Amari Cooper Is Quite Familiar With The Broncos
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00:00 one factor alone.
00:04 -You always talk about how it's just your job to catch the ball and it doesn't really matter
00:08 which quarterback is throwing it to you. But in that particular game,
00:12 it looked like there were probably about a half a dozen
00:16 just amongst the pass catchers.
00:20 What's your philosophy on that when you have a new young quarterback in there
00:24 whose job has to adjust to a different ball coming in?
00:28 Or is it just like you just got to figure it out and catch the ball?
00:32 -At the end of the day, if you drop the ball,
00:36 it's only for one reason.
00:40 If you have a drop, that means it hits your hands and you didn't catch it.
00:44 Ultimately, you can never blame a drop on the quarterback.
00:48 -And the one that was
00:52 the interception?
00:56 -No.
01:00 On the interception, I believe I was
01:04 one turnover in the game. I was supposed to have stronger hands there
01:08 and just catch the ball.
01:12 -When you look at that Broncos defense, how good do you think Suteen is?
01:16 -I think he's real good. I would expect nothing
01:20 less of the son of an all-pro corner.
01:24 I actually was a Dolphins fan growing up because I'm from Miami.
01:28 I watched him a little bit. -And then Simmons, the other guy,
01:32 jumps out to you when you look at that second half. -Yeah, Simmons actually jumps out a lot.
01:36 I've been competing against him since I was at the Raiders because they were in that division.
01:41 One of the things that stands out with him is his ability
01:45 to come down with the ball.
01:49 Jump ball situations, generally, the corners
01:53 and especially the safeties don't have as much ball skills as us receivers.
01:57 You don't quite expect them to come down with a
02:01 jump ball. He's the type of player who can definitely accomplish that
02:05 if given the opportunity. Knowing that going into the game,
02:09 you just have to be cognizant of it. You're in a jump ball situation, make sure
02:13 you're high pointing the ball, make sure you're using all your fundamentals.
02:17 -You mentioned the amount of takeaways Denver's been
02:21 getting in recent weeks. For you and the other receivers,
02:25 what can you guys do to help DTR
02:29 take care of the football? -The same thing I just mentioned. Fundamentals.
02:33 Making sure we come back to the ball every chance we get.
02:37 Not just standing there after we break off a ball route, it's actually coming back
02:41 to the ball, cutting off the ability of the cornerback to
02:45 undercut the ball, high pointing the ball, making sure we're assignment sound,
02:49 making sure we know the game plan so there's as little mistakes as possible.
02:53 Make sure we have strong hands and all the
02:57 so-called little things, we have to make sure we're on it.
03:01 -One of the best aspects of your guys' offense this season
03:05 has been the deep ball to you.
03:09 Is it important to still try to hit those shots, even against a team that
03:13 has so many trickery and so many interceptions? Do you still
03:17 try to be aggressive, you think, and go for those explosives?
03:22 -Of course. A huge aspect of this game
03:26 is field position. That's what you're fighting for at all times, fighting
03:30 for great field position because the probability of getting points when you have
03:34 field position goes way up. A great way of doing that is
03:38 getting chunks instead of just getting three or four yards of play.
03:42 Trying to get some explosives. When the opportunity is there so that you can
03:46 get field position, get a field goal, and ultimately a touchdown.
03:50 -How does it mean to bring a guy like Joe Flacco in?
03:54 He's going to play right away but somebody who has experience as he's been and kind of
03:58 done it all in the league. -I think it's a phenomenal idea.
04:02 Obviously Joe Flacco is a guy who growing up we all
04:06 watched. Especially with DTR back there
04:10 being such a young player, a rookie, just having
04:14 more guidance. I think it's a phenomenal idea.
04:18 -How many times have you had to play in that mile high area?
04:22 -I've played there quite a few times. At least once a year when I was at
04:26 Oakland. Obviously a couple more times after that once I got
04:30 out of the division. It's definitely a challenge.
04:34 They have mile high written all over the stadium
04:38 and locker rooms as some sort of
04:42 barrier. From my experience playing there
04:46 if you're in good shape it doesn't affect you. If you're not in good shape
04:50 it does. -You guys are going to stay out
04:54 there, go to LA that week. Have you ever done that before? Do you like that
04:58 idea? -I have done that before.
05:03 At Oakland we always travel two days
05:07 before the game because of the time difference. Gives our body an opportunity to
05:11 adapt. The flights are always really long, four or five hours. We would go there two days
05:15 before just to make sure our bodies were right on the actual
05:19 game day. Had a couple
05:23 situations where we would play the Dolphins and then Tampa the week after
05:27 so we'd just stay in Florida.
05:31 It's a change of pace I would say. Practicing all week
05:35 from a different spot. Staying at a hotel, things of that nature.
05:39 At the same time if that's a decision
05:43 that was made by the coaching staff and everybody else
05:47 then I'm sure it's the right decision.
05:51 -Shawn out for the season.
05:55 How do you feel about your guys' chances of still
05:59 achieving all your goals and dreams this season?
06:03 -Obviously it's very unfortunate for Shawn
06:07 to be out for the season. He had surgery Tuesday. I called him, made sure he was alright.
06:11 It sucks. He really wants to play. He really wants to be here.
06:15 He really wants to be around us. It's a terrible thing
06:19 but that's why football is the biggest team game. We all
06:23 have his back and we're going to have to pull
06:27 together. Ultimately it just gives us a challenge
06:31 and an opportunity to see how together we are as a team.
06:35 I like our chances. I think the camaraderie in the locker room has been
06:39 great. We've been able to come together,
06:44 fight, be resilient in the games, enough to win.
06:48 -Thanks, Mark. -Thanks.