Buzz, buzz buzz.
The atmosphere in the Candlestick Stadium was dull and depressing, and everyone held their breath involuntarily. The noisy sounds were suppressed in their throats, and they did not dare to let them out easily, for fear that the slightest sound might affect the referee. The verdict; but the anxiety and uneasiness made people unable to sit still at all. They stretched their necks and explored curiously.
About three yards from the front of the San Francisco 49ers' end zone, players piled up on top of each other to form a hill. No one could accurately judge the situation. The referees had to pull out the players one after another, as if pulling out the players. Like a carrot, sort out the situation at the scene and then make a judgment.
"Drop the ball! Drop the ball! It's a drop ball!"
When the referee announced the verdict for the first time, the entire Candlestick Stadium was boiling. Everyone was cheering, jumping up and down, cheering and shouting wildly. The torrential sound was like the opening of the Hoover Dam, releasing all the floods. The roar even began to shake the ground, making it tremble.
"In the previous two attacks, Witler was trapped in fouls and gave the opponent the first attack twice in a row, ruining the efforts of the defensive team. But this time, he made a great contribution at the front of the end zone. Completed the most important tackle of the game. The tough defense knocked away the ball from Saints wide receiver Thomas, and 49ers cornerback Carroll Rodgers controlled the ball, creating the game. The first transition of possession!"
"This is definitely not good news for the New Orleans Saints."
"In today's game, Drew Brees was in good form after he came on the field. Facing the powerful raid tactics of the 49ers defense, at least three offenses passed the football before encountering sacks, continuing the offense, and A quick drive into the red zone, just six short yards away from a touchdown, but it all came to a halt just above the three-yard line at the edge of the end zone."
"A dropped ball, it was actually a dropped ball! The Saints' first wave of offense ended in a dropped ball. This was definitely not expected by anyone."
The quick commentary in the studio presented all the details of the first wave of attacks in a panoramic manner. Then Teddy handed the microphone to the three guest commentators, who gave their professional opinions——
Johnston was responsible for explaining the offensive part, Siragusa was responsible for explaining the defensive part, and Kirk was summarizing from a comprehensive perspective.
…
Lu Ke was slightly nervous, and there was a little sweat on his fingertips.
To be honest, this is the grandest stage and the most important game of his career. Maybe a year or two later, he will lightly say that it is just a playoff game; but not today, he can I could clearly feel the beating and gushing of my heart, and all the muscles in my body seemed to be tense.
Moreover, there is no way to resolve this tension. This is the power of the big scene, and it is impossible for a rookie to resist it. There is no shortcut, and there is no good recipe. It can only be accumulated slowly one game after another - or maybe someone is born with a big heart and is born for the big stage.
Standing on the edge of the court, Lu Ke carefully observed Brees' offensive layout and prediction.
There is a huge difference between watching on video and watching live.
The San Francisco 49ers defensive team performed extremely tough, but Brees was always able to make the right choice in the storm. Obviously, he seized the area on the right side of the Saints and the left side of the 49ers and launched a fierce attack. The partnership between cornerback Reggie Smith and safety Donte Witler is indeed weaker than the partnership between Carroll Rodgers and CJ Spielman on the other side.
The 49ers defense ranks among the top three in the league in first-line run defense and quarterback raiding ratings; but its second-line pass defense rating ranks only seventh.
In the first wave of offense, this became Brees' breakthrough point and he succeeded repeatedly. The New Orleans Saints' overall offensive seemed to be brisk, simple and fast, but in fact it was a steady attack. It took a full six minutes and sixteen seconds to advance to the front of the San Francisco 49ers' end zone. If it weren't for an accident...
"Drop the ball!"
The San Francisco 49ers defense caused a fumble and successfully controlled the ball!
Lu Ke clenched his fist heavily! He jumped up with excitement. When he realized that he was about to appear on the stage, all the nervousness disappeared and was replaced by enthusiasm. He couldn't wait to stand on the court and start a tactical game with the opponent's defensive team. , start a physical confrontation!
Immediately, his scorching brain cooled down and he concentrated on the game. He focused all his attention on the opposing defensive team and was fully prepared. This is just a simple game, a game where we strive to win!
This season, the New Orleans Saints defense ranks 13th in the league, 11th in pass defense and 28th in run defense.
In other words, this is a team whose second-line defense is obviously stronger than the first-line defense. The pressure they exert on the quarterback is really limited, and their impact on the offensive line is also really limited. They rely more on the area coverage of the second-line defense to complete. defense.
Despite this, this defensive team is generally considered to be the Saints' defensive peak after Sean Payton took office in 2006, even surpassing the championship year of 2009. The most important reason is that the two starting corners The guard and two safeties have a reasonable configuration and a tacit understanding of their partners. They are also at the peak of their careers.
Two cornerbacks, Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter. The former was an undrafted rookie in 2004. His career started low and went high. In the last game against the Lions, Contributed an interception; the latter was a second-round pick in 2008. His biggest achievement was intercepting Peyton Manning in the 2009 Super Bowl and completing a 74-yard return touchdown.
Two safeties, Malcolm Jenkins and Roman Harper, the former was a first-round pick in 2009 and was at the peak of his career last year. He won the title of National League Defensive Player of the Year in the three weeks before and after. This season's form has declined; the latter was a second-round pick in 2006. He has been selected to the Pro Bowl for the past two consecutive years and is the leader of the Saints' second-line defense.
Judging from the strength on paper, the four players are indeed in outstanding condition. From height to weight to style, they are almost the same.
From a positive perspective, the defensive style is unified, light and agile, and has strong mobility. It can often burst out with powerful energy in regional defense; but from a negative perspective, it lacks changes, depth, and methods. When dealing with complicated tactics, It is often easy to lose opportunities, especially the misalignment of man-to-man defense.
Because of this, the Saints' pass defense could only rank eleventh in the league throughout the regular season.
In my mind, I listed all the information about the Saints' defensive team, including statistics, style, ability and status. Over the past nearly two weeks, I watched the game videos over and over again, studied and discussed them over and over again. In the official competition, everything is presented.
One after another, the players from both sides left the court. Carroll Rogers and Donte Whitler walked towards Lu Ke one after another. Without saying anything, they just slapped their palms, as if The relay was average, the defensive team had completed their task, and now it was the offensive team's turn.
Lu Ke, officially debut!
…
Due to the dropped ball just now, the San Francisco offensive team is about to officially start the offense above the three-yard line at the front of its own end zone.
After taking the field, the San Francisco 49ers set up a "two by two" offensive formation, with Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis on the left, and Ted Ginn and Logan on the right. Newman; then Lu Ke stood behind center Jonathan Goodwin, Marcus Lynch fell four yards behind, setting up a traditional rushing formation.
As we all know, the offensive position at the front of the end zone is extremely awkward and dangerous. If you are not careful, you may lose a safety point; if you are more careless, if you encounter an interception or drop the ball, it will be easy for the opponent to complete the return touchdown. So , the offensive team must be careful.
In this case, running the ball is the safest option.
But the problem is that the San Francisco 49ers have never chosen a safe offensive style. Now they have adopted a traditional "I" formation running the ball, which is actually uneasy.
Standing in the pocket, Lu Ke did not kick off immediately. Instead, he made reasonable use of time and began to read the defense in an orderly manner.
There are a total of seven defensive players on the front line, four defensive forwards and three linebackers. The three linebackers are positioned slightly further back, showing a Z-shape. The entire defensive center of gravity seems a bit bloated and is hoarded in the middle of the short passing area. .
There are four defensive players on the second line. The two cornerbacks are positioned early to guard the 49ers' two receivers. One safety guard is standing behind the three linebackers and is moving back and forth. The other safety guard simply retreats. Fifteen yards away, he assumed a long-pass defensive stance.
The entire defensive formation takes on the shape of a pyramid, weakening back layer by layer, and all defensive forces are accumulated in the central area, assuming a zone defense posture - because the middle players can always rely on the receiving player. By pulling the route to move left and right, the defensive team's tactics can actually gain a slight advantage.
However, the full-field formation was clearly projected in Lu Ke's mind, and the three-dimensional image became more delicate and accurate. After reaching full tactical awareness, a player's movement seemed to be able to instantly deduce the entire tactical change. , vividly interpreting the meaning of "moving one hair affects the whole body".
Turning to look to the left, Lu Ke shouted a slogan, and then Vernon Davis slowly walked across the passage between Lu Ke and Marcus and positioned himself on the right side; at the same time, Safety guard Jenkins moved with Vernon, and another linebacker also stepped forward and came to the right side of the San Francisco 49ers.
Obviously, this is a man-to-man defense.
Lu Ke's eyebrows raised slightly. Since it was man-to-man defense, he was not polite.
"attack!"
