Chapter 1060: Another Upgrade
Luck, Prediction, Charisma, and Aura were the four hidden attributes that Lu Ke currently possessed.
Luck, needless to say, is just as the word suggests. Prediction, on the other hand, is a very important skill in reading the defense. It is directly related to the offensive line's layout and the interpretation of defensive formations, and it is seamlessly integrated with Lu Ke's entire tactical system.
Charisma specifically refers to the weakening of defensive players, especially during head-on collisions like blitzes, sacks, and fumbles. For example, a missed tackle or a misplaced sack. This can create more space for the offense and even more space for the offensive line and the running back.
Aura is the influence a quarterback has on his teammates. It can be understood as a mage's buff aura, which improves the offense's performance through the quarterback's actions, such as defensive reads, tactical layouts, and passing accuracy. Aura simply strengthens this connection. Furthermore, an excellent performance from the offense could also boost the defense's morale, thereby changing the defense's performance.
To put it simply, all four hidden attributes are based on the quarterback and establish a three-dimensional, close relationship between the quarterback and the entire offense and defense, thereby pushing the team toward victory. From another perspective, this can also be understood as the influence and deterrence of a leader.
With 25 Special Points, if Lu Ke converted all of them into Basic Points, he could spend them lavishly. But just for stacking the hidden attributes, it would be a tight budget. Charisma was at 70, and Aura was at 75. Choosing to stack either attribute would use up all the points from this game's harvest.
Glancing at his Basic Points, Lu Ke decisively made his choice. He exchanged five Special Points, which gave him 15 Basic Points, and had 20 Special Points left. Only then did he officially start allocating his points.
First, the allocation of Special Points.
Lu Ke decided to stack all of his Special Points on the Aura attribute. This attribute had the most profound impact on the entire team. After four separate allocations, the Aura attribute went from 75 to 95. In a short amount of time, it had undergone a complete transformation, and the quarterback's additional influence reached an absolute top level.
Next, the allocation of Basic Points.
Left-side Awareness: Stacked 10 points, raising it from 70 to 80.Right-side Awareness: Stacked 5 points, raising it from 75 to 80.
The improvement of these two skills cannot directly become an immediate combat skill for the quarterback, but they play a crucial role in the quarterback's judgment in the pocket and are key to improving the quality of the game.
Finally, the allocation of Gold Points.
Now, there were more and more skills that had reached their max. The Gold Points were just a drop in the bucket. Lu Ke could already foresee that all of his Basic and Special Points in the next season would need to be converted into Gold Points, little by little, to turn his strengths into the most elite of skills. Just imagining it, he knew how difficult the task would be.
It takes 30 Basic Points or 10 Special Points to exchange for one Gold Point. This means it would take about three to four games to make one breakthrough, and the rapid progress of the first two seasons would be gone. Of course, this is fair. Perfection is not so easy to achieve, or it wouldn't be called perfect.
The allocation of Gold Points returned to its simplest state: just pick the skills that are his strongest. This was not a difficult task.
Lu Ke first chose the hidden attribute Prediction. This was an important part of his entire tactical system and complemented his tactical awareness and observation. Now that he finally had the opportunity to improve it, he couldn't miss it.
So, Prediction reached its max.
Lu Ke then chose Wrist Control. Other options included Accuracy in Tactical Zones, Fake Throwing Motions, Short Pass Accuracy, and so on. But he ultimately added the Gold Point to Wrist Control.
In the beginning, Wrist Control was a reflection of his technical finesse, mainly reflecting his control of the ball's arc, angle adjustment, and power output to avoid unnecessary interceptions. But little by little, Lu Ke formed his own playing style. The wrist adjustment at the moment of release, its concealment, suddenness, and deception all skyrocketed, making his passes more threatening.
So, the application of Wrist Control was now richer and more complete, becoming an important part of Lu Ke's arsenal.
So, Wrist Control reached its max.
Once again, Lu Ke's overall strength was elevated. He was ready for the upcoming NFC Championship. This year was their year!
With the end of the divisional round game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks, the other AFC divisional game also officially ended. The four spots in the conference championships were officially decided.
In the two divisional games held the day before, Peyton Manning's Denver Broncos lost to the Baltimore Ravens in double overtime, and Aaron Rodgers's Green Bay Packers lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the final moments. It was a shame that two elite quarterbacks were eliminated on the same day.
In the two divisional games held today, the potential for an upset also brought the eyes of all of North America to them.
In the first NFC divisional game, Lu Ke's 49ers completely eliminated all suspense. They maintained their lead from the first minute of the game and showed the true colors of a strong team with a dominant and outstanding performance, marching into the NFC Championship.
Lu Ke was still not an elite quarterback, only one of the most outstanding quarterbacks in the past two seasons. But as a young quarterback, he showed a strong, fearless spirit in the playoffs. He was not intimidated at all, and making it to the conference championships for two consecutive seasons was truly incredible.
As a player from the same draft class, Andy Dalton led the Cincinnati Bengals to the playoffs for two consecutive years but was eliminated in the Wild Card round both times and has yet to win a playoff game. And last year's number one pick, Cam Newton, has yet to lead his team back to the playoffs.
In comparison, Lu Ke's performance was even more amazing.
In the second AFC divisional game, Tom Brady's New England Patriots faced off against Matt Schaub's Houston Texans. This game was supposed to be the most lopsided matchup of the four divisional games, but considering the Texans' excellent form this season and the Patriots' relatively stagnant performance, everything became unpredictable.
Judging purely from the regular season's offensive and defensive rankings, the Patriots' offense ranked second in the league, while the Texans' offense ranked eighth. The Patriots' defense ranked ninth in the league, while the Texans' defense ranked tenth. But it's worth noting that the Texans' ground defense ranked third in the league.
In other words, the Texans' performance on defense would decide the outcome of the game, and the offense would depend on how well the veteran, Matt Schaub, could perform.
Hopes were high, but reality was cruel.
The Houston Texans' game ultimately did not meet expectations. They were behind the entire game, from the first quarter to the third. They failed to score in the third quarter but gave up two touchdowns, allowing the crafty Patriots to pull away.
In the fourth quarter, Schaub, in a desperate attempt, successfully connected with wide receiver Andre Johnson multiple times, recovering 15 points in one quarter. But unfortunately, they still failed to defend against Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, allowing the opponent to score 10 more points, and they were ultimately unable to make a comeback.
With a score of "41-28," the Patriots defeated their opponent on their home field without much trouble and advanced to the AFC Championship.
Last year, the Houston Texans lost to the Baltimore Ravens with a score of "13-20." This year, the Texans lost once again to the even more powerful Patriots. This young team was still paying for its immaturity and seemed to be unable to change the landscape of the AFC.
For the second consecutive year, in the AFC Championship, the number two seed Patriots would face the number four seed Baltimore Ravens. At the same time, as the higher-ranked seed, the Patriots would have home-field advantage at Gillette Stadium, and the bitter cold of "the Foxborough" seemed to be baring its fangs at the Ravens again.
The only good thing was that winter in Baltimore was also exceptionally cold.
This season, the Ravens' overall performance was also inconsistent. They had a bumpy ride from the regular season to the playoffs, and their performance was a bit worse than last year. Now, once again facing the Patriots on the road, it was still the most severe game of the season. So, would the game repeat last year's script?
As for the NFC Championship, the number one seed 49ers would face the number two seed Atlanta Falcons. The top two seeds successfully advanced.
In the 2012 season, a total of three teams in the entire league had 13 wins: the Denver Broncos in the AFC and the San Francisco 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC. The offensive strength of these three teams was undeniable.
Among them, the Broncos' three losses all came in the first five weeks of the season, and they ended the season with an 11-game winning streak. The Falcons, on the other hand, had the opposite experience. All three of their losses came in the second half of the season. After a strong start with a nine-game winning streak, they were a bit inconsistent in the second half and even lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home in the final game.
Of course, these records don't determine the outcome of the playoff matchup, but they at least show that after the Broncos were surprisingly eliminated, the matchup between the Falcons and the 49ers was a clash between the two teams in the best form this season. This was definitely the focus of the entire league!
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