Is Chris Cooley done? A Rams MLB dusted him by 5 yards in a 20-yard dash.

[KCClybun]

It's really interesting how fans think.

I mean...what has Chris Cooley done since coming here other than be everything you want in a Redskin? He shows up every week. He dedicates himself to his craft. He's gotten in very little trouble, has never been a locker room problem, has made big plays in big games. All the jerks, *******s and morons we've had walk into this team and take their money and then leave, all the so called weapons who were bought in and who couldn't match his production, being the one guy who really stands up and pounds the table for his team and this fanbase for sooooooooo long...

But let's toss that guy. He has no value. Yeah, he got dusted (only he didn't) by a linebacker. He's lost a step. He's overpaid (and yet somehow we still have plenty of cap space left). He's been demoted (which he hasn't been). He's got nothing left. He's old (at 28). He's never going to have it, so it's time to just get rid of him. His time is over. Time to say bye to him.

Jesus I'd hate being a player for this team, knowing how quickly the fans will turn on you if you so much as blink the wrong way, or maybe sometimes you blink the right way, and you just don't blink fast enough.

[Atlanta Skins Fan]

Jesus I'd hate being a player for this team, knowing how quickly the fans will turn on you if you so much as blink the wrong way, or maybe sometimes you blink the right way, and you just don't blink fast enough.

Talk to Phillip Daniels. Fan favorite. Great player. Healthy and in better shape than Cooley coming into 2011.

Shanahan cut him. Gave him no chance at all. Also Portis.

I have fully adjusted to the new regime. That's the context for my remarks.

Cooley at this point is something of a blend of Daniels and Portis. Feel free to disagree. Let's see how this plays out.

[KCClybun]

Oh, I'm sorry ASF, I didn't know you had the inside track to whether or not Cooley was in better shape than Phillips Daniels. Apparently your clairevoyancy and access to the Redskins medical files kicked in at the same time as you were going frame by frame trying to make a point about Cooley not making a stop, instead of, ya know, blaming your boy Rex Grossman for throwing a horrible pick.

But it's Cooley's fault for getting blocked by two guys, and then not being able to catch up with Laurenitis (who's a pretty good linebacker, by the way).

I'd say you were easier to see through than a freshly cleaned window, but I wouldn't want to insult any windows. Such a transparent attempt to pawn this interception off on Cooley somehow instead of Rex. But yeah, Cooley's the guy who's done. He got "dusted" alright.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIRwxX89yW0&feature=channel_video_title

If you actually look at the play instead of taking ASF's word on anything, you'll see that first off, he gets blocked off by two dudes before he can even attempt to run down the LB. After that, he's chasing him down, but then he looks to his his left and slows down to avoid getting blocked by number 21. At that point, Laurinaitis is running right into a sea of white and burgundy, and he's not going to make up distance or make a tackle, so then he slows down.

[Atlanta Skins Fan]

I'd say you were easier to see through than a freshly cleaned window, but I wouldn't want to insult any windows. Such a transparent attempt to pawn this interception off on Cooley somehow instead of Rex.

?

You're overreaching. I've already commented that that interception was "clearly Rex's fault."

What is it with you people? Very tiresome to debate lately. I make an argument about a player, and so many of your responses are about me. Very weak and tedious.

[KCClybun]

?

You're overreaching. I've already commented that that interception was "clearly Rex's fault."

What is it with you people? Very tiresome to debate lately. I make an argument about a player, and so many of your responses are about me. Very weak and tedious.

It's like when you're a kid and you do something clearly wrong, but try and pin part of it on your brother.

"Yeah, I spilled paint on the carpet mom, but Soandso didn't go get me paper towels to help clean it up!"

Chris Cooley has never been an exceptionally fast. His strengths have always been his route running and his ability to gain yards after contact. On top of getting blocked by two guys and looking at for 21 while he was giving chase, JL is pretty much running at a full sprint. Despite playing for the Rams, Laurinaitis is a pretty good linebacker.

A young linebacker out running a guy who was never that fast to start who also is dealing with a knee injury, who also was slowed by two guys and a third guy nearly coming into his path? SURELY YOU JEST, SIR!

Give me a break.

[Atlanta Skins Fan]

It's like when you're a kid and you do something clearly wrong, but try and pin part of it on your brother.

"Yeah, I spilled paint on the carpet mom, but Soandso didn't go get me paper towels to help clean it up!"

No, you're misreading this. Rex's pass was clearly stupid and I've said so.

The association with the Rex interception is that I went back to watch the interceptions in order to get screen grabs. While doing that, I finally had a chance to spot Cooley on a dead run, and I was surprised he gave up on the play. I presumed his knee was killing him, because I don't see Cooley as a guy who gives up on plays without a good reason.

Then I watched the play a few more times and noticed how much faster the MLB was. The best argument against my post has already been made. Namely, if I had looked up that MLB (Laurenitis) and checked his 40 time and 20 time against Cooley, I would have seen that Laurenitis was faster all along. That's a good rebuttal, but still a narrow argument.

I still think Cooley is playing in pain and is a shell of the great player he was. This play was not as clear a demonstration as I originally thought.

My concern with Cooley this year is that he's blocking more effective players from seeing the field. There are 11 guys on offense. If one of them's Cooley (in his current form), both the passing and rushing offense will underperform. This is my focus.

[KCClybun]

What more effective player is he blocking from getting more involved in the offense? What player has proven that he has been more effective, or is this just an assumption based on some unknown variable?

[Atlanta Skins Fan]

What more effective player is he blocking from getting more involved in the offense? What player has proven that he has been more effective, or is this just an assumption based on some unknown variable?

When healthy, certainly Armstrong (fastest WR) and Young (better FB).

For run blocking at TE, Paulsen.

I'm not wild about Sellers, but when healthy he has a shot of performing a versatile #2 TE role. I think his hands and savvy are a big drop from Cooley (even dinged up Cooley), so that's a very arguable point.

Leaving Sellers out of the discussion, I would favor a rotation of Armstrong, Young and Paulsen at the #11 spot, depending on what the team is trying to accomplish. Armstrong will probably have the highest impact in the passing game. Young and Paulsen would probably offer higher impact for the run game.

A formation I would like to test is 3 WR (with Armstrong), Moss in slot, and Torain as single back. That is the most dynamic starting lineup right now IMO, and we have yet to see it.

[KCClybun]

This offense right now, to me, is all about options. I feel like part of the reason for the sluggishness of our offense that last couple weeks has been that we have had all our options. (And Cooley's only playing H-Back because Young's hurt, it's not going to be a regularly occurance).

Cooley still commands attention from a defense. Paulsen doesn't. Period. He hasn't proven that he can be a consistent route runner or a good enough pass catcher to take pressure off anyone.

Whenever Cooley's on the field, the defense has to account for him. That's part of the reason that Fred Davis was getting free releases so often the first two games. You have to account for Chris Cooley on every snap. Having tight ends in Cooley and Davis on the field gives us so many more options for attacking a defense.

I mean, we've been running that bunch trips formation, with Gaffney, Moss, and Davis in the bunch set, Cooley at tight end. How in the bluest of blue hells do you defend that? Oh, and all of our backs have show the ability to catch and run out of the backfield. It's the kind of offensive formation that gives defensive coordinators fits.

We've all been shown to run and work out of three tight end sets, which I think we should run more often off play action. We did that versus the Giants; three tight end set, play action bootleg, and I'll be damned if all two out of three of our tight ends (if not all of them) don't pop right the frak open.

Cooley gives us versatility that guys like DY and Paulsen don't. Cooley's not done. He can still play. You can line up him up as a classic tight end, you can split him out wide and have Davis lined up at tight end, now we know he can play that H back role (he had 4 catches for 41 yards, good for four first downs).

It's chess, sir. We have to be able to attack defenses a multitude of ways. We don't run out of I-Formation a whole lot, and even though DY showed he can catch a little on checkdowns, he's not a pass catcher; he's a blocker. Paulsen's a blocker. He was a blocker at UCLA, and he's a blocker here. His route running and his hands are inconsistent. And honestly, if he was a better blocker than Davis or Cooley, he'd be on the field more. That's why Niles is out there in three tight ends sets; despite Moss, Gaff and Armstrong being better receivers, Niles is the better blocker.

Cooley has far more value to the offense than you're giving him credit for, just if you look at the formations and the way Kyle's been using Fred and Cooley in concert with the wide receivers.

[TonyRomoProBowl]

TonyRomoProBowl:

Think about it. A Dallas fan posting on the Redskins' official forum board to say Chris Cooley is done? What exactly do you expect? I'm sure you do feel that way. I'm sure all Cowboys fans feel that way. You know, that's OK with me. That's what's going to make it all the more sweeter when the Redskins soundly beat the Cowboys in game two.

LMAO.......yea okayyyy.....hahahaha

[NewCliche21]

LMAO.......yea okayyyy.....hahahaha

Dude, take this to the rest of your Cowboy fan brethren and just suck it:

http://chriscooley47.blogspot.com/2011/10/reigniting-rivalry.html

For that post alone, Cooley is better than anything Romo sits to pee will ever be.

[JoeSkins]

I don't know what to do with Cooley, seeing that I'm not in the film meetings, practices, or training room. You're right that he doesn't look like himself, but let's face it, he was never the best athlete at his position. His strengths were always beating zones and hands. I will say this, as a fan of the Redskins I cannot accept the possibility of seeing #47 playing for a different team, which I know you aren't suggesting at this point.