Cooper's game winning grab may have solved the red zone problems

[America's Cowboy]

He has the same chance next year. 0.0%

Yeah, the Cowboys just decided to keep him on the team, albeit IR, even though Vasher has 0.0% of making the team next year.

 

[lkelly]

It helps when the defensive back doesn't turn to see the ball or even jump. It was a nice throw.

The cure for the red zone is a more consistent running game and a mobile QB that can force the other team to account for another option. Spread them out if needed and there will be a few walk in touchdowns. If they need to resort to constant fade balls to Cooper, they are doing it wrong.

 

[lkelly]

Yes Coop has been around.. but we have not seen that throw to him before.. That's what excited me. He had not demonstrated that ability to leap while tracking the ball and pluck it out of the air with a DB all up on him like the before.. At least not that I can recall.

I'd say that the defender was all up IN him.

 

[RonnieT24]

Ronnie. . . Don t you find it ironic that you are claiming the Cowboys solved their Problematic Red Zone issues the week Dak is on the bench. . . Come on G you aint helping your boy at all.

(Ps Cooper jumped about as High as Jarwin did earlier in the year when you were ripping Him . . . only difference was ball placement and the Man throwing the Ball)

I have main no such claim.. and I don't post to "help" anybody.. I post to talk football. The analysis is simply to highlight that Cooper demonstrated something I had not seen from him in the past. And the difference in this play and the Jarwin play was that one guy got outjumped and the other didn't. The throw to Jarwin was higher.. He just got punked by the DB leaping for it.

 

[America's Cowboy]

Now THIS is getting up there! Gallup has some serious hops.

 

[RonnieT24]

I'd say that the defender was all up IN him.

LMAO. In his defense the DB might be going to night school and be a proctologist.

 

[zerofill]

I kinda hoped Schultz would become that jump ball specialist in the red zone but not sure he has that leap.

I didn't even realize Coop had that leap. That play was awesome.

 

[RonnieT24]

They've been struggling in the red zone this year. But they are getting better. One play doesn't fix the problem, though. We need more from the run game in those short yardage situations.

It was not the one play that jumped out at me.. It was the fact that it was a guy who frankly depends on getting separation to do his work showed the ability to out physical a DB in the end zone. We know we have had this in our holster with Gallup in the past but with Coop showing it as well we just became that much more lethal down there. The ability to throw this play to either side is just huge for me.. But yeah.. it'd be nice to get back to running the ball down there but as long as Williams and Biadasz are getting pushed around in tight quarters I don't think that's going to happen. But maybe the Hulk package helps out with that.

 

[zerofill]

Go watch Gallup highlights. He is our throw it up 50/50 ball guy.

I agree, he was the Dez replacement for that.

 

[RonnieT24]

Now THIS is getting up there! Gallup has some serious hops.

Hell yeah.. but he was probably back in Dallas on Sunday and has been in street clothes for 6 games.. Having another guy with that capability helps us greatly..

 

[SpaceCowboy99]

We have red zone issues because of our QB. Once he sat out and gave the reigns to another QB our red zone issues were resolved. Thanks for pointing out another reason Dak is overpaid.

 

[RonnieT24]

We have red zone issues because of our QB. Once he sat out and gave the reigns to another QB our red zone issues were resolved. Thanks for pointing out another reason Dak is overpaid.

LMAO.. The Cowboys were what? 1-4 in the red zone on Sunday. They had been converting over 60% before Sunday. No one thinks the issues were resolved.. except maybe you.. I was encouraged by what I perceive to be a new wrinkle added to Cooper's game.. But you take your Dak salary envy to bed with you.. Hopefully it will keep you warm.

 

[Zman5]

Yes Coop has been around.. but we have not seen that throw to him before.. That's what excited me. He had not demonstrated that ability to leap while tracking the ball and pluck it out of the air with a DB all up on him like the before.. At least not that I can recall.

As I said we've been throwing it up to MG to get it in the end zone many times already. It's nothing new.
Here is an example, at 1:53 mark. And there are few more in the video where he goes up and get it. And he can get up there and looks to be higher than the Amari's catch.

 

[Typhus]

I have long maintained that a big part of the reason the Cowboys have struggled in the red zone since Moore took over is that they lack a true throw it up guy at receiver. The way Cooper elevated and went up to take that ball away from the DB could change my thinking on that. Dude got waaaaay up over that DB and frankly sort of effortlessly plucked it out of the air. That was positively Dez-like. If we can count on him to do that with any regularity we should become an 80% TD in the red zone team.

You cant count on any WR in the league to make that grab,, it was there, and Coop grabbed it.
A WR of Coops caliber gives you better odds in making that play, thats why you pay players like Coop, he is an all pros pro that has a higher probability of making that catch.
What a great catch Coop made, and that catch will be highlighted for a very long time.

 

[RonnieT24]

As I said we've been throwing it up to MG to get it in the end zone many times already. It's nothing new.
Here is an example, at 1:53 mark. And there are few more in the video where he goes up and get it. And he can get up there and looks to be higher than the Amari's catch.

Don't make me point out to you that Gallup aint been active in 7 weeks damnit!!

Yes I agree Gallup has superior hops.. but what jumped (no pun intended) out at me about the Cooper catch was just how effortless he made it look. You do have to factor in the level of effort by the DB (or lack thereof) so there's that. I am not dismissing Gallup at all though. He's just not as physically strong up top as Coop (at least he doesn't appear to be) so I like Coop's chances of outmuscling the DB a little better. That's the thing about that play.. It's not just about outleaping the DB but also about hanging onto the ball when the DB gets his hands in there to rip it out as happened to Cedrick in the NE game. All in all, I just love what knowing we have two guys capable of making this play means for our offense down there.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

I'd say that the defender was all up IN him.

That's a good shot there but if you watch the video replay....he looked quite clueless. Very late on turning around....

Great job by coop anyway. Both of them.

 

[mahoneybill]

We ran that same play to Lamb against New England on the opposite side to Lamb.

probably why lamb asked amari if he could grab the TD instead of him

 

[RonnieT24]

probably why lamb asked amari if he could grab the TD instead of him

The play to Lamb was a throw to the pylon that Dak dropped in the bucket. CeeDee won right off the line and had separation.. never even had to leave his feet or break stride. I'm not sure he's strong enough yet to hold up with a defender riding him the way Dantzler was doing Cooper and still come down with the ball. He still has yet to grow into his man strength.. He's getting tehre but he aint there yet.. If he and Cooper had swapped places on that play I'm not sure he comes down with it. That was a "beast" catch.. and Lamb is not quite a beast yet. Though I'm sure he'll get there as he fills out.

 

[5Stars]

Even with Dez that play requires the perfect pass, the perfect jump timing, the receiver's hands missing the ball and the defender's hands in the air, catching the ball while jumping above a player while also giving the defender a chance to swat the ball out after the catch is made.

It looks great when it works, but that is not really a "sure thing" fix but rather one more play option to call. That said, it is a great first down play call because it has a low turnover risk and late in the game it stops the clock on an incompletion.

My personal preference though for a red zone pass play is the start-stop-go route in the corner where the receiver starts to run to the corner, then stops and partially turns back and as the defender bites, he turns forward again and runs to the corner with the defender likely having to turn and chase. That is also a low risk turnover play and stops the clock on an incompletion which can be helpful late in a game.

That is the button hook and go.

 

[Scotman]

The problem in the red zone is we have no ability to run the ball inside the 5. Which means our OL can never be called great.

I completely agree. Completely. Passes inside the 5 are hit and miss at best. BUT, if you can also run inside the 5, passes become much easier. The o-line needs to be able to clear a path to the end zone from within the 5 on a more consistent basis. We have a good o-line. There's more depth than I thought, too. But, inside the 5 we certainly don't dominate.