News: Dallas Cowboys: Can Jonathan Cooper jump-start his career in Big D?

[gimmesix]

Based on when he was in college but I don't think the writer even pulled up his games from last season to look at him. I thought he was good, but the writer appears to be basing it all on where he was drafted and not considering that the injuries could have affected his talent.

The Landry Hat has 5th graders writing articles for them.

Some of the analysis you've posted in the past about his play last year makes me hope that he is a better player than his past few years say that he is. It's hard to tell on him because of the injuries, which may continue to be his downfall, but it's never a good thing when the team that drafts you early in the first round trades you away after three years (only two of which you played), the team that trades for you drops you after the first month of the season and the next team that signs you on the cheap doesn't even try to bring you back.

I'm hopeful that all of that is only based on the injuries and he can stay healthy and show that first-round talent. But there seems to be an expectation that he's going to be a Marc Colombo-type find, but Colombo IMO had shown that he had starting ability before his injury. I don't feel that Cooper had, but, of course, Cooper suffered his devastating injury before he ever really got to show if he was good as he was expected to be coming out of college.

 

[Bullflop]

I'm really hoping that both Collins and Cooper pan out and do better than most of us expect from them. Our OL coach, Frank Pollack, has been pretty effective in gleaning the best out of his guys lately. I think I'll trust him to make a sound choice as to who our next LG will be.

 

[Floatyworm]

Collins should be decent at RT. He will have some growing pains in real games. Even if he looks really good in PS games, there will be fronts and stunts and blitzes he will see for the 1st time. However he can't be worse than Free at pass protection, but how about run blocking, at first? Free was pretty good at that.
However in the long run, Collins will be better.

We have 2 often injured players though vying for the LG position, Green and Cooper. Either will be fine, we just need them to be healthy, or at least one of them be health when the other is not.

I think the swing tackle issue could finally be settled. There is Cleary and Bell, if he looks as good as we hope he can be, and if needed Green, if healthy.
Looney is still the back up C, as well as an option as backup G.

They will probably go 9 at OL to start the season, or have one of these guys hanging around the area just in case one is needed.

I can't imagine Collins being worse that Free..in any aspect. And if it turns out that way...then move him back to LG...and then start Green @ RT...Problem solved. I think this O-line could really be special this season. If they just can get it together...as a unit.

 

[diefree666]

I have not seen any indication that Cooper has lost any of the athletic ability he had in college. All this talk about devastating injury has no foundation in fact. Nothing like what happened to Colombo.

As regards Free after all the talk over the years from the Romo haters one should be used to some just being willfully blind to the real world. Free stank by the end of last season.

 

[jrumann59]

Some of the analysis you've posted in the past about his play last year makes me hope that he is a better player than his past few years say that he is. It's hard to tell on him because of the injuries, which may continue to be his downfall, but it's never a good thing when the team that drafts you early in the first round trades you away after three years (only two of which you played), the team that trades for you drops you after the first month of the season and the next team that signs you on the cheap doesn't even try to bring you back.

I'm hopeful that all of that is only based on the injuries and he can stay healthy and show that first-round talent. But there seems to be an expectation that he's going to be a Marc Colombo-type find, but Colombo IMO had shown that he had starting ability before his injury. I don't feel that Cooper had, but, of course, Cooper suffered his devastating injury before he ever really got to show if he was good as he was expected to be coming out of college.

To degree I would agree but with the way the rookie salary cap is teams are no longer forced to ride out rookie contracts like they used to

 

[RoboQB]

Pretty good? I must have missed those games. His play slipped badly the last two years.

Lmao... yeah, "pretty good" is not how I would describe Doug Free's play, especially last year.

 

[gimmesix]

I have not seen any indication that Cooper has lost any of the athletic ability he had in college. All this talk about devastating injury has no foundation in fact. Nothing like what happened to Colombo.

As regards Free after all the talk over the years from the Romo haters one should be used to some just being willfully blind to the real world. Free stank by the end of last season.

Colombo's game was never built on quickness. He was all about power and technique. A large part of Cooper's game is built around his movement skills. Take a little of that away and he has to rely on power more when IMO power was never his strongest trait.

 

[plasticman]

I think that when you get an opportunity to be a part of something really special it motivates you to work harder to prove you deserve to be a part.

He could start on what may be considered the most dominant offensive line ever assembled. That would not only revive his career it would be a complete 180 from where he was headed, a high pick, first round bust.

 

[MWH1967]

I love this time of the year. Every article says nothing

 

[CATCH17]

In regards to Cooper my best guess is no.

 

[RoboQB]

In regards to Cooper my best guess is no.

Lol

Let's hope we're both wrong... but I doubt it.

 

[diefree666]

Colombo's game was never built on quickness. He was all about power and technique. A large part of Cooper's game is built around his movement skills. Take a little of that away and he has to rely on power more when IMO power was never his strongest trait.

And Once again I ask for evidence of this so called loss of athletic ability on the part of Cooper.

 

[gimmesix]

And Once again I ask for evidence of this so called loss of athletic ability on the part of Cooper.

Fair enough. Maybe it's not a loss of athletic ability, maybe he just wasn't good enough to make it in the first place.

You want evidence? Cooper played two seasons after his broken fibula as a rookie, yet the Cardinals still traded him and a second-round pick the next season to New England for Chandler Jones. Now, Cooper was up and down with his health his entire time with the Cardinals, so maybe they decided to cut their losses only because of that.

New England, though, after getting him in that trade for Chandler didn't feel he was worthy to hold onto for more than a month into the regular season after he injured his right foot and was passed on the depth chart by two players. Did the Patriots just give up on him because of his injury?

Then, there's Cleveland. The Browns got him off waivers, made him a starter for three games and then waived him when Alvin Bailey came back. If Cooper was the stud he was expected to be coming out of college, then it would make no sense for the Browns to drop him like that.

My conclusion is that he isn't the same player he was coming out of college. My conclusion is the broken fibula, turf toe, knee injuries and right foot injuries he suffered his first four seasons have diminished the strength of his game.

But maybe you're right, and that's not the case. Maybe he just was never good enough. It happens all the time with first-round picks. They look great in college and just can't cut it in the pros. When I watched footage of Cooper before the draft, I did not like him as much as Chance Warmack because I did not think that he showed consistent power. IMO, this is his area of struggle in the pros ... and if he has lost some of his movements skills with the injuries, then that area of struggle becomes more emphasized.

 

[diefree666]

Fair enough. Maybe it's not a loss of athletic ability, maybe he just wasn't good enough to make it in the first place.

You want evidence? Cooper played two seasons after his broken fibula as a rookie, yet the Cardinals still traded him and a second-round pick the next season to New England for Chandler Jones. Now, Cooper was up and down with his health his entire time with the Cardinals, so maybe they decided to cut their losses only because of that.

New England, though, after getting him in that trade for Chandler didn't feel he was worthy to hold onto for more than a month into the regular season after he injured his right foot and was passed on the depth chart by two players. Did the Patriots just give up on him because of his injury?

Then, there's Cleveland. The Browns got him off waivers, made him a starter for three games and then waived him when Alvin Bailey came back. If Cooper was the stud he was expected to be coming out of college, then it would make no sense for the Browns to drop him like that.

My conclusion is that he isn't the same player he was coming out of college. My conclusion is the broken fibula, turf toe, knee injuries and right foot injuries he suffered his first four seasons have diminished the strength of his game.

But maybe you're right, and that's not the case. Maybe he just was never good enough. It happens all the time with first-round picks. They look great in college and just can't cut it in the pros. When I watched footage of Cooper before the draft, I did not like him as much as Chance Warmack because I did not think that he showed consistent power. IMO, this is his area of struggle in the pros ... and if he has lost some of his movements skills with the injuries, then that area of struggle becomes more emphasized.

NE and Cleveland are not perfect predictors of success; though one could make the point that Cleveland cutting him balances NE cutting him. Dug around and watched some footage of him in two Cleveland games and I thought he played pretty well.

The boys have been so good at OL evaluation lately that I am willing to give him a chance; when the pads come on lets see.

 

[gimmesix]

NE and Cleveland are not perfect predictors of success; though one could make the point that Cleveland cutting him balances NE cutting him. Dug around and watched some footage of him in two Cleveland games and I thought he played pretty well.

The boys have been so good at OL evaluation lately that I am willing to give him a chance; when the pads come on lets see.

Oh, I'm definitely interested in seeing what he can do here. All I'm refuting is the article that was posted calling him one of our five best linemen. Right now, he's just a former first-round pick who is trying to salvage his career, and I feel better about what I've seen of Green when we've had him out there and what Bell has shown when given a chance to start at left guard elsewhere. That doesn't mean Cooper won't turn out to be better than both of them.

My expectations for him are not high, but my hope is. I absolutely hope that the skills that made him the first guard drafted in 2013 will be on display without the injury trouble that has plagued him. (I have similar hopes for Green since injuries affected his draft status and have continued to affect his ability to stay on the field.)

Healthwise, Bell will probably be our best bet since he's had a relatively healthy career and the good news is that if we have to rely on him as a starter at left guard because of the other two's health, he's shown that he can be a solid option there (and again, he might also turn out to be our best option anyway).

 

[ShiningStar]

I dont see why not. Travis really has these players inspired to be better. We arent just seeing 1 piece work well, we are seeing a whole line elevate itself to a better level. Maybe Pollack makes them want to achieve more, who knows, but even Columbo had a good run here and at the time people didnt know what he would do. We have had a few good players from other teams do well here. I think the Offensive line plays well enough that other players want to be part of it. Want to say "hey i can do that too" Maybe Cooper wants to play at that level and Dallas will encourage and bring it out of him.

This line is playing as a unit. If someone fits that mold compared to say maybe another team wants its players to play at an individual pace or expects more of them. We seem to have a line cohesion thing here and its going to bring something new. I am more excited that Free is gone and we can get someone else in there and maybe they will play at a better level due to the line and boosting themselves and their play ability. Who knows, but the potential is there, and Pollack really won me over last season.

 

[CCBoy]

Crap, I'd much rather deal with a possible injury history than the laundry being carried by Elliott...

 

[xwalker]

Some of the analysis you've posted in the past about his play last year makes me hope that he is a better player than his past few years say that he is. It's hard to tell on him because of the injuries, which may continue to be his downfall, but it's never a good thing when the team that drafts you early in the first round trades you away after three years (only two of which you played), the team that trades for you drops you after the first month of the season and the next team that signs you on the cheap doesn't even try to bring you back.

I'm hopeful that all of that is only based on the injuries and he can stay healthy and show that first-round talent. But there seems to be an expectation that he's going to be a Marc Colombo-type find, but Colombo IMO had shown that he had starting ability before his injury. I don't feel that Cooper had, but, of course, Cooper suffered his devastating injury before he ever really got to show if he was good as he was expected to be coming out of college.

I think the theme since McClay/Stephen/Garrett have taken the lead in player acquisition is to have multiple options.

Between Cooper, Green, Bell and possibly Cleary and Looney, the have a lot of option that all seem to have some ability.

It seems prior to McClay's promotion a few years ago they tended to put all the emphasis on the projected starters and often had few legit options behind them.

It not an absolute but it seems to be the tendencies between now and in the past.

It seems more like the Patriots general approach were they rarely go all-in on a specific player/free agent to solve a need and are more likely to look for multiple options.

 

[xwalker]

Competition, that should breed continued success for the OLine...the article mentions Green and Looney, but I would say Bell is better competition than either of them

Green has more talent than Bell/Looney but Bell/Looney have not been oft injured.

 

[gimmesix]

I think the theme since McClay/Stephen/Garrett have taken the lead in player acquisition is to have multiple options.

Between Cooper, Green, Bell and possibly Cleary and Looney, the have a lot of option that all seem to have some ability.

It seems prior to McClay's promotion a few years ago they tended to put all the emphasis on the projected starters and often had few legit options behind them.

It not an absolute but it seems to be the tendencies between now and in the past.

It seems more like the Patriots general approach were they rarely go all-in on a specific player/free agent to solve a need and are more likely to look for multiple options.

I think this actually started under Parcells. Bill was big on contingency plans, having some of his FOBs on hand to either start or step in if needed so he didn't have to rely on players he wasn't sure he could rely on. It worked to some extent since we somehow made the playoffs his first year with Quincy Carter as starting quarterback, but a lot of the FOBs were simply too washed up for sustained success.

IMO, where McClay has improved the plan is that instead of relying on players like FOBs, the pro personnel department has done a good job of identifying younger "veterans" who can provide that depth and at least be able to start if needed.

I like this, of course, because I'm big on contingency plans. I think we have definitely had too many years during our playoff drought where we could not handle injuries because we had no decent depth.