Capítulo 1426: Chapter 1425: Refusing to Be a Sycophant
Shanahan: The burden of victory rests on Garoppolo’s shoulders.
The truth and deceptions, the reality and illusions, how much is exaggerated and how much is sincere, only Shanahan himself knows. Even the San Francisco 49ers cannot be sure; but the only thing that is certain is that Shanahan has made his stance clear, maintaining this posture, firmly supporting Garoppolo, and boosting morale.
Joe Staley continues to play the role of a knight, responding to Shanahan’s call to protect his quarterback.
“We played a lot of games this season, and we really needed him to help us win. He pulled through every time. I think this gives outsiders fodder to create stories because we didn’t complete a lot of passes in the playoffs, but we didn’t need to. I think that’s one of Shanahan’s strengths, that he will do whatever it takes to win, and as long as he thinks it’s the best course of action, we’ll execute without hesitation.”
“The team’s win or loss isn’t solely on Garoppolo’s shoulders. He’s our quarterback, he’s one of us, and everything we do is a complete team effort.”
“I think this is a typical example of our team’s selflessness in the game. You have a quarterback who doesn’t care if he throws four hundred yards or ten yards. The only thing he cares about is winning and winning with the whole team. That’s how all of us think.”
Lamar Jackson: …
Almost everyone believes Staley is shading Jackson because whether against the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season or facing the Houston Texans in the divisional round, Jackson’s individual statistics were flamboyant, but the team didn’t win the important games.
If Jackson accumulated such stats and smoothly won the regular season MVP, at least in terms of personal honors, it could put a period on this memorable season. At this moment, Staley’s kind of shade might be interpreted as jealousy, sour grapes, but now even the regular season MVP slipped away, and these mockeries and sneers change the taste instantly—
Moreover, he overwhelmingly lost in the regular season MVP voting.
From the bustling attention to being ignored like scattered feathers, Jackson tasted the warmth and coldness of human relationships in reality for the first time in his sophomore year, seemingly glorious but actually treacherous, falling harshly from the peak back to the ground.
Now, Staley continues to hit him while he’s down, and if you savor it carefully, you should see that Garoppolo might be secretly clashing with Jackson.
However!
Staley shifts the topic.
“Certain running backs like to run, catch, and even throw, wishing they could singlehandedly play the team’s superhero, yet no one blames the quarterback for dereliction. Is it really because that quarterback performed so well?”
“I think not.”
“It’s simply because it’s someone nobody can afford to offend, so we all have to collaborate in staging an inside-and-out locker room unity performance.”
“Boasting and hiding, one person grabbing all the limelight, and then hypocritically self-directing and self-acting, shouting slogans to the air, putting on an aloof posture.”
“I don’t know how you witness all this without breaking into laughter. To me, it’s a farce, and everyone is collaborating in this performance. It’s utterly ridiculous that everyone is criticizing Garoppolo for sacrificing himself to help the team win, truly very NFL.”
“Haha.”
Li Wei: I know the answer to this question, it’s precisely me.
Arrow, directly targeting the League’s First Man.
Although Staley didn’t mention names, the sharpness in his words couldn’t be more clear. The sarcasm and cynicism are unbridled, and even before people could start hitting Jackson while he’s down, Staley’s long sword is already pointing at Li Wei’s throat. You can see that the San Francisco 49ers’ players are sharpening their knives.
In fact, the San Francisco 49ers have no historical grudge with the Kansas City Chiefs.
When people mention the Los Angeles Rams, the former St. Louis Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs indeed have some history, but the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs have none at all—
The 2019 Super Bowl was the first postseason meeting in history between the two teams.
In fact, not only is there no grudge, but there are also some ties.
The legendary coach Bill Walsh, who once established the West Coast offensive system that swept the League for the San Francisco 49ers, briefly served in the Kansas City Chiefs’ coaching staff before heading to San Francisco; and the founder of the Kansas City Chiefs Dynasty, Reed, also had brief cooperation with the San Francisco 49ers management early in his career.
No grudges, not at all; privately, they even get along quite well.
However, ‘no grudges’ doesn’t mean there’s no smoke of war.
For one, last season the Kansas City Chiefs crushed the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl. Even though the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers are fierce National Conference West Division rivals, internally, what’s internal stays internal, and externally, the San Francisco 49ers couldn’t swallow the Kansas City Chiefs bullying the Los Angeles Rams—
The media also followed up, dubbing the Fifty-fourth Super Bowl as the “National Conference West Division’s battle for dignity.”
Secondly, Li Wei, Li Wei, Li Wei.
While the entire League crazily pushed Li Wei, they used Garoppolo as a stepping stone, and there are countless voices inside and outside the San Francisco 49ers who can’t stand Li Wei.
In a certain sense, their desire to defeat Li Wei even surpasses the thought of defeating the Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s not just Staley; countless players in the League share this sentiment. They just want to see Li Wei’s downfall—
Just like they did with Brady: the public enemy.
Moreover, during his years with the New England Patriots, other than Gronkowski, hardly any players supported him inside or outside the court, so offseason gatherings to talk trash about Brady became a recreational activity, and the internal leaks from the New England Patriots were the most anticipated.
But Li Wei is different. The Kansas City Chiefs’ players, like Stockholm Syndrome patients, even off the field, even when Li Wei isn’t present, they defend Li Wei with all their might—genuinely and sincerely, and that’s the problem. The more genuine the Chiefs’ players are, the more stifled and angry others become.
The NFL annual awards ceremony just adds fuel to the fire.
For 99% of the League’s players, the Pro Bowl and the awards ceremony are the dream stages, the unattainable stages, a coveted moment under the spotlight, marking an end to a season of struggle.
But what about Li Wei?
Three seasons into his career, he’s topped Pro Bowl voting for three consecutive years, yet failed to attend each time; he’s won major awards at the awards ceremony for three consecutive years, even making history by winning the regular-season MVP twice, yet has also failed to attend every time, sending only the team’s manager to receive the awards.
How do others, who are yearning to step into the spotlight but can’t find the way, cope with this?
To make matters worse, Li Wei puts on a façade of sharing the responsibility with the team for the Super Bowl preparations, with news media and netizens rushing to be sycophants; this angers countless players, and Staley is just a common member of the League who can’t stand any of Li Wei’s deeds.