Logan is a slacker.

This is an established fact, not a random denigration, even Logan himself freely admits it, and even ...... Take pride.

Logan is a natural wide receiver, whether it's physical flexibility, muscle explosiveness, receiving touch, or running path, he has all the talent needed to be a top-level wide receiver and be invincible in the middle school game; However, in the 11th grade, with the advice and guidance of his coach, Logan began to change to the near end.

Why? Before we get into why, it's worth looking at the differences between wide receivers and close ends.

It can be simply understood that the only task of the wide receiver is to catch the ball; The tasks of the close end include blocking and receiving, and in some teams, the near end is even simply used as an additional forward player, using their size advantage to complete the pick-and-roll and interception in the attack, providing better pockets.

Once, the white wide receiver in history was born, and countless Hall of Fame wide receivers were born, such as the 1982 "That Catch" in the San Francisco 49ers' history, where Joe Montana and Dwight Clarke completed the connection, the latter being a white wide receiver; But in the 21st century, white outsiders are losing ground, or even disappearing.

Due to the "general environment" in the United States, for a long time, black players were not respected by the professional leagues, which also made white wide receivers have a glorious and long prosperous years; But after the millennium, the position of the wide receiver has gradually become the world of black people, especially with the advent of the passing era, the physical talent of black people has been completely released, and the living space of white wide receivers is getting smaller and smaller.

At present, among the 32 teams in the league, there are about 200 wide receivers, but only about 20 white wide receivers, an average of less than one per team; Among them, those who can reach the top and occupy the main force are even rarer.

Analyzing the specific reasons is not complicated.

First of all, we need to analyze the natural enemy of the wide receiver, the cornerback.

Because of the tactical arrangement, the corner guards have no tactical tasks, either zone defense, or one-on-one defense, they are basically the enemy moves and I move, so they do not need to run routes, tactical literacy and other training, often rely on their physical talent to complete the defense.

Generally speaking, black players have the advantage of being physically gifted, but the disadvantages are poor route running, poor professional attitude, and even poor understanding of tactical manuals; The whites, on the other hand, have the advantage of interpreting the playbook, the suppleness of the receiving touch and the focus of their professional attitude, compared to the physical gifts of the blacks.

Naturally, the position of the hornguard became the world of the blacks. At the moment, all cornerbacks in the league are black, all black, and there are almost no whites training for this position, even in the college arena.

It was because of the cornerback position that the blacks gradually began to gain the upper hand, and the coach and the team had to start making adjustments as well. When it came to selecting wide receivers, they had to start thinking more about black players.

Indeed, the work ethic and tactical literacy of blacks are not enough, and the feeling of receiving the ball is not good enough; However, in terms of vertical attack ability, short-range burst ability, physical confrontation ability, etc., they have completely defeated the white wide receivers, and can have more upper hand in the confrontation with corner backs, which is a more suitable choice for the team's tactical arrangement.

Technique, tactics, these can be trained, the running route of the wide receiver, the interpretation of the zone defense, and the judgment of the cornerback's feints, these can all be improved through later training, but the physical talent is innate, no is nothing, and cannot be changed.

Compared to black wide receivers, the biggest advantage of white wide receivers is the feeling of receiving the ball, which is delicate and supple - this corresponds to the passing of quarterbacks, who are often able to turn decay into magic; But other than that, in terms of other talents, the black wide receiver has an absolute advantage. As a result, there are more and more blacks and fewer whites in the league.

On the college court, many talented white wide receivers have moved to other positions in order to survive in the league, and then a vicious cycle has formed.

Another fact is that the elimination rate of wide receivers in the NFL, whether black or white, is too high, and the difficulty of standing out is too high. Every year, about 20 wide receivers are selected in the draft, and then countless undrafted rookies join the training camp, and the elimination rate of outside receivers is getting higher and higher.

This is the same as the running back position, relying on physical talent to play the world, which is basically a youth meal. Even black wide receivers have a high elimination rate, let alone white wide receivers?

The most direct proof of this is that in the San Francisco 49ers, Michael Crabtree, Ted Jean, Kyle Williams and Braryn Edwards, all four wide receivers are black.

However, above the near end of the line, blacks and whites are divided. The reason is simple, another important job of the close end is to cover, and physical talent is important, but it is more about the interpretation of the route, the reading of the defense and the blocking of the block, which are all qualities that can be improved through training.

In addition, because the near end is relatively bulky, the running route is still dominated by short passes. In the short passing area, the tactical arrangement is the most important, and what is needed is the ability to understand the tactical manual and the intuitive ability to run the route, which the white players have the advantage of.

Because of this, in the eleventh grade, Logan began to switch to the near end. With his talent for catching the ball, Logan kills all sides in the short pass area, like a killing god; At the same time, relying on keen defensive reading and accurate positioning ability, the dismantling work of the near end is also very popular.

From middle school to college, Logan can be said to have had a smooth ride, almost no challenges, even strength training and weight gain training, can easily reach the target, although for the close end, Logan's weight is still light, but in training and competition, Logan still kills all sides, and naturally does not take weight gain to heart.

Now that he has entered the league, Logan has gradually realized that he is different. It's not a place where you can run rampant on talent, because there are so many talented players; As a close end, in addition to the ability to receive the ball, the ability to pick up blocks must also be further improved, and correspondingly, the weight must be further increased.

The side where the proximal forward is located is called the strong side, and the counterpoint advantage of weight is one of the important reasons; Many of the league's close forwards are known as big killers, combining a running back-style push and an outsider-like receiver, and even when there are no gaps, they can rely on their positional advantage to finish the ball strongly and push forward.

Especially in the red zone, the near end can often be used as a bridgehead, eating raw defenders and completing touchdowns; Or attract defenders and create gaps for teammates. Clever use of the deterrent power of the near end and running back in the red zone is a must-have tactic for every quarterback.

That's Logan's shortcoming.

In the game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Logan's weaknesses were further amplified, and the rhythm of the game was always choppy and incoherent. Not only is it as simple as losing the game, but the connection between Logan and Lu Ke has also come and gone, which has also led to the San Francisco 49ers' offense, which can make advances but fail to score.

Struggling and struggling, hesitating and hesitating, thinking back to Lu Ke's indomitable and isolated in this game, and Lu Ke's tireless perseverance, Logan finally realized that he couldn't be lazy anymore, he needed to further tap his talents and abilities, otherwise in the league, after a season, he might not be able to keep up with the rhythm of the game.

So, this scene appeared.

At six o'clock in the morning, Logan stood in front of Lu Ke, his eyes almost couldn't be opened, but he was ready to devote himself to strength training. Except for Lu Ke, Logan can't think of a better training partner-

When they were in college, Logan and Lu Ke used to train together, but Lu Ke did not fall behind in a full set of training, while Logan only performed part of the training and was often lazy. Now, Logan needs a new look.

Looking at Logan, who gritted his teeth, Lu Ke did not hide his gloating. With his talent, the guy who has been lazy for so long and makes people envious and jealous is finally about to start training, such a God-given opportunity, how could Lu Ke easily let it go.

Logan reluctantly lowered his shoulders and didn't continue to do so, "Okay, okay, I got it." The ridicule can stop for a while, and we're now starting to dive into strength training, how about it? ”

"Are you ready to start gaining weight? Are you sure? Lu Ke restrained his smile and got down to business, "After I start to gain weight, my deep strike ability will be weakened, and my long-pass target will be adjusted in the future." ”

Overall, Logan is still a close-end forward who focuses more on receiving the ball, and his receiving area is not only short and medium passes, but also has the ability to hit fatally within the range of long passes; Of course, in terms of speed, Logan can't be compared with Jean and Williams, but through tactical running 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, and my ability to catch the ball still can't be lost. Logan slapped his fist, "I still like the feeling of a touchdown, and in the future, you still have to pass me more." ”

"No problem, let's start training." Lu Ke beckoned skillfully, "How about it, do you want to come to three sets of weight-bearing planks first?" Warm up? ”

"Three groups? Just a warm-up? Before it even started, Logan was already wailing.