Rich Hammond: 'Ah, he’s back for sure’: Cooper Kupp’s big play
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[theathletic.com]
‘Ah, he’s back for sure’: Cooper Kupp’s big play is great news for the Rams’ offense
By Rich Hammond Sep 16, 2019 13
LOS ANGELES — Cheers, but no gasps. Nods, but no double-takes. As Cooper Kupp juked, stiff-armed and weaved his way through the Saints’ defense, his teammates shared a common reaction.
Well, yeah.
“Training camp,” Rams cornerback Aqib Tailb said in the locker room Sunday after the Rams’ 27-9 victory over New Orleans. “We ran a ‘buster’ one time, one of our little calls. I ended up on Cooper Kupp. I got in short on him and he went ‘da-da-da-da-da-da-da, bam!’ and he left me. Ugh! I said, ‘Yeah, he’s back.’ He left me. He did the same thing a couple times today. I said, ‘Ah, he’s back for sure.’”
The NFL season is a mystery solved in segments over a 16-game schedule, but one plot line got wrapped up in Week 2. Kupp is healthy. Productive. Dominant. Is it too early to suggest … even better? When doctors surgically repaired his torn left ACL 10 months ago, exactly what type of material did they use?
“He sure looks good, doesn’t he?” coach Sean McVay said.
Kupp caught five passes for 120 yards against the Saints. The highlight came with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, with the Rams nursing an 11-point lead and facing a third-and-2 play at their 33-yard line.
At the snap, Kupp ran directly at Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore with five choppy steps — Talib’s “da-da-da” — then head-faked Lattimore to the left, cut right and opened enough room to catch a short slant pass from quarterback Jared Goff. Kupp secured a first down, and then the football symphony began.
Kupp stiff-armed a pursuing Lattimore to the ground at midfield and ran free. Robert Woods ran over from the other side of the field to block New Orleans safety Marcus Williams out of the play. Woods and Brandin Cooks then took out Saints cornerback P.J. Williams as Kupp ran away from trouble and toward the left sideline.
At the New Orleans 30, Kupp glanced over his left shoulder and saw Saints linebacker A.J. Klein closing. Kupp turned back to the middle of the field, cut decisively on that surgically repaired left knee and made cornerback Eli Apple whiff on an arm-tackle attempt. Kupp finally got dragged down by Klein at the goal line. Officials initially ruled touchdown, but a video review showed that Kupp’s left knee touched the ground with the ball at the 1. That darned left knee again.
“I was just running and kind of feeling out who was coming, trying to run to open spots,” Kupp said. “It felt like a movie, seeing it in slow motion. Robert Woods, he came flying across the field and had a block. It really picked me up to see what those guys were doing for me.”
Kupp settled for a 66-yard reception, and on the next play, Goff’s sneak for a touchdown clinched the Rams’ victory. As the Rams kicked the extra point, teammates were still slapping Kupp’s helmet and back on the sideline.
In the locker room afterward, McVay tossed Kupp a game ball and joked — or maybe it’s not a joke — that the surgery “made him look faster.” Kupp caught the ball (of course) as teammates cooed, “Coooooooop,” just as the Coliseum crowd does every time Kupp touches the ball.
“I think it’s huge,” left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “You saw all the guys — the defense and the offense — more excited because it’s him than because it actually happened or that it helped us in the game. That’s kind of how we are. This group is a family and it means a lot to see that. We all watched the adversity he went through, going to the Super Bowl and that experience and him not being able to be a part of it, and just really the way he has worked. All of us couldn’t be more proud of him.”
And more relieved, probably. The Rams’ offense sputtered in the Super Bowl, in part because some fuel never made it to the field in Atlanta. Remember when the Patriots clamped down on the Rams’ crossing routes and made Goff look uncomfortable with different defensive looks? Kupp would’ve been the antidote.
That’s not to say the Rams would have beaten the Patriots with Kupp, but clearly the game would have looked different. Who on the roster is better at turning a 5-yard catch into a 20-yard gain? Who is better at beating defensive backs off the ball? Who can make a tough third-down catch over the middle on one play, then cruise past a safety on a post route on the next? Whose hands does Goff trust the most?
“Me and him are so much on the same page,” Goff said. “At this point, we think intuitively with each other. What’s the word — telepathy. I don’t know if it’s quite that far, but we are on the same page right now, as well as (with) the other receivers.”
Kupp isn’t the most physically gifted receiver in the NFL, or even on the Rams’ roster. That’s why in 2017, teams looked at his 40-yard-dash time (4.62 seconds) and his lower level of college competition at Eastern Washington and concluded he most likely would wash out at the pro level.
The Rams were thrilled to draft him in the third round. They saw something more, a determination and a high level of intelligence. Kupp has been known to sit in on the Rams’ quarterbacks meetings to gain a fuller understanding of how and why plays develop. He’s an offensive coordinator in training.
Whitworth revealed Sunday that Kupp consistently seeks to improve his run blocking and even suggests ways that he can be more involved in blocking schemes. Whitworth, in his 14th NFL season, said Kupp’s attention to detail in the run game is “the most special I’ve ever seen in any receiver I’ve been around in my lifetime.” So that’s a 200-pound receiver, still on his (relatively modest) rookie contract and on a surgically repaired knee, looking for ways he can further sacrifice his body.
“There aren’t many receivers that are wired that way,” Whitworth said, “then also have the ability to separate and are special in the passing game as well. He’s a very special part of our offense, and I can’t say that we could be any more happy than we are, to see him have success.”
The Rams revere Kupp for his talent — he likely would have reached 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns last season if he hadn’t missed eight games — but also for his work ethic and humility. In a Rams receiver room full of nice guys — any parent also would be happy to see Woods, Cooks or Josh Reynolds walk through the door — Kupp stands out with a particularly selfless nature.
All Kupp really wanted to do Sunday night, as he dressed and decompressed, was talk about the blocking that helped spring him on his 66-yard catch. That’s certainly fair, but the moment required a bit more context.
The first year back after a torn ACL can be difficult for any player in any sport. The physical demands are significant, as is the mental hurdle of trusting the knee, believing that it can be as strong as before surgery. So even though Kupp earned strong reviews during training camp and never suffered a setback, it had to mean something to him to be out there changing direction at full speed, leaving defensive backs in his wake. Kupp just smiled.
“I think you’re always looking for that play,” Kupp said, “to have the ball in your hands with some green grass in front of you, with a chance to make a play. When I’m playing the game, I’m not thinking about my knee at all. I’m just playing. I stopped thinking about it in training camp. Once it’s football, it’s football.
“To have the team around me I did, the guys in this locker room encouraging me, day-in and day-out — going through the recovery is a grind, but when you’re coming in and you’ve got these kinds of guys to come in and encourage you, it seems much easier. Really a blessing to be around the people that I am.”
As Kupp jogged to the sideline after his big catch, Talib was the first to greet him. They had rehabbed together, when Kupp initially hurt his knee last October and Talib was recovering from ankle surgery.
A defensive back cheering for a receiver? Sure, when they’re on the same team and especially when it’s a teammate as cherished as Kupp.
“Gosh, what an individual effort,” Rams safety Eric Weddle said. “I’m just trying to (mentally) will him on, like I have something to do with the play. I don’t, but I just wanted him to finish it off and I’m just trying to push him in there. What an unbelievable player and teammate. Everyone in this locker room loves Cooper, the kind of guy and teammate he is. He’s one of the best slot guys in the league. You put a guy one-on-one with him and it’s not going to be good for you.”
‘Ah, he’s back for sure’: Cooper Kupp’s big play is great news for the Rams’ offense
By Rich Hammond Sep 16, 2019 13
LOS ANGELES — Cheers, but no gasps. Nods, but no double-takes. As Cooper Kupp juked, stiff-armed and weaved his way through the Saints’ defense, his teammates shared a common reaction.
Well, yeah.
“Training camp,” Rams cornerback Aqib Tailb said in the locker room Sunday after the Rams’ 27-9 victory over New Orleans. “We ran a ‘buster’ one time, one of our little calls. I ended up on Cooper Kupp. I got in short on him and he went ‘da-da-da-da-da-da-da, bam!’ and he left me. Ugh! I said, ‘Yeah, he’s back.’ He left me. He did the same thing a couple times today. I said, ‘Ah, he’s back for sure.’”
The NFL season is a mystery solved in segments over a 16-game schedule, but one plot line got wrapped up in Week 2. Kupp is healthy. Productive. Dominant. Is it too early to suggest … even better? When doctors surgically repaired his torn left ACL 10 months ago, exactly what type of material did they use?
“He sure looks good, doesn’t he?” coach Sean McVay said.
Kupp caught five passes for 120 yards against the Saints. The highlight came with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, with the Rams nursing an 11-point lead and facing a third-and-2 play at their 33-yard line.
At the snap, Kupp ran directly at Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore with five choppy steps — Talib’s “da-da-da” — then head-faked Lattimore to the left, cut right and opened enough room to catch a short slant pass from quarterback Jared Goff. Kupp secured a first down, and then the football symphony began.
Kupp stiff-armed a pursuing Lattimore to the ground at midfield and ran free. Robert Woods ran over from the other side of the field to block New Orleans safety Marcus Williams out of the play. Woods and Brandin Cooks then took out Saints cornerback P.J. Williams as Kupp ran away from trouble and toward the left sideline.
At the New Orleans 30, Kupp glanced over his left shoulder and saw Saints linebacker A.J. Klein closing. Kupp turned back to the middle of the field, cut decisively on that surgically repaired left knee and made cornerback Eli Apple whiff on an arm-tackle attempt. Kupp finally got dragged down by Klein at the goal line. Officials initially ruled touchdown, but a video review showed that Kupp’s left knee touched the ground with the ball at the 1. That darned left knee again.
“I was just running and kind of feeling out who was coming, trying to run to open spots,” Kupp said. “It felt like a movie, seeing it in slow motion. Robert Woods, he came flying across the field and had a block. It really picked me up to see what those guys were doing for me.”
Kupp settled for a 66-yard reception, and on the next play, Goff’s sneak for a touchdown clinched the Rams’ victory. As the Rams kicked the extra point, teammates were still slapping Kupp’s helmet and back on the sideline.
In the locker room afterward, McVay tossed Kupp a game ball and joked — or maybe it’s not a joke — that the surgery “made him look faster.” Kupp caught the ball (of course) as teammates cooed, “Coooooooop,” just as the Coliseum crowd does every time Kupp touches the ball.
“I think it’s huge,” left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “You saw all the guys — the defense and the offense — more excited because it’s him than because it actually happened or that it helped us in the game. That’s kind of how we are. This group is a family and it means a lot to see that. We all watched the adversity he went through, going to the Super Bowl and that experience and him not being able to be a part of it, and just really the way he has worked. All of us couldn’t be more proud of him.”
And more relieved, probably. The Rams’ offense sputtered in the Super Bowl, in part because some fuel never made it to the field in Atlanta. Remember when the Patriots clamped down on the Rams’ crossing routes and made Goff look uncomfortable with different defensive looks? Kupp would’ve been the antidote.
That’s not to say the Rams would have beaten the Patriots with Kupp, but clearly the game would have looked different. Who on the roster is better at turning a 5-yard catch into a 20-yard gain? Who is better at beating defensive backs off the ball? Who can make a tough third-down catch over the middle on one play, then cruise past a safety on a post route on the next? Whose hands does Goff trust the most?
“Me and him are so much on the same page,” Goff said. “At this point, we think intuitively with each other. What’s the word — telepathy. I don’t know if it’s quite that far, but we are on the same page right now, as well as (with) the other receivers.”
Kupp isn’t the most physically gifted receiver in the NFL, or even on the Rams’ roster. That’s why in 2017, teams looked at his 40-yard-dash time (4.62 seconds) and his lower level of college competition at Eastern Washington and concluded he most likely would wash out at the pro level.
The Rams were thrilled to draft him in the third round. They saw something more, a determination and a high level of intelligence. Kupp has been known to sit in on the Rams’ quarterbacks meetings to gain a fuller understanding of how and why plays develop. He’s an offensive coordinator in training.
Whitworth revealed Sunday that Kupp consistently seeks to improve his run blocking and even suggests ways that he can be more involved in blocking schemes. Whitworth, in his 14th NFL season, said Kupp’s attention to detail in the run game is “the most special I’ve ever seen in any receiver I’ve been around in my lifetime.” So that’s a 200-pound receiver, still on his (relatively modest) rookie contract and on a surgically repaired knee, looking for ways he can further sacrifice his body.
“There aren’t many receivers that are wired that way,” Whitworth said, “then also have the ability to separate and are special in the passing game as well. He’s a very special part of our offense, and I can’t say that we could be any more happy than we are, to see him have success.”
The Rams revere Kupp for his talent — he likely would have reached 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns last season if he hadn’t missed eight games — but also for his work ethic and humility. In a Rams receiver room full of nice guys — any parent also would be happy to see Woods, Cooks or Josh Reynolds walk through the door — Kupp stands out with a particularly selfless nature.
All Kupp really wanted to do Sunday night, as he dressed and decompressed, was talk about the blocking that helped spring him on his 66-yard catch. That’s certainly fair, but the moment required a bit more context.
The first year back after a torn ACL can be difficult for any player in any sport. The physical demands are significant, as is the mental hurdle of trusting the knee, believing that it can be as strong as before surgery. So even though Kupp earned strong reviews during training camp and never suffered a setback, it had to mean something to him to be out there changing direction at full speed, leaving defensive backs in his wake. Kupp just smiled.
“I think you’re always looking for that play,” Kupp said, “to have the ball in your hands with some green grass in front of you, with a chance to make a play. When I’m playing the game, I’m not thinking about my knee at all. I’m just playing. I stopped thinking about it in training camp. Once it’s football, it’s football.
“To have the team around me I did, the guys in this locker room encouraging me, day-in and day-out — going through the recovery is a grind, but when you’re coming in and you’ve got these kinds of guys to come in and encourage you, it seems much easier. Really a blessing to be around the people that I am.”
As Kupp jogged to the sideline after his big catch, Talib was the first to greet him. They had rehabbed together, when Kupp initially hurt his knee last October and Talib was recovering from ankle surgery.
A defensive back cheering for a receiver? Sure, when they’re on the same team and especially when it’s a teammate as cherished as Kupp.
“Gosh, what an individual effort,” Rams safety Eric Weddle said. “I’m just trying to (mentally) will him on, like I have something to do with the play. I don’t, but I just wanted him to finish it off and I’m just trying to push him in there. What an unbelievable player and teammate. Everyone in this locker room loves Cooper, the kind of guy and teammate he is. He’s one of the best slot guys in the league. You put a guy one-on-one with him and it’s not going to be good for you.”
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 | Speed_Kills | 272 | September 17, 2019 01:09PM |
