WR Amari Cooper (9.21.23)
How are you feeling?
“I’m alright.”
Was the groin something you were worried that might keep you out?
“Not necessarily. Wasn’t looking forward to not playing.”
I know we talked about it last year when you were fighting through the core muscle, but why is it so important for you to be out there every game?
“I just like playing. Love the feeling of running routes and being able to catch the ball to help my team win.”
Does the identity of this team still stay with the run to some degree even though Nick (Chubb) will be out?
“I never looked at it that way. We preach balance in the offense, so obviously we want to run the ball well, but we also want to pass the ball well, and I don’t think that changes.”
What do you think has to be done to get the offense working more smoothly than it has the first two games?
“I mean, at the end of the day, it comes down to execution. Execution of the plays. No matter what play we call just have to go out there and play our brand of football. We believe that when we are playing up to our standard, that it’s not a team that we can go up against who can really match us.”
And why do you think that hasn’t happened the first two games?
“Like I said, it comes down to the execution of the plays. Any play that is seen as a negative play just simply means that we didn’t execute it.”
You lose a guy like Nick (Chubb), do you feel like that adds more pressure or responsibility to everyone else to kind of pick up the slack that you’re missing?
“Of course. You know, as I said before, I view Nick as our best player, so obviously things change. Definitely have to pick up the slack. Nick carried a lot of the load. He made it really easy for a lot of us.”
What gives you the confidence? I mean, we see Deshaun (Watson) practice every day and look really good in practice, and you guys had a nice summer. What gives you the confidence that he’s going to pick his game up and this is going to look better?
“Yeah, I mean, well, we all need to pick our game up. From my standpoint at wide receiver, I just view it, like you know, the more open I can get, the easier it will be for Deshaun. I like to put the pressure on myself that way.”
What does Tennessee do defensively that is going to present a challenge?
“Yeah, I mean, they have a good defense. They’re really good up front the defensive line. They don’t really blitz a lot. They depend on their defensive line to apply that pressure. We just have to stay on time in the passing game and we’ll be alright.”
You’ve been through the long seasons before. You’ve been around a lot. I mean, just what can you say to maybe fans or anybody who’s sort of a little bit down about the way that game went and about what the future holds for you guys as a football team. It seems like all your goals and your dreams are still right there.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s all about perspective, really. At the end of the day, we’re 1-1. What’s funny is, if we would have lost the first game and won this game, we would have still been 1-1, and the perspective would have been totally different. Everybody would have been much more cheerful, I would say. So it’s all about perspective.”
How do you feel about coming back to Cleveland Browns Stadium? It felt so good for you guys to get the crowd all fired up, and here you are back on the lakefront, actually, for your next three games, I think it is. So what’s that like, to come back and be able to try to do this again for your fans?
“It always seems like it’s much more pleasant to play at home. Just more comfortable, I would say the crowd is actually for you instead of against you. So from that standpoint, it’s just much more comfortable. It’s easy to play that way, I would say.
How do you think Deshaun (Watson) feeling, just maybe with the rocky start?
“You’ve got to ask Deshaun. At the end of the day, you know, you just try to go out there and play your best brand of football. Like I said before, I’m just more so concerned about making it easier for Deshaun. Every time we text and communicate, that’s what I tell him. So as long as I do my job and we do our job as receivers, running backs, whatever, pass catchers, it’ll be much more easier for him.”
You were on the injury report , for not only the groin, but shoulder injury.
“Nicks, dings and bruises–part of the game. I don’t go into a game expecting to be healthy. So it is what it is. ”
It’s not abnormal to get two games, to have your name on the injury report both weeks?
“It’s not abnormal? No.”
Hey, Amari, you mentioned perspective before, and, you know, injuries are always a part of this, but when a player of Nick’s (Chubb) caliber stature goes down, does that bring even more perspective to the idea that every play could be your last? Any play could be your last?
“Yeah. That’s something that’s well known. Football is a dangerous game, guys literally get paid to hit you.”
The safety for Tennessee, Kevin Byard. Pretty good. Center fielder, ball hawk. Do you have any experience with him in games before?
“Yeah, of course. I’ve played against him before. Kind of reminds me of an older version of Minkah (Fitzpatrick), who we played last week, so it’s not nothing that we haven’t seen before. I mean, he’s a ball hawk. He’s a really good player. You just got to be able to identify him and go from there.”
Amari, you’ve noted how sort of tragic it was to lose Nick (Chubb), but what I remember of Kareem (Hunt) over the last four years, watching him making Nick on the sidelines, bringing energy to practices and different things like that. What do you think he’ll bring just in terms of a morale boost for you guys in the aftermath of Nick’s loss.
“The thing about Kareem, he’s a very energetic player. One thing that I’ve noticed about him, I’ve only played with him a year, but he’s always prepared to play on Sunday. He’s always ready to play. He’s always making big plays. He’s very durable. He’s very dynamic. You can use him in the passing game, the running game, and he’s a really good pass blocker as well. So he does a lot of things well.”
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