Oakland Raiders: The good, bad, and ugly from week three loss to Miami
By Kevin Saito
Bad: From The Highs Back To The Lows Again
A week after he torched the Denver defense, racking up 10 catches, on 10 targets, for 116 yards – though no touchdowns – Amari Cooper once again disappeared. As in, he was totally invisible.
Cooper’s performance against Denver was the best day of his career against them. Up until last week, the Broncos had stifled him, and he averaged just a few receptions for very few yards. He had a breakthrough against them last week, which most thought was a portent of better days to come.
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Unfortunately, against the Dolphins, Cooper got lost in the Bermuda Triangle. He was targeted five times, but made two catches for just 17 yards.
Worse than that, because of a miscommunication on one play, Cooper stopped his pattern and Carr’s pass sailed straight to the Broncos defense, who didn’t miss, and hauled in the interception. Although it goes on Carr’s record, that pick is mostly all on Cooper.
Even worse than that though, are a pair of third-down drops that killed a couple of drives.
Drops have been an issue since Cooper came into the league, and though he’s made some strides, they continue to be an issue that plagues the offense, and helps keep it from being as explosive as it could potentially be.
Cooper’s drops are not something you expect to see out of your number one receiver, and here in year four, Cooper needs to figure out how to hang onto the ball.