Chapter 172: Undercurrent
Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons.
A number of teams all sent interview invitations to Levi, with draft picks ranging from high to low, covering all aspects.
Undoubtedly, Levi became the busiest figure in the entire training camp. His feet never touched the ground and he couldn't stop at all. He didn't even have time to drink water.
This is indeed a little surprising, not shocking at all. People can foresee that the alliance is curious about Levi, but it has actually reached such an extent?
Before the rookie training camp, there was a lot of discussion about Levi in the NFL, and one of the views was very popular:
It's not that Levi isn't good enough, it's that Shaban's system gives full play to Levi's abilities.
There are many reasons why the status of running backs in the professional league is deteriorating. In addition to injuries, passing is king, etc., there is also the offensive system.
The running back is a position that relies heavily on pick-up cooperation. An excellent offensive line is responsible for opening the way for the running back, and the wide receiver and tight end are responsible for the pick-up. Only in this way can the running back fight his way out of the sea of people. Otherwise, even if he is as strong as Henry is also difficult to defeat with two fists and is easily exhausted by four hands.
Because of this, an excellent ground attack team often has a top offensive line, and the coach arranges tactics to assist in splitting and covering.
The Alabama Crimson Tide Storm are one such team.
There is no doubt that Levi is outstanding; but does such excellence completely rely on the offensive system of the Alabama Crimson Tide Storm? After changing a team and a system, will Levi become acclimated and expose all his shortcomings? Any average running back entering the Alabama Crimson Tide should be able to perform at the top level, right?
In the final analysis, Levi has only entered the football field for just one season, and the reference sample is too small, so these concerns are justified.
Kamala’s provocation stems from her support of this view.
In particular, Levi's absence from other training camps and always remaining mysterious has further fueled this view. It is generally believed that Levi was afraid of exposing his shortcomings and affecting his draft picks, so he simply refused all training camp invitations without discrimination.
but!
In the rookie training camp, Levi showed his abilities in all aspects, from injury evaluation to Vonderrick test, from physical test data to catching test. People finally saw the brilliance of Burns' original discovery of Levi. This was once again Let Levi become the inevitable focus among the rookies.
And, that's still not all.
When the interviews were all over, Levi, who didn't even have time to drink a sip of water, thought he could finally take a breath, but he didn't expect that the Green Bay Packers would send out a temporary invitation for an interview.
Occasionally, such an unexpected situation does occur. After the scheduled interview, the team is not satisfied with the results. After discussions between the team manager and the head coach, an invitation is temporarily issued, hoping to find a more suitable choice.
In fact, the Green Bay Packers have interviewed several other running backs, but all three major running backs have skipped it because their draft pick is not high, only the 29th overall pick. They really don’t want to get involved in this game. In the debate; however, they do desperately need a running back.
In the 2016 season, the Green Bay Packers made it all the way to the NFC finals and faced off against the Atlanta Falcons. Before the game, people were generally optimistic that the Green Bay Packers would advance. However, relying solely on Rogers' power alone, the Green Bay Packers' ground attack completely stretched their legs. After all, the offense still lacks explosiveness.
Can you imagine?
In the entire game, the Green Bay Packers' total ground offensive yards did not exceed 100 yards, and no running back's ground running yards exceeded 30 yards.
In the end, the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Green Bay Packers "44:21" to win the NFC championship and advance to the Super Bowl.
The Green Bay Packers need a ground attack, even though they have one of the best quarterbacks in the entire league, and even though the NFL has fully entered the passing attack era, they really need a ground attack.
With no other choice, the Green Bay Packers still got involved in the whirlpool of this hot topic and sent an interview invitation to Levi. Suddenly, the situation became particularly interesting——
More than one-third of the thirty-two teams in the league interviewed Levi.
this!
While shouting that running backs are money losers, fewer and fewer people are willing to risk their first-round picks to select running backs; at the same time, they cannot ignore the market dividends of Levi as a Chinese-American player. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is a sure profit. In a win without loss, only Caldwell of the Jacksonville Jaguars was still smugly boasting about his superiority. Before the answer was revealed, their trump card had already been revealed.
At the same time, no one can deny the irreplaceable role of a top running back on the team's offensive tactics.
Then, chaos arose.
In fact, not only the teams, but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is also taking action——
Since taking office in 2006, in just ten years, Goodell has doubled the market value of the NFL, and the net worth of the 32 teams has also increased accordingly; There was a craze around the world.
In 2016, in the ranking of the world's most valuable professional clubs, the NFL occupied half of the top 50 seats, with 26 teams in the top 50. The Dallas Cowboys topped the list for three consecutive years.
It's no wonder Goodell's approval rating among team owners is at a new high.
What ordinary team managers can see, there is no reason why Goodell can't see it. He is also adding fuel to the fire behind the scenes. Suddenly, Levi's news can be seen all over the sky, and the exposure rate has reached an incredible level, but Goodell really The cleverness is not here.
- Running back.
Goodell's bundle sale pushed the battle between Fournette, Levi and McCaffrey to the top.
Because Goodell knows that the league has focused entirely on passing offenses in recent years, so that the value of running backs has been declining, and teams have become more and more stingy with high-ranking picks to select running backs; but now, Goodell needs the team to be bolder Be bold and choose Levi. Relying solely on Levi's strength may not be enough.
Therefore, they need to reawaken the value of running backs, convince fans that running backs are an indispensable piece of the puzzle to compete for the Super Bowl, and it is up to the fans to give team managers the courage to boldly select running backs with high picks.
All of a sudden, there was a turmoil, and the discussion surrounding the three major running backs was overwhelming, and other running backs also received more attention.
At the same time, Goodell personally visited China again, posted hero posts, and warmly invited Chinese media to go to Philadelphia, where this year’s draft will be held, to live broadcast the draft live and witness history——
Everything is building momentum for this year's draft.
As expected, Levi is 100% able to be selected. As long as he is selected, it will be a historical moment.
The only suspense now is whether he can be selected in the first round? Or to be more prepared, at what position was he selected by which team?
The heat wave is rolling, getting more and more intense. Now that the atmosphere has reached this point, it shouldn't...not...be thrown into the street, right?
The first update today.
(End of this chapter)