Chapter 77 Everyone's Attention
Football is the number one sport in North America. Even baseball, ice hockey, and basketball are all on the sidelines. It has a far leading market share and is the absolute king.
And not only the NFL's professional events, but the NCAA's college events also have unparalleled dominance, and other professional leagues are jealous.
Numbers don’t lie——
In the season opener of "Crimson Tide Storm vs. Trojans," not only did the number of spectators hit a new high, but the number of viewers on ABC TV easily exceeded 20 million.
It is now 2016. The rise of online on-demand and the diversification of entertainment life such as social networks have led to an overall decline in TV station ratings. The ratings of dramas, events, and talk shows are all facing decline. The number of viewers has reached 10 million. become an important threshold.
However, under such circumstances, the NCAA's 2016 season opener still attracted more than 20 million viewers, overwhelming all other programs.
result!
In such a focus war, it is a stranger who swaggers onto the front pages of major newspapers and media and becomes the darling of social media topics?
A completely unfamiliar face.
Moreover, he still has an Asian face!
What's going on?
Although the warm-up game of the spring training camp was broadcast live on ESPN, it did attract a lot of attention to Levi, but in the final analysis, it was just a warm-up game with limited reference value, and the subsequent impact was also limited. The name "Levi" and this face , still unknown in the rugby world.
Li Wei didn't understand them, and they didn't understand Li Wei——
Goes both ways, perfect!
But now, the situation is completely different. In the season opener, Levi decided the game with his own ability and became the most shining player without a doubt.
"177 yards, three touchdowns."
When people read this data, their eyes can't help but light up. This is indeed a dominant performance, enough to make everyone's heart beat faster.
When people read the note, "Only played in the first half," the excitement turned into madness, the brain shut down, and the ability to think was completely lost.
So, who is he?
Not only the NCAA, but also the NFL are paying attention. A player who can advance 177 yards and score three touchdowns in one half is definitely a big deal; but more importantly, the scouting reports of professional teams There is no trace of this player in the game, which is absolutely intolerable.
The draft is crucial to the NFL.
Because the football team has a large number of personnel and needs to face hard salary cap restrictions, it is unrealistic and impossible to build a competitive lineup solely by relying on the free market. They must rely on the draft, and high-quality and cheap rookies are the players. The team's development direction is to rely on rookie bonuses to win the championship.
Naturally, the draft is a top priority for the team every year.
But now, a dominant player emerges and they know nothing about it?
Unforgivable!
Although it is only one game now, and although the new season has not yet begun and each team is not sure whether they will need this player next year, they at least need to have information.
Even if you are not signing with your own team, you should know whether the rookie signed by your opponent is a mule or a horse.
In an era where information is king, lack of information means falling behind and being passive. Professional leagues understand this well.
However!
Now there is a new star popping out from the cracks in the stone?
In the bustling place, all eyes are gathered.
That brief and rough player information, showing the beauty of white space, appeared on the desktops of team managers and head coaches of every NFL team at the speed of light.
It is no exaggeration to say that there are thirty-two professional teams, without exception.
However--
In less than three seconds, more than half of the team put down the information and looked back with waning interest. The mood that had been so high just now suddenly fell below freezing point.
The reason is very simple. "Position, running back."
Just this one keyword makes them lose interest, and they are not even willing to take a second look.
This is a reality and a dilemma.
The specific situation requires in-depth analysis, and the complicated historical causes are not that simple, but overall, it can be summarized in two points.
First, alliance trends.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the running back was an important core of every team, as important as the quarterback. Ground offense and passing offense were divided into two parts. Some teams even maintained the fine tradition and used ground offense as the core. Lord, the status of running back cannot be underestimated.
After entering the new millennium, the league used the reason of "preventing injuries" to modify a series of rules and increase the intensity of quarterback retention. Although this reason is indeed true, the real reason behind it is the revenue from television broadcasts.
After all, compared to the cumbersome and slow offensive battles on the ground, in the 21st century, where the pace of life is getting faster and faster, and visual stimulation is getting duller, the passing attack is as gorgeous and exciting as a galactic battleship. Being able to win applause from the audience is somewhat similar to the development of football.
Once upon a time, there were many top teams that relied on defense, but slowly, fans like offense more than defense, so that the value of offensive players has increased.
Although the situations are not exactly the same, the essence is similar.
After the league revised its rules, allowing more and more space for passing, it became less difficult for the passing attack to open up situations, and the team's playbook gradually began to tilt. After 2010, it fully entered the "passing attack era." And it is getting more and more intense as time goes by.
Naturally, quarterbacks and related positions in passing offenses are on the rise, such as wide receivers and offensive guards.
The running backs are the victims.
The ground attack is not valued in every team, and the value and status of running backs have plummeted.
Second, injuries.
While every position in football except quarterback must take numerous hits as part of the game, there is no position quite like running back.
Running backs must use their bodies to withstand impacts and expand territory at all times. Therefore, running backs have become the position with the highest consumption rate in football.
According to statistics, the average career lifespan of all positions in the NFL is 3.3 years, while running backs only have 2.57 years, ranking last among all positions.
Those legendary running backs at the Hall of Fame level have longer career lifespans, but they often only last three to four years at their peak. Even if there are no injuries, they will start to decline due to decline in physical function.
What's more, countless legendary running backs have stepped down due to injuries.
In other words, the price/performance ratio is not high.
If a team signs a running back with a super high annual salary and is injured the next year, then the salary is a bad debt and the salary cap space is used up in vain.
Judging from the two situations, coupled with various other reasons, the development space left by the league for running backs has become increasingly bumpy.
In fact, all truly excellent head coaches know:
Without ground attack, passing offense cannot open up the situation; without excellent running backs, offensive tactics cannot be effectively advanced.
However, the reality is so cruel.
So much so that when the team manager saw the "running back", his boiling blood cooled down.
First update.
(End of this chapter)