How Cooper made such a quick impact
Jones credits receiver’s talent, coaches’ efforts to get him involved
FRISCO — Dallas Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper was named the NFC offensive player of the week Wednesday after his breakout performance in a 31-23 win over Washington on Thanksgiving Day.
Cooper caught eight passes for 180 yards and streaking touchdowns of 40 and 90 yards to help put the Cowboys (6-5) in first place in the NFC East.
It was exactly the type of performance the Cowboys were hoping for when they acquired Cooper in a byeweek trade from the Oakland Raiders for a 2019 firstround draft pick.
Cooper has revitalized the Cowboys’ passing game, boosting quarterback Dak Prescott’s confidence and opening things up for running back Ezekiel Elliott.
As a team, the Cowboys are riding a three-game winning streak and playing their best football heading into Thursday night’s game against the New Orleans Saints (10-1).
Owner Jerry Jones and Prescott pointed toward Cooper’s athleticism, talent and a concerted effort by the coaches to get him involved as reasons he has made such a quick impact.
Jones called him “as good a route runner as has ever put on a Dallas Cowboy uniform.”
And he has no regrets about it being “a lonely first round” when the 2019 NFL draft rolls around in the spring.
“It is not surprising,” Jones said on his radio show about Cooper and Prescott developing chemistry so quickly. “What I’m really pleased (about) is that our coaches are designing it and he’s following through with his preparation and his coordination with Dak. But the coaches are putting him in a spot to have him have that success, and I think that’s big and telling for where we are right now.
“I’ve always been on top and pushing coaches to adjust their schemes for their players. A lot of coaches will give lip service to that and not be as adjustable in their scheme as others. These guys, they’ve designed things that really give Cooper a chance.”
Added Prescott: “He is a great player. When you are a great player like him and you get separation and run routes, it makes my job easy. So when you have that, give credit to him. You saw (against Washington) just the type of player he is and what he can do. He comes into this locker room and brings that confidence or … swagger about himself. He has confidence in the guys here just the way we practice and the way we do things. He bought in.”
Prescott said there have been no challenges in connecting with Cooper because of his attitude, mindset and willingness to learn. He and Cooper have had a running discussion of likes and dislikes since the day he landed in Dallas.
“There really weren’t, and I credit him,” Prescott said. “As I said, we sit one seat away from each other in the meeting room. We’re always talking. He’s pulling up film, ‘I’m going to do this, because the defender plays this way. This, this and that.’ As I said, when you have a player that runs the routes and prepares the way he does, he makes it much easier.”
The easier is best explained by the numbers starting with the unmistakable fact that the Cowboys are 3-1 with Cooper and 3-4 without him while scoring 24 points per game after and 20 before.
Prescott has completed 70 percent of his passes over the past four games with Cooper compared with 62 percent before.
He also is averaging 252 yards passing per game with Cooper compared to 202 before. And his quarterback rating has gone from 87.4 to 102.4 with Cooper. It is a whopping 126 when targeting Cooper.
It all came together against Washington, and Cooper will try to duplicate that performance Thursday against the Saints.