Chapter 733: 732 The So-Called Genius
After completing the milestone ga of a thousand-yard season, Peterson once again stood under the dia spotlight. Following two horribly bad years, no one had anticipated that Peterson could make a coback and still perform excellently in top-tier league confrontations.
Just when Peterson was on the verge of being forgotten, the League’s most outstanding and excellent running back of the past decade re-entered the public eye.
From Bell’s strike to Peterson’s return, the dramatic ups and downs of the running backs indeed held a significant place in the regular season.
However, what no one could have anticipated was that an emotional and empathetic Peterson, when faced with the onslaught of dia swarming from all sides, would begin with the sentint,
“Thanks to Li Wei.”
Buzz, buzz, buzz, all the journalists were stunned.
...
But Peterson was not.
“Li Wei is my role model and my inspiration.”
“Believe , I know what I am talking about. I an, you should see his performance, people should stop taking it for granted just because Li Wei is a running back.”
“He is always consistent, always steps up when the team needs to break a deadlock and turn things around, always learning, improving, and battling. Watching his ga is a pleasure; he is a smart kid, and his ga reading and tactical applications show a new possibility for running backs.”
“If I rember correctly, Li Wei’s Frederick Test scores were outstanding, and now, he has applied his intelligence in the gas, an ability other running backs in the league do not possess, an ability that others must look up to and learn from.”
Gurley & Elliott & Barkley: Thanks, we feel slighted.
“I must admit, watching his ga brings a lot of inspiration. Nothing but admiration.”
“So, you should stop your biases and learn to appreciate the variety and brilliance that running backs bring to the ga.”
Undoubtedly, Li Wei is the hot favorite in the league, but the journalists had not anticipated hearing such high praise from Peterson’s mouth.
Moreover, Peterson pointed out a key focus, a very, very special focus:
The Frederick Test.
Traditionally, the Frederick Test for running backs has been underappreciated, linked to the stereotype that has trickled down in the league. Running backs are often seen as re battering rams or siege engines, with strength and confrontation at the core—essentially, just battering bulls, with no need for agility or intellect.
The fact has also been proven, as over the past thirty years, running backs have consistently had so of the lowest average scores in the Frederick Test among all team positions.
However, since the turn of the millennium, with Hall of Fa legend Tomlinson as a milestone, running backs have evolved significantly. They rely not only on brute strength but increasingly on speed, agility, maneuverability; and in recent years, they have also started playing a role in receiving passes.
In other words, the tactical placent of running backs has changed; they are no longer just battering bulls.
Naturally, running backs cannot just keep their heads down and run; they need to learn playbooks, coordinate with teammates, and read defenses among other things.
Peterson didn’t ntion it, and thus people did not notice, like the elephant in the room, that Li Wei’s Frederick Test scores had long been forgotten; but now, because of Peterson, mories surged like tides, and eyes quickly scanned the Frederick Test scores of the running backs.
Wait a minute!
Leonard Fournette!
In 2016, one of NCAA’s top three running backs, selected fourth overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2017 draft, has been compared to Li Wei and McCaffrey since entering the league, perford well last season, yet was locked down by the Kansas City Chiefs in the Arican League finals.
This season, with Li Wei and McCaffrey shining as dual stars, the new generation of running backs greatly distinguished themselves, while Fournette fell into a slump and was injured after eight gas, marking his third injury within two years; but before the injury, Fournette seed to have hit the rookie wall, with performances not eting expectations.
Upon reflecting, in stark contrast to Li Wei and McCaffrey, Fournette’s running has always been rigid and clumsy, lacking in variation and progress. How should this be explained?
High Emotional Intelligence: Retro.
Low Emotional Intelligence: Stupid.
Was it because Fournette couldn’t understand the playbook and could only choose to run headlong?
Looking at Fournette’s Frederick Test scores, it seed the answer had finally surfaced:
11 points.
Two dough sticks.
Although the average score for a running back on the Frederick test was only 17; Fournette was far below average. Looking at McCaffrey’s test results, 21 points, he even reached the benchmark for quarterbacks, and the answer slowly beca clear.
Was this the reason?
Fournette, who was undergoing rehabilitation, inexplicably felt as if his body was pierced by arrows and yet he was at a loss for words: Thanks, Peterson, I really thank your whole family.
If this was the answer, the perfect score on the Frederick Test ant more than just a resu enhancent for Li Wei.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
The focus sward toward Li Wei, pushing him to unprecedented heights.
It turned out Peterson was right—
Or rather, the data proved it.
Even though running backs had risen across the season, showing off srizing performances that differed starkly from the quarterbacks, Li Wei still managed to stand out amidst the fierce competition.
In a dominating manner.
Just looking at the running yards, Li Wei’s performance dropped a bit from the previous season’s 1,888 yards, but 1,667 yards was still impressively unbeatable, making him the League’s leading rusher for the second consecutive season.
Consecutive victories!
The League erupted in astonishnt; it was the first ti since running back Tomlinson in the 2006 and 2007 seasons that a player had achieved such a feat. Top running backs had co and gone, yet no one had managed to replicate this miraculous performance until now.
And that’s not all.
Aside from being the top rusher again, Li Wei scored 16 rushing touchdowns this season, claiming the top spot for rushing touchdowns for the second straight year, perfectly replicating the glory Tomlinson wrote eleven years ago, and for two consecutive seasons, dominating as the League’s number one running back.
But notably, this was just the first two seasons of Li Wei’s career.
In other words, he peaked as soon as he debuted, and logically, it should have gone downhill from there. Yet, Li Wei continued to stand at the peak roaring.
If there was anything more incredible, it was that Li Wei played only fifteen gas in each of the two seasons. Despite playing one less ga, he still easily dominated and set records.
Even more insane than Tomlinson.
It reminded people of what Burns, the current running backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs and the forr coach at the University of Alabama, once said.
“He’s a genius.”
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