The NFL 2017 season opener was quite interesting.
No one had anticipated that Li Wei would announce his presence in such a manner, taking a unique path to challenge the dia and provoke the fans, thus skyrocketing the viewership numbers for this season opener.
However, if one were hoping to glean the outco of the ga from this Special Duty Group's touchdown alone, they would likely be disappointed, as things were clearly not that simple.
Whether it was Brady or Belichick, they had joined forces to create a dynasty. Their depth and strength were undeniable, and having weathered countless storms, they quickly found their footing and responded imdiately—
Touchdown.
Responding to a touchdown with another touchdown, that's the best counterattack on the football field. Your journey continues with empire
The ga was supposed to start with the Kansas City Chiefs on the offense, but with Li Wei's kickoff return for a touchdown, the possession shifted to the New England Patriots, who took the field amidst the overwhelming cheers at Gillette Stadium, officially beginning their title defense.
As a strong contender for the GOAT, Brady was not the type with explosive passing abilities like Brees or Rodgers, nor a tactical master like Manning; his greatest and most outstanding skill was the short pass.
This is not to say he couldn't throw long, but his strongest weapon was in the short passing ga.
He always managed to accurately read the complex interplay of offense and defense, finding spaces and lanes, and precisely delivering the football into his teammates' arms.
Quick frequency, accurate, efficient.
And even in tis of extre difficulty and danger, he managed to remain clear-headed and calm; most importantly, he often minimized risks.
This is why Brady excelled in tough gas, whether it was in windy, rainy, or bone-chilling conditions, or even when cornered into peril. Relying on short passes, he could always control risks and take the initiative, an exceptional skill.
However!
Surprisingly, today, once he took the field, Brady targeted the junction between short and dium passes, relying on tactical setups to create mismatches, completely catching the Kansas City Chiefs Defense off guard.
In this offensive drive, Brady used just nine plays and took only two minutes and forty-seven seconds to powerfully break into the Kansas City Chiefs' Red Zone.
Facing the Chiefs' notoriously tough Red Zone defense from last season, the New England Patriots unexpectedly chose a ground running attack. Running back Mike Gillislee, like a bulldozer, plowed into the end zone, scoring a touchdown for the ho team and leveling the score.
Finally!
Gillette Stadium finally returned to normal, rediscovering its fervor and continually unleashing energy, fiercely pressuring the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, Brady did not particularly stand out or show off against Li Wei. In his view, this was just routine, nothing worth bragging about—
Basic operation.
After the touchdown, Brady simply clenched his fist briefly and then left the field.
The mark of a champion was evident.
As expected, the defending champions remained at the peak of their ga. They continued to be major contenders for the Super Bowl this season, and this ga was bound to be a tough battle.
In less than four minutes into the ga, Gillette Stadium had already witnessed two touchdowns. Although the Chiefs' touchdown was not scored by the offensive group, Collinsworth's view was still validated:
This ga focused on the two offensive groups. Against the opponents' low-profile yet outstanding defense, whoever could maintain a consistent offensive montum would gain the upper hand in the suspense of winning, while the rest would depend on on-the-spot performance.
Details decide the winner.
After all, this was a clash between last season's Arican League number one and number two seeds, essentially a powerhouse showdown akin to the Arican League finals in the playoffs.
Stalemate, this was inevitable—
"28:34."
The visiting team led, the ho team followed.
By the end of the third quarter, the New England Patriots had a slight lead.
Both teams had showcased their powerful offense by scoring four touchdowns together in the first quarter and continued this performance through the second and third quarters.
The New England Patriots managed another field goal in the second quarter to enter halfti with a three-point lead, and added one more field goal in the third quarter, taking a six-point advantage into the final battle.
As the ga progressed, the weaknesses of both teams gradually erged.
Actually, Brady's passing performance today was diocre—
His short passes relied more on precision and timing control; whereas his dium and long passes depended more on tactical coordination and team collaboration:
The offensive line's pocket protection provided the quarterback ti to power up his passes, while the wide receivers' route running effectively tore open one-on-one gaps.
No wonder Brady opened the ga with a dium pass to set the tone.
By the end of the third quarter, Brady's pass completion rate was below 50%.
For a quarterback, anything below 60% is an unimpressive figure, while elite quarterbacks usually maintain a rate above 65% and frequently push it to 70%.
This clearly showed that Brady was having an average performance.
Because of this, Brady continually used his reading ability to find openings; and upon entering the Red Zone, he handed over the responsibility to the running back—
If the running back succeeded, it would result in a touchdown; otherwise, a field goal.
Despite not being at his best, Brady and the New England Patriots were accustod to a slow start to the season; yet Belichick still found ways to help Brady make progress, leaving the Kansas City Chiefs Defense in disarray.
Thirty-four points in three quarters is a high score in a football ga.
It's hard to believe that with such performance, Brady was still just average.
In critical monts, the top two receiving stars of the New England Patriots stepped up: wide receiver Danny Andola and tight end Rob Gronkowski ensured Brady always had passing targets and continued advancing.
This is what tradition is all about.
And the Kansas City Chiefs also perford well.
The real disappointnt was the decrease in defensive intensity and efficiency in the Red Zone, which failed to stop the opponents, especially when Brady's short pass ga was so off that he couldn't connect with tight end Gronkowski for a touchdown chase, resulting in repeated flaws in ground defense that were unsatisfactory.
anwhile, on the offensive side, Smith's passing was excellent today, fully fired up and right into Reed's plans, focusing entirely on passing—
So much so that Li Wei and Hunter barely got their chance to perform.
This differs from the Crimson Tide Storm as Saban often relies more on the ground offense, but Reed still subconsciously trusts the passing offense more.
The carry count tells it all, by the end of the third quarter, Li Wei had only carried the ball eleven tis, a fraction of what was seen during the Crimson Tide Storm period, almost invisible.
Of course, Hunter had even fewer, only seven carries.
Thus, Li Wei and Hunter didn't find their rhythm.
When the Kansas City Chiefs' offense was blocked, they couldn't open up the ga on the ground either, which essentially mirrored the sa issues they faced in the past two seasons:
When real toughness was needed, the Kansas City Chiefs lacked a bit of explosive power—
Not that they perford poorly, in fact, Smith had perford very well; but it just wasn't good enough.
So, by the ti the fourth quarter started, the Kansas City Chiefs were down by six points.
From all indications, it seed that victory was beckoning the New England Patriots, reminiscent of the playoff encounter back in the 2015 season. So, was this going to be another defeat for the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium?
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