The Buffalo Bills made the bold move to acquire veteran star wide receiver Amari Cooper ahead of the NFL trade deadline. Since the trade on October 15, Cooper is still warming up to the Bills' offense.
In his five active games with the Bills, Cooper has caught 16 passes for 231 yards and one touchdown. He has also missed two weeks because of a wrist injury.
His best performance of the year came recently in the Week 14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, where he caught 6 of 14 targets for 95 yards.
But last week against the Lions, Cooper digressed. And after 10 years in the NFL, he had also personal first in Detroit - it was the first time in his career Cooper was not targeted. Not a single Josh Allen throw came his way.
You would think that Cooper would be upset by that. But he wasn't.
“It’s absolutely amazing. Honestly, I’ve been waiting my whole life to be on a team like this. Obviously, I’m a receiver. Every receiver wants the ball. But, I mean, I’m in Year 10. And so, what’s most important to me is winning. And so, I think we definitely have the formula.
- Bills WR Amari Cooper
Cooper understands the the Bills offense is built on diversity and spreading the ball around to multiple targets. Joe Brady and Josh Allen's self described 'everyone eats' offense makes the Bills difficult to stop.
Cooper agrees, and sees his no-target day as a sign of a healthy and diversified Bills offense.
“So, I think it’s actually kind of cool, like going from 14 targets to zero targets, and we win, we beat a great team, actually a potential matchup down the road. It’s so much pressure when you’re the guy that everybody knows is getting the ball. And pressure is a good thing,” Cooper told the Buffalo News. “But also, in that situation, everybody knows what’s coming, and it makes the offense more predictable, making the offense easier to stop."
“But we are part of a team to where guys go down, and the offense is still putting up 40, 50 points. That’s truly a team that has a chance. I won a championship on every level,” Cooper said. “And I’ve been dying to win one in the league. And I know what it takes. And this is exactly what it takes: everybody making plays at any given week.”
“We talk about ‘everyone eats’ kind of vibe here, it’s more of a mindset,” Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady said Monday.
“If you saw Coop after the game in the locker room, smiling and having a good time. You see him running to the football and chasing and helping guys up. And it’s not about the targets, the catches. It’s about finding ways to win football games.”
“We’re better when Amari Cooper is out on the football field,” Brady said. “I’ve got to do a better job of getting the ball in his hands, because he helps us. But I love how Josh is just playing within the system and trusting the guys that are out there and doesn’t feel like he’s forcing anything and allowing the game to come to him.”
Lets hope that over the next few weeks and playoff run that OC Brady can find ways to distribute the ball around, AND ensure that the dynamic Cooper eats too.
