Downgrade Cooley (1 Viewer)

[AB in DC]

This is mostly speculation, but it was discussed a bit on local radio.

RT Jon Jansen, who may be the most talented lineman on the Redskins was injured early in the second quarter yesterday and is expected to be out of the rest of the year. The issue here is that, overall, the Redskin's OL depth is very poor. UDFA Stephon Heyer looked ok yesterday in relief in Jon Jansen, but it's not his regular position. Tood Wade has played at RT but he is far from 100%.

This means that it's very likely that Cooley will be used more in a blocking role, to help out on the right side, than he has been in the past. Cooley had exactly one target in the 2d, 3d, and 4th quarters combined. (He did catch a pass in OT, though.)

If you're relying on Cooley as your TE, you're going to need a Plan B.

 

[The Man with the Plan]

Interesting analysis.

 

[scoobygang]

This is mostly speculation, but it was discussed a bit on local radio.

RT Jon Jansen, who may be the most talented lineman on the Redskins was injured early in the second quarter yesterday and is expected to be out of the rest of the year. The issue here is that, overall, the Redskin's OL depth is very poor. UDFA Stephon Heyer looked ok yesterday in relief in Jon Jansen, but it's not his regular position. Tood Wade has played at RT but he is far from 100%.

This means that it's very likely that Cooley will be used more in a blocking role, to help out on the right side, than he has been in the past. Cooley had exactly one target in the 2d, 3d, and 4th quarters combined. (He did catch a pass in OT, though.)

If you're relying on Cooley as your TE, you're going to need a Plan B.

Jansen is not remotely the most talented OL on the Redskins. Todd Wade has filled in for him before, and some coaches believe Wade might actually be better. I also perceived little dropoff in effectiveness when Stephon Heyer filled in for Jansen yesterday (and he got less help than you'd expect).Jansen is a "core" Redskin, and a likable guy. He was a contributor from his rookie year, so I think a lot of people have never noticed that he reached his potential early and then really never improved. He's a starting caliber NFL tackle, but not close to Pro Bowler. And he was abused pretty badly in the pre season.

 

[Joe Bryant]

This is mostly speculation, but it was discussed a bit on local radio.

RT Jon Jansen, who may be the most talented lineman on the Redskins was injured early in the second quarter yesterday and is expected to be out of the rest of the year. The issue here is that, overall, the Redskin's OL depth is very poor. UDFA Stephon Heyer looked ok yesterday in relief in Jon Jansen, but it's not his regular position. Tood Wade has played at RT but he is far from 100%.

This means that it's very likely that Cooley will be used more in a blocking role, to help out on the right side, than he has been in the past. Cooley had exactly one target in the 2d, 3d, and 4th quarters combined. (He did catch a pass in OT, though.)

If you're relying on Cooley as your TE, you're going to need a Plan B.

I'm with you abrecher. It's a small sample size but those target numbers after Jansen went down are scary.J

 

[zamboni]

Certainly something to watch, as was the case with Witten a few years ago. That said, Campbell did only throw the ball 21 times for the whole game and Cooley is a major part of the passing game. We'll have to see how next week shakes out.

 

[jurb26]

Did Wash use a lot of PA in the game? Did they use any. I think Cooley will do a ton of damage in PA once the O gets it's running game in full gear, regardless of Jensen being there or not.

 

[Sylira21]

Agree with Scooby that Jansen is far from the most talented O-lineman on the Skins. Now that they have Kendall, he may have actually been the least talented.

The injury still hurts from a depth perspective, of course, but I don't think I'd panic. The real reason to be wary of Cooley is that Jason Campbell will not throw 30 balls in a game unless the Skins are behind 2 TDs.

 

[savemejee]

RT Jon Jansen, who may be the most talented lineman on the Redskins was injured early in the second quarter yesterday and is expected to be out of the rest of the year.

Not to be crass, but as a Skins fan, Jon Jansen was the one guy on the line we could afford to lose. Like someone said, he wasl getting abused and bullrushed all preseason. Yeremiah Bell and the Miami LBs did a great job all game taking Cooley out of the game. I still believe Cooley will finish right around TE #5-6 when all is said and done.

 

[tdog]

This is mostly speculation, but it was discussed a bit on local radio.

RT Jon Jansen, who may be the most talented lineman on the Redskins was injured early in the second quarter yesterday and is expected to be out of the rest of the year. The issue here is that, overall, the Redskin's OL depth is very poor. UDFA Stephon Heyer looked ok yesterday in relief in Jon Jansen, but it's not his regular position. Tood Wade has played at RT but he is far from 100%.

This means that it's very likely that Cooley will be used more in a blocking role, to help out on the right side, than he has been in the past. Cooley had exactly one target in the 2d, 3d, and 4th quarters combined. (He did catch a pass in OT, though.)

If you're relying on Cooley as your TE, you're going to need a Plan B.

I'm with you abrecher. It's a small sample size but those target numbers after Jansen went down are scary.J

Wade was inactive yesterday which is why Heyer was in. Wade said his shoulder was fine and he did not know why he was inactive. Skins coaches said that they wanted Heyer (who has always played left tackle) active to give Samuels a break during the game. I don't think you can make any judgments about Cooley until after next week when the skins have the chance to prepare for a game without Jansen. I would assume if they need to help Wade out next week, they would use a back or another TE as Cooley is far more valuable in the passing game.

 

[lawrence phillips]

This is mostly speculation, but it was discussed a bit on local radio.

RT Jon Jansen, who may be the most talented lineman on the Redskins was injured early in the second quarter yesterday and is expected to be out of the rest of the year. The issue here is that, overall, the Redskin's OL depth is very poor. UDFA Stephon Heyer looked ok yesterday in relief in Jon Jansen, but it's not his regular position. Tood Wade has played at RT but he is far from 100%.

This means that it's very likely that Cooley will be used more in a blocking role, to help out on the right side, than he has been in the past. Cooley had exactly one target in the 2d, 3d, and 4th quarters combined. (He did catch a pass in OT, though.)

If you're relying on Cooley as your TE, you're going to need a Plan B.

Jansen is not remotely the most talented OL on the Redskins. Todd Wade has filled in for him before, and some coaches believe Wade might actually be better. I also perceived little dropoff in effectiveness when Stephon Heyer filled in for Jansen yesterday (and he got less help than you'd expect).Jansen is a "core" Redskin, and a likable guy. He was a contributor from his rookie year, so I think a lot of people have never noticed that he reached his potential early and then really never improved. He's a starting caliber NFL tackle, but not close to Pro Bowler. And he was abused pretty badly in the pre season.

As a Skins homer, I agree with you scooby. Jansen is a much better run blocker than he is against the pass. He will be missed in the running game. I honestly would grade Wade and Jansen similar against the past. Samuels and Randy Thomas are clearly better talents than Jansen. He's probably their 3rd best OL, but with Kendall and the underrated Casey Rabach even that isn't certain. If Wade is healthy, I honestly expect little dropoff in the play at RT. And the fact that Jansen's struggles have come in pass blocking, wouldn't Cooley be staying in more to block if Jansen were healthy if your theory held true? Wade was terrific last year and he played a decent amount. He started 1 game last year, vs. the Saints and Cooley had 4 catches for 80 yards in that game. What is more concerning to me about Cooley is the lack of targets. I watched the game and I remember 2 targets. Campbell's first INT was intended for Cooley and his 10 yard reception in OT. I was shocked by the lack of targets especially since Cooley was the only guy to work out with Campbell privately in the offseason and it looked like their chemistry carried over b/c Cooley saw a lot of targets from Campbell in the preseason.

 

[Jason Wood]

Chris Cooley isn't a blocking tight end; I'm not sure why the loss of an overpaid RT would be problematic for him

Heyer (who started at LT for much of the preseason) played in Jansen's place and acquitted himself well, and Wade is on the roster for just such an occurrence.

 

[lawrence phillips]

I read this bit of info from today's Washington Times

"The Dolphins made it difficult for [Campbell] by taking away his security blanket, Chris Cooley. "They played a guy under him and a guy on top of him most of the day," said Campbell, who threw his first INT by trying to force the ball to his tight end. Cooley didn't catch his first pass — a 10-yarder on a quick look-in over the middle — until overtime, but it was one of the biggest plays of the game. It converted a third-and-7 and moved the Redskins into Miami territory. A short time later, Shaun Suisham sent the fans happily home by drilling one from 39 yards."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...mplate=nextpage

 

[AB in DC]

Heyer (who started at LT for much of the preseason)

He was also a bit of a turnstile in the preseason. Wasn't he the one who whiffed on a block on the player who injured Campbell three weeks ago?I'm not sure why people have so much confidence in Wade -- he's the reason why the Skins traded for Kendall.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

I read this bit of info from today's Washington Times

"The Dolphins made it difficult for [Campbell] by taking away his security blanket, Chris Cooley. "They played a guy under him and a guy on top of him most of the day," said Campbell, who threw his first INT by trying to force the ball to his tight end. Cooley didn't catch his first pass — a 10-yarder on a quick look-in over the middle — until overtime, but it was one of the biggest plays of the game. It converted a third-and-7 and moved the Redskins into Miami territory. A short time later, Shaun Suisham sent the fans happily home by drilling one from 39 yards."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...mplate=nextpage

This is what I saw from watching the game, and I talked to by brother in law who was at the game to get another perspective.It appeared that the Miami D where scheming Cooley out of the pass plays, taking him away, even before the Hansen injury.

 

[Jason Wood]

Heyer (who started at LT for much of the preseason)

He was also a bit of a turnstile in the preseason. Wasn't he the one who whiffed on a block on the player who injured Campbell three weeks ago?I'm not sure why people have so much confidence in Wade -- he's the reason why the Skins traded for Kendall.

Wade was taking one for the team trying to play guard, Coach Gibbs and Wade have admitted as much after the fact. He's a natural tackle. I think they'll be fine there. A downgrade, sure? But the point people are missing here is the Cooley isn't going to be kept in to block; that's not his game. He was an H-back/pass catcher and Utah and plays the same role in D.C. If the Redskins have need of more max protect, they'll either make more consistent use of 2-TE sets or bring a more conventional FB into the mix, IMHO. Cooley's only an asset as a pass catcher.

 

[lawrence phillips]

Heyer (who started at LT for much of the preseason)

He was also a bit of a turnstile in the preseason. Wasn't he the one who whiffed on a block on the player who injured Campbell three weeks ago?I'm not sure why people have so much confidence in Wade -- he's the reason why the Skins traded for Kendall.

They traded for Kendall b/c Wade didn't work out at guard, not because they didn't have confidence in him at RT. He's never played guard over his career, but he gave it a shot and it didn't work out. At 6'8", he's not exactly the prototypical guard. The reason the Redskins brought him back was because he was very good last year and figured he could fill in in some capacity. Turns out they were right. As long as he's healthy, he's fine at RT and like I said before arguably a better pass blocker than Jansen. A reason to download Cooley would be the article posted above, not that he'll block more with Jansen gone.

 

[zamboni]

I read this bit of info from today's Washington Times

"The Dolphins made it difficult for [Campbell] by taking away his security blanket, Chris Cooley. "They played a guy under him and a guy on top of him most of the day," said Campbell, who threw his first INT by trying to force the ball to his tight end. Cooley didn't catch his first pass — a 10-yarder on a quick look-in over the middle — until overtime, but it was one of the biggest plays of the game. It converted a third-and-7 and moved the Redskins into Miami territory. A short time later, Shaun Suisham sent the fans happily home by drilling one from 39 yards."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...mplate=nextpage

Nice find. Certainly points to the fact that Cooley remains Campbell's guy, but that he just couldn't get the ball to him yesterday. I guess Campbell should get some credit for not forcing it.

 

[Bizkiteer]

This is mostly speculation, but it was discussed a bit on local radio.

RT Jon Jansen, who may be the most talented lineman on the Redskins was injured early in the second quarter yesterday and is expected to be out of the rest of the year. The issue here is that, overall, the Redskin's OL depth is very poor. UDFA Stephon Heyer looked ok yesterday in relief in Jon Jansen, but it's not his regular position. Tood Wade has played at RT but he is far from 100%.

This means that it's very likely that Cooley will be used more in a blocking role, to help out on the right side, than he has been in the past. Cooley had exactly one target in the 2d, 3d, and 4th quarters combined. (He did catch a pass in OT, though.)

If you're relying on Cooley as your TE, you're going to need a Plan B.

What you're failing to mention is that Campbell's first INT was intended for Cooley. That was the first pass of the game for the 'Skins too. The Dolphins had a Safety hovering around Moss and Cooley in addition to other coverage yesterday. It hurt both of their chances for the most part. The passing game was to be desired, other than a few long balls to Randle-El. Bad passing game all around, so don't take his stats or targets as a basis for what you're going to see all season.Granted Jansen being hurt, doesn't help. I would expect more Sellers or Yoder to help on the OL w/ chip type blocks. Cooley is an important part to the 'Skins passing game and his use should not decline. IMO

 

[Joe Bryant]

I read this bit of info from today's Washington Times

"The Dolphins made it difficult for [Campbell] by taking away his security blanket, Chris Cooley. "They played a guy under him and a guy on top of him most of the day," said Campbell, who threw his first INT by trying to force the ball to his tight end. Cooley didn't catch his first pass — a 10-yarder on a quick look-in over the middle — until overtime, but it was one of the biggest plays of the game. It converted a third-and-7 and moved the Redskins into Miami territory. A short time later, Shaun Suisham sent the fans happily home by drilling one from 39 yards."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...mplate=nextpage

This is what I saw from watching the game, and I talked to by brother in law who was at the game to get another perspective.It appeared that the Miami D where scheming Cooley out of the pass plays, taking him away, even before the Hansen injury.

Thanks Jeff.J

 

[Bizkiteer]

Heyer (who started at LT for much of the preseason)

He was also a bit of a turnstile in the preseason. Wasn't he the one who whiffed on a block on the player who injured Campbell three weeks ago?I'm not sure why people have so much confidence in Wade -- he's the reason why the Skins traded for Kendall.

He also was playing LT in pre-season, so he naturally was going against the better DE's too. Though I'm not confident w/ Heyer, I'll give him this...he played SUPERB yesterday. One penalty and held his own very well. even when Jason Taylor switch sides and went against him.

 

[dgreen]

Granted Jansen being hurt, doesn't help. I would expect more Sellers or Yoder to help on the OL w/ chip type blocks. Cooley is an important part to the 'Skins passing game and his use should not decline. IMO

If they're going to keep a TE in, it will be Yoder. Cooley could probably even play more of a WR3 since Lloyd isn't going to contribute crap.

 

[dgreen]

Did Wash use a lot of PA in the game? Did they use any. I think Cooley will do a ton of damage in PA once the O gets it's running game in full gear, regardless of Jensen being there or not.

They used some PA.Campbell said after the game that he forced that first INT because they wanted to work the seam with Cooley. I think Miami took that away. So, Campbell hit ARE for three big plays down the field. Hopefully teams will have to think about ARE now and maybe that will open things back up for Cooley.Plus, Washington did exactly what they were doing down the stretch last year: pounding the football. If they can continue similar success for a couple weeks on the ground, teams will have to play 8 in the box leaving some receivers in one-on-one coverage.

 

[kensat30]

We saw this at the beginning of last season for Cooley as well. Maybe he's just an extremely slow starter. Or maybe last season, Cooley was staying in to pass block because Mark Brunell is 40 years old. Who knows. I think I'll defer to the Washington homers here who are saying that losing Janson is not a major blow like Pace is in St. Louis. It looked to me that this weekend that Campbell was taking some hits out there so maybe Washington was just playing it safe for the moment.

 

[dgreen]

It looked to me that this weekend that Campbell was taking some hits out there so maybe Washington was just playing it safe for the moment.

IIRC, most of the hits Campbell took were because he had nobody to throw to, not because he didn't have time.If I have some time tonight, I'll rewatch the game and track what Cooley did after Jansen left.

 

[Block]

I would keep in mind that Miami's defensive gameplan seemed to be to remove Moss and Cooley from the picture. This was why Randle El was singled up all game. Cooley faced double coverage most of the time as did Moss.

Not saying he won't be required to block more now that Jansen is out, but remember that Miami made an effort to take him away.

 

[Da Guru]

Chris Cooley isn't a blocking tight end; I'm not sure why the loss of an overpaid RT would be problematic for him Heyer (who started at LT for much of the preseason) played in Jansen's place and acquitted himself well, and Wade is on the roster for just such an occurrence.

I agree..if they need Cooley to be a blocker they may as well not even play him. I don`t think they signed him to a 30 million dollar deal to chip DEs.

 

[dgreen]

From JLC's blog:

Jansen Speaks .. So Does Wade

Jon just did a conference call with us. It was pretty gruesome. He will have surgery this week, either Wed. or Thursday and will be out probably 4 months. Said he is unsure if he will be placed on IR right away, ending his season, but seemed to expect the move at some point.

Todd Wade says he is operating on the assumption he is starting indefinitely. Wade says that Coach Joe Gibbs and associate head coach Al Saunders both gave him "The Nod" - you know, that universal look and tilt of the head that means, get ready to strap it on and step up, son. We need 'ya.

Have to wait until Coach Joe talks around 5 pm to find out if Wade's reading of body language was correct, but he was fairly adamant about being the guy.

As for Jansen, until they perform the surgery the doctors will not know how extensive the ligament damage is, but there will be some. Jon said they reset the fracture on the field - holy schnikes I almost puked just hearing him describe it - and said "I could feel things popping, I could feel things breaking" at the time his leg got rolled.

Jon said he'll spend 6 weeks in a cast and on crutches and then will be able to put some weight on the fractured and dislocated right ankle in a walking boot. Ten to 12 weeks after surgery he should be running and "by end of three-to-four months there I should be able to resume any normal training."

The Redskins still have three healthy tackles so there is no rush per say to put Jansen on IR, and who knows, perhaps after surgery they see a reason to keep him active for a post-season. But Jansen was focusing on being back for next year, and was talking about this injury in the same terms as the 2004 ruptured left Achilles that kept him out of that entire season.

Since then Jansen has broken both thumbs and was finally forced out of the lineup once last season with a calf injury as well. He plans to be around the team more than he was while rehabbing in 2004.

 

[redman]

This is mostly speculation, but it was discussed a bit on local radio.

RT Jon Jansen, who may be the most talented lineman on the Redskins was injured early in the second quarter yesterday and is expected to be out of the rest of the year. The issue here is that, overall, the Redskin's OL depth is very poor. UDFA Stephon Heyer looked ok yesterday in relief in Jon Jansen, but it's not his regular position. Tood Wade has played at RT but he is far from 100%.

This means that it's very likely that Cooley will be used more in a blocking role, to help out on the right side, than he has been in the past. Cooley had exactly one target in the 2d, 3d, and 4th quarters combined. (He did catch a pass in OT, though.)

If you're relying on Cooley as your TE, you're going to need a Plan B.

This is off base for a few reasons. First of all, as others have said, Jansen is not the best lineman on the team. It might be Kendall, but I've been a Randy Thomas fan for years now. Samuels is a multiple Pro Bowler.

Second, Wade was inactive yesterday. Why is that important? Two things. First, it explains why they started Heyer, a rookie, and shifted more blocking his way to protect him. Second, it explains why Wade wasn't put in there. Wade was the backup RT last year and by most accounts outplayed Jansen. The RT spot may actually improve with Wade over Jansen, who Gibbs and Bugel love and are loathe to bench.

I think this is going to be fine. Cooley is too much of a weapon for the team to devote him to blocking. Yoder's a good blocker, as is Sellers, so what they'll probably do if anything is reduce their 3 WR sets in favor of 2 TE sets. Downgrade Lloyd instead.

 

[fatness]

Jansen is not remotely the most talented OL on the Redskins. Todd Wade has filled in for him before, and some coaches believe Wade might actually be better. I also perceived little dropoff in effectiveness when Stephon Heyer filled in for Jansen yesterday (and he got less help than you'd expect).Jansen is a "core" Redskin, and a likable guy. He was a contributor from his rookie year, so I think a lot of people have never noticed that he reached his potential early and then really never improved. He's a starting caliber NFL tackle, but not close to Pro Bowler. And he was abused pretty badly in the pre season.

All of this is correct. I made a point to watch Heyer yesterday (during the lousy Sopcast feed) and he held his own in his first pro game. I was quite surprised. And Wade was better than Jansen last year.

 

[fatness]

I'm not sure why people have so much confidence in Wade -- he's the reason why the Skins traded for Kendall.

Wade was being tried at guard this preseason, where he did poorly. That's why they traded for Kendall, so Wade could go back to tackle.

 

[redman]

I'm not sure why people have so much confidence in Wade -- he's the reason why the Skins traded for Kendall.

Wade was being tried at guard this preseason, where he did poorly. That's why they traded for Kendall, so Wade could go back to tackle.

Wade is a prototypical tackle - tall, lean, long arms. That - particularly his height - doesn't lend itself to the in-line run blocking that OG's do predominantly. He doesn't get leverage well enough against squatter, lower DT's, and his athleticism doesn't make up for that well enough. He needs to be on the outside.

 

[Dexter Manley]

It looked to me that this weekend that Campbell was taking some hits out there so maybe Washington was just playing it safe for the moment.

IIRC, most of the hits Campbell took were because he had nobody to throw to, not because he didn't have time.If I have some time tonight, I'll rewatch the game and track what Cooley did after Jansen left.

I agree with this. It seemed that Campbell held onto the ball too long a few times when he couldn't find anyone open downfield and this is when he got hit. OTTOMH, the only time I can recall Miami just blowing through Washington's pass protection was on the play that Jansen got hurt when Taylor got a ridiculous jump off the ball and appeared to be offsides.I was really surprised how well Heyer played, all things considered. I was also impressed how the Washington oline seemed to wear down the Dolphin's defensive front late in the game.

 

[nygiants56]

This is mostly speculation, but it was discussed a bit on local radio.

RT Jon Jansen, who may be the most talented lineman on the Redskins was injured early in the second quarter yesterday and is expected to be out of the rest of the year. The issue here is that, overall, the Redskin's OL depth is very poor. UDFA Stephon Heyer looked ok yesterday in relief in Jon Jansen, but it's not his regular position. Tood Wade has played at RT but he is far from 100%.

This means that it's very likely that Cooley will be used more in a blocking role, to help out on the right side, than he has been in the past. Cooley had exactly one target in the 2d, 3d, and 4th quarters combined. (He did catch a pass in OT, though.)

If you're relying on Cooley as your TE, you're going to need a Plan B.

why would they not use Cooley anymore? they have a blocking TE already.a car was meant to be driven, Cooley isn't going to sit in the garage all season long.

 

[dgreen]

This is mostly speculation, but it was discussed a bit on local radio.

RT Jon Jansen, who may be the most talented lineman on the Redskins was injured early in the second quarter yesterday and is expected to be out of the rest of the year. The issue here is that, overall, the Redskin's OL depth is very poor. UDFA Stephon Heyer looked ok yesterday in relief in Jon Jansen, but it's not his regular position. Tood Wade has played at RT but he is far from 100%.

This means that it's very likely that Cooley will be used more in a blocking role, to help out on the right side, than he has been in the past. Cooley had exactly one target in the 2d, 3d, and 4th quarters combined. (He did catch a pass in OT, though.)

If you're relying on Cooley as your TE, you're going to need a Plan B.

why would they not use Cooley anymore? they have a blocking TE already.a car was meant to be driven, Cooley isn't going to sit in the garage all season long.

Go to the Portis thread.TIA

 

[dgreen]

If I have some time tonight, I'll rewatch the game and track what Cooley did after Jansen left.

Okay, here's how I tracked the passing plays once Jansen was out:1. Lined up on the left side (not Jansen's side) and stayed in to block. He didn't actuall block anyone and made himself available for a dump off.2. Left side, ran a pattern.3. Right side, appeared to block, but I think they may have been running a screen to Cooley that didn't set up properly.4. Right side, ran a pattern.5. Left side and blocked immediately as Campbell threw a quick slant to Moss.6. Left slot and ran a pattern.7. Right side, ran a pattern.8. Right slot and ran a pattern.9. 5. Left side and blocked immediately as Campbell threw a quick slant to Moss.10. Right side, ran a pattern. 11. Right slot and ran a pattern.12. Right side, blocked, made himself available for a dump off.13. Wide right and ran a pattern.14. Right side and blocked.15. Right side, ran a pattern. 16. Right side, ran a pattern. 17. Right slot, ran a pattern, made a reception.So, he mostly ran patterns on pass plays AND he mostly lined up on Samuels' side. Of course, one possibility is that they wanted to stick with their game plan despite the possible desire to offer extra help on the right side. They could possibly game plan this week to have Cooley assist Wade/Heyer on the right side. But, as has been said, that's not why they have Cooley and they didn't seem to mind leaving Heyer alone quite often.

 

[Penguins]

I drafted Cooley with the intent of getting a high productive player - digesting this info - there's potential for him to decline his production from last year - I thought DGreen's posting was real telling - now it could have been a game plan deal - this week will be the test.

On our waivers is Eric Johnson - who I'd pick up in a heartbeat as a bye week fill in (but they have the same bye week)....so this is a hybrid question:

1. How much will Cooley decline?

2. How much will Eric Johnson be used? I usually like to stash high upside RBs - like Selvin Young, Leon Washington on the roster

Any thoughts out there - trying not to use the board for waiver suggestions - but more for calls on what these guys may do

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Good rule of thumb. When a C/LG/RG is injured, you downgrade the RB some. When a RT/LT ends up hurt like Orlando Pace or Jansen, those typically will have a bigger impact on the passing game as thye keep those DE off the QB.

I would like to take credit for this statement but I learned it from JT on staff, so he gets the credit here.

 

[Pigskin Fanatic]

I drafted Cooley with the intent of getting a high productive player - digesting this info - there's potential for him to decline his production from last year - I thought DGreen's posting was real telling - now it could have been a game plan deal - this week will be the test.On our waivers is Eric Johnson - who I'd pick up in a heartbeat as a bye week fill in (but they have the same bye week)....so this is a hybrid question:1. How much will Cooley decline?2. How much will Eric Johnson be used? I usually like to stash high upside RBs - like Selvin Young, Leon Washington on the rosterAny thoughts out there - trying not to use the board for waiver suggestions - but more for calls on what these guys may do

same situation, kept cooley and picked up johnson. i dont have numbers to support it atm, but iirc johnson was a good option with the niners and brees loved his tight end in his former job. i like my chances. i'll start cooley this week though, everything i read says they game planned to take cooley out of the game last week so let's see if that trend continues. if teams keep honing in on him, i dont think it matter who plays at RT. i'm more worried about that than this injury situation.

 

[phthalatemagic]

Wow, that guy can't stay healthy. Didn't he have really bad injury problems a year or two ago too? I root for Jansen, too bad for him. Only one game in

 

[fatness]

Wow, that guy can't stay healthy. Didn't he have really bad injury problems a year or two ago too? I root for Jansen, too bad for him. Only one game in

Among other things he had 2 broken thumbs.

 

[zamboni]

I only watched bits and pieces of the game, but it appared that while Cooley got the TD and had about 5 targets, Campbell didn't seem to lock into him as he's often done. In fact, Cooley seemed to be staying in and blocking seemingly more than in the past.

Any thoughts as to whether, in fact, his role is shifting a bit?

 

[TheNext0]

I only watched bits and pieces of the game, but it appared that while Cooley got the TD and had about 5 targets, Campbell didn't seem to lock into him as he's often done. In fact, Cooley seemed to be staying in and blocking seemingly more than in the past. Any thoughts as to whether, in fact, his role is shifting a bit?

I watched the whole game. Needed 9.1 points from Cooley and he ended up getting me just over 10. He was targeted 3 times on the first drive. He dropped a long pass (~30 yards), and then was overthrown twice. After that the Redskins slowly moved to a more run-oriented offense. There were a few plays where Campbell was looking for Cooley but didn't have time to get the ball to him or Cooley was just not open. He hasn't had great success against Philly in the past, so the TD is a pleasant surprise.I didn't, however, notice him staying in to block very much at all. He was lining up in the slot and out wide very often, which is a great sign. I took note of the backup TE coming into to help block a few times. I don't think there is much to worry about here with the O-line injuries. Cooley is still gonna get his...

 

[zamboni]

I only watched bits and pieces of the game, but it appared that while Cooley got the TD and had about 5 targets, Campbell didn't seem to lock into him as he's often done. In fact, Cooley seemed to be staying in and blocking seemingly more than in the past. Any thoughts as to whether, in fact, his role is shifting a bit?

I watched the whole game. Needed 9.1 points from Cooley and he ended up getting me just over 10. He was targeted 3 times on the first drive. He dropped a long pass (~30 yards), and then was overthrown twice. After that the Redskins slowly moved to a more run-oriented offense. There were a few plays where Campbell was looking for Cooley but didn't have time to get the ball to him or Cooley was just not open. He hasn't had great success against Philly in the past, so the TD is a pleasant surprise.I didn't, however, notice him staying in to block very much at all. He was lining up in the slot and out wide very often, which is a great sign. I took note of the backup TE coming into to help block a few times. I don't think there is much to worry about here with the O-line injuries. Cooley is still gonna get his...

Thanks. I didn't see the early part of the game, so that helps.