WR Amari Cooper (10.19.23)
Got another weekend where we don’t know who’s going to be the starting quarterback. Do you think the fact you guys have done that the last couple of weeks helps?
“Helps in what way?”
You’re used to it. It’s not a surprise anymore.
“I guess you could say that from that standpoint. Yeah, I mean, it’s no longer a surprise. There’s no longer a surprise element to it. Yeah.”
Who’s getting Coop’d this week?
“I mean, given the opportunity, I’ll definitely try to go up there and make plays like that as much as I can. It’s really a routine catch. So as long as I get the opportunity, then somebody will get Coop’d every week.”
I don’t know, that doesn’t look like a routine catch, though. I know you talked about it after the game. A lot of folks don’t recognize that about your game, but it just doesn’t look like it’s an easy play to make.
“It felt pretty easy, something I’ve been doing my whole life. So, I guess imagine something that most people think is difficult that you’ve been doing for a long time that’s easy to you. Same thing.”
Did you happen to see that it was the most improbable catch of the year based on all the stats?
“Yeah, I did see that. I don’t know how they come up with those numbers, but it was impressive, I guess.”
What’s your mindset as you approach your away game? I know you just want to help the quarterback in any way that you can, but when you talk about how you have to do that, communication, everything about routes and guys you’re going against and stuff like that. Are you doing that with both Deshaun (Watson) and PJ (Walker) to try to make sure you guys are all on the same page?
“No. Deshaun seems like he’s going to practice today, so I’ll be communicating with Deshaun this week, barring any setback or anything like that.”
So you kind of expect him (Deshaun Watson) to play this week?
“You have to ask Deshaun. I don’t know.”
Hey, Amari, we’ve covered some of this ground before, so forgive me. When one side of the ball was playing as well as this defense is now, and I know you experienced some of this, maybe with Oakland and at Alabama. How galvanizing can it be when you have one side of the ball playing at such an elite level?
“Extremely galvanizing. I know just me personally, when I see the defense making plays, it makes me want to make plays out there. Like after the game, after I made a catch, Myles (Garrett), he came up to me – he was like, ‘Yeah, that one got me up out of my seat.’ And so it’s the same way with me. Like when he makes a sack or strip sack or something like that, it’s going to get me up out of my seat. It’s going to make me say, okay, I got to step my game up. Same thing.”
You guys played so many home games early in season four of the first five, and five of the next seven are on the road. So just how do you guys become a good road team and win away from home?
“All comes down to the same thing, you know, blocking, tackling – execution of the plays is really not different. I mean, there’s a different element to it playing on the road with the crowd noise and everything like that, but at the end of the day, you have to block all that out and just play football.”
Did you tell P.J. (Walker) to talk to Jacoby (Brissett)?
“No, I did not. He surprised me. He just came in one day. I was like, yeah, I talked to Jacoby last night. I was like okay. But that just showed me how serious he was you know, with his approach to starting last week.”
What did he show you during the game?
“I mean, right from the first drive, we were driving the ball downfield. He was real confident and everything like that, but obviously, it got sniped with the drive. But he showed me a lot of confidence and I got confident in his ability, so I was ready to go out there and make some plays.
Just how P.J. (Walker) and Deshaun (Watson) are similar. What about one guy playing and the other one not? It’s a smoother transition for you.
“For the most part. Every quarterback that I’ve played with has been similar in regards to just being a great leader, being always been one of the hardest workers on the team. You always see him – the first guy in, the last guy to leave. Always working extremely hard in a weight room, always trying to get extra film study in with his guys. You know, most quarterbacks are generally like that. So that’s how they’re similar.”
What kind of boost could it be if Deshaun (Watson) is able to play after the last couple of games?
“That would be a huge boost. You know, Deshaun is our guy. You know what I mean? At the end of the day, we all know who Deshaun is. We’ve seen all the plays that he’s been able to make throughout his career. Just like any other team, you’re confident when you’re starting guy is in the lineup 100%, so it’ll be a huge boost.”
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