All22 review Jonathan Cooper

[gmoney112]

I thought he was claimed off of waivers?

Whoops, yup. But still, to be put on waivers, then cut from the Browns was probably a reality check

 

[Stash]

Whoops, yup. But still, to be put on waivers, then cut from the Browns was probably a reality check

It certainly should be. Just playing on the Browns should be enough of a reality check.

He's had numerous 'wake-up calls' already, and this may be his last one. If he flames out with Dallas, he may struggle to even find work going forward.

This may be his last, best chance.

 

[xwalker]

Do you know if he has ever played center?
Just curious
Certainly enough talent to take a look at even if it's just for the playoffs

He played Center for 1 game in college. The Cardinals were planning to move him to Center before they traded him to the Patriots.

He was injured while with the Patriots. He was inactive for 4 games with the Patriots and then cut.

He was active as a backup in his 1st two games with Cleveland, then inactive for 5 games before starting the next 3 games and then cut when the original starter returned from suspension.

I feel like I have to be missing something in my review on him. He looked like a reasonable staring NFL OG to me. I only reviewed 2 of his 3 starts. I'm going to go back and review him against the Bills.

It's one of the more odd player situations that I've seen in awhile.

The downside is that he is only signed for the playoffs and will be looking for a starting job.

 

[conner01]

He played Center for 1 game in college. The Cardinals were planning to move him to Center before they traded him to the Patriots.

He was injured while with the Patriots. He was inactive for 4 games with the Patriots and then cut.

He was active as a backup in his 1st two games with Cleveland, then inactive for 5 games before starting the next 3 games and then cut when the original starter returned from suspension.

I feel like I have to be missing something in my review on him. He looked like a reasonable staring NFL OG to me. I only reviewed 2 of his 3 starts. I'm going to go back and review him against the Bills.

It's one of the more odd player situations that I've seen in awhile.

The downside is that he is only signed for the playoffs and will be looking for a starting job.

I wonder if the fact he is a FA after this year is a part of it
After being paid first rnd money they may have felt he could be hard to sign

 

[SoCalCowboyFan]

Here's a good write up on 1 of Cooper's 3 starts with the Browns. This one being against the Bengals.

"Run Blocking:

The former Tar Heel isn’t your typical offensive guard. He’s not a particularly powerful player. Instead, he often just gets in the way of defenders. And depending on the scheme, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But where Cooper really excels is when he’s asked to get to the second level. His ability to help and then get into the chest of linebackers is actually quite impressive. Here are two plays from his week 14 game that show this (Cooper is the right guard and is No. 64)"

read the rest here:
http://www.fanragsports.com/nfl/film-room-cowboys-see-jonathan-cooper/

 

[xwalker]

I wonder if the fact he is a FA after this year is a part of it
After being paid first rnd money they may have felt he could be hard to sign

Yes, if I was was the GM of a team with a losing record, near the end of the season I would cut players that I knew would not be returning in order to promote and keep all of the practice squad guys and/or to seek out practice squad players from other teams to sign. There are 320 practice squad players. Odds are that some of them will become legit NFL players. Good teams can't promote them because they are in the process of winning but bad teams can sign a horde of practice squad players by cutting non-returning veterans.

 

[Stash]

He played Center for 1 game in college. The Cardinals were planning to move him to Center before they traded him to the Patriots.

He was injured while with the Patriots. He was inactive for 4 games with the Patriots and then cut.

He was active as a backup in his 1st two games with Cleveland, then inactive for 5 games before starting the next 3 games and then cut when the original starter returned from suspension.

I feel like I have to be missing something in my review on him. He looked like a reasonable staring NFL OG to me. I only reviewed 2 of his 3 starts. I'm going to go back and review him against the Bills.

It's one of the more odd player situations that I've seen in awhile.

The downside is that he is only signed for the playoffs and will be looking for a starting job.

He may be able to compete for a starting job here, between two Pro Bowl players, playing for the highest profile team in the league, blocking for the NFL's leading rusher.

I can think of no better place for an offensive guard to revive his career.

 

[Stash]

Here's a good write up on 1 of Cooper's 3 starts with the Browns. This one being against the Bengals.

"Run Blocking:

The former Tar Heel isn’t your typical offensive guard. He’s not a particularly powerful player. Instead, he often just gets in the way of defenders. And depending on the scheme, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But where Cooper really excels is when he’s asked to get to the second level. His ability to help and then get into the chest of linebackers is actually quite impressive. Here are two plays from his week 14 game that show this (Cooper is the right guard and is No. 64)"

read the rest here:
http://www.fanragsports.com/nfl/film-room-cowboys-see-jonathan-cooper/

That's good stuff, thanks for sharing.

That last clip looked more like a guy slipping on a snowy surface than someone getting overpowered.

And I disagree to some extent with the final assessment. I can see Cooper competing for this team's starting left guard position in 2017.

 

[IAmLegend]

He's been cut by a lot of teams, including the Pats who can even seem to make average players look like Pro-Bowlers at times, so I'm not holding my breath. But hoping for the best. Hopefully he shows us something.

 

[conner01]

Yes, if I was was the GM of a team with a losing record, near the end of the season I would cut players that I knew would not be returning in order to promote and keep all of the practice squad guys and/or to seek out practice squad players from other teams to sign. There are 320 practice squad players. Odds are that some of them will become legit NFL players. Good teams can't promote them because they are in the process of winning but bad teams can sign a horde of practice squad players by cutting non-returning veterans.

There are probably dozens of guys on PS around the league who can play given the right situation
Great insight

 

[xwalker]

Here's a good write up on 1 of Cooper's 3 starts with the Browns. This one being against the Bengals.

"Run Blocking:

The former Tar Heel isn’t your typical offensive guard. He’s not a particularly powerful player. Instead, he often just gets in the way of defenders. And depending on the scheme, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But where Cooper really excels is when he’s asked to get to the second level. His ability to help and then get into the chest of linebackers is actually quite impressive. Here are two plays from his week 14 game that show this (Cooper is the right guard and is No. 64)"

read the rest here:
http://www.fanragsports.com/nfl/film-room-cowboys-see-jonathan-cooper/

Not sure about that review.
Gif1: Textbook blocking where he helps with the RT and then kicks over to get the LB and the RB follows behind him. This is a play the Cowboys use often.

Gif2: Reverse of Gif1. He helps the Center and then kicks out the LB. The RB follows behind him but the Center can hold his block.

Gif3: He is one on one against a pass rushing DT and keeps him at the line of scrimmage.

Gif4: Pass rush where Cooper is one on one with All-Pro Geno Atkins. Cooper takes 1 step backward and holds his ground.

Gif5: I wondered if that was a busted assignment but I can't say for certain. The RT didn't need help and they also had a TE come across to the same area to to help if needed. In most similar situations Cooper often helped the Center initially and then got back to help the RT.

Gif6: He falls down on what appears to be a partially snow covered field. Notice how #74 busts his butt also. His primary assignment was to make certain that the defender #94 didn't get to the left (offensive right) which he didn't.

Summary: He might have had a busted assignment in Gif5; otherwise he was between OK and very good in the other Gifs.

 

[xwalker]

There are probably dozens of guys on PS around the league who can play given the right situation
Great insight

It seems like bad teams would take more advantage of raiding practice squads near the end of the season.

This was the Cowboys roster at the end of 2015 when they were 4-12. I would have dumped some of those players and raided other team's practice squads prior to the final game.

A good scouting dept. should be able to find a few good prospects in a pool of 320 players that almost made an NFL roster.

Quarterbacks
16 Matt Cassel
17 Kellen Moore
7 Jameill Showers
Running Backs
44 Tyler Clutts FB
20 Darren McFadden
45 Rod Smith
23 Robert Turbin
Wide Receivers
11 Cole Beasley PR
19 Brice Butler
85 Vince Mayle
14 Rodney Smith
15 Devin Street
13 Lucky Whitehead KR
83 Terrance Williams
Tight Ends
84 James Hanna
87 Geoff Swaim
82 Jason Witten
Offensive Linemen
73 Mackenzy Bernadeau C/G - If they knew he was not returning then they could manage 1 game without him.
78 Charles Brown T
71 La'el Collins G/T
72 Travis Frederick C
68 Doug Free T
79 Chaz Green T/G
65 Ronald Leary G
70 Zack Martin G
77 Tyron Smith T
Defensive Linemen
58 Jack Crawford DT/DE
98 Tyrone Crawford DT
94 Randy Gregory DE
76 Greg Hardy DE/DT - They knew by then that he would not return.
96 Nick Hayden DT
90 DeMarcus Lawrence DE
92 Jeremy Mincey DE - They probably knew he would not return.
63 Casey Walker DT
Linebackers
52 Andrew Gachkar MLB/OLB
59 Anthony Hitchens OLB/MLB
50 Sean Lee OLB
55 Rolando McClain MLB - They should have had him as not returning but instead they gave him a new contract.
53 Mark Nzeocha OLB
51 Kyle Wilber OLB/DE
57 Damien Wilson OLB/MLB
Defensive Backs
39 Brandon Carr CB
24 Morris Claiborne CB
38 Jeff Heath SS/FS
31 Byron Jones FS/CB
40 Danny McCray SS/FS
21 Terrance Mitchell CB
29 Deji Olatoye CB
26 Josh Thomas CB
27 J. J. Wilcox FS
Special Teams
5 Dan Bailey K
6 Chris Jones P
91 L. P. Ladouceur LS

 

[AbeBeta]

It seems like bad teams would take more advantage of raiding practice squads near the end of the season.

This was the Cowboys roster at the end of 2015 when they were 4-12. I would have dumped some of those players and raided other team's practice squads prior to the final game.

A good scouting dept. should be able to find a few good prospects in a pool of 320 players that almost made an NFL roster.

Quarterbacks
16 Matt Cassel
17 Kellen Moore
7 Jameill Showers
Running Backs
44 Tyler Clutts FB
20 Darren McFadden
45 Rod Smith
23 Robert Turbin
Wide Receivers
11 Cole Beasley PR
19 Brice Butler
85 Vince Mayle
14 Rodney Smith
15 Devin Street
13 Lucky Whitehead KR
83 Terrance Williams
Tight Ends
84 James Hanna
87 Geoff Swaim
82 Jason Witten
Offensive Linemen
73 Mackenzy Bernadeau C/G - If they knew he was not returning then they could manage 1 game without him.
78 Charles Brown T
71 La'el Collins G/T
72 Travis Frederick C
68 Doug Free T
79 Chaz Green T/G
65 Ronald Leary G
70 Zack Martin G
77 Tyron Smith T
Defensive Linemen
58 Jack Crawford DT/DE
98 Tyrone Crawford DT
94 Randy Gregory DE
76 Greg Hardy DE/DT - They knew by then that he would not return.
96 Nick Hayden DT
90 DeMarcus Lawrence DE
92 Jeremy Mincey DE - They probably knew he would not return.
63 Casey Walker DT
Linebackers
52 Andrew Gachkar MLB/OLB
59 Anthony Hitchens OLB/MLB
50 Sean Lee OLB
55 Rolando McClain MLB - They should have had him as not returning but instead they gave him a new contract.
53 Mark Nzeocha OLB
51 Kyle Wilber OLB/DE
57 Damien Wilson OLB/MLB
Defensive Backs
39 Brandon Carr CB
24 Morris Claiborne CB
38 Jeff Heath SS/FS
31 Byron Jones FS/CB
40 Danny McCray SS/FS
21 Terrance Mitchell CB
29 Deji Olatoye CB
26 Josh Thomas CB
27 J. J. Wilcox FS
Special Teams
5 Dan Bailey K
6 Chris Jones P
91 L. P. Ladouceur LS

But if you cut these guys you miss out on the potential for a compensatory pick

 

[xwalker]

But if you cut these guys you miss out on the potential for a compensatory pick

Good point, but the comp pick is based on the contract received by the player. It has to be a decent contract to amount to anything.

Greg Hardy was the only one that had a chance to get a decent contract.

I think Cassel was the only one that might have a chance to get anything back and that seems like a low probability. He signed a 1 year, 2M contract.

 

[dallasdave]

first I've heard of this, when was this edict passed down from on high?

 

[dallasdave]

That's the way I see it too. If he's as smart as he appears, he'll realize where his career stands and have the necessary humility about that. I don't think he's in much of a position to 'refuse' anything. If he did, he'd only be showing ignorance about his circumstances and he doesn't strike me as that type.

But not only does he have the opportunity to be a versatile backup, he could take over for Leary as the starting left guard on this team depending on how things work out. And there's nit a better place to resurrect your career than playing for the Dallas Cowboys between Pro Bowl Left Tackle Tyron Smith and Pro Bowl Center Travis Fredrick.

I give Cooper enough intelligence and credit to realize that.

 

[dallasdave]

Sounds like you lack both.

 

[dallasdave]

I get it. He's not Zack Martin. But he's not a "dummy" out there, or a liability. He played well enough for the team to give him the job over Leary. They wouldn't do that if he was a moron. Unless they were the morons?

 

[dallasdave]

Yes, Free is under contract for 2017 but needs to be replaced.

 

[okstateCowboy]

His play (not to mention a few boneheaded things off the field)

His play in inconsistent. He tries to use his brute raw physical talent to blowup and make highlight reel plays. When committing like that comes with a high level of risk.

Last year in seven games, Collins allowed 21 QB pressures. In comparison, Martin gave up 27 pressures in 32 games over two full seasons. (3 pressures per game compared to .8 pressures per game)

Collins needs to stop trying to showboat and use his freaking noggin. He is playing like a dimwit. Use your noggin and exerciser your physical abilities by playing smart.

If Collins has the IQ, his ceiling is similar to Tyron Smith's. So far, he hasn't even shown anything remotely close to the sheer skill and physical dominance that Tyron Smith has shown. Jimmy said, don't draft dumb people. We didn't draft Collins, but he either needs to start playing smarter, or he will walk after his contract is up.

That's interesting. Do you have pressures per game numbers for everybody else on the line and a league average by position? O-line is a hard position to quantify