Wei's helmet, the last bit of uncertainty in his heart evaporated.
Then—
"Attack!"
Beteman caught the football with both hands, backpedaled continuously, and turned around, ready to hand it off to Li Wei, but the two of them mismatched and kept moving on their respective tracks.
Li Wei, without any pretense, feigned holding the non-existent football, scanned the field, trying to find a breakthrough path, and immediately spotted Allen and Foster in the surging crowd.
Cutting in.
Li Wei did not run towards the sidelines but cut inside, aiming to break through the middle. Allen immediately threw off his match-up and rushed towards him.
In the densely packed crowd, Allen accurately located Li Wei's figure—
Tackle!
Allen was pleased, he had tackled him.
However.
He was immediately stunned, wait, something was off, not only was he tackling Li Wei, but Li Wei was also tackling him.
Block. Trap.
Allen's mind flashed a thought, and as he looked up, he saw Li Wei's face in the helmet, smiling with a grim foreboding that tightly gripped his heart.
Darn it!
Allen couldn't focus on Li Wei; he only saw the football slide across the sky and land snugly in another White Team member's embrace. Surprised, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of Foster's awkward slip as he tried to restart after an emergency brake,—clearly, they had all made the wrong judgment.
—Eight-yard gain.
The Red Team's Defensive group still reacted promptly, setting up multiple obstacles in the short pass zone, because of Beteman's lack of long-pass threats, they could focus their efforts on short and mid-range areas, gaining them some initiative, just like then.
Although White Team Wide Receiver Robert Foster successfully caught the ball, he couldn't advance before being tackled to the ground.
Advance halted at eight yards, no first down achieved.
Wide Receiver Foster and Linebacker Foster, despite sharing the same surname, had no blood relation and grew up in entirely different environments. In the team, they were distinguished by their jersey numbers.
Wide Receiver was number one Foster, Linebacker was number ten Foster.
Even though number one Foster did not achieve a first down, this play of White Team with a fake run and real pass was extremely secretive and quite successful, Beteman's connection was timely and accurate.
Besides, this was a passing offense.
Just as the Red Team found their unstable footing, they immediately settled down, while the White Team also found some focus.
Beteman exhaled softly and high-fived Li Wei to celebrate.
Perhaps some might wonder, why not focus on passing when a single pass can move thirty or fifty yards, while a running attempt might make a sluggish three to five yards?
In today's NFL, passing offenses are increasingly valued, yet the truly smart top coaches still won't overlook ground attacks.
That's the reason.
Depending on the running game to restrain the Defensive group, so as to create opportunities for passing; conversely, depending on passing offenses to disrupt the Defensive group's layout, thus opening spaces for ground advancement.
Balanced pass-run.
That is the correct way to initiate offense; otherwise, relying solely on passing or running would face considerable difficulties in football matches.
This short pass, although it did not secure a first down, had opened up new avenues in the passing game, necessitating a slight adjustment in the Red Team's defensive judgment and setup.
Beteman quietly eyed the opposing Defensive group, trying to discern Allen and number ten Foster's tactical intentions, but it didn't yield much as they still followed the original pattern. So, how should their next offensive tactic be arranged?
Returning his gaze to Li Wei, Beteman then saw a warrior's resolve in Li Wei's eyes.
Unspoken understanding.
As a quarterback, though lacking creativity, Beteman's reservoir of tactics within the framework was still adequate. He promptly called the Offensive group together, quickly finalizing the tactical setup before the forty-second countdown ended—
Ready to proceed.
Li Wei, standing behind Beteman, couldn't actually see anything in front of him other than Beteman's back, but similarly, the Defensive group couldn't see Li Wei, thus could not predict his next move.
Attention intensely focused.
"Attack!"
Upon hearing the command, Li Wei propelled forward along a straight line towards Beteman's position without hesitation.
As they were about to collide, Beteman stepped aside to the left, ball in his right hand, extended flat, passing the football to Li Wei.
Li Wei smoothly secured the football and continued his full-speed charge straight ahead without stopping or slowing down.
The Offensive line ahead, in perfect synergy, pushed the Defensive line aside, creating a path that opened up like the Red Sea parting for Moses, straight and clear.
The gates were wide open!
Hadiah
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