Chapter 951: Chapter 951: The Familiar Rhythm

Chapter 951: The Familiar Rhythm

"Wes Welker!"

"New England Patriots wide receiver number 83, Wes Welker, has caught the five-yard short pass from Tom Brady! This quick-fire, multi-route offensive formation has completely fooled the San Francisco 49ers’ defense!"

"Three defensive players have gathered around Rob Gronkowski, trying to completely shut down the star tight end’s receiving route, but Wes Welker has found an opening in the slot! Tom Brady accurately understood the defense’s mentality, set up the play, and was successful!" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"The entire 49ers’ defense is tilted toward the left side, but now Wes Welker has appeared on the right side! The mismatch has left the entire right side of the field open, and the 49ers must close the gap immediately!"

"Danger!"

"Wes Welker! Number 83, number 83! He sidestepped and evaded the tackle of outside linebacker Aldon Smith, number 99! Aldon Smith has missed the tackle, what a shame! Smith has tried his best to react, but the agile Welker was still a step ahead and dodged him, using his footwork to create this missed tackle!"

"Number 83 is still moving forward!"

"Cornerback Carlos Rogers and safety Dashon Goldson are still trying to cover, Welker! Welker used a sudden stop to evade Carlos Rogers’s tackle! A mistake, a mistake has occurred! Goldson and Carlos Rogers’s running routes overlapped. To avoid a collision and getting injured, Goldson had to adjust his steps, and he failed to tackle Welker!"

"Goldson only made contact with Welker’s waist, but he wasn’t able to use his strength accurately and effectively. Welker stumbled a couple of times, but... he’s still moving forward! Wes Welker is still moving forward!"

"The end zone is within his grasp!"

"Touchdown! The New England Patriots, playing at home, have scored the first touchdown! They have successfully taken the lead in this key matchup between the AFC and NFC!"

"Beautiful! In the final pass for the touchdown, with 18 yards left to the end zone, Tom Brady once again showed his superior tactical planning in the short passing area. The entire quick-fire passing play seemed incredibly simple, but it had at least three fake offensive targets that completely fooled the opponent’s defense. He quickly found the uncovered Wes Welker and moved forward in one go, not only getting a first down but also a touchdown!"

"This is the New England Patriots!"

Why are the New England Patriots since the new century called the most stable team of the past decade? Or, why can the team still win even without Brady? The record is the result, but the tactics are the core of the on-field clash.

Under Belichick’s coaching and guidance, Brady’s advantage in the short passing area has been amplified to the extreme. Whether it’s a pass or a run, the entire offensive strategy is to play it safe. They’re not looking for a quick and fatal blow but a methodical and gradual one. The combination of short and medium passes and the distribution of passes and runs make the entire play seem more solid, like a tank or a bulldozer.

Under the cover of a solid offensive success rate, Belichick can firmly control key data such as game time, passing errors, and offensive efficiency in his hands, winning the game in the most efficient and secure way.

The New England Patriots don’t need to win games with risky long passes at the last minute like the 49ers’ offense did last season. But on the other hand, the reason they lost to the New York Giants twice in the Super Bowl was also for the same reason—they lost to Eli Manning’s gambling and luck.

"Brady is a system quarterback" is the wrong answer.

In fact, Brady’s understanding of tactics and his control of short passes are absolutely top-notch. It’s just that under Belichick’s dazzling glory and strong control, people often fail to see this. It is a fact that Belichick can still win without Brady, but with Brady, Belichick can win more easily and securely.

You could say that Brady is the most important part of Belichick’s tactical system, but he is not the core of the Patriots’ victories—Belichick is.

The opening drive was a perfect example. The Patriots used a full six minutes and 46 seconds. They were always calm and unhurried. Second and third-down plays were common, but they were always able to convert. It seemed dangerous, but it was actually very safe. At the last minute, they took advantage of the opponent’s momentary lapse in concentration or confusion, and Wes Welker delivered the fatal blow.

Wes Welker is another treasure of the New England Patriots. He is known as the greatest slot wide receiver in NFL history. It is no exaggeration to say that the current tactic of running backs running out of the slot to catch passes is precisely because of the emergence of Wes Welker.

As a wide receiver, Wes Welker was considered to have no talent or any chance because he was only 5 feet, 7 inches (175 cm) tall and weighed only 185 pounds (84 kg). In a physical game like football, Welker was like a bean sprout and had almost no chance of survival.

To make things worse, he was a white player. As I said before when I mentioned Logan Newman, the living space for white wide receivers in the league is getting smaller and smaller because of their talent and ability. Top-tier white wide receivers like Jordy Nelson are now rare.

So, when he entered the league in 2004, no one was interested in Welker. His situation was even worse than Lu Ke’s was last year. He was undoubtedly undrafted.

He got into the San Diego Chargers through a training camp, but after only the first regular season game, he was cut from the 53-man roster. Although the Chargers offered him a spot on the practice squad, Welker chose to go to the Miami Dolphins.

Here, he played as a special teams player. From 2004 to 2006, he didn’t have many chances to perform and was used as a punt returner, which didn’t allow him to show his agility and required him to run head-on into tackles.

Nevertheless, he still showed his ability to find a way to move forward. Then, during the two annual division matchups, Belichick noticed this small white wide receiver.

In 2007, the Miami Dolphins offered Welker a one-year contract. Just when Welker was about to sign, Belichick traded a second-round pick and a seventh-round pick for him.

Under Belichick and Brady, Welker’s agile and nimble running and his accurate and sharp routes were put to the test. He found a new life in the slot and transformed into an incredibly productive player. He played all 16 games that season and had a thousand-yard season, whereas his highest single-season yardage before that was only 500 yards.

Welker’s arrival gave Brady more passing options in the short passing area. In the 2007 season, Welker’s agility and Moss’s cunning were a perfect combination, and they achieved a perfect season together. After that, Welker started his own legend.

Because of his size, Welker’s threat in the red zone was clearly not enough. At the same time, his ability to fight against tough opponents was also weak. The problem of dropping catches after strong collisions was always a headache, which meant he couldn’t perform miracles in terms of touchdown numbers and red zone efficiency.

But in the slot wide receiver position, with his flexible footwork and accurate positioning, he broke a series of records. He has almost collected all the league’s historical records in terms of catches and success rate. His stable and efficient catch success rate has made him Brady’s most trusted passing target.

In the past five seasons, Welker has been the player with the most catches on the Patriots.

Now, everyone knows that Rob Gronkowski is the most dangerous weapon in the Patriots’ offense, and almost no one can effectively defend him.

But because of Welker’s size, his unpredictable and quiet running in the slot, and his sharp drop in red zone threat, people always tend to overlook the fact that Wes Welker is the player with the highest catch success rate and the most catches on the Patriots.

So far this season, Welker’s catches are only behind Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions and Brandon Marshall of the Chicago Bears, ranking third in the league.

The most recent drive was no different.

Near the red zone, when everyone thought Gronkowski was the target, Welker was like a sharp dagger, making a fatal blow when no one was expecting it.

The New England Patriots are taking over the game in the way Belichick knows best.

After only less than three minutes, Tom Brady came back on the field.

Lu Ke’s pass was intercepted.

This time, it was a mistake by Mario Manningham. He was too impatient and too aggressive after the catch. He was in a hurry to move forward even before he had control of the football, which caused him to collide with cornerback Aqib Talib. Talib hit the ball out, and the number 31 cornerback quickly reached out and made the interception.

Luckily, Manningham reacted in time and tackled Talib, so there was no more damage, but... the ball was still lost. What’s worse, Lu Ke had already led the offense to work hard to get past the 50-yard line and reach the opponent’s 31-yard line, which was already in field goal range. But now, they had to turn the ball over and go home empty-handed.

This was a bad start for the San Francisco 49ers, who were playing on the road.

But Brady, who came back on the field, was not flustered at all. He seemed to have gotten used to this kind of situation and methodically led the offense to start a drive. This was the familiar rhythm of the home team.

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