By Brandon Simmons
Amari Cooper the Best Wide Receiver
If you don’t think Dallas Cowboy Amari Cooper is the best wide receiver in the NFL then he will tell you otherwise. Cooper made this statement heading into the Cowboys season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The result of that game: Cooper putting on a show with 13 catches for 139 yards. However, he ended up with 3 catches for 24 yards. To be fair, Cooper’s entire statement was saying he believed he was the best wideout in the league, but he had so much more work to do.
And while he does have his work cut out for him, what does his current work say about Cooper now? He has 6 seasons of 1000 yards receiving as well as 6 Pro Bowl selections. But looking at his numbers last season, they sort of tell a different story. His totals for catches and yards don’t even have him in the top 10 of anything, in which he was 8th the season before. Perhaps it was because his QB, Dak Prescott had his season cut short because of an ankle injury. Still, history has shown that some of the best receivers have had some mundane QB’s (i.e. DeAndre Hopkins before Deshaun Watson).
This isn’t to pile on Cooper for saying he thinks that he is the best, because the reality is he has a strong shot to insert himself in the conversation as one of the top wideouts. In addition to the consistent production, he is the primary option on an explosive Cowboys offense. Even with all the options alongside him, Cooper will get his numbers somehow, some way. The convo for best wide receiver changes just about every few years anyway. There was a time when it was Hopkins Tampa Bay Bucs wide receiver Antonio Brown and Tennessee Titans wide receiver Julio Jones – when Jones was on the Atlanta Falcons – that made up that discussion. Jones has been sort of shaky these last couple of years so it could make room for Cooper to slide up the charts a little more.
The Taunting Rule
The NFL implemented a new rule this offseason, that now calls Taunting a 15 yard penalty. Without question this a dumb rule change and it’s baffling as to why the league resorts to these types of rules that interferes with the fun of the game. If you recall, the NFL banned group celebrations in the end zone before bringing them back last season. Celebrating and trash talk are commonalities of football – and sports in general – and for some reason the league does not get that. Can trash talk get out of hand? Yes, but players on both sides of the trash talk have an understanding. They’re not going to run to the ref cause their opponent did the first down sign in front of their face. They know that they are going to stop him the next time around. Taunting has always been something that was penalized, but the actions in that video do not warrant that level consequence. Leave the regulation of taunting to the professionals that are not in zebra stripes.
Is Deshaun Watson Holding the Texans Hostage?
Sunday, the Houston Texans were heading into halftime tied with the Cleveland Browns, thanks to quarterback Tyrod Taylor but entered the 2nd half without him. Taylor suffered a hamstring that will keep him sidelined for a couple of games, forcing the Texans to go to rookie QB Davis Mills. A year ago, this wouldn’t have even been fathomable, because Houston had their franchise QB in Deshaun Watson. However, that was before he requested a trade due to frustrations with the organization and an offseason filled with enough sexual assault allegations for a Law and Order season premiere.
This has been a long, crippling saga for the Texans and every time something related to this comes up, it just appears to be an agonizing implication that it might never end. The Texans were reporting to have trade partners lined up as recent as the preseason, but those teams al stuck with their QB’s. Even if Houston had some deals lined up, Watson’s legal situation was certainly going to hold some things up. The NFL is doing its investigation, but per Mike Florio on Sunday Night Football, the league itself is waiting to see where he lands before making a disciplinary decision. The way Florio explains it, all these deactivations are serving as some of action similar to being put on the Commissioner’s List, just until he actually gets traded to a new team or set to take the field for the Texans.
The Texans are stuck in a catch 22 with number 4. This is the 2nd year of a new contract extension he signed last year, but that money is obviously going to waste. There were many Texans fans who were strongly on the side of Watson when this first happened but dragging out of this has some people changing their tune about the QB. Some of it might have to do with the legal situation but there are those that just wishes a conclusion be reached as soon as possible. Also, with more injuries happening to quarterbacks – Ryan Fitzpatrick in Washington and Tua Tagovailoa in Miami – who knows if interest starts picking back up for Watson. Regardless, it’s a situation that’s costing the Texans literally, financially and – a least for the fans – mentally.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to the Baltimore Ravens for their tribute to the late actor, Michael K. Williams. Williams played the iconic, Omar, on the tv series “The Wire”, which was based on the drug scene in Baltimore. Before the Ravens took the field, the team played the famous “Omar coming” scene, which shows his character walking through the projects as people scattered. R.I.P. Michael K. Williams.
Shut out to the Miami Dolphins for getting shut out by the Buffalo Bills. Their main excuse was Tua went down with an injury, but they should have showed a little more competitiveness with backup QB Jacoby Brissett. After 2 weeks, some of these games are shaping up to be some early colossal contests. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to visit the Los Angeles Rams, in which both teams could be trading strikes through the air. The Dallas Cowboys will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, which could be an early advantage of the NFC East for the winner of this game. But until then…I’ll holla.