In America, the winner takes all.

Chapter 269 Desperate

As Tom Brady fell to the ground, the audience cheered extremely loudly.

"Ethan O'Connor tackled Tom Brady at the line of scrimmage and Michigan lost its third-down opportunity!" Keith's voice rose.

With Ethan coming on as a defensive player in the third quarter, Michigan's offensive team also suffered a setback. Tom Brady, who had a brilliant performance in the second quarter, was instantly misfired in targeted tactics.

"Should we choose a fourth-down attack or punt? Michigan is now facing a choice..."

At the same time, a fierce argument was breaking out around the head coach on the bench at the University of Michigan.

The two sides in the dispute are meritorious cornerback Charles Woodson and this season's main starting quarterback Brian Griese.

"Normal punts can't reverse the situation. We have to use tactics." Charles Woodson recalled Alabama's previous chicken-stealing tactics.

Fake punts have also been used by Michigan this season.

"Look where Brady is standing? 25 yards! If the tactic fails, it will be like giving the opponent another touchdown. How many points are we still ahead?" Brian Griese shook his head.

"If Tom Brady can advance the line 20 yards, or even 15 yards, I will support the punt tactic, but Tom didn't get a yard in this round. I should be allowed to play in the second half!" Brian Ge Reese expressed his thoughts.

Although he was not favored before the season, as a fifth-year player this season, Brian Griese's statistics are very impressive, setting a new record for the number of passes and passing yards in the team.

He always believes that he deserves most of the credit for the team's success.

However, everyone was paying attention to Charles Woodson on the defensive end, which made him feel unfair.

In addition, the two have long-standing conflicts - Charles Wardson once had a close relationship with Brian Grice's sister, and was even expected to develop into a couple. However, after Brian Grice learned about this, he strictly prohibited his sister from having any further relationships with Charles. If he said even one more word, he would never allow his sister to be with a poor black man.

From Charles's perspective, Brian Grice's behavior was certainly not good either.

As a result, the two formed a feud. In the team, the two often opposed each other.

During the pre-game training session, Brian Griese directly interrupted Charles's words, and the relationship between the two was evident.

"I think it's better to let the head coach decide..." Charles looked at head coach Lloyd Carr at this moment.

"I agree with Brian Griese's idea that now is not the time to use punt tactics." Lloyd Carr, who chose to stand on the side of the team's quarterback.

·

"I lost..." Tom Brady shook his head and laughed when he was pulled up by Ethan.

"No, your performance today has proven yourself. Many people will remember your name after the game." Ethan comforted.

Tom Brady's progress is obvious to all, and he will obviously have a full-scale breakout next season, which is a year earlier than Ethan expected.

If you consider the reason...Ethan thinks it has something to do with him.

It was himself who put pressure on Tom Brady, which led to today's dramatic change.

"I felt a special kind of stability just now. I became more focused than ever. I forgot about everything except the football in my hand and the green field." Tom said of the special state he had just entered.

"It depends on whether the quarterback or the strength and conditioning coach adds some kind of condiment to your lunch." Ethan joked.

"Of course not." Tom Brady smiled and shook his head, knowing exactly what Ethan was referring to. He had not taken any illegal drugs.

At this moment, he noticed that the main quarterback Brian Griese in the distance waved to him impatiently, asking him to go back quickly.

Oops! Tom thought to himself, you should know that Ethan is still an enemy in the competition field. If you talk to him too much, your teammates may not be happy.

So Tom said goodbye to Ethan in a hurry and trotted off to the field.

Michigan punted normally and Alabama started its offense from the 31-yard line.

This time, Ethan discovered that instead of four linebackers taking the field, there were three linebackers.

Obviously, Michigan knows that the blitz has lost its effect, and the tactical trap has been broken by Alabama. In addition, Alabama has scored eight points in a row just now, and the Michigan defense team has also begun to be forced to change tactics and return to its original regular defensive lineup. .

On the first offense, the pressure in front of Ethan dropped sharply, allowing him to observe the defense with ease and look for omissions in the Michigan defense.

This was different from the fast break at the beginning and the huge pressure just now. This time Ethan could really feel that the Michigan defense was an iron wall.

In Ethan's opinion, this is the strongest defensive team we have encountered so far.

And there are Heisman-level defensive players sitting on the field. As long as Charles Woodson is on the court, he can guard the wide receivers tightly and not give Alabama any chance.

Ethan would not deliberately challenge him, especially now that Alabama was trailing.

Not finding a good opportunity, Ethan simply held the football in his arms and charged with the ball.

Ethan didn't get much benefit from the Michigan defense. He only gained 3 yards this time.

The main reason is that Ethan relied on physical strength to resist the opponent in the first half, and before that he took turns taking the lead in attacking the quarterback. This was all done with physical strength and body, and a lot of physical strength was already consumed.

A good physical planning is crucial for players on the field. Ethan is ready to use most of his remaining energy in the fourth quarter.

In the second attack, Eddie George, who was being guarded by Charles Woodson, suddenly chose to make a large lateral move. Charles Woodson was observing Ethan's movements in the distance while following the lateral movement. His coordination ability was terrifying. At the last moment, As expected, Ethan's pass was destroyed by him.

In the third gear, Ethan pinned his hopes on the running backs in his team, first holding the ball to attack the defensive front, and then passing the ball laterally at the critical moment to Trent Dilfer on the other side.

Even though Ethan has attracted the attention of many defensive players, at this moment Trent Dilfer can no longer break through the linebacker Dani Jones in front of him. Trent Dilfer is still less experienced than his opponent after all, and was beaten by Dani. Jones anticipated the action, and the running ball that Ethan originally had high hopes for only gained a relatively pitiful 4 yards.

At this time, after three passes, Alabama only gained seven yards.

The same decision that faced Michigan before was imposed on Alabama.

Is it a punt or a power play?

"We can see the Alabama team is indecisive, and the camera shows Ethan talking to the coach on the radio..."

"The offensive team did not leave the field. Alabama chose to play hard on the fourth gear, trying to get the last three yards and retain the opportunity to attack. Correspondingly, if Alabama cannot get three yards on the fourth gear, Will change the ball in place.”

This was certainly a risky move for Alabama, but it was also a helpless move. Ethan glanced at the time and saw that it was already halfway through the third quarter. With Michigan's defensive intensity leading the top five major leagues, it was almost impossible to overtake the score in just one quarter.

Before the final quarter, Alabama must further narrow the gap.

Of course, three yards is much simpler than ten yards...

"We have to use a special fake action tactic, which requires everyone's cooperation." Ethan said to everyone during the meeting.

The point he and Coach Eugene were arguing about just now was the tactical choice of strong play in the fourth gear.

Eugene hopes that Ethan will choose more stable tactics.

But Ethan just wanted to take the wrong approach.

In the end, Eugene couldn't resist Ethan, so he had to agree to Ethan's request.

After the gathering was completed, everyone began to form an array.

As the game resumed, the forwards lowered their bodies and began to exert force, and other players, including Ethan, swarmed forward! "It's a yard of arch!"

Many Michigan players reacted immediately!

Michigan has already suffered a loss on this tactic just now.

But now is different from just now. Michigan is not a three-forward lineup, but a four-forward lineup.

Almost at the same time as Alabama launched a charge, everyone in Michigan also charged forward.

Charles Woodson's eyes were almost firmly locked on Ethan. When he saw Ethan in the melee, he suddenly chose to take a step laterally. He instantly realized the problem and ran towards Ethan's position, but it was too late.

Ethan was not prepared to participate in the one-yard drive at all. This was just a fake one-yard drive tactic. His real intention was to run the ball.

Michigan had just suffered a loss on this tactic, so it naturally paid extra attention, which gave it an opportunity.

Things went as Ethan expected, everyone was attracted to the situation, and by the time someone reacted, Ethan had already crossed the line of scrimmage.

The remaining three yards were very easy for Ethan. Not just three yards, Ethan directly got a full 9 yards before Charles Woodson teamed up with his teammates to intercept him.

"Exquisite tactical choice! Alabama's one-yard arch screen caught Michigan off guard. Alabama took its tactical response to the extreme. I don't know if this was the intention of head coach Eugene or player Ethan O'Connor. I Personally, I prefer the latter, as the head coach of Eugene has never chosen tactics that are too rare." Keith nodded frequently and expressed high praise for Alabama's choice of this tactic.

As for the reaction of everyone on the Michigan field, they naturally felt that Ethan was a little defeated.

"Cunning guy!" Charles glared at Ethan.

"If you dare, challenge me in a duel!" Charles said provocatively.

"Don't worry, now is not the time. Maybe we have to wait until the next game." Ethan said cheerfully. The angrier Charles is now, the happier Ethan seems.

Charles seems to have no strength now and wants to knock Ethan down, but Ethan wants to avoid direct contact with him and engage in guerrilla tactics with him.

With four strong plays, Alabama once again got the first down.

Before a new round of offense began, Michigan used up its timeout in the second half.

After the new round began, other Michigan defensive players paid special attention to preventing runs.

And Charles Woodson still stood firmly at the cornerback position to prevent Ethan's sudden pass rush.

This combination of near and far suppression once again caused Alabama to encounter problems.

Ethan's two attempts to run the ball came to nothing, and the advancement once again encountered obstacles.

After third down, Alabama gained only six yards, and the previous problems resurfaced.

But this time, both Eugene and Ethan gave the opposite answer to before.

"It's better to take free kicks and make sure we get three points."

"The remaining time is to think about how to break through Michigan in the next round of offense." Ethan responded.

This time, when Michigan defended the free kick, its positions were deliberately spread out to prevent Alabama from falsely kicking the ball again.

This is like the story of the boy who cried wolf. The other party will be fooled the first time, but he will pay attention to it later. Alabama also knows this truth and chose to play for real this time.

As Alabama kicked this free kick, the score reached 17 points.

Only six points remained with Michigan.

As for the defensive team, Alabama has enjoyed the benefits before and is preparing to use blitz again this round.

But this time the quarterback who took the field was not Tom Brady, but former starter Brian Griese.

This is another change for Michigan.

Although Michigan is obviously inferior to Alabama from the perspective of absolute offensive strength, it also has an advantage that Alabama does not have.

It can be said that Alabama's tactical changes all originated from Ethan. Correspondingly, the tactical system is relatively simple.

But Michigan is different. As long as the head coach wants, he can even play four different quarterbacks in four quarters.

Tom Brady made Alabama suffer before, and then Alabama neutralized Tom's offense.

Now that Brian Griese is back on the court, what new changes will occur?

Ethan had no time to think more, the game had resumed at this time, and he took the lead and rushed towards Brian Griese.

Facing the blitz, Michigan's method of cracking the ball was similar to Alabama's, choosing a fast break.

But Alabama does not have a corner position of the level of Charles Woodson. This time Brian Griese directly passed the ball with great force. Before Ethan could get closer, the football in his hand had already flown out and headed towards Alaba. The far end of the horse flew away.

This time, Michigan's main wide receiver Tai did not live up to the expectations of all the Michigan players, and he also judged the right spot.

He jumped up and caught the ball firmly.

Although after landing, he was interfered by the cornerback and fell to the ground.

But judging from the cheers erupted by the few Michigan fans at the scene, this was obviously a highly successful tactic.

"Thirty-one yards! Brian Griese's long pass helped Michigan get a full thirty-one yards, and this was just the first offense!"

On just the first possession, Michigan's front advanced into Alabama's half.

With a huge advantage, Michigan clearly has more options.

As for the blitz tactics used by Alabama, they obviously have little effect on Michigan, which has changed its quarterback. Moreover, Ethan still occupies a position in the defensive team, and he himself has insufficient defensive experience, which reduces the defense from the side. cover.

Before the second gear of the new attack started, Ethan was replaced by head coach Eugene.

Still unable to make a comeback, with two minutes left in the third quarter, Michigan relied on Brian Griese's breakthrough and pass to score another touchdown in the scoring offense, and the PAT was successful.

The original six-point difference became thirteen points!

Brian Griese seemed particularly excited at this time. Before leaving the field, he came to the Alabama bench and made a face at Ethan!

Ethan's previous plan was completely shattered, and the point difference was not narrowed at the end of the third quarter.

Suffice it to say, Michigan already holds the trophy with one hand.

At this moment, Ethan saw that familiar figure.

Rice is handing drinks and towels to defensive players walking off the field...

"Any questions?"

Realizing that Ethan was looking at him, Rice was suddenly startled.

"I'm thinking that maybe I brought you to Alabama this year just for the last quarter of this game!" Ethan shook his head and smiled bitterly.

(End of this chapter)