whos worth more, Cooley or Taylor?

[D-Day]

I will take a combo response, too me Cooley is worth more too the team due to his off the field intangibles and his on the field production.

However, Taylor would be harder to replace on the field. However we may have done that with Landry, so I would extend Cooley if we had to choose.

[Aston]

i keep seeing threads about extending both of these guys, and i realllllly hope we do, but if we cant sign both of them, who is worth more to the team? i personally think taylor is, although cooley has technically been more productive. just interested in everyones thoughts about this.

Clever the way you worded this. If you had said, which is the better player, I may give you a totally different answer than which is worth more to the team...

Who am I kidding.... Taylor hands down. Cooley is a fan favorite, and is one hell of a football player who's made some big plays for us, but when I think about the reality of having to replace both of them, I look at Cooley as someone who can be replaced with a FA or someone in the next draft. But Taylor in my opinion is someone that doesn't exactly come around every year. Gregg Williams is one of the most arrogant individuals you'll find in the NFL, a type of guy who would bench Michael Jordan just to prove a point, but even he came out and said Sean Taylor was the most gifted defensive player he'd ever coached. And I can't help but think several times when our defense was DESPERATE for that ONE play and he would never fail to disappoint.

1. Everyone recalls the two bombs to Santana we pulled out of our ass against Dallas in 2005. Let's not forget that they got the ball back, down by 1 point, and had the ball at mid field with plenty of time left. That third down hit he put on Crayton that prevented that first down was just as cruicial as either of those touchdown passes.
   
2. Staying with the Dallas theme, the fumble return last season, arguabley the highest high in a season full of lows.
   
3. Huge tackle against Carolina last year in the forth quarter, stopping them short of a first down.
   
4. Fumble return against Tampa Bay for a touchdown in his first ever playoff experience in 2005.
   
5. Fumble return for a touchdown aginst Philly in 2005 that iced one of the '6-in-a-row'.
   
6. The strip against Julius Jones in 2006 when they were about go up by 2 scores kept us in game. Until we gave it right back to them on the next play.
   
7. The interception against Carolina last year sealed the deal. And won him defensive player of the week honors.
   

There's probably more, but you get the idea. I love Cooley, and honestly, think that extending him should be a higher priority because his contract year is now, not in two years. But if I had to pick one or the other, I'd take Taylor in a heartbeat because I feel he's something that's irreplaceable.

[moviedude25]

Tough call but if I could only have one then I'll take Taylor

[Manasseh]

If we're making the choice right now based on their current contract situations, then I'm going with Cooley. I think Taylor is the better player, but Cooley's contract is up after this season while Taylor is signed through 2011.

Extend Cooley now. If there's money left, then I do think Taylor deserves a new contract. But Cooley's contract should be priority at this point in time.

EDIT: I may have misread the question a bit. I think Taylor is probably worth more to the team overall, but that Cooley should take priority right now in who we re-sign.

[RedDevil]

I would go with Cooley. Just as said before... Landry is supposed to be another ST. If he is then we can make do with 1 and keep Cooley.

[Aghar]

I'm not sure how to say this but those who are saying it isn't even close and are picking Taylor over Cooley are simply overstating their case. It is all based on ST being the "most talented DB in the league"? That's a huge reach and a biased opinion, greatly biased! No one is saying Cooley is the best TE, but he is the best TE for this system, he remains consistent on and off the field and in the locker room while ST is a risk on and off the field. The onther arguement I keep hearing is how ST didn't have a good year because the rest of the defense was poor. Ok, if you use that arguement then you must use the same for Cooley. He had a porr offense to work with, one that didn't get many snaps, one that didn't have a healthy QB to stretch the field, etc.

Bottom line:

- Cooley will come ALOT cheaper than ST will.

- There is not a replacement for Cooley on the current roster. There is supposedly one for Taylor in Landry.

- We have NO possession WR so a TE with Cooley's abilities is not a luxury we can afford to loose.

[Boozie3000]

I dont know about that. Cooley knows that its all business in the NFL. I saw where someone talked to him about that. And those were his exact words. Its a business. Although i do love seeing both of these guys in B&G, money talks.

Right now, he's a team MVP who we're debating the merits of in comparison with Taylor and he's getting 600,000 per yer

[S.T.real,lights,out]

Id hate to say it but it has to be Cooley. With such a young QB a TE should be his fav. target.

[Boozie3000]

I love it when people with Taylor names vote for Cooley

[phatboy41]

I love Taylor, but I'd have to say Cooley is more worth the larger contract... you should make a poll.

[Audible_Red40]

Great question. And I love the opinions going on. Very tough to answer.

I would have to say Cooley. I am a big time ST fan, but Cooley has been much more a mr. reliable for us.

I do however think they are both important pieces to our future.

[SkinsFTW]

Taylor is worth more, by far. Its not even close.

[jivelikenice]

I would go with Cooley. Just as said before... Landry is supposed to be another ST. If he is then we can make do with 1 and keep Cooley.

So youre argument is we can use this years #6 overall pick to replace a #5 overall just 3-4 years ago? Landry is here to make the defense better and to finally maximize ST's potential, not to repalce him.....

[Russell Shotgun]

Tough call, but I would say Taylor is worth more. I love Cooley, and his is the only jersey I own, but I think Taylor is harder to replace. If Landry is the player he's touted to be, then Taylor's importance to the team may diminish and Cooley might be worth more. But its too early to tell.

Taylor's value is great because he can pick up the slack for weak DB or LB play. His talents and raw athleticism are nearly unparalleled in the league, and he has made some incredible plays in his 3 years so far. If he's gone, and Landry is just an average safety, we're going to have big problems back there. Taylor forces teams to game-plan a lot more than Cooley does, perhaps because Cooley flies under the radar.

Cooley's biggest value comes from two things - (1) he has dramatically out-performed his contract; and (2) his yards after the catch (YAC). Cooley was a great steal in round 3. Who would have thought that he would become a top-10 tight end when we took him 3 years ago? He is getting underpaid, which makes his value great. But his greatest asset are his uncanny ways to rack up YAC. If im not mistaken, he leads the league in YAC among TEs. This is a luxury, something that TEs aren't really known for. What Cooley provides to the offense is extremely valuable - a big target across the middle. If we had a big receiver capable of doing this, his value would decrease.

Like Taylor (getting beat deep, taking bad angles, etc.), Cooley has his flaws - missed blocks, dropped passes, etc. But Taylor I would say is more valuable. Simply because Cooley could be more easily replaced. Granted, another TE wouldn't give us the YAC that Cooley does, but another TE could hang onto a catch over the middle and pick up the first down.

We would be hard pressed to find another replacement to equal what Taylor brings to the defense.

[Aston]

I can't speak for everyone else, but I find easier populating a list of tight ends better than Cooley than safeties better than Taylor.

[angel2]

i keep seeing threads about extending both of these guys, and i realllllly hope we do, but if we cant sign both of them, who is worth more to the team? i personally think taylor is, although cooley has technically been more productive. just interested in everyones thoughts about this.

Definitly, Sean Taylor because he is a versatile and a reliable stewart of the defense.

Cooley's position is interchangable with a TE or FB. Whereas Taylor's position is reliant on playing several roles, etc., SS, FS, DB and LB. He'a more valuable to the team than the H-Back.

[Bliz]

A very good question. I'll skip the rehash of what everyone else has said and add that I think the answer might be different in one year, but today it's Cooley largely because of how he ties into Jason Campbell's performance and development. As tough a loss to our already crappy defense as ST would be, Campbell is the key to this franchise. And right now Cooley is his safety net, his go-to guy, and the one receiver he looks for above all others, including Santana.

Cooley's most valuable because he helps Campbell feel more comfortable and more confident on every passing play (every one where Cooley isn't blocking, anyway). This time next year, after Campbell's matured a bit and had the chance to develop with the wr corps, maybe the answer changes.

[rumpshakers]

You have to go with ST, one of the baddest dudes on the planet.

[WileCoyote]

Cooley hands down.......love ST but cooley would be the better choice for the team if we had to decide between the two.......

[Mass_SkinsFan]

While I am not a huge fan of either Cooley OR Taylor, I'd probably sign Cooley over Taylor.

First of all, we supposedly drafted a kid in the first round this year who is a clone of Sean Taylor. So long as Landry doesn't have the same personal off-field issues as Taylor I'd definitely let Taylor walk. Especially since it would allow us to look at actually putting a Safety back there with Landry who might be able to actually cover an NFL caliber WR rather than the pair of "Huge Hit - No Cover" guys we'll have back there this year.

Additionally, if we bring back Cooley, all we need to find at the TE position is a blocking TE. Cooley can be the pass-catching guy, and who knows, maybe the guy we drafted in the late rounds will turn out to be that 3rd OT type of TE that I think we've been lacking for a while. If we let Cooley go, we then have to find a pass-catching TE, which is not an easy thing to do.

[NewCliche21]

Taylor has made more game-winning plays than Cooley.

Cooley is an amazing weapon in our offense.

Finding a safety on par with Taylor is near-impossible.

Finding a tight end on par with Cooley is less impossible, but still very difficult.

I think the better question is, who else is worth squat on the team? Pay Cooley, pay Taylor, and eff the people who aren't worth it. We DO have money, you know, so it's not like we can't afford it. Give them the money, not AAs or Lloyds. Keep them both.

[Nuwanda]

an H-Back compared to a safety...lets see... :doh:

[Veretax]

Is cooley on the field for every offensive play? I do not think that he is, but he might be. I like cooley don't get me wrong, he won't cost as much, but when you say who is worth more to the team. Our secondary will be lousy without taylor. I think we would find a way around not having cooley. Thats not to slight how important Cooley is btw, He is very important to our team, but there are teams that do not have a quality pass catching tight end. We would make do if we had to. I just hope it never comes to that.

[pointyfootball]

Finding a safety on par with Taylor is near-impossible.

Finding a tight end on par with Cooley is less impossible, but still very difficult.

Assuming you're talking about the safety from two years ago, I agree - it's not easy to get them. As to Cooley being difficult to replace, I sincerely think he's at best the 2nd best TE in the division.

I think the better question is, who else is worth squat on the team? Pay Cooley, pay Taylor, and eff the people who aren't worth it. We DO have money, you know, so it's not like we can't afford it. Give them the money, not AAs or Lloyds. Keep them both.

Investing big $$ in two safeties and TE just doesn't seem financially wise to me. On pay scale you want your QB, LT, CB and DE(s) to be your highest paid players on the team (signifying their importance). I would think TE would fall down around OG or LB.

PF

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

i still think its taylor. i dont see cooley improving a ton, i see him being a consistent 700 yard 8 TD kinda TE, awesome guy and great player. taylor has the ability to be an amazing once in a lifetime saftey, and with williams schemes and taylors ability/size, he could be a serious defensive threat for years to come.