WR Amari Cooper (9.15.23)
I guess just what happened on that one play when you went down for a minute?
“Bad footing, bad weather, just slipped and kind of tweaked something. But it’s all good now.”
When you guys look back at the film, what was the biggest takeaway you had about what you were able to do week one and how you can build on that?
“They were who we thought they were. Teams don’t really change much of who they are. It’s just all about who can go out their and execute their game plan the best and that’s what we did.”
I know you guys didn’t hit the big plays down the field like you had hoped to. A lot of that was obviously weather-induced. But when you went back in the film room and you just looked at those plays and how they developed, do you get excited, though, knowing that those plays are going to be there in much better conditions?
“Yeah, for sure. I mean, obviously, you know, during the rain, it’s much more harder to pass the ball. The ball is heavier, so it’s harder for Deshaun (Watson). It’s more slippery. You don’t know whether or not you should wear gloves. I mean, it’s a lot of things that go on in the rain, but you just have to endure and fight through and find a way to win. It’s football at the end of the day.”
You are at 598 catches, getting to 600. I mean, it seems like a milestone. Does that mean anything to you?
“It’s just numbers at the end of the day. Not really. I mean, if it meant that much to me, then I would have known that it was 598. At the end of the day, it’s just numbers. I just come and do my job. Obviously I want a lot of catches, but a 600-catch milestone doesn’t mean much.”
What do you see when you look at Pittsburgh’s defense?
“Same defense they’ve been running for years. Obviously have a lot of new players in the secondary, so that will be a challenge. But as far as the structure, it’s pretty much the same.”
Coop, since you go against them every day, how drastically different does this Browns defense look from last year?
“A lot different. The structure is different. The philosophy, there’s a lot more man and we have some good corners to do that. So I think it’s good for our defense. It’s a good challenge for them. That’s pretty much it.”
I know you’re a one-week-at-a-time kind of guy, but starting 2-0 with two division wins and one of them in primetime, does that feel like you guys can really make a statement this week?
“Of course. I mean, that’s one of the first goals of every team to win a division. You win a division, you kind of put yourself in a good spot. So obviously that would be a great milestone for us. And also being that we haven’t won a division in such a long time. Of course.”
The defense said that the Bengals were a good first test for them. You go against that defense. Has that been a very good test for you guys on offense to prepare for guys like this?
“Yeah, it has been. They’ve been playing really well. Even when we did the joint practices, they played really well. So it’s been a great challenge for us. Like I said, those guys on the outside present a great challenge for us as wide receivers because they’re such good corners. They’ve been doing their job.”
You had a lot of battles with (Patrick) Peterson throughout the years, and have you seen his game change at all?
“I haven’t really had that many battles with him. Obviously, I’ve gone against him a couple of times, but I’ve just never really been in his division, never played against him that much. But he is a player that is from South Florida like I am, so he is a very dynamic player. When I was in high school, he was in college. I think he is like like four years older than me, so a player that I respect a lot. He still has that speed and that playmaking ability out there. So it’s going to be a great challenge.”
You’ve played in some tough environments. Just what makes that stadium so tough to play in?
“This is another situation where I haven’t really played in that stadium a lot. I think maybe like twice, maybe three times, who knows? But obviously, with the history of the Steelers, they always come to play. Like Mike Tomlin, he’s never been under .500 in his career, so they’re always pretty much ready to play. I think that’s probably the biggest challenge that they present. Just a team that you know is going to come out there and be ready.”
In conversations with the receiving core and Deshaun (Watson), do you guys have to sort of wipe away Sunday because of the rain as you look ahead to this week?
“No, no, it’s nothing that you wipe away because like I said at the end of the day, it’s football. Those are the conditions that can occur at any game. You might be playing a Super Bowl in the rain, so no, you don’t wipe it away, it’s a learning experience. You have to learn how to play in those conditions to be able to win. It’s just a learning experience.”
Did it help in conversations this week talking about like, okay, this is what the situation was like on Sunday, this will be the situation on Monday? I guess when you look at the passing game?
“Did it help like in what way?”
Just kind of in communication and building that connection.
“Yeah, I mean, after every game we come in on Monday and we talk about the scenario. We talk about the game. We talk about the challenges that were presented during that game, so of course, we’ve learn from it.”
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