American winner takes all

Chapter 417 The difference between cloud and mud
Ethan took the helmet thrown by the opponent, twisted it left and right, and put it on his head.

"Good luck to you." Charles Woodson also donned the Raiders' signature black helmet.

Since the Angels' home uniforms are white, the Raiders can also wear their iconic black jerseys on the road. The sharp contrast, coupled with the straight lines of the "grill (field)", makes the players of the two teams look Like a chess piece on a chess board.

In the auditorium, the contrast in color is equally obvious, but...

"It's just that the vast majority of the fans at the scene were wearing pure white uniforms. Obviously, the vast majority of the audience here today are Angels supporters. This was something that was unimaginable last season. The first game of last season It was also narrated by me. I still remember that at that time, the audience was a mixed bag. ”

"Who says it isn't? The Angels are like a whirlwind, sweeping the entire NFL, and even almost won the Super Bowl championship in the first year of the team's establishment. A team that performs well will naturally be more susceptible to fans. favorite."

With the sudden rise of the Angels, there are a few teams that feel particularly uncomfortable. The first ones to bear the brunt are the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers. The total population of an area is only so large, and the number of fans is naturally unlikely to skyrocket in a short period of time. The Angels Most of the "ten-year-old fans" who suddenly emerged came from other teams. And because of the relatively close geographical location, a group of fans from several opponents in the same division began to support the Angels.

Among them, the Raiders are the most obvious, after all, they are the closest geographically to the Angels.

And this meeting seemed to be to prove himself. Raiders owner Al Davis gave head coach Jon Gruden a fatal order to win. The team worked hard to win.

At this time, Jon Gruden, who was standing on the sidelines, was also staring at Ethan O'Connor, who had just separated from Charles Woodson. He noticed that Ethan's abdomen was more than a little wider, and he was immediately relieved.

At this time, the two on-site commentators also brought the topic to Ethan.

"According to the physical examination data before the start of this season, Ethan's weight gain ranked seventh among all NFL players, and the top six were all offensive left guards, and the quarterback who gained the most weight was only Ethan's third Less than one percent.”

"Obviously, Ethan's weight is a bit out of control, which has posed quite a challenge for the Angels' strength and nutrition coach. Ethan suffered a head injury at the end of last season, and now he's most proud of his speed. , seems to be leaving him too..."

·
Amid the announcers' concerns, Ethan led the Angels offense onto the field.

After being away from the stadium for more than half a year, the long-lost cheers from the audience flooded into his mind again, which made Ethan's blood boil.

At present, the entire tactical system of the Angels still continues last year's "Jet Screen". I heard from the players that Andy is studying a new tactic, but he also admitted personally that the new tactic has encountered a lot of problems and it will take some time. time.

As the referee's whistle sounded, Ethan raised his hand to catch the football flying toward him. This was a very common action. Ethan repeated this action at least tens of thousands of times.

But this time, Ethan did not directly control the ball between his hands. After the football collided with his palm, it bounced out of Ethan's arms in the opposite direction.

"Butter hands!" the commentator shouted immediately.

Although his weight increased, Ethan's reaction was still quite fast. He immediately raised his hand towards the landing point of the rugby to fish it out, but made a mistake while busy and once again the rugby bounced out of his hand. This time the rugby was completely out of control.

All nearby players chose to scramble at this time. Fortunately, it was Angels offensive lineman Brian Waters who firmly pressed the football under him. He is the Angels offensive left guard and also Ethan's "protective fence", the most important duty on the field is to intercept the opponent's pass rush from the weak side.

Seeing this, other players rushed forward and formed a huge human tower in a short time. The referee immediately stopped the game.

"Although Ethan made a relatively rare mistake, his teammates still helped him make up for it without causing too much damage."

Ethan was really shocked and broke into a cold sweat. He remained focused on the next attack. After receiving the ball, he used a trademark fake move to pass the ball.

Seeing the football flying towards the far end receiver like a cannonball, it fell rapidly after just flying over the front line, like an out-of-control elevator.

It’s the elevator ball, one of Ethan’s two magic weapons for passing the ball.

The ball was not passed to wide receiver Donald at all, but to tight end Desmond Clark.

This special option connection was played between the two men no less than 60 times. Desmond Clark easily deceived the linebacker who was marking him, received the ball, and was about to rush through the first offensive line. A black streak The figure suddenly shot out from the side and collided with Desmond Clark. He used his shoulders completely to hit the tight end sideways, causing Desmond Clark to fly out sideways in an awkward manner. Rolled on the ground twice.

"Charles Woodson! He used his extremely sensitive defensive sense to successfully block the Angels' deadly attack!"

"Yeah, it's hard to believe that, as a cornerback, Charles Woodson would be in a place like this."

"As a player who entered the league at the same time as Ethan, Charles Woodson is one of the few players who can still compete with Ethan. As a defensive player, his value has continued to increase, and he has now become the highest-paid cornerback. Five, a full third more than the Angels’ opponent, Roland Bailey.”

In the end, the Angels' offense failed to get a first down and only gained eight yards.

On the third possession, Ethan only needed to gain two more yards to ensure that the Angels got a new offensive opportunity.

During the meeting, all the Angels players looked very relaxed.

Last season, Ethan was very capable of making up plays on the third down. In many cases, it was his last-minute make-up plays that helped the Angels advance to the next round of offense.

It’s just two yards, and it’s not a piece of cake for Ethan.

Even Ethan had similar thoughts.

If these two yards are faced against the Baltimore Ravens, who are known for their abnormal defense this season, there may be some variables, but against the Raiders, these two yards are not difficult.

In the third attack, Ethan changed his tactics again, faked a pass and easily dribbled the ball past the line of scrimmage.

Two blocking Raiders defenders came towards him. Ethan saw the gap on his right through his peripheral vision, so he made a gorgeous turn and directly bypassed the blocker. At this time, another figure appeared in front of Ethan. Ethan didn't even need to look carefully to know that it was Charles Woodson again. Only he had such a keen sense of smell.

But Ethan is not panicking. He has already opened up his position at this moment. He only needs to outflank him from the outside and run an arc to get two yards easily...

Ethan ran like crazy, but in the next second he felt that Charles Woodson's speed had become faster, and he almost caught up with him in just one step...

"Ethan was tackled by Charles Woodson and forced to brake. It was incredible."

"I never thought this scene would unfold so quickly."

The two commentators said one after another.

The scene was also in an uproar, and the 85,000 fans present today collectively held their breath. And Ethan did not stand up completely at this time. He suddenly realized that it was not that Charles Woodson had become faster, but...

"You're a lot slower, Ethan." Charles Woodson stretched out his hand and pulled Ethan up.

"You seem to have aged twenty years all of a sudden. Has the woman drained you dry?" Charles chuckled and began to walk backwards back to his position.

Ethan returned to the sidelines without saying a word. The third-down offense failed to get a first down, and Andy had already chosen to punt. The Raiders had the ball.

The Raiders offense is led by quarterback Richard Gannon.

As a veteran quarterback who has been playing in the NFL for more than ten years, Richard Gannon is rich in experience. He was the backup to Chiefs quarterback Steve Bono last season, but this season he has directly become the main force. He played very well in Jon Gruden's West Coast offensive system, and later became the Pro Bowl MVP for two consecutive years, ushering in a period of glory at the end of his career.

It can be said that Richard Gannon is in the strongest form of his career at this time.

The foundation of the Angels' victory is always the offensive team. Although Ethan specifically strengthened the defensive team during the draft, the Angels' defense is still not top-notch. It is naturally unable to parry against a Pro Bowl MVP-level quarterback. .

After nearly ten minutes of fierce fighting, the Raiders successfully scored a touchdown. With the PAT successfully scored, the Angels seemed to have been suppressed.

"What, is that all?" Kimberly Conrad was standing directly under the metal platform that was at the same height as the auditorium. On the metal platform at this moment, several members of the cheerleading team Devils were swaying and dancing. However, it was the unknown members who were dancing on the stage, while the well-known members stood quietly off the stage. This was Ethan's deliberate move.

Kimberly focused most of her attention on the game, and then realized that Ethan was obviously not as powerful as some of the old players had boasted.

"This is what you call the strongest player in history? He can't even beat the Raiders. He's as fat as a brown bear." Kimberly looked at Belinda beside her.

Perhaps it was the first time they met, and Belinda's words made her feel uncomfortable. Her relationship with Belinda was not a good one, so she immediately used Ethan to ridicule her.

"Ethan last season was indeed terrifyingly strong. This is not what I say, but the judgment of professionals. It's just that during this period...Ethan indulged himself a little." When Belinda spoke, she looked to her side again. Friend Kendall.

The expressions of the two of them were somewhat awkward. Ethan had been spending a lot of time with these two good sisters recently. Now that Ethan's condition has declined so seriously, it obviously has something to do with these two people.

"I reminded him to pay attention to recovery and exercise, but he didn't listen at all." Belinda whispered.

In fact, she only mentioned it once or twice. On the contrary, when Ethan wanted to leave, she and Kendall hugged Ethan and refused to let go.

"I think Ethan should continue to transform in the future." Kimberly shook her head, even thinking that Ethan would retire at the end of this season.

·
Not only among the cheerleaders, there were more similar discussions in the audience, but on the bench where the players were, the players didn't say anything, for fear of making Ethan lose confidence.

At this time, many team members were secretly glancing at Ethan, and head coach Andy was one of them.

"He didn't watch the game at all and kept his eyes closed." Andy turned his head and whispered to Holmgren.

It can be said that Andy and Holmgren do have some differences, but no matter what, they are still master-disciple relationships. When tactics are not involved, the relationship between the two is still very good.

"What on earth is he thinking?" Holmgren couldn't help but wonder.

As soon as Ethan returned to the field, he kept closing his eyes to rest. This action was a bit abnormal no matter how you looked at it.

However, Ethan's prestige was still there, and neither the coaches nor the players asked him about it and allowed him to do it.

At this moment, the Raiders' players began to walk down the field, and the Angels' offensive team was about to appear again. Ethan didn't open his eyes until this moment. Compared with the slight doubts before, Ethan's eyes were more determined and confident at this moment, as if he was sure to win this game.

And when the Angels' new round of offense had just begun, Andy could immediately feel a change in Ethan's tactical choices.

"Why slot receiver?" Even Andy himself couldn't figure it out.

In today's playbook, there are not many slot-related tactics at all.

But Ethan regarded the slot receiver as the joint that broke the game.

The result... surprisingly useful.

The Angels' three consecutive attacks went directly to the midfield. This was more than a star and a half higher than the Raiders' offensive efficiency just now. What's more, the Angels' offense at the beginning was even different.

Andy and Holmgren looked at the offense a few times, then suddenly realized something and immediately looked at each other.

"The Raiders' defense intentionally strengthened the strong-side offense in order to give Charles Woodson more room to cover."

"As a price, the slot receiver on the weak side has a lot of opportunities to play, so Ethan has to choose to keep passing the ball to the slot receiver."

The two said one after another.

"How did he see it?" Andy touched his head at this time, his expression looked really confused.

It seems that the two of them did not see the shortcomings of the Raiders defense's over-reliance on Charles Woodson much later than Eason. In fact, this was completely inferred from the answer given by Ethan. Without the hint given by Ethan, the two of them would not have noticed it for a while.

What's even more strange is that Ethan had his eyes completely closed just now and didn't pay attention to what was happening in the field at all, which seemed a bit weird.

"There is only one possibility. Although Ethan's physical athletic ability has declined, his ability to judge the lineup has increased exponentially as his experience has increased."

"Moreover, his information processing ability is much better than before." Holmgren continued.

Of course, Ethan, who was standing on the field, could not hear the analysis of the two coaches. At this time, he was enjoying the benefits of "brain tactical deduction". Just now, he had repeated hundreds of attacks in his mind. The Raiders The movements of the team members were completely anticipated by him.

"What followed was a hearty massacre." Ethan threw out the football in his hand.

(End of this chapter)