Cowboys Round 1 (17) Selection - CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma

[Genghis Khan]

Cooper did have some trouble with disappearing in his last stop. I wouldn't put ALL the blame on the coach.

The player has this history.

Now, of course, McCarthy was a top 10 or even top 5 coach at one point during his last stop. He faded towards the end of his tenure himself a bit, but hopefully if he's rejuvenated as he says and he's spent the last year reinventing some of his tendencies, he can return to that top coach status, which will mean he's the best coach Amari Cooper has had in either Dallas or Oakland. And that will be interesting to see then if the coaching can eliminate the lapses.

Actually, Cooper's home/away splits were nearly identical in Oakland, so no he didn't have these problems in Oakland.

 

[Smitty]

Actually, Cooper's home/away splits were nearly identical in Oakland, so no he didn't have these problems in Oakland.

I didn't say he had the problem with home-away splits, I said he had a problem with disappearing. Inconsistency was one of the reasons Oakland was willing to deal him.

You'll also note that he didn't have the greatest offensive coaching while there, so not to fear: You can still lay plenty of the blame on the coaches.

Just pointing out that Cooper deserves some of the blame here too, and I wouldn't rush to assume that his problems with inconsistency are magically cured all of a sudden. The player has this tendency and we knew it when we acquired him.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I didn't say he had the problem with home-away splits, I said he had a problem with disappearing. Inconsistency was one of the reasons Oakland was willing to deal him.

You'll also note that he didn't have the greatest offensive coaching while there, so not to fear: You can still lay plenty of the blame on the coaches.

Just pointing out that Cooper deserves some of the blame here too, and I wouldn't rush to assume that his problems with inconsistency are magically cured all of a sudden. The player has this tendency and we knew it when we acquired him.

All WR's have games where they disappear. If Cooper didn't he would be a 1600+ yard reciever. The truth is defenses game plan for star players and minor injuries occur that leads to some games where he doesn't go off for 150+ yards. People have high expectations for an elite reciever but it happens to all of them. It's why you need 3 guys so that when the defense focuses on one another guy can go off.

If you put Gallup as our number 1 reciever and surround him with trash you'd probably be disappointed with his consistency too. But when you have 3 elite guys you'd have to be dumb as shit to try to force the ball to 1 of them.

The only reason it stood out last year was because his stats happened to line up with our home and away schedule.

 

[NoDak]

I wouldn't put ALL the blame on the coach.

You don't say...

 

[Smitty]

All WR's have games where they disappear. If Cooper didn't he would be a 1600+ yard reciever. The truth is defenses game plan for star players and minor injuries occur that leads to some games where he doesn't go off for 150+ yards. People have high expectations for an elite reciever but it happens to all of them. It's why you need 3 guys so that when the defense focuses on one another guy can go off.

If you put Gallup as our number 1 reciever and surround him with trash you'd probably be disappointed with his consistency too. But when you have 3 elite guys you'd have to be dumb as shit to try to force the ball to 1 of them.

The only reason it stood out last year was because his stats happened to line up with our home and away schedule.

Yeah, of course, but I think Cooper's inconsistency went a little beyond standard "Not every star WR can catch 100 yards a game." He had his share of 1 and 2 catch outings in Oakland. Again, I'm not just making this up, this was the knock on Cooper when acquired... he had a tendency to lose focus, not show up at times, and there were questions about his dedication.

I'd say much of that seems overblown, but also, the last staff straight up pulled him from the game against Philadelphia for lack of effort when they basically had to know their own jobs were on the line. Blame them all you want, but not putting the players you feel give you the best chance to win onto the field on fourth-and-your-job would be beyond logic, so far that basically I would not be able to believe they'd be that level of incompetent if they'd reached the NFL at any level. There was some sort of problem with the effort or execution that went beyond predictable playcalling (which Cooper managed to relatively thrive under, otherwise, to the tune of 79 catches, nearly 1200 yards and 8 TDs).

The home-away split discrepancy is odd, but again, some of it MIGHT be on the player. I assume most players will have slightly worse stats on the road.... home games favor the home team, there's a reason for that. The away games tend to be slightly harder.

Secondly, the final three road games for us were in awful conditions in New England and then in cold-weather locales in Chicago and Philadelphia. Culminating in a road loss that cost the staff their jobs where the player was pulled off the field for the game deciding play. There's no chance that a player with a history of giving less than 100% might have given less than 100% in the cold in adversarial conditions?

If your only connection of the dots is "the staff misused him on the road," then you aren't thinking critically enough.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I think both Dak and Cooper were playing hurt in that final Eagles game.

 

[Smitty]

I think both Dak and Cooper were playing hurt in that final Eagles game.

Very possibly, and he may have been playing hurt well before that. Cooper went out of our 4th road game with a knee injury; so basically, 5 of our road games may have been affected by him playing somewhat injured or not playing. That's more than half, though notably, he also put up a bum performance against the Jets with just one catch and that was on the road when he was presumably healthy.

Just saying... there's a lot to unpack here. Not denying that the staff seemed to call plays differently on the road than at home - but I don't believe this was the only reason his production looked different.

 

[Simpleton]

Cooper was forced out about 10 minutes into that Jets game with I think a knee issue, maybe ankle, it's one of the more tangible examples of how he seemingly played most of the year at less than 100%.

He missed the majority of TC/preseason as well and seemed to constantly have nagging ankle/knee problems.

 

[1bigfan13]

I think both Dak and Cooper were playing hurt in that final Eagles game.

They were but it's still no excuse for losing that game to an Eagles team that was essentially a MASH unit at that point in the season.

I was fine with the loss though. That's the game that sealed Garrett's fate so it was worth it in the end.

 

[Bill Shatner]

 

[Smitty]

CeeDee Lamb’s Backyard Workout

"Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb posted this video on his Instagram story. https://t.co/xyb7Xf2VZ3" via RJ Ochoa on Twitter

bleacherreport.com

 

[Cotton]

 

[Cotton]

 

[bbgun]

safety .. you say? hmmm.

 

[P_T]

Once all the $$$ starts rolling in from all those #88 jersey sales, he'll be ok with it.

 

[Genghis Khan]

I doubt 10 vs 88 matters at all. People would buy it regardless.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I doubt 10 vs 88 matters at all. People would buy it regardless.

Totally agree

 

[Rev]

I doubt 10 vs 88 matters at all. People would buy it regardless.

I'm more likely to buy an 88 over a 10. Regardless of Jerry pushing the number I think its a number you would want at that position for this team.

 

[Cotton]

 

[Smitty]

He climbs the board every time they talk about it.