Dominate the Super Bowl

Chapter 291: 290 all-purpose template

LaDainian Tomlinson, born in 1979, 5 feet 11 inches (178 cm), 215 pounds (98 kg), served as a running back.

Selected by the San Diego Chargers as the fifth overall pick in the first round in 2001, he spent the majority of his profession in San Diego before transferring to the New York Jets for the 2010 season, and chose to retire after two seasons.

This is the training template that Li Wei obtained in his latest card-flipping opportunity—

LaDainian Tomlinson (S-Class). Discover exclusive content at novelhall.Côm

Excitement!

Following Peterson, Li Wei drew a second S-class training template, catching his eye and sparking curiosity:@@@@

Initially, Li Wei relied on Peterson’s training template to establish his playing style and continuously sculpted his own characteristics over the course of a year.

Now, without a doubt, the second S-class training template would play a crucial role again.

After delving deeper, Li Wei learned that this recently retired running back turned out to be a trailblazer that ushered in a new era, a true pioneer.

It all started with the 2001 draft.

That year, quarterback Michael Vick was selected first overall by the Atlanta Falcons, becoming the first African-American number one pick in history, and he blazed a new era of mobile quarterbacks in the NFL, still holding the record for the most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.

In the same year, Tomlinson was selected fifth overall by the San Diego Chargers and, like Vick, he broke the mold of traditional thinking at the running back position.

Just as quarterbacks were supposed to stay in the pocket, running backs were thought to only run with the ball, but Tomlinson brought his talents to the NFL and shined on the field—

A running back could not only rush with the ball but also catch passes, and even throw them.

Never underestimate Tomlinson’s height, as being thrown onto the football field felt like a dwarf entering a land of giants, but Tomlinson’s field vision was top-notch, even surpassing many quarterbacks.

Although Tomlinson played in the NFL for merely eleven seasons, he left behind a series of records that completely changed people’s perceptions of running backs.

As a running back, he gained 13,684 rushing yards, ranking fifth in history; and scored 145 rushing touchdowns, ranking second in history.

Secondly, it has to be progressive; Li Wei had already established his own style, with breakaway ability built on speed and agility. If he rashly increased his weight or muscle mass, the inevitable cost would be the loss of speed and agility, or even starting over with a completely different style.

This approach was impractical.

Therefore, Li Wei was also consciously controlling his training load, to avoid disrupting his own equilibrium, and was systematically enhancing his ability to withstand contact.

In half a year’s time, Li Wei had made some progress and had already shown it in the games; but overall, it was still limited, especially in terms of endurance.

After the intense collision with the Pittsburgh Steelers, although it didn’t affect his performance in the next game, the recovery afterward noticeably slowed down, to the extent that in later games, Li Wei reduced the number of forceful head-on confrontations and breakthroughs.

In other words, Li Wei had a long way to go to become a running back like Lynch.

Of course, Li Wei wasn’t planning to become exactly like Lynch; he was searching for a completely new path of his own.

Right now, Tomlinson presented a new opportunity—

Starting from the Rookie Training Camp, Li Wei realized that the overall trend in the League was the need for running backs to become versatile warriors, capable of running, receiving, blocking, and protecting, to open up the depth of the offensive strategic system.

The last offensive drive against the Pittsburgh Steelers was the best proof:

Li Wei turned into a wide receiver, pulling off a game-winning comeback.

Reed pulled a trick, which deceived Tomlin, finding a gap in the crucial offensive and defensive showdown, and completed the turnaround successfully.

But to be honest, Li Wei’s reception was shaky, precarious like a tightrope walker. Smith wasn’t used to it, and neither was he. There was a problem with his catching action and posture; he was nearly taken down by Watt on the spot.

If it happened again, Li Wei couldn’t guarantee a hundred percent that he would be able to catch the ball and break through for a touchdown; the result might be completely different.

Now, Tomlinson’s training template was a timely opportunity, reminding Li Wei to temporarily slow down the contact training, instead fully leveraging his strengths, and based on agility and speed, to become more adaptable.

Beyond running the ball, catching, and even passing, all would have to be practiced.

So, are we preparing to see Li Wei as a wide receiver and quarterback?