Two Minute Drill (Bases Loaded Jam Series #2)

Ch. 17: Blitz (Scout)

After a week of recruiting, a day of trying out, and a few more weeks of preparation, my monster was about to get his first taste of life on the field. When one of the teams' coaches called for him to take his turn, I could see the shock and surprise on his face. He was going to have his time to get a workout in.

"Come on, let's go!" The coach said, which woke Gordon out of the shock. Immediately, Gordon got his helmet and ran onto the field. Putting his helmet on, Gordon looked to me where once again, I gave him a thumbs up just like at the pro day. He smiled as he immediately went to the coach who gave him a cheat sheet.

"We're starting with a bootleg option," I heard the coach say. "Do you know about the bootleg?"

"Yes sir," was Gordon's response.

"Run it."

Gordon then took off for the huddle. He called the play and broke the huddle to reach the line of scrimmage. Fortunately, there would be no defense facing Gordon at least immediately. However, there was something odd about the line that troubled me once everyone was set. There were eleven guys including seven bunched up together with Gordon at the line. What was wrong with what I was seeing? As I double-checked my counting, I instantly realized what the problem was.

"Uh Gordon," I shouted. "I'm not sure the guard is the one with the ball."

Gordon immediately looked and realized his mistake. Instead of lining up behind the center, he was lined up with the guard on his right. Quickly making the adjustment, Gordon got under center and immediately took the snap. Running to his right, he quickly flipped the ball to the runningback, who was tackled for a loss of yards.

Next play was a quick hand-off to the running back. However, the hand-off didn't go as planned as Gordon failed to execute the delivery and the ball fumbled. Fortunately, he made a quick impression of getting on to the ball. He tried the hand-off again and was able to get it to the running back, who scampered for a few yards.

Soon, he was able to work on his short passes and screens, which were able to get to the receivers very well. But then, it was time to go deeper. The first pass Gordon through was a deep pass that would've been good for twenty yards in an actual game. He then connected with a fifteen-yard pass. Keep in mind that there was no defense, but Gordon had a great vision of the situation. It was like he knew where the receivers were because he was hitting his targets perfectly.

"Okay," the coach said after some time. "Bring in the defense."

Now came the part we were wanting to see. Would Gordon be able to make the same throws with a defense coming right at him? The guys on defense ranged from stars of the past season to rookies and free agents hoping to find their fit on the team and they were all determined to make their case.

"Scout," I heard Brett call me. "Tell our defensive coordinator to run blitz."

I nodded, although I wasn't pleased with the idea. I went right to the coordinator and told him about Brett's plan. Even though he was reluctant, he decided he would do so.

Gordon looked out to see the defense and I could immediately tell he was feeling a bit antsy. He called the play and soon took the snap. As he dropped back, I saw one defender cut through the offensive line and spear him from behind.

"Woo-hoo!" I heard a player say. "Nice hit, rook!"

As one would figure, the animal we drafted known as Troy Paulson roughed up our guy on the blitz. Yet, I turn to see a downed Gordon, who was slow to move around. I rushed right to him.

"You alright?" I asked him.

"I've been through worse," he replied with a moan. "Now get off the field."