Dominate the Super Bowl

Boos, explosive.

Suddenly, a torrential wave of boos burst from Gillette Stadium, sweeping through like a hurricane, making knees tremble slightly.

Not to mention the Kansas City Chiefs, even Brady, who was warming up, was startled—

What's going on?

It's just the kickoff, why the fuss?

Listening carefully, Brady could pick out snippets of words within the boos.

Rookie. Rookie...

It wasn't cheers of support, but mocking disdain, a kind of scornful attack.

Brady couldn't help but laugh silently, having no further interest to explore, he diverted his gaze, continuing to warm up, joking and laughing with his teammates beside him.

Clearly, it wasn't worth paying attention to.

After all, it was just the Special Duty Group.

In a football game, while the main focus might be on the Offensive group or the Defensive group, the Special Teams unit is always the underestimated and overlooked element.

Generally speaking, the Special Teams unit is responsible for kickoffs, punt kicks, extra points, and field goals, which seem like unimportant dirty and tiring tasks, but top-tier coaches know that solid clashes often come down to details; the role the Special Teams play is beyond imagination—

Belichick and Reed, for instance, are the experts in this area. Both coaches are highly skilled at using Special Teams to their advantage and seizing opportunities during the game.

It's hard to believe that the regular members of the Special Teams are typically only three:

The punter. The long snapper. The kicker.

The punter and kicker, as their names imply, the punter handles the punting, and the kicker is responsible for kickoffs, field goals, and extra points.

The long snapper, like the center on the Offensive group, is responsible for the snap, throwing the football a long distance to the punter, who then completes the punt.

These three positions, each with varying levels of technical content, require professionals and also call for cooperative practice; beyond these, the other eight members of the Special Teams are all substitutes.

The final NFL roster only allows fifty-three spots, which must consider rotation, substitutes, injuries, and tactical setups, making the use of substitutes for the Special Teams the only viable team-building strategy.

Take the holder, for example.

During an extra point attempt, a player needs to catch the ball from the center and then set up the football for the kicker, often a substitute quarterback serves in this role.

Or the returner.

Whether for a kickoff or a punt, a player is needed to catch the ball and then initiate the return, often taken by a substitute running back or a substitute wide receiver.

Of course, there are exceptions—Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Coaches like Belichick and Reed, who are well-versed in Special Teams tactics, might occasionally use a starting player as the returner, attempting to capitalize on kickoffs or punts with strategic plays to secure better field positions for the Offensive group.

So, what about now?

The new season, a new game, and… Li Wei?

Is Li Wei a substitute running back or a starting running back? What is Reed up to?

In Brady's eyes, he doesn't care.

He simply doesn't want to give any attention to that rookie running back, especially since Donald Yee never asked for his help from the start to the finish, maintaining a strictly professional relationship. This is one of the main reasons he likes Donald and has never changed agents—Donald never mixes personal matters with business.

How about in the eyes of New England Patriots fans then?

"Oh no, not this…"

"Could it be that Li Wei lost the battle for starting running back? Did Reed ultimately choose Hunter as the lead running back, while Li Wei still needs to hone his skills through the Special Teams unit?"

"That's not good news."

Michaels couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

Collinsworth didn't pile on, but he also stated objectively.

"Maybe, this is for the best, giving him some room to unleash his potential. Let's wait for the right moment to witness his talent and abilities."

The inadvertent display of pity and sympathy actually betrays an underlying disbelief in Li Wei, instead suggesting that this position is the most suitable for him—

Perhaps, being the third pick was indeed a waste.

Puff.

Above the Gillette Stadium, the hissing sounds, as if to kick someone when they're down, reveling in misfortune, and ganging up en masse, poured down like a torrential downpour in the heat of summer.

But Li Wei remained unaffected.

Moving into the field at a measured pace, he gently twisted his head from side to side, his joints cracking with a series of crackles, and then his footsteps were already steady in the end zone on the Kansas City Chiefs' side, surveying his territory like a lion, taking in every inch of the land before looking straight ahead.

The green field spread out wide and vast before him.

The home team players, clad in dark blue jerseys, and the away team in white jerseys were scattered, surrounded by a sea of roaring spectators, leisurely and comfortably looking up at the golden sunshine spilling from the sky—

It was a fine day for battle.

Whistle!

The whistle cut through the air.

Stephen Gostkowski, the New England Patriots' kicker, was a top star in the League.

Since joining the New England Patriots in 2006, he had maintained elite standards, helping the team reach the Super Bowl three times, the Pro Bowl four times, the All-America First Team twice, and was the league's highest scorer for five seasons—this meant maintaining an extremely high success rate for field goals and extra points.

In the later year of 2020, media professionals selected him for the 2010's All-Decade team as the kicker.

Now, it was his turn to kickoff.

A good kickoff specialist, like a punter, needed to exercise control.

It wasn't about kicking blindly or aiming for distance, but rather about coordinating with the team's strategy.

Firstly, the landing spot needed to be controlled, preferably within five yards of the front end of the end zone because if the ball went into the end zone, the opponent's kickoff spot would automatically move to the twenty-five-yard line.

Secondly, the trajectory had to be controlled, to ensure that the members of the Special Duty Group, positioned on one's own side of the field, had enough time to cross the field before the returner caught the football and started the return, ideally surrounding, or even making a direct tackle on, the returner.

A perfect kickoff or punt, in theory, could control the opponent's starting position for the offense just above the one-yard line at the front end of the end zone, creating an inherent advantage for one's own defensive group in the following clash.

So, how was Gostkowski planning to kickoff?

With the whistle sound, Gostkowski rushed forward, kicked up, and struck the ball with great force.

The whooshing blue wave seemed to surge towards him.

Li Wei's first instinct was to look up and gauge the parabola's ascent, quickly making a judgment based on its path—

If the kickoff landed in the end zone, then Li Wei would need to assess the offensive and defensive standoff in front of him, deciding whether there was a need to return or to simply accept the starting position at the twenty-five-yard line.

Swoosh.

It flew high.

The football was engulfed in a sea of golden sunlight, almost disappearing from sight.

Explore new worlds at empire

—Initiate.

Li Wei made his first judgment immediately; Gostkowski's kick trajectory was a bit higher than usual, which meant that the ball's descent would be shorter, and it also meant that he was buying time for the blue wave in front of him.

This was a tactical kickoff.

Clearly, Belichick and Reed, the two coaches, had started their contest from the very beginning, each calculating against the other, trying to seize the high ground from the first exchange.

Without hesitation, Li Wei had already sprung into action.

Slightly tucking his chin, he scanned the field with the corner of his eye; there was no time to distinguish faces, only seeing the clash between the blue wave and white gale—

Boom!

The entirety of Gillette Stadium erupted in thunderous roars.

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