Chapter 333: Growing Reputation
The reality of collective projects is often like this——
When praising a player, they must distinguish clearly whether this is due to the player's personal ability or the team's tactical system.
Just like in the football world, when Barcelona wins, people praise Messi; but when Argentina loses, should people blame Messi or the team?
These subtle differences are present throughout and are true for all team sports, especially rugby.
And even more so for running backs.
From a purely statistical point of view, Levi dominates this year's running back statistics list with his undisputed performance. There are obvious barriers between him and other players. Even Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams seems to be overshadowed.
However, before Levi "became a god", professionals and senior fans still did not let emotions overwhelm their reason, and their eyes fell on two statistics.
First, average yards per possession.
Levi, 5.8 yards.
Gurley, 4.9 yards.
Bell, 4.0 yards.
McCoy, 4.0 yards.
The numbers don't lie. This performance is second only to Adrian Peterson, who entered a super state in the 2012 season, and became the second-best result in average yards in five seasons.
In the 2012 season, Peterson averaged 6.0 yards per possession, truly showing his dominance; and now Levi is approaching this figure.
It is worth mentioning that in terms of the number of times they have held the ball, Levi and Bell are almost the same. The two are the only running backs in the league who have held the ball more than 300 times this season. Gurley, McCoy and other running backs have The number of times he held the ball was all around 280, but Levi still maintained such efficiency.
Moreover, don’t forget that Hunter, the second running back of the Kansas Chiefs, also ran the ball for more than 600 yards. Under Reid, who has always been a passing offense, this is definitely a rare sight; no wonder Kansas Chiefs quarterback Smith can Playing the best season of his career.
At this moment, all controversies should be shut up——
Remember, after the draft, people complained about the stupid move of the Kansas Chiefs in selecting two running backs in the first and third rounds respectively; but now that the regular season is over, the Kansas Chiefs have become the league's No. 1 ground offense team. Let everyone be disappointed.
Number of yards on the ground, number of running touchdowns, average yards per possession, etc., all top the list.
Second, the number of dropped balls.
Levi, 0.
Bell, 2.
McCoy, 2.
Gurley, 5.
This is undoubtedly the most shocking and unexpected set of data.
Not only did Levi become the only player who has not dropped the ball among players who have held the ball more than 100 times this season, he also became the first player in NFL history to start more than ten games in a rookie season and the only player who did not drop the ball. players.
Not only efficient, but also stable. No mistakes.
In fact, Bell and McCoy's performance was already very good, but they were still not good enough in front of Levi, let alone Gurley who dropped the ball five times.
By the way, Hunter only dropped the ball once all season, which is no less impressive than Levi. The Kansas Chiefs' ground attack performance really amazed the entire league.
This also means that entering the single-elimination playoffs, the Kansas Chiefs' offense can play more steadily.
All kinds, all kinds.
One data after another is in front of us, which is eye-catching and shocking. It also proves that Levi is undoubtedly the best rookie this season - even the best rookie in history; he is also the best performer this season. Offensive player, showing incredible dominance.
Out of nowhere! True to its name.
It’s no wonder that the buzz surrounding Levi is all over the place, especially when the quarterback and defensive players performed slightly below expectations. The blooming of running backs and the absolute dominance of Levi were highlighted at once. No one should miss it. , and no one wants to miss it.
Then, bringing up old things again——
Regular season MVP.
In the history of the NFL, since the selection of regular season MVP began in 1957, no rookie player has ever won the award in the entire sixty years.
In fact, there are quite a few sophomores who have won regular season MVP awards, such as Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino; but rookies are another story after all.
Rookies are rookies, and it is a common practice to discuss them separately from other players.
This year, however, is a little different.
Levi's performance was so amazing and shocking. He dominated the league's ground offense so much that the quarterbacks and defensive players also seemed inferior. If Levi is not included in the regular season MVP discussion, it will be blind. , as if the entire alliance was collectively stupid.
As a result, an unprecedented scene appeared, and probably will never happen again:
A rookie and a running back, he definitely occupies a place in the regular season MVP discussion.
This is the true pinnacle of reputation!
At the beginning of the story, people began to discuss because of Levi’s identity, experience, position, etc.; as the story progressed, people began to discuss because of the topics and attention brought by Levi, etc., as a player’s commercial value and When off-field gossip steals the spotlight from the field, it is often the beginning of disaster——
It is precisely because of this that the official promotion of the NFL and the attention of sponsors such as Nike and Pepsi have always kept Levi at the forefront.
However, Levi was not affected. He drew his attention back to the game with his undisputed performance, used his unparalleled performance to eliminate all opposition and complaints, and personally sent himself into the hot discussion storm of regular season MVP. The traffic of NFL The craze pushed to a new peak in one fell swoop.
Of course, this is not enough, far from it.
After all, Levi is just a rookie running back.
In the world of competitive sports, championships are always the ultimate goal, and naturally, the bustling discussions all converge toward the Super Bowl.
Perhaps, the only one whose traffic popularity can surpass Levi's is the playoffs.
The much-anticipated moment has finally arrived——
This season, how far can the Kansas Chiefs go in their playoff journey?
“We can, of course we can!”
In the Old Oak Tavern, the most die-hard and loyal Chiefs fans made their voices heard unswervingly.
Then, a faint voice came from the corner of the bar, "Are you sure?"
The surging enthusiasm was met with a bucket of cold water, and the eyes in the tavern swarmed towards the corner of the bar like arrows.
"Fuck, Chris. Can you stop that dead face? None of us owe you money."
"I hate idiots like you who pretend to be reasonable."
"Chris, give the team some confidence. If we don't believe in the team, who else will fight with the team."
"Get out. If you don't support the team, get out. We don't welcome you here."
"You can shut up. If you don't speak, no one will treat you as a mute."
"It's been a while since you brushed your teeth. You'd better clean yourself up."
With just one word, he was attacked by the entire tavern, but Chris Provos was still lying quietly on the bar, as if he was completely unaware of his crisis.
(End of chapter)