Chapter 1335 A sudden awakening
“Stop!”

“Pretty!”

“The Kansas City Chiefs defense stopped Derrick Henry behind the line of scrimmage for the first time in the game!”

“Although Tannehill tried to use a fake pass to set up a screen, and although Henry continued to try to break through after being hit, the Tennessee Titans’ tactics were completely exposed. The Kansas City Chiefs completed the interception with an unparalleled performance and struck out the Tennessee Titans cleanly!”

Vrabel: …

Looking at the game time, there were still five minutes and thirty-three seconds left in the first half, leaving plenty of time for the Kansas City Chiefs; looking at the offensive players on the court with confused expressions, and Henry, who was in a mess and furious and unable to control his emotions.

Crisis, tightly grasping the throat.

The strategy of delaying the game and slowing down the tempo did not work. Although the Tennessee Titans’ offense had been trying to fight a positional battle, the Kansas City Chiefs still maintained their intensity and momentum in the positional battle, following the rhythm of the Tennessee Titans and suppressing the vitality of the entire offense, so that the Tennessee Titans themselves held their breath and were struck out in a depressed mood, feeling very frustrated.

On the court, Henry was venting his anger and was dissatisfied with his own performance.

However, the other offensive players did not react. One or two of them looked confused and were completely stunned throughout the second quarter, but no one knew what was going on.

A bystander can see things more clearly, and Vrabel realized his mistake immediately.

The conservative tactics were obviously a bad move. Not only did it allow the Kansas City Chiefs to become more aggressive, but it also slowed down the Tennessee Titans’ own momentum.

Delaying tactics, delaying tactics, doesn’t it clearly mean that Vrabel has no confidence in intercepting the Kansas City Chiefs and is forced to use delaying tactics to maintain his advantage and wait for the halftime break to make plans?

As a result, the Tennessee Titans’ momentum of tit-for-tat and refusing to give in to the strong clash was instantly dampened.

Originally, the second quarter started with a touchdown, and everything was going smoothly for the Tennessee Titans. The whole situation suddenly turned 180 degrees without warning. The players’ confidence lies in the collision, and doubts and uneasiness are inevitable; as a result, Vrabel’s tactical adjustment made the players even more depressed.

The same tactics can have completely different effects at different times and in different situations. The fourth quarter of a wildcard game and the second quarter of a divisional round are two different things.

Copying and pasting tactics is not only stupid, but also blind.

Oops!

Something bad is happening.

But at least, Vrabel reacted in time and came to his senses immediately. He didn’t care about being upset at this time. He corrected his mistakes as soon as he knew them. Before completely ruining his advantage, he immediately deployed troops and adjusted tactics, trying to stop at the brink and make up for the loss. He hoped that this small mistake would not ruin their efforts:

This time, it depends on the defensive team.

Afterwards, Mahomes and Levi once again teamed up to lead the Kansas Chiefs’ offensive team, but in the difficult situation, the Tennessee Titans showed their tenacity –

Don’t forget that this team, in the last week of the regular season, was in a desperate situation, but they seized their own destiny with a wonderful performance and became the last team to take the playoffs in the 2019 season, and the only team that controls its own destiny.

At this point, in the midst of a disaster of losing ground and being trapped in a dilemma, the Tennessee Titans defense stood up, became noticeably tougher, and tried to slam on the brakes to control the situation.

Keyword: zone defense.

However, it was not an ordinary zone defense, but a customized new zone defense tactic that Vrabel developed specifically for the Kansas City Chiefs. According to the plan, this was Vrabel’s secret weapon for the second half; but obviously, they did not expect the direction of the first quarter, let alone the subversion of the second quarter. Now there is no room for hesitation and hesitation, and they must dig out the bottom of the box.

This set of zone defense tactics targets the Kansas City Chiefs’ “Cheating Motion” and read option offense.

In other words, Mahomes and Levi.

Considering the Kansas City Chiefs’ varied offensive methods in the frontcourt, Vrabel does not expect them to be able to cut off the opponent’s offense every time; the key is to slow down the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive rhythm and create a swamp effect. Although the Kansas City Chiefs can still move forward, their stride, step frequency, etc. are all slowed down.

The strategy is not complicated. Three players on the front line rush the ball to apply pressure, one player in the backcourt holds the line, and the other seven defensive players all gather in the short pass area in the frontcourt.

These seven players were not in a hurry to take the first step. No matter what tactics the Kansas City Chiefs adopted, “Cheating Motion”, read option offense; Mahomes running the ball himself, Levi running the ball; shotgun formation, screen short pass, etc., the defensive team all deliberately slowed down the rhythm.

In other words, strike back and win.

They waited for the Kansas City Chiefs to make a shot and for the football to leave Mahomes’ hands before starting to ensure the success rate of subsequent defense.

Granted, the Titans might lose some yards or even give up a first down, but the beauty of this play is that it avoids mistakes.

The defensive players do not need to rush to catch up with the rhythm, but stay focused to ensure that they interrupt the subsequent advancement of the Kansas City Chiefs and minimize the possibility of Levi’s long-distance attack and fatal blow; and in actual situations, they can often get close to the offensive target in the first place –

Defensive efficiency soars.

In fact, this can be understood as an advanced version of the zone defense in the first quarter, which was inspired by the Hail Mary defense strategy, that is, allowing short-distance and short-yardage advances, but doing everything possible to cut off a fatal attack, and relying on the strategy of watching each other to slow down the opponent’s offensive rhythm.

At this time, if the Kansas City Chiefs choose “Cheating Motion” again, the Tennessee Titans’ defense will not be easily fooled, will not blindly encircle Levi, will not arbitrarily disperse the defensive force, and will not disrupt the pattern of zone defense. The lethality of “Cheating Motion” instantly evolves into a short screen pass.

And, that’s not all.

Occasionally, Vrabel chose to attack unexpectedly, either sending a player to blitz the quarterback or picking a player to guard Levi—

The point is not whether it is successful or not, but a kind of deterrence, creating variables in a steady rhythm, creating an atmosphere of panic, and preventing the Kansas City Chiefs from advancing at a comfortable rhythm.

The Tennessee Titans defense really brought out its best.

Of course, some people wonder, if you have a strategy, why not put it out earlier?

Such a defensive strategy places strict demands on the players. On the one hand, it requires the defensive players to cooperate with each other tacitly, and the expected joint defense must be able to keep in touch and fill in positions at any time; on the other hand, it requires the defensive players to concentrate their attention and cannot simply rely on one key player to play a role in reversing the situation.

In other words, this requires the concerted efforts of eleven defensive players and is extremely exhausting.

One or two waves of attack will not be a problem; but if they are maintained for a long time, the loopholes will gradually be exposed, and eventually you may get yourself involved.

So, this is the secret weapon, used to apply emergency brakes at critical moments to forcibly control the Kansas City Chiefs’ smooth offensive rhythm.

Such as in front of me.

(End of this chapter)