Logan is a slacker.
This is an established fact, not a random slander. Even Logan himself admits it frankly, and is even... proud of it.
Logan is a natural wide receiver. Whether it is physical flexibility, muscle explosiveness, catching touch, or running routes, he has all the talents needed for a top wide receiver. He is invincible in the middle school field; However, in the eleventh grade, under the advice and guidance of the coach, Logan began to switch to tight end.
Why? Before explaining why, you can understand the difference between wide receivers and tight ends.
It can be simply understood that the only task of the wide receiver is to catch the ball; while the task of the tight end includes picking off and catching the ball. In some teams, the near end is even simply used as an additional striker. Players use it to take advantage of their size to complete pick-and-rolls and interceptions during offense, providing better pockets.
Once upon a time, wide receivers were historically dominated by white men, and countless Hall of Fame wide receivers were born. In the history of the San Francisco 49ers, "that catch" in 1982 was completed between Joe Montana and Dwight Clark. Wired, the latter is a white receiver; but after entering the 21st century, white receivers are losing ground and even disappearing.
Due to the "general environment" in the United States, black players did not receive respect from professional leagues for a long time, which also allowed white receivers to have a glorious and long period of prosperity; but after the millennium, the situation of wide receivers However, the position has gradually become the world of black people, especially with the advent of the passing era, the physical talents of black people have been completely released, and the living space of white wide receivers has become smaller and smaller.
Currently, among the thirty-two teams in the league, there are approximately 200 wide receivers, but there are only more than 20 white receivers, with an average of less than one per team; among these, those who can reach the top and occupy the main force , then it is even rarer.
Analyzing the specific reasons is not complicated.
First, we need to analyze the natural enemy of the wide receiver, the cornerback.
Because of the tactical layout, the cornerbacks have no tactical tasks. They must either defend in the area or defend one on one. They are basically in a situation where the enemy moves against the opponent, so they do not need running routes, tactical literacy, etc. Training often relies on one's own physical talents to complete defense.
Generally speaking, the advantage of black players lies in their superior physical talent, but their disadvantages lie in poor route running, poor professional attitude, and even insufficient understanding of the tactical manual. The white players are different. Their advantage lies in the interpretation and reception of the tactical manual. The softness of the ball's hand and the concentration of professional attitude, in comparison, the physical talent is not as good as that of black people.
Naturally, the cornerback position has become a black man's world. Currently, all cornerbacks in the league are black. They are all black. There are almost no white people training at this position, and even in the college arena, there are very few.
It is precisely because of the cornerback position that blacks gradually began to gain the upper hand. Forced, coaches and teams also had to make adjustments. They had to start looking more at black players when drafting wide receivers.
It is true that black people's work ethics and tactical literacy are not enough, and their catching touch is not good enough; but in terms of vertical attack ability, short-range explosive ability, physical confrontation ability, etc., they completely overwhelm white receivers and compete with cornerbacks. In order to gain more upper hand, this is a more suitable choice for the team's tactical arrangement.
Techniques and tactics can all be trained. The running routes of wide receivers, the interpretation of zone defense, and the judgment of cornerback fake actions can all be improved through later training, but physical talents are innate. , nothing means nothing and cannot be changed.
Compared with black receivers, the biggest advantage of white receivers is the touch of the ball, which is delicate and supple - corresponding to the quarterback's passes, they can often turn decay into magic; but other than that, In terms of other talents, black receivers have an absolute advantage. As a result, there are more and more black people and fewer and fewer white people in the position of wide receiver in the league.
In the college arena, many talented white receivers have moved to other positions in order to survive in the league, creating a vicious cycle.
Another fact is that, whether black or white, the elimination rate of wide receivers in the NFL is too high, and it is too difficult to stand out. In every year's draft, about twenty wide receivers are selected, and then countless undrafted rookies join the training camp. With strong bodies, high quality and low prices, the elimination rate of wide receivers is getting higher and higher.
This is the same as the running back position. Relying on physical talent to dominate the world is basically a youth meal. Even the elimination rate for black receivers remains high, let alone white receivers?
The most direct proof is that in the San Francisco 49ers, all four receivers, Michael Crabtree, Ted Ginn, Kyle Williams and Braylon Edwards, are black.
However, at the position of tight end, blacks and whites are equally divided. The reason is very simple. Another important job of the tight end is to cover. Physical talent is important, but more importantly, it is the interpretation of routes, reading of defenses and blocking of pick-and-rolls. These can all be improved through training. Quality.
In addition, because the tight end is relatively bulky, his running route is still mainly short passes. In the short passing area, tactical arrangement is the most important. What is required is the ability to understand the tactical manual and the intuition of running routes. In this regard, white players have an advantage.
Because of this, in the eleventh grade, Logan began to switch to tight end. Relying on his talent for catching the ball, Logan kills everyone in the short passing area like a killing god; at the same time, relying on his keen defensive reading and accurate blocking ability, the close end's pick-and-roll work is also very successful. .
From middle school to college, Logan can be said to have gone smoothly and encountered almost no challenges. Even strength training and weight training can easily reach the target. Although for a tight end, Logan's He was still underweight, but in training and competition, Logan was still killing everyone, so naturally he didn't pay attention to gaining weight.
Now that he has entered the alliance, Logan has gradually become aware of his own gap. This is not a place where talent can dominate, because there are too many talented players; as a tight end, in addition to the ability to catch the ball, the picking ability must also be further improved, and correspondingly, the weight must also be further improved. Increase.
The side where the tight end is located is called the strong side, and the matchup advantage of weight is one of the important reasons; many tight ends in the league are known as big killers, with both running back-like propulsion ability and outside reception. With their hands-on catching ability, even if there is no gap, they can rely on their matchup advantages to complete the ball strongly and continue to advance.
Especially in the red zone, the tight end can often serve as a bridgehead, eating up defensive players and scoring touchdowns; or attracting defensive players to create gaps for teammates. Smart use of tight ends and running backs in the red zone is a must-have play for every quarterback.
This is where Logan falls short.
In the game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Logan's weaknesses were further amplified. The rhythm of the entire game was always intermittent and unable to be coherent. Not only was it as simple as losing the game, but the connection between Logan and Lu Ke was also intermittent. This also caused the San Francisco 49ers' offense to advance but not score.
After struggling and struggling, hesitating and hesitating, recalling Lu Ke's perseverance and helplessness in this game, and Lu Ke's tireless persistence in working hard, Logan finally realized that he could no longer be lazy, and he needed to make further progress. Explore his talents and abilities, otherwise in the league, after one season, he may not be able to keep up with the rhythm of the game.
So, this scene appeared.
At early six o'clock in the morning, Logan stood in front of Lu Ke. He could hardly open his eyes, but he was already ready to invest in strength training. Apart from Lu Ke, Logan couldn't think of a better training partner——
In college, Logan and Lu Ke trained together, but Lu Ke did all the training, while Logan only performed part of the training and was often lazy. Now, Logan needs a new look.
Looking at Logan who was gritting his teeth, Lu Ke did not hide his gloating. The guy who relied on his talent and had been lazy for so long, making people jealous and envious, was finally going to start training. How could Lu Ke let go of such a God-given opportunity so easily.
Logan slumped his shoulders helplessly and stopped trying to show off, "Okay, okay, I understand. The ridicule can stop for now. Let's start strength training now, how about it?"
"Are you ready to start gaining weight? Are you sure?" Lu Ke stopped smiling and got down to business, "After you start gaining weight, your deep strike ability will be weakened, and my long-pass goal will need to be adjusted in the future. .”
Overall, Logan is still a tight end who focuses more on catching the ball. His receiving area is not only short and medium passes, but also has fatal striking ability within the range of long passes; of course, when comparing speed, Logan cannot be compared with Gene and Williams, but through tactical movement and pulling, Logan is still one of Lu Ke's most trusted long pass targets in the past four games.
Logan nodded and expressed his affirmation, "I have discussed with the coach. In terms of team tactics and career planning, I need to gain a little weight and increase my confrontation ability; however, the pace can be slowed down. , I still can't lose my ability to catch the ball." Logan clapped his fists, "I still like the feeling of touchdowns, and you still have to pass the ball to me more in the future."
"No problem, let's start training." Lu Ke waved his hand skillfully, "How about, do you want to do three sets of weight-bearing planks first? Warm up?"
"Three sets? Just a warm-up?" Logan had already started wailing before it started.
