Player Spotlight: Chris Cooley (1 Viewer)

[nygiants56]

With Lloyd and Randle El on board, the ball should be spread around a bit more and I don't see him getting as many receptions as last year.

58 receptions, 610 receiving yards, 5 TDs

Cooley only recieved 103 targets last season and averaged less than 11 yards/reception. He made the best of his targets, hauling in 71 of them.Next season, the Skins look to use him on more long pass routes in an attempt to get him down the field, which means more yards per catch. They also plan to split him out periodically, I believe. So, despite the newcoming WR talent, I expect Cooley's targets to remain about the same, or maybe go up about 1 or 2 per game. I expect upper 70s in receptions with about 14 yards per reception.

Cooley demonstrated surprising elusiveness and running ability last year, so I expect him to continue making big plays with the ball.

My high end projection: 79/1100/9

great prediction! OC Al Saunders loves to utilize the TE, and gibbs now says he will not call plays,leaving Saunders fully in charge of the offense..he could leapfrog other TE's and finish 2nd behind Gates..

First of all, I haven't seen where Gibbs is surrendering play-calling to Saunders. As is typical of Gibbs, he's going to delegate a lot, but still maintain final say on things like that. Saunders is simply redesigning the playbook. Second, Saunders loves to use the TE . . . except when he doesn't. The '99 Rams rarely bothered with their TE. Saunders loves to use multiple targets. It so happens that his best weapon (as measured by ability to create mismatches) in KC was Gonzo, but he'll use what he's given.

I love Cooley, but he's not the athlete Gonzo is and he's not capable of doing everything that Gonzo does. Moss is where the mismatches will come from. I also think that we have yet to see the best from Lloyd and Randle El, so they're untapped resources too.

I think what you saw from Cooley last year represents what amounts to a ceiling for him. I can't imagine him outperforming his 2005 numbers, and I think he'll decline a bit. Remember, that passing offense was severely imbalanced in favor of Moss and Cooley because of how few other targets there were. Mike Sellars caught 8 TD's for crying out loud!

The way that they envision this offense IMHO, Cooley is the 3rd or 4th option overall. While game situations will still enable him to be utilized nicely, if you're thinking he's going to turn into Gates or Gonzo I think you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

, point well taken!However, Gibbs went on record MONTHS ago, to say he is relinqueshing any offensive play calling duties and letting Saunders do his thing entirely..

the TE position in KC the past 5 years has been producing at a high level because of Gonzalez, yes, and Saunders does like to spray the ball around, as you said.

No, Cooley is not the athlete that Gonzalez is, not even close..Cooley has proven he can handle the task of being a main offensive cog, as evidenced by his 7 tds last year and 71 catches..

a few questions arise from your post, though:

First, Saunders was WR's coach in St Louis, NOT OC - that was Mike Martz, so show me a Martz offense that featured a TE..secondly, Who did St Louis have as a TE when Saunders was coaching there ( Conwell, Roland Williams)perhaps that has a lot to do with the fact they didn't call plays for the TE often?! I believe it does.. that and Holt + Bruce , and a young Marshall Faulk, plus Crazy Martz play calling..all 3 of these players have better hands than Allstate, and all 3 , or at least 2 of the 3, will be headed to Canton..so yes, that makes QUITE a difference,imo..

my point was that there is some uncertainty at the top of the TE rankings, Gates is a great athlete, but how much will Rivers help/hinder his performance in 2006? I believe it'll hinder him a bit but he'll still finish as the #1 TE.

Shockey, Heap, Cooley, Witten, Crumpler , IMO, you can throw a blanket around, they are all the same, you can't go wrong picking anyone of them to finish as the #2 TE in the NFL this year..that brings us to Gonzo, who by all accounts and nearly every fantasy projection,figures to be the 7th ranked TE ( not sure I believe his low ranking myself, but his rank hs slipped considerably in fantasy website rankings, mags, etc)..an injury or two `hurt` his production last year, if you call his numbers from 2005 `hurting`, that is. but his lack of TD's was troubling, he stayed in to block a lot, and the aging o-line is just that, aging..so will he have to stay in to block as much in 2006 as he did in 2005, thats the question..if so, these other 5 blanketed TE's leapfrog him and anyone of them can be projected to finish 2nd behind Gates ( provided Rivers produces at a high level and finds Gates as much as Brees did).

but of course, its water under the bridge if Brunell gets hurt..You're then relying on Todd Collins and Jason Campbell.ouch!

I'm not making Saunders out to be a TE loving OC, but, Cooley is alot better than anyone he's coached this side of Gonzalez. Lets not forget, this offense is a spin-off of the old Air Coryell offense in SD, which showcased TE Kellen Winslow, an offense that was partly coached by, you guessed it, Al Saunders ( Wide receivers coach)...so the 'system' uses the TE extensively, or has a history or that , anyways..its similar to what Norv Turner uses, i.e, power run game, lots of dumpoffs to the TE..

also, the Chiefs never ranked lower than 5th in the NFL in total offense under Saunders when he was OC..expect the same in DC.

 

[wannabee]

Redskins | Saunders says Cooley will be used in surprising ways

Published Fri Aug 4 1:53:00 a.m. ET 2006

(KFFL) Jason La Canfora, of the Washington Post, reports Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Al Saunders said TE Chris Cooley will be utilized in many "surprising" ways in 2006. During the morning practice Thursday, Aug. 3, Saunders called a running play for Cooley. "That kind of surprised Chris a little bit. But it's like we tell our guys -- the more you can do, the more you'll be involved." Saunders also said Cooley will be used more in downfield passing while remaining a key player on intermediate routes.

 

[wannabee]

The Redskins are planning some running plays for Cooley

Published Fri Aug 4 10:15:00 a.m. ET 2006

(Rotoworld) The Redskins are planning some running plays for Chris Cooley this season.

Impact: Coach Al Saunders loves Cooley and wants him to be involved like Tony Gonzalez was for him in Kansas City. FootballOutsiders projects Cooley as the No. 2 tight end this season. We don't go that far, but he's a great mid-round value as an every week fantasy starter.

 

[redman]

Redskins | Saunders says Cooley will be used in surprising ways

Apparently Saunders wants to have Cooley paint his house, Mr. Miyagi style. I have no doubt that Saunders has some new plays designed for CC, but with the number of offensive options on that team, including Ladell Betts being widely advertised as an important figure in the running and passing game, I don't think this news changes anything regarding your ranking or analysis. Saunders hasn't had 3 WR's with this amount of skill or versatility since he coached the 1999 Rams, so Tony Gonzalez comparisons seem out of place to me even if you ignore that Gonzalez has some athletic abilities that I don't think Cooley is quite able to match.

 

[Clutch]

The Redskins are planning some running plays for Cooley

Published Fri Aug 4 10:15:00 a.m. ET 2006

(Rotoworld) The Redskins are planning some running plays for Chris Cooley this season.

Impact: Coach Al Saunders loves Cooley and wants him to be involved like Tony Gonzalez was for him in Kansas City. FootballOutsiders projects Cooley as the No. 2 tight end this season. We don't go that far, but he's a great mid-round value as an every week fantasy starter.

From today's Washington Post :Tight end Chris Cooley will be utilized in many "surprising" ways this season n an attempt to diversify Washington's attack, associate head coach Al Saunders said.

Saunders is now in control of the offense and called a running play for Cooley in the morning practice. It's a wrinkle opponents are likely to see more of.

"That kind of surprised Chris a little bit," Saunders said of the rushing play. "But it's like we tell our guys -- the more you can do, the more you'll be involved."

Saunders said Cooley will also be more involved with the downfield passing while remaining a key figure on intermediate routes. . . .

 

[redman]

Hmmmm, I'm starting to wonder whether I'm underestimating Cooley's role in this offense . . .

From Michael Smith's ESPN article:

2. Much the way Tony Gonzalez and Priest Holmes starred in Saunders' offense in Kansas City, it looks like the stars of the Redskins' offense are going to be Chris Cooley and Portis. Cooley by all accounts is having a great camp. He had a breakout season last year with 71 catches, but he and Moss were the Redskins' only real threats in the passing game. Now with Lloyd joining Moss on the outside and Randle El in the slot (by the way, Lloyd and Randle El, too, have performed as advertised in camp), Cooley should have lots of room to operate over the middle and underneath. Even with all their weapons, the Redskins spread it around in this scheme, so Cooley could have an even bigger year receiving.

The link has the entire article obviously, which may be worth reading for a better overall picture of the way that offense is going under Saunders. And yes, it does in fact appear that Gibbs has handed the offense off to Saunders basically in its entirety. Gibbs, I am sure has input with game planning and with critical game time decisions (e.g. go for it on 4th down, etc.) but this is Saunders' offense.

 

[redman]

Cooley is classic:

Captain Chaos Finds His First MateBy Mike WiseWednesday, August 8, 2007; E06Attention bachelorettes interested in fraternizing with a certain headbanging NFL tight end who resides west of Leesburg: Captain Chaos is now . . . Captain Caged.Chris Cooley, the only player in league history to simultaneously put the Dallas Cowboys and Redskinettes in disarray, is marrying the woman who got fired from her job because of him.Okay, it was a part-time job. And it paid only $75 a week."But it'll be a good story to tell our kids one day," Christy Oglevee said.Maybe we should explain.Christy is Chris's fiancee. They met two summers ago when a cheerleader Cooley briefly dated brought her fellow Redskinette -- Christy -- over to Chris's house. This was probably not a good idea for two reasons: 1) The Redskins prohibit company employees from fraternizing with players; and 2) Introducing a person you've started dating to your attractive friend can be hazardous.Confronted with evidence that they indeed had hung out with Cooley, both cheerleaders were told to turn in their halter tops. On Fan Appreciation Day, no less. The scandal ended up on WWDC-FM radio (DC101), and for a while it was unclear whether Cooley was trying to put the entire squad on the unemployment line. The incensed Redskinettes even choreographed a number in which they were going to turn their backs on Cooley at a home game. He got wind of the plan, ran over after scoring a touchdown and tried to give one of the cheerleaders the football. But she wouldn't accept and the ball fell to the ground. Worse, the touchdown was called back.And you thought Al Saunders had problems.Anyhow, Chris fell hard for Christy, and that was that. The backwoods kid from Utah was in deep smit. Now DC101 is throwing his bachelor party and the wedding is slated for May in Lansdowne.Some of the old wounds have healed, too. "Most of the cheerleaders are nice to me, but some of them aren't -- which is kind of a shame," Christy said. "Because that happened a long time ago."The only drawback in all this is the inevitable death of Cooley's "Animal House" persona. The nickname Captain Chaos doesn't exactly befit a kept man.Captain Chaos was born in 2005 when former teammate Brian Kozlowski bet Cooley $100 he would not introduce himself as such to the St. Louis Rams' captains before a game. "There were five captains," Cooley said. "I looked every one in the face and said: 'I'm Captain Chaos. Nice to meet you.' " Reebok made a T-shirt and it stuck.The affinity for '80s headbanger bands, including Whitesnake, Slayer and Poison, might also have to take a back seat to matrimony -- although Cooley and Christy managed to take in Def Leppard in the past year.And what to make of all those visits to Principal Joe Gibbs's office, where Cooley has been reminded how unbecoming it is for an NFL player to, say, eat off the floor of the team plane?"Hey, the applesauce cup flipped over," he explained. "I just ate it out of the cup off the floor like a dog. I didn't think it was that big a deal.""I love football as a game," Cooley added. "I don't want to say it's not important to me. But if I can't be happy outside of football -- if I can't have a good time and be happy . . . if I can't make it something I like, that's a miserable experience for me."That's where the Oglevees come in. According to Chris, they know a good time. In honor of Christy's 21st birthday last year, Christy's father, Scott, and Cooley threw back 21 shots of Jim Beam bourbon. Apiece. "Oh, we were hurtin'," Cooley said.Over the spring, Chris, Christy, Scott, her uncle Craig and aunt Shannon ended up at Vixens Gentlemen's Club in West Virginia for what turned out to be a family outing."Everyone knew who Chris was," Christy said. "The owner came out, they gave us VIP treatment and all of a sudden I look up and the strippers are dancing to 'Hail to the Redskins.' It was crazy."Said Cooley: "I would just tell you this: I don't change at all with Christy. She's the kind of person who'll do whatever I want to do. We have a blast."Cooley's home life actually is pretty tame. His mother, Nancy, moved from Logan, Utah, a year ago and lives nearby. She now teaches business and coaches softball at a suburban Virginia high school. She also dogsits George the Great Dane and Charlie and Chip, the little yapping Yorkie and Yorkie mix that coexist with Lily and Daisy, the kitties."He's grown up a little bit," Nancy said. "But mostly he's the same. It's a funny label, but that wild-man stuff isn't the real and true person. Chris would rather stay home and barbecue than go out most nights."And yet, what a wacky summer those two kids had. Christy, who works as a hairstylist in Chantilly, went to Cancun, Mexico, with Chris for eight days. Then they rode in a Central Park carriage with Chris's 21-year-old brother, Tanner, who got married in July. Courtesy of Joe Gibbs Racing, they ended up in Tony Stewart's pit at a NASCAR race and later threw back beers with Dale Earnhardt Jr."Awesome," Cooley said. "We went and said hi to Dale and he said, 'You want to come party tonight?' So we said, 'Sure.' He says, 'Catch my helicopter over to the house when the race ends.' Dude, you had to see this place."They were transported to a home that went on for a country block, replete with a faux Old West town. "We partied in the saloon that night," Cooley said.The summer ended with fishing, first for bass, pike and muskie on the St. Lawrence River. Then he and his dad, Ken, hooked some brown trout on the north fork of the Shoshone River. Did we mention pneumonia? "I was waist deep in the river out in Wyoming and two days later I couldn't breathe," Cooley said. "It started out as the flu and got worse."He's all better now, primed for perhaps a Pro Bowl season in an offense whose grace period is over. The team and Cooley's agent are trying to hammer out a contract extension that will keep him in Washington for a good long time.And this is a good idea for two reasons: 1) Putting on a wedding at Lansdowne is not cheap; and 2) The Vixens folks can use the business.

 

[redman]

Crap! Sorry, I used the search function and pulled up last year's thread. Edit- but damn I'm good!

Good thread discussing this subject here.My projections: 58/667/6.

+-------------------------+				 |		Receiving		|+----------+-----+-------------------------+| Year  TM |   G |   Rec  Yards   Y/R   TD |+----------+-----+-------------------------+| 2006 was |  16 |	57	734  12.9	6 |+----------+-----+-------------------------+

:lovemesomeme: