Oakland Raiders Need Cooper To Improve Knowledge And All Around Game

Oakland Raiders receiver Amari Cooper is a superstar in the making – but as his performance against the Falcons proved, he’s got a ways to go yet.

Last season, injuries and fatigue took a toll on Oakland Raiders receiver Amari Cooper. It was clear, as his performance tapered off over the last eight games of the year. Cooper – as dynamic as he was in becoming the first Raiders receiver to break the 1,000 yard mark in a season since Randy Moss back in 2005 – wasn’t the same receiver over the last eight games as he was over the first eight.

Worse than the injury and fatigue wearing Cooper down last season though, was his problem with dropped passes. His ten dropped passes last season tied him for second most in the NFL with Ted Ginn Jr. and Brandon Marshall. And he was just one dropped pass behind Mike Evans for the NFL “lead” in the rather dubious category.

Most opted to write off his mistakes last season as being part of the natural progression of a rookie in the NFL. And that argument is not without merit. There is a big learning curve that goes along with jumping from college to the pros. And for the most part, Cooper handled the jump smoothly.

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But here we are in 2016, and Cooper is still giving the team – and the fans – reason to worry.

In week one, he didn’t have a drop, but he did inexplicably sling a ball out of bounds without contact. He – and the team – were fortunate that they didn’t lose the ball, but it showed that Cooper still needs to work on holding on to the ball.

In week two against the Falcons, he again didn’t record a dropped ball, but his mental gaffe in the fourth quarter, very well could have helped cost the team a win.

Certainly, the lion’s share of the blame for the loss falls on the shoulders of a suddenly inept defense. And rightly so. In two weeks, the defense has surrendered more than 1,000 yards of offense and 69 points. The Falcons, like the Saints the previous week, carved up this Oakland defense.

But just as with the Saints in week one, the Raiders had some chances near the end of the game. And on one of those chances, Cooper absolutely blew it. His gaffe though, has been somewhat overshadowed by the defensive ineptitude.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Raiders were facing a third and two at their own 49. Derek Carr dropped back and threw a 51 yard strike to Cooper that electrified the crowd and tied the game at 28. The play gave the Raiders new life and a much needed momentum swing in their favor.

Except that it didn’t.

Cooper was flagged for illegal touching, which nullified the touchdown. The score remained 28-21 Falcons. For a moment anyway. Atlanta took over on downs and moved the ball in two and a half minutes, punching it in and going up 35-21.

The penalty on Cooper which resulted in another Atlanta score, effectively ended the game.

What made Cooper’s penalty all the more egregious is that he was apparently unaware of the rule forbidding him from being the first one to touch a ball after running out of bounds and coming back into the field of play.

Said Cooper:

"“I know the college rule is if they push you out of bounds, you can come back in and catch the ball, but I think the NFL rule is it doesn’t matter how you get out of bounds, you can’t be the first one to touch the ball. That’s what I think it is, I’m not really sure on that.”"

The penalty was a back breaker and a momentum killer. No, the defense didn’t step up and prevent the Falcons from scoring, but given that it put them up by 14 late in the fourth, the penalty that nullified the touchdown changed the entire complexion of the game.

Left tackle Donald Penn even acknowledged it when he said:

"“That was a big game-changer. I wish we could have that back. We never know what could happen if we could have that play back. We’ve got to learn from that stuff.”"

It was a terrible mental gaffe and one that Cooper is very likely not going to repeat. But that doesn’t change the fact that it cost the Raiders dearly against Atlanta. Was it the sole reason they lost? Of course not. But it sure did kill any sort of momentum the team was building and changed the course of the game.

Like Penn, most all of us wish Cooper and the Raiders could have that one back. Unfortunately, there is no taking it back. All you can do is take it on the chin, get up, dust yourself off, and move forward. Hopefully wiser for the experience.

There is no doubt that Cooper is one of the best receivers to put on a Raiders jersey in a long, long time. He will be one of the team’s brightest stars for years to come, and is the number one wideout the Raiders have been lacking forever. No question that he’s going to do way more good than bad over the course of his career and is going to help this team a lot more than he’s going to hurt it.

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But that doesn’t make his growing pains any less – well – painful. The Raiders could have had a better shot at winning that game against the Falcons if Cooper had simply paid attention to where he was on the field – or had bothered to study the rule book.

Cooper is good. Really good. But the Raiders need him to be great. And the best way for him to do that is to increase his knowledge base, get to know the rules intimately, and hone his all around skills as a receiver.