News: ST: The Cooper effect. How an unsatisfied Amari Cooper has improved the Cowboys offense

[Blackrain]

I think we'll have a great barometer for improvement on Thursday. Once again playing a team that totally shut down our offense. Let's see how things go this time.

We could beat them by 20 pts and there will be a whole posse out to minimize the effort .

 

[Sydla]

So they needed a running back and drafted Zeke to extend Romo's prime. They needed a "war daddy" edge rusher....they draft Taco..they lost Hitchens and had zero faith in Lee staying healthy and they drafted LVE......yeah...why should I assume they would draft a receiver next year? There's no evidence of them drafting for need in the first round lol......

Zeke was the top player on their board along with Bosa and Ramsey. Its been said if Bosa had slipped they would have taken him over Elliott.

LVE was the top player on their board.

Taco was their best DE left at the time and there was only one other player reported that had a #1 grade on him on the Cowboys board when they picked. So it's not like they picked Taco over a bunch of other positional players that they had a higher grade on.

So no, you haven't proved they draft for need and would have definitely taken a WR #1 next year.

 

[Sydla]

It's clear the Cowboys want to control the clock and keep the defense as fresh as possible. This isn't a score 40 points a game offense and it shouldn't be.

Who said it should be a 40 points per game offense?

This offense with Cooper still isn't close to averaging what the 2014 and 2016 Cowboys teams averaged. You know, the model teams that you guys constantly point to.

 

[Hoofbite]

Dez the decoy bad.

Cooper + the first round pick the decoy good.

I hate the idea of spending resources on players that we can't use.

That's why I was one of the handful on here who was happy with LVE over Ridley.

We can actually use LVE. Ridley or any WR is just a waste. I'd rather have a TE .

We don't need to spend a first rounder on a guy to run off coverage. Dak's still a 200 yard passer.

Whenever people start talking about all the "intangibles" or things that "don't show up on the stat sheet", you know they're starting to reach.

 

[Sydla]

Well being that the Cowboys have lost a few games by 3? That’s a big deal. 3 points determines if you win or lose in this league.

So does scoring only 21 a game. That also results in a lot of losses.

 

[OmerV]

That is a shortsighted question. A top 10 pick (had they not made the trade) is ammunition. That’s why I face palm every time I hear “they would’ve picked a wr anyway and Cooper is better” argument. That is not how any successful franchises operate. First round picks are valuable because they give you cost certainty.

The only thing it really takes away is flexibility. Sure we lost out on getting a first round pick at a rookie salary, but that is offset by the fact there also is more risk with a draft pick because they don't all work out. The loss is really in we got locked into a WR, and now we don't have the option of going another direction in the draft. If, in fact, WR was the direction we would have gone, we are really better off with the trade, but if we decide there is a bigger need, maybe not. In the end though, what will decide if this was a good move or not will be Cooper's performance, and whether we can sign him for a longer term.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

That is a shortsighted question. A top 10 pick (had they not made the trade) is ammunition. That’s why I face palm every time I hear “they would’ve picked a wr anyway and Cooper is better” argument. That is not how any successful franchises operate. First round picks are valuable because they give you cost certainty.

People throw away first round picks all the time. At least we threw ours away for a proven talent.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

So does scoring only 21 a game. That also results in a lot of losses.

Not when this defense gives up less then 20 a game most Sundays.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Fans overvalue picks. I'll take a proven player over a prospect. So I'll ask again, what QB in this class are your targeting as your next franchise guy?

I’ve seen enough busts at receiver to know it’s probably in their best interest to trade for a proven guy like Cooper. I wonder would the Commanders rather have Cooper or waste a pick on Josh Doctson?

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Zeke was the top player on their board along with Bosa and Ramsey. Its been said if Bosa had slipped they would have taken him over Elliott.

LVE was the top player on their board.

Taco was their best DE left at the time and there was only one other player reported that had a #1 grade on him on the Cowboys board when they picked. So it's not like they picked Taco over a bunch of other positional players that they had a higher grade on.

So no, you haven't proved they draft for need and would have definitely taken a WR #1 next year.

I don’t care what lies you tell every single one of those picks we’re need picks regardless of what excuse you make.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Who said it should be a 40 points per game offense?

This offense with Cooper still isn't close to averaging what the 2014 and 2016 Cowboys teams averaged. You know, the model teams that you guys constantly point to.

Should it be at this point? Should this offense be that when they just traded for Cooper a few weeks ago?

 

[Sydla]

I don’t care what lies you tell every single one of those picks we’re need picks regardless of what excuse you make.

Lies?

LOL.

For some of those drafts, the draft board was leaked and you could see they picked the top name on their board.

Again, you have no proven at all that they were definitely taking a WR in the first round in 2019.

Edit: For example, in the leaked draft board of 2016, Elliott was the top name on their board followed by Ramsey and then Tunsil. So when #4 came, they took the top name on their board. It just happened to be a TB. I was wrong on Bosa. They had him at #4 on their draft board.

 

[Denim Chicken]

I’ve seen enough busts at receiver to know it’s probably in their best interest to trade for a proven guy like Cooper. I wonder would the Commanders rather have Cooper or waste a pick on Josh Doctson?

I was against the trade initially, but I really like what I've seen from Cooper. Crisp routes, insane change of direction, and seems like a lunch-pail guy. He'll be good for whomever is the QB. I did not like the QB 2019 class anyway.

The only concerning issue is his agent really has us over a barrel for that extension. Unless we're willing to lose that pick for nothing, the man can set his price.

 

[Sydla]

Should it be at this point? Should this offense be that when they just traded for Cooper a few weeks ago?

Well the article you guys are creaming over has claimed the offense has been transformed under Cooper but in reality, to date, it's not been this huge difference.

And FWIW, I don't think it has anything to do with Cooper being overrated (he's not, he's a talented kid). I think our continual offensive issues/inconsistency lie elsewhere.

 

[InTheZone]

Third down Conversion %:

Before Cooper = 31%, (29th in the league)

(last three games) 50% (7th in the league)


The impact on Prescott:

His completion percentage before Cooper’s arrival was 62.1. It has been 69.7 since.

His quarterback rating was 87.4 before and is 96.4 after.

He averaged 202.4 passing yards per game before and is at 240.3 after.

His yards per attempt has gone up from 6.9 to 7.3.

And of course, the Cowboys have a 2-1 record.

Understand that Zeke is more involved and Xavier is a part of this success as well. Those 0-4 yard passes are turning into big gains, of course completion percentage will go up when you're throwing more of those.

 

[Little Jr]

I'd rather they use their first round pick on the best player available at that pick, which is what they likely would have done if you follow their draft patterns of the last few years.

You guys have bought hook, line and sinker this lame rationale that it's OK we traded a first for Cooper because we were going to definitely use our first round pick on a WR next year. Despite not having a clue where we would be picking in the first round, what WRs would be in the draft in 2019, etc.

That was always my biggest issue in the reasoning of why it wasnt bad, "what wr would we draft as good as Cooper?". Who says we would draft a wr? What if a great S that everyone thinks we need is there at our pick? What about a 1 tech that they feel is worth a 1st rounder is sitting there? Maybe another pass rusher. Maybe another OL since we aren't as set there as many think we are?

I agree that there won't be, or probably won't be, a wr that is would be better than Cooper but wr isn't the only position we could've drafted and wr isn't the only position we need

 

[beware_d-ware]

If receiver was the draft pick then I would rather have Cooper because I do not trust this staff to teach and groom a receiver

This. We haven't developed a single WR in the last five years.

 

[Kaiser]

I’ve seen enough busts at receiver to know it’s probably in their best interest to trade for a proven guy like Cooper. I wonder would the Commanders rather have Cooper or waste a pick on Josh Doctson?

Or Erik Flowers, who the Giants took in the top ten. Or Morris Claiborne, who we took in the top ten.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Lies?

LOL.

For some of those drafts, the draft board was leaked and you could see they picked the top name on their board.

Again, you have no proven at all that they were definitely taking a WR in the first round in 2019.

I have no proof, correct. I’m just basing it on history and I see no reason to believe this team wouldn’t have reached for a receiver the most glairing hole on the team. It was either going to be that or tight end.

 

[beware_d-ware]

And I think you can kind of see the impact of Cooper on plays that like catch he made over Trufant on the sideline. Basically, no QB's going to get his receiver a perfect ball every time, and sometimes you need a WR to step up and make a play on his own. There's a 0% chance Tavon Austin or Deonte Thompson make that catch and bail Dak out for a 1st down.