Dominate the Super Bowl

```

"...Without a doubt, Li Wei and Derrick Henry are two completely different types of running backs, and Saban has proven himself capable not only of training a powerhouse running back like Henry, but also a nimble one like Li Wei who relies on wit to breach defenses."

"Oh, it’s rare to see you praise a running back so highly."

"Believe me, because he’s worth it. I see shades of McCoy in him, and a bit of Peterson. I think he’s a gem that’s already shining, yet silently waiting to be polished and sculpted; he still has room to grow..."

Blah blah blah.

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh grabbed the remote and aimed it at the screen, pressing mute, and said into the receiver, "Did you hear the commentary? What do you think, do you agree?"

"Inside-NFL," a professional football program, is rich in content and highly specialized. It not only focuses on weekly games, battle reports, injuries, and team rumors, and so on, but also has a dedicated segment focusing on NCAA events, ensuring the league stays updated with news about the rookies.

Which means, from the moment players step onto the NCAA field, they have already entered a vast stage enveloped in spotlight.

The hot topic this week, once again, is Li Wei.

This magically talented Chinese-American running back suddenly became the center of attention, dominating the hot-discussion vortex for weeks on end.

However, in Harbaugh’s view, these comments were somewhat watered down. He didn’t believe for a second that the league wasn’t behind it all, pushing to open the doors of the Hua Xia Market.

He only trusted the information collected by his scouts and his own judgment.

"Yes, but also no," Brand’s voice came through the other side of the handset.

Harbaugh was a bit interested, "Have you started to pick up the media’s turn of phrase now?"

Brand outright laughed, "Of course, Li Wei’s speed, explosive power, and agility—these are talents that you can see. Compared to McCoy, he’s closer to the Peterson mold."

"But personally, I think what truly distinguishes Li Wei is his brain—his learning capability and his analytical abilities."

Harbaugh was somewhat surprised, "Oh? Do go on, elaborate."

Over here, Brand was reporting to Harbaugh.

Over there, Carolina Panthers head coach Rivera was also browsing through Li Wei’s information.

If Rivera could hear what Brand was saying, he would have had an epiphany.

Firstly, Li Wei’s development in just half a year was beyond imagining. It was hard to believe he had no prior experience with football whatsoever; this was Li Wei’s learning ability.

Secondly, Rivera also noticed Li Wei’s physical talents like speed, explosiveness, and agility, but he believed there was much more to Li Wei’s game.

Especially in the game against the Louisiana State University Tigers, relying solely on physical talent would not suffice. Rivera believed there was much more to interpret in the game.

Rivera was both excited and agitated; he wished he could go to Alabama immediately to scout Li Wei’s game in person. He was growing more and more convinced that Li Wei was exactly the running back the Carolina Panthers needed, a hundred percent capable of becoming Cam Newton’s most solid offensive partner.

But then, common sense prevailed—

The NFL regular season was still underway; they had more games to prepare for.

Truth be told, Rivera should be watching game tapes and studying tactics instead of focusing on a college rookie, but he couldn’t help it.

Rivera thought, the team’s manager Gettleman should have no reason to reject such a player, especially since Li Wei was also Chinese-American, representing the entire Asian Market.

With that thought, Rivera’s blood started to boil. Some things needed to be seen in person. He sat up straight and pressed the intercom.

"I need this week’s Alabama Crimson Tide Storm and Louisiana State University Tigers game tapes, immediately. Right now. This instant."

The focus shifts back to Brand and Harbaugh.

Harbaugh was surprised, "Dissect? The verb you chose is very interesting."

```

Brand nodded, "Yes, as precise and sharp as a scalpel. Everyone is now discussing Li Wei’s physical qualities—his speed, explosiveness, agility, and so on—and everyone knows that Li Wei’s running style is completely different from Henry’s, but no one has pinpointed the key factor."

Harbaugh got the hint, "The brain?"

Brand, "Yes, the brain."

That was also the piece of the puzzle that Rivera had temporarily overlooked; perhaps he would come closer to the answer after watching game footage.

"When we discuss quarterbacks, no one should overlook their brains—their organizational abilities, reading abilities, judgment abilities, and so on; but when we talk about running backs, we often tend to forget this."

"And Li Wei, he is just the kind of player who knows how to use his brain to run the ball."

"Although he is still too green and lacks experience, and his style is still being explored, before the snap, he calms down just like the quarterback to observe the defense and start the contest. This is what makes him so frightening."

This is what they call analytical ability.

A storm of astonishment surged in Harbaugh’s mind, "Are you hinting at... Sanders?"

When people mention running backs, the first impression that usually comes to mind is physicality, power, thrust, so much so that running backs are often associated with terms like ’brainless’ and ’muscular’."

However, that is not the case.

Running backs who understand how to read defenses, adapt on the fly, and use their brains to play the game are not rare, and Barry Sanders is the cream of the crop.

This running back, who possessed brain, body, and speed, played for the Detroit Lions for merely ten years but was recognized by countless insiders as the greatest running back in history, completely rewriting the stereotype of running backs, as well as the perceived ceiling of their abilities.

In the modern football fields, running backs who rely solely on physical confrontation won’t get far—

Physical talent is the lower limit; brain power is the upper limit.

Fournette sneezed: Is someone cursing me?

From Brand’s description and comments, the image of the legendary Sanders immediately emerged in Harbaugh’s mind, absolutely a deity.

Brand, however, flatly denied it, "No good. Li Wei’s current ability to withstand physical confrontations is still weak. Not to mention the peak Sanders, even the freshman Sanders was better than Li Wei."

"But,"

"We should not forget, this is only after Li Wei has been playing football for six months..."

The rest of the sentence was unnecessary, Harbaugh already understood.

Li Wei is already exceptional now, but his growth and transformation in the coming time is what’s truly exciting, maybe in the future, he really could become a legend like Sanders.

Whew.

Harbaugh exhaled heavily, "Now, we might be facing a problem." Stay updated via empire

Li Wei, being too excellent and in too high demand, is also a problem.

Brand immediately caught the deeper meaning in Harbaugh’s words, "I originally thought that running backs weren’t in high demand, now every team in the league needs a running back, but there are only a few teams that are truly willing to risk betting on a running back in the first three rounds of the draft."

"Coach, do you know who I saw at Tiger Stadium?"

Rarely, Brand played coy.

Harbaugh was startled, "Jacksonville?"

Brand laughed heartily, "Cleveland."

Harbaugh: ..."Fuck!"