WR Amari Cooper (11.30.23)
How are you feeling?
“Yeah, I’m feeling better than Sunday, but getting better every day, getting treatment every day. We’re looking to go into Sunday as healthy as I can be.”
Does that give you a little extra protection there, what you’re wearing?
“I assume it would. Protect from hits and stuff like that.”
Have you ever had anything like that?
“Yeah. I’ve had a very similar type of injury.”
A week back in California is alright with you? I mean, you’re enjoying the week?
“Yeah, I’m enjoying the week.”
Amari, what’s your impression of Joe’s (Flacco) arm strength?
He looks good. He throws a very pretty ball. I don’t know if it’s intentional or what, but when he drops back and he lets it go, the whole motion is like poetry in motion. It looks good.”
You’ve talked a lot about how communication is really important. So as you guys have acclimated with Joe (Flacco), how has that communication been going this week?
“Yeah, communication is very important, just to be on the same page. Actually, we were talking today about two routes, actually. He just reiterated that it’s just important for us to be on the same page on those routes. So, I mean, it’s always important. He asked me how I was looking to run a certain route versus a certain look. So now that we’re on the same page, we can move on to the next form of communication about the next route.”
With him having the big arm, are you excited about getting some of those explosives back?
“Yeah, of course. That’s what the game is about, making explosive plays and getting good field position so that we can score points. ”
Is it difficult to build? He’s been here a week and a half, but you’re not practicing a bunch.
“Yeah, that’s why the communication has to be on point. I wouldn’t say it’s difficult, because with him being a veteran, with me being a veteran, we kind of know what the connection on certain routes is supposed to look like. We can eliminate a whole bunch of scenarios already.”
I know he wasn’t active or anything last Sunday in Denver, but he was there on the sideline. Did he come up and ask you specifically any questions?
“Yeah, he did. He was watching. He definitely came up to me, asked me a couple of questions about it, a couple of routes.”
How cool is it for you? I know there’s all different levels of quarterbacks and all different kinds of scenarios, but how cool is it for you to be talking to someone who can get really into the weeds with the nuances of a route?
“Yeah, like I said before, he’s a veteran and I know that he has a wealth of knowledge. He played with not just a lot of great receivers, but a lot of good players. As you know, playing with a lot of good players, it could teach him more about his position, what not to do and all those things. I think more importantly than anything, he’s one of those guys that when I talk to him, I just want to listen, because I know he has a lot to teach.”
Did you think that hit on you was okay last week?
“I didn’t see it. I still haven’t seen it now, but I mean, he hit me here. Yeah, it’s part of the game. It’s a reason I love playing the game. Even though I was on the receiving end, if it was easy, everybody would do it. Yeah, it was actually something I was thinking about the other day before Sunday. I think I saw a clip, Tom Brady talking about how much the game has changed and stuff like that. I believe I was in like the seventh grade, sixth grade–I know I was in middle school–remember the day when Sean Taylor died. I can remember just everybody crying. All my teammates, everybody who played football, they were crying in class when they found this out. It happened, I believe, in the wee hours of the morning. We were in school, like, at maybe like 10 a.m., when everybody realized the news. Guys were crying because they just appreciated how he played the game. I appreciated how much he played the game. So, this is why we love football. So no, I thought it was a clean hit by way of what I felt. I didn’t have any problems with it.”
I know, obviously, we don’t know yet if Joe’s (Flacco) going to start, but how important if he does have to start is him being a veteran?
“Yeah, it’s utterly important. Most of the game is played up here. And when you’ve been playing a game for almost 20 years, you have so much knowledge. That knowledge is power and it just makes things easier out there. So the game is going to be very slow to him, 100 percent. It’s just better.”
We’ve talked about this. Why is it so important to play the game?
“I mean, just to be available. I’ve said time and time again, doesn’t matter how talented you are, if you’re not available, then it’s like you’re not talented. Just being able to be available for my team. I always ask myself one question if I’m trying to determine whether or not I should try to push or play through an injury. I ask if this was the championship or Superbowl, would I play? And if the answer is yes, then I play.”
So would this be like a rib or a cartilage thing? Can you tell?
“I don’t know. I’m not anatomy major or anything like that, but it’s somewhere in that general area.”
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