BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The fan) – Don’t judge a player’s involvement, productivity or contributions just by the box score.
That’s the lesson Browns receiver Amari Cooper tried to teach Thursday when asked about his perceived lack of involvement in the offense during Sunday’s season opening 26-24 win over the Panthers.
“The stats that outsiders count isn’t the whole picture, [they look at] just catches and stuff like that,” Cooper said. “Sometimes you’re a decoy on some plays, but that’s what makes the play.”
Fans simply looked at the final box score after the game and asked, why wasn’t Cooper more involved?
The answer: he was plenty involved. It’s just that not every play goes the way they were drawn up in the playbook.
“I think I had some good opportunities in the game,” Cooper said. “The thing is every time that somebody is supposed to get the ball outsiders might not know about it. Sometimes the defense, they’re in a coverage that prevents the person from getting the ball, you know what I mean? The opportunities, they’re going to come. The defense is not always going to be in the perfect look, so just stay patient.”
Cooper was targeted six times Sunday at Carolina. He caught three of those passes for 17 yards, but as he alluded to, that doesn’t paint the full picture or tell the complete story.
“Sure, obviously want to get him the ball,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. “He is our No. 1 guy. Did not get him as many balls as we would like, but he created three penalties by his play style in that game that were big plays.
“He is contributing. It may not be in the production of catches, but he played a big role in us winning that game on Sunday.”
The play everyone has been talking about came on the opening drive on third down in which quarterback Jacoby Brissett missed badly on a deep ball up the far sideline to a wide-open Cooper.
“See that’s the thing about games, you’re not always going to get the look that you prepare for,” Cooper said. “Like on that particular look, usually on that route I release outside, but the corner jumped so far outside that I had to release inside.
“I just reacted to it and Jacoby wasn’t accustomed to seeing that look on that play. It was just a different type of look. As far as can it be fixed? Absolutely. The next time we see it I’m sure he’ll drill the ball right in there.”
With some film study and reps on the practice field, the expectation is that next time Brissett will hit Cooper in stride for six.
“We will make those plays,” Van Pelt said. “The corner actually fell down on the play. I do not know if Jacoby saw him fall down. He would have driven that ball a little flatter and more sudden to Amari quicker to him. Those are plays, we will just grow through those and expect to make them moving forward.”
On another deep ball, Cooper was assaulted in the end zone, nullifying a Carolina interception.
The pass interference penalty moved the ball to the one and set up the first touchdown of the season – a one-yard toss from Brissett to Kareem Hunt.
“As long as the refs call a flag, it helps the offense,” Cooper said.
And ultimately, that’s what Cooper is about – helping the offense, even if he’s not blowing up the box score with catches and yards.