Kaiser
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I keep going back to the thought that the gamble on Amari Cooper depends on how Sanjay Lal does coaching him. I thought I would dig into the numbers, Sanjay has a reputation as one of the best WR Coaches in the game, both tactically and as a motivator.
When you look at his history, he does have a history of taking a physically talented WR to a career high, while earning the respect of the players he is coaching. Its definitely something to think about when evaluating the gamble Dallas is taking with this trade.
Here is a quick review of each stop in his coaching career:
Oakland (2009 – 2011)
Lal had zero talent to work with but in 2011 he got a career high (twice any other year) out of Darrius Hayward-Bey. He had 61 catches that year and averaged 26 for his other four seasons as a starter.
New York Jets (2012 – 2014)
Again, very little talent work with but Jeremy Kerley (who?) had 56 catches in 7 starts for a 2nd year player, his best season by far out of his first six (he had 64 in SF in 13 starts in his 7th year, but nothing afterward). Kerley averaged 46 catches a year under Lal but 34 for the rest of his career.
Buffalo (2015 - 2016)
Sammy Watkins is the name people always talk about with Sanjay but his stats for 2015 were similar to the year before Lal arrived, and dropped off slightly in 2016. Watkins has a better catch percentage (by ten percentage points) in 2015 but the numbers aren’t that different.
However Watkins did give this media quote about Lal:
“That’s the one guy I don’t want to leave. If he leaves, I don’t how my mindset would be, honestly. That’s a guy that kind of groomed me into running routes and doing everything the right way. Mentality, both mental and physical. If he leaves, that will hurt. Because that’s the guy that kind of helped this whole group form a mentality and shape us into professionals. He gave us the whole script, off the field, on the field. I think it’s helping this wide receiver group and helping the players. If he leaves, that will hurt.”
Indianapolis Colts (2017)
Good production but no real change in the numbers for guys like TY Hilton and Donte Moncrief. But it was also one year with a 4-12 team, so you can’t draw any real conclusions from that.
When you look at his history, he does have a history of taking a physically talented WR to a career high, while earning the respect of the players he is coaching. Its definitely something to think about when evaluating the gamble Dallas is taking with this trade.
Here is a quick review of each stop in his coaching career:
Oakland (2009 – 2011)
Lal had zero talent to work with but in 2011 he got a career high (twice any other year) out of Darrius Hayward-Bey. He had 61 catches that year and averaged 26 for his other four seasons as a starter.
New York Jets (2012 – 2014)
Again, very little talent work with but Jeremy Kerley (who?) had 56 catches in 7 starts for a 2nd year player, his best season by far out of his first six (he had 64 in SF in 13 starts in his 7th year, but nothing afterward). Kerley averaged 46 catches a year under Lal but 34 for the rest of his career.
Buffalo (2015 - 2016)
Sammy Watkins is the name people always talk about with Sanjay but his stats for 2015 were similar to the year before Lal arrived, and dropped off slightly in 2016. Watkins has a better catch percentage (by ten percentage points) in 2015 but the numbers aren’t that different.
However Watkins did give this media quote about Lal:
“That’s the one guy I don’t want to leave. If he leaves, I don’t how my mindset would be, honestly. That’s a guy that kind of groomed me into running routes and doing everything the right way. Mentality, both mental and physical. If he leaves, that will hurt. Because that’s the guy that kind of helped this whole group form a mentality and shape us into professionals. He gave us the whole script, off the field, on the field. I think it’s helping this wide receiver group and helping the players. If he leaves, that will hurt.”
Indianapolis Colts (2017)
Good production but no real change in the numbers for guys like TY Hilton and Donte Moncrief. But it was also one year with a 4-12 team, so you can’t draw any real conclusions from that.
