Chapter 1378: Chapter 1377: Swaggering Display
Talent, potential, ability.
All the data is laid out, in the 2018 season, Jackson garnered countless attention, but in the eyes of professionals, Watson was still slightly better.
The real issue with Watson is: ntality.
On one hand, the fluctuations in key monts are significant, not only failing to lead the team to victory but also making interceptions, fumbles, and other mistakes. Although these stats aren’t too outrageous, appearing at crucial monts, they beco fatal, exposing the weaknesses in psychological quality.
On the other hand, as a junior, Watson’s growth and progress over his three seasons are limited. The potential analyzed on paper is like a gold mine yet to be exploited. Thus, when sophomore Jackson transford this season, he quickly left Watson behind.
Various instances, various instances.
It is precisely because of this that when people discuss Watson, no one questions his talent and potential, but the focus is on how to unleash that potential.
In the history of competitive sports, geniuses are abundant, but the cases of those getting lost on their professional path and leaving quietly are countless. Talent and potential remain forever on the level of paper analysis; breaking free from the shackles of genius to achieve greatness is ultimately not that easy.
This season, it seems that Watson finally realized it. With the continuous stimulation from competitors, he grew rapidly. His performances in the wildcard gas and divisional gas were eye-catching; on the stage of the conference finals, Watson even more rarely exhibited a mature side, drawing a chorus of exclamation and praise.
In front of him, Watson no longer stubbornly insists on relying solely on himself to influence the direction of the ga, no longer stubbornly insists on proving himself, no longer eagerly yearns to play the role of the hero who settles things at crucial monts; instead, he calmly surveys the whole field, assesses the situation, chooses the right tactics, and executes them steadily.
Talent has transford into a threat.
Energy exploded in an instant, and the Houston Texans’ offense was unleashed.
The head coach of the Houston Texans, O’Brien, was a lineman as a professional player, but he played only two years of football in the NCAA. He was an ordinary, even a failed player; during junior year, he transferred into the coaching staff at school, and in the blink of an eye, he has been in a coaching position for twenty-seven years.
Interestingly, O’Brien himself was a defensive player, yet he is a typical offensive coach. His entry into the NFL from the NCAA started as the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator assistant coach, and it was the 2007 season, the undefeated season for the New England Patriots.
In other words, his career start was astonishingly high.
However, surveying O’Brien’s entire coaching career reveals he is not an outstanding coach skilled in innovation, exploration, and tutoring. Despite having worked with quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends, he hasn’t been able to synthesize their strengths into his own. What he truly excels at is arranging and combining based on the cards he has.
To put it nicely, this is called lacking bias and arrogance, understanding how to learn from others; to put it bluntly, this is called lacking his own ideas, a patchwork of inferior imitation.
But this season, O’Brien’s three axes indeed released energy, and the fundantal reason lies in Crennel’s suggestion. The offensive and defensive groups, relying on a batch of blue-collar players, stopped trying to change the ga with the force of superstar players but instead arranged and combined based on players’ strengths.
Such patchwork unexpectedly suited O’Brien’s strengths, and the Houston Texans’ offensive group impressively delivered an eye-catching performance.
Actually, the current Houston Texans’ offensive group has a superstar, the wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
This top wide receiver, since being selected by the Houston Texans in the first round at the twenty-seventh overall pick in the 2013 season, has consistently maintained a top level in the league.
Except for his rookie season and the injury-affected 2016 season, all other seasons have been thousand-yard receiving seasons. Since entering the public eye in the 2015 season, he’s been selected to the Pro Bowl every year or the All-Arica First Team, or the All-Arican Second Team, always standing at the top of the pyramid.
A big na, undoubtedly a big na.
However, a big na also ans arrogance, conceit, self-centeredness. Back in the day, fighting for a high-paying contract, Hopkins missed training camp, unhappy with the team managent. This season, after the team sank into a continuous injury crisis, Hopkins frequently complained in the locker room:
He believed the team couldn’t go far. As long as he was with the Houston Texans, he would never have the chance to compete for the Super Bowl, which was disappointing.
It was in this context that the Houston Texans’ offensive group and defensive group had to complete adjustnts, with all players participating in a rotation system:
Even Watt was no exception, and of course, this included Hopkins. This enraged Hopkins. When Watt was placed on the injury list, Hopkins was undoubtedly the absolute superstar. Yet, the coaching staff also included him in the rotation, which was unacceptable to Hopkins.
Things suddenly beca interesting, inside and outside the field, on and off the field, with a completely different atmosphere in the team.
On one hand, Hopkins still perford excellently, proving himself with concrete actions, constantly challenging O’Brien, ensuring his position on the team.
Leading to jokes among fans: “Your big uncle is still your big uncle, Hopkins relentlessly proving himself.”
On the other hand, all offensive points of the team were spread out, with ground offense shared among three running backs, and the passing targets totalling seven people, both tight ends and five wide receivers, each accumulating over three hundred receiving yards, trying as much as possible to spread out Watson’s attack targets.
Not only making it difficult for the opposing defensive group to predict tactical directions; but also granting O’Brien flexibility in arranging offensive tactics.
The direct result was that Hopkins barely exceeded a thousand receiving yards this season, slightly above his rookie season and 2016 season but far below other seasons. The whole season netted only seven touchdowns, and wasn’t even the most on the Houston Texans team, yet he amassed over 50% of the team’s first-down catches alone, highlighting his irreplaceable role in crucial monts.
And the Houston Texans reached the conference finals.
In other words, despite Hopkins grumbling incessantly, repeatedly emphasizing his position on the team; the facts laid out prove that O’Brien’s attempt was correct and successful.
The tug-of-war and chess ga between “Hopkins VS O’Brien” made it hard to say who won, and it is likely to drag on for so ti.
Because the Houston Texans scored a touchdown—
Watson connected with Hopkins on a thirteen-yard pass. In the predicant of double coverage, Hopkins showcased top talent, relying solely on personal ability to snatch the football above the heads of two defensive players, controlling his feet to land inbounds, completing a touchdown catch in an unbelievable manner.
“Ah, ah ah ah!”
Hopkins did not rush towards the Kansas City Chiefs but dashed towards the Houston Texans’ sideline, arms spread wide, running free, locking eyes on O’Brien’s figure, roaring indulgently, venting all pent-up frustrations and repression.
“Ah ah ah, ah ah ah!”
A smile, blossod wantonly.
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