Chapter 247 Rookie Benchmark
It’s over, and the game is over.
Elliot stood there in despair, his face full of regret and unwillingness——
He also imagined that he would arrive in Philadelphia from Cincinnati on colorful auspicious clouds, enter God mode at a critical moment, reverse the predicament and fight back, becoming a hero who laid the foundation for the victory of the Philadelphia Eagles. Not only did he give the Cincinnati Tigers a powerful counterattack, but he also proved himself .
In fact, the moment Gambling kicked him out, everything seemed possible. He sincerely believed that he could be the hero of victory.
He even had his celebration figured out, giving Wentz a high-five, handing over the Hail Mary, and then embracing the cheers of his new teammates.
However, everything came to an abrupt end.
Levi.
It was Levi who single-handedly extinguished the Philadelphia Eagles' hope of counterattack. He was strong enough, decisive enough, and more importantly, calm enough.
Stay calm in times of crisis.
So, is this the temperament of a superstar?
With a gentle, long breath, Elliott carefully collected all the messy thoughts, raised his head, and found Levi in the crowd at a glance, bustling among the players of the Kansas City Chiefs, not only the offensive team Members and defensive players are no exception.
Can you imagine? A rookie, a rookie, but two weeks into the season, he has quietly become the core of the team.
Perhaps, he should learn from Levi, follow Levi's example, firmly seize this opportunity, gain a foothold in Philadelphia, and start a new journey.
After all, he, like Levi, is a rookie. If the running back can have a spring, why can't the kicker?
His eyes fell on Levi again, with a little longing and a little admiration. Elliott hesitated a little. If he proposed to Levi to exchange jerseys, would he refuse?
Finally, after hesitating, Elliot decided to try to ask. Before he could even take a step forward, he discovered that someone had arrived first——
Wentz.
Carson Wentz is a little embarrassed.
Originally, Wentz wanted to exchange jerseys with Smith. The quarterback and the quarterback cherished each other, but they could never take their eyes off Levi.
Wentz is only in his second year. From last year to this year, he is still a little confused:
The eyes focused on Goff and Wentz, the two No. 2 picks, have never cooled down. Those harsh, critical and sharp eyes want to dissect them alive, review their performance over and over again, and can't wait for them to grow up and save the team overnight. savior.
Everything happens for a reason.
In the 2012 season, the Indianapolis Colts selected Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick, and the Washington Redskins spent a huge price to complete the deal and finally selected Robert Griffin III with the No. 2 pick. Both players were in their rookie seasons. Playing a phenomenal top performance, they not only led their respective teams to the playoffs, but were both selected to the Pro Bowl.
Since that year, it has become a trend to select a quarterback with a first-round pick and make full use of the benefits of the rookie's four-year low-value contract to bring good results to the team.
In the 2015 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Jameis Winston with the No. 1 pick, and the Tennessee Titans selected Marcus Mariota with the No. 2 pick. The two players were selected in 2013. , the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner, shouldering important responsibilities for the team in his rookie season.
Although the rookie seasons of Winston and Mariota cannot be compared with Luck and Griffin III, there is no doubt that they did have a good season, and Winston was directly selected to the Pro Bowl.
At this time, the entire league was excited. In addition, the league held high the banner of passing offense and introduced a series of rules to protect the quarterback and ensure that the quarterback could complete the pass more calmly. The teams also received more encouragement. , select a quarterback early and look to take advantage of the rookie bonus.
As a result, in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, the top three picks in the draft attracted a lot of attention.
The 2017 season is slightly better, because it is a big year for defense, the quarterback is in an overall slump, and the attention is not so crazy. If the Kansas Chiefs continue to take risks, it is estimated that this year's draft will be calm; and the 2016 season is because The two quarterbacks were hilarious.
Goff and Wentz. Almost all teams know that the No. 1 and No. 2 picks were booked early, either by Goff or Wentz. In the end, the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles respectively spent a huge price to trade up to get the first two picks. Goff went to Los Angeles and Wentz went to Philadelphia. .
It is precisely because of the accumulation in the past few years that the entire league has high expectations for Goff and Wentz, hoping that they can explode in their rookie seasons.
However.
Goff started seven games and lost all seven games, passing for 1,089 yards, five touchdown passes, and seven interceptions.
Wentz started all sixteen games, winning seven and losing nine, passing for 3,782 yards, 16 touchdown passes, and 14 interceptions.
Among them, Wentz received 100% support from head coach Peterson and attempted 607 passes throughout the season, which is the second-most pass attempts by a rookie quarterback in NFL history after Andrew Luck since the 2012 season. record; it also helped Wentz break a series of rookie passing records.
Even so, it's still not enough, far from enough.
Goff was labeled as a "parallel import" early on, and Wentz was also scolded by the media. Compared with the treatment of Winston and Mariota last year, it is as high as heaven and earth.
In fact, this game is no exception——
Even before he heads to the press conference, Wentz knows he's about to be in the media spotlight again.
Wentz's intuition was correct.
At the post-game press conference, the reporter threw the data directly in Peterson's face: In the entire game, Blount, the running yard leader last season, only carried the ball once and advanced zero yards.
Moreover, in the entire game, the Philadelphia Eagles only attempted ten running ball attempts and advanced 71 yards on the ground, 55 of which came from quarterback Wentz. In other words, the running back group only advanced 16 yards.
Sixteen yards.
This data is really bloody.
The media put all the blame on Peterson and Wentz. If Peterson hadn't insisted on focusing on the passing attack, the Philadelphia Eagles might not have lost.
Wentz wasn't surprised.
Anyway, every move he and Goff make may become the original sin, and their every word and deed will be put under the microscope. No matter what happens, "blame Wentz" and "blame Goff" has become a routine.
Especially in the 2017 season, there was no rookie quarterback to share their pressure, so Wentz and Goff were still in the spotlight.
That kind of pressure is suffocating. Even if Wentz enters "God Mode" at the last moment to bring suspense to the game, it is not enough, it is still far from enough.
This year, the pressure on Levi is even greater, and to some extent, even more exaggerated than Goff and Wentz combined.
People saw the brilliance of Levi making history, but Wentz saw the pressure Levi endured and the running backs. Those labels, any one of which fell on his shoulders was as heavy as a thousand pounds, rookies, Chinese Americans, running backs, rookies Wait, wait, a label is a big mountain, enough to crush people.
However, how did Levi do it?
Under heavy pressure, he did not give in, be timid or flinch, but turned into motivation, bursting out with more powerful, fierce and sturdy energy.
Set a difficult benchmark for rookies to surpass.
Before he realized it, Wentz had appeared in front of Levi, which seemed to be a subconscious action.
(End of chapter)