BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – There may be no bigger diva position in the NFL than receiver.
They want the ball – all of the time.
But Amari Cooper isn’t your average receiver.
“Some games you might not have any catches, some games you might have 10 catches,” Cooper said. “It's just the ebb and flow of the game. Obviously from my perspective I just want to help the team win in whatever way, but the ball don't always come your way.”
Cooper caught one pass for nine yards in Sunday’s 23-20 loss at Atlanta. It was the 11th one-catch game in Cooper’s career.
It also marked the second time in four games Cooper was held to less than 20 yards receiving. That also happened in Week 1, a 26-24 win at Carolina over the Panthers that saw him catch three passes for 17 yards.
“It just all really depends on how the flow of the game is going,” Cooper said “Obviously the coaches know the personnel we have, the pass catchers, guys who can carry and run the ball. I think they're going to always put us in the best position to win or at least try.”
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett blamed himself for not finding Cooper more.
“I just missed him honestly,” Brissett said. “Have to do a better job of trusting my eyes.”
Unlike Week 1 where Brissett misfired multiple times in Cooper’s direction, the four-time Pro Bowler was targeted just four times.
“I think it is critical [to get Cooper the ball],” Brissett said. “We understand that, and teams understand that. Obviously, didn’t want it to work out that way, but it did. It is a great learning tool for us at my position, his position and obviously Kev [head coach Kevin Stefanski] calling the plays. Just something that we understand is something that we have to do is find ways to get him involved.”
Most wideouts would blow a gasket at the lack of consistent grabs week-to-week, but not Cooper.
“As a receiver, you want to touch the ball early,” Cooper said. “That kind of gets guys going at any skill position. It is very important, but at the end of the day, my job is more than just catching the ball. Whatever they ask me to do as far as blocking in the run game or getting other guys open. I have a huge responsibility.
“Whatever they ask me to do, I am going to do it.”
Cooper was coming off consecutive stellar performances too that saw him become the first Browns receiver since Josh Gordon in 2013 to record back-to-back 100-yard receiving games.
He caught seven passes for 101 yards and a score in a 31-30 loss to the Jets and followed it up with a nine-catch performance for 101 yards and another score in a 29-17 win over the Steelers on Thursday Night Football.
“Every team is structured different,” Cooper said. “We have some really great running backs on our team. Anytime you are playing against a team that plays a lot of zone, especially two-high zone, it behooves you to run the ball a lot and try to exploit that. At the end of the day, they did some really good things on both sides of the ball, offense and defense.
“They just played better. It had nothing to do with whether or not I was getting targets. There is more than one way to win a football game. At the end of the day, they just outplayed us and won the game. If we had won that game with me getting four targets or however many targets, we would not be even talking about targets.”
