Cooley, our answer to Jeremy Shockey

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by joecrisp

Cooley's tackle-busting performance against Atlanta aside, he's not the same kind of player that Shockey is, in several respects.

Cooley's very much a Joe Gibbs kind of player-- very humble and hardworking; selfless in the idea that he will eagerly do whatever is asked of him, for the benefit of the team. He's the kind of lunchpail, blue-collar player whose love for the game far exceeds his hunger for fame or stardom. Take all of the trite and cliche'ed expressions that describe "throwback" players, roll them into one wide-eyed country boy from Logan, Utah, and you've got Chris Cooley-- so prototypically the Gibbs player that he certainly must've sprung into creation from the Hall of Fame coach's idealistic vision of what constitutes a "Redskin".

Shockey, on the other hand, was born of the arrogance and hubris of the Miami program: a supremely gifted athlete with a hyperbolic sense of self. While his toughness and grit recall visions of Mackey and Bavaro, those admirable qualities are often overshadowed by Shockey's pervasively obnoxious and inflated sense of self-worth. Along with Owens, Keyshawn and fellow Hurricane Kellen Winslow II, Shockey has come to represent all that is wrong with today's "bling-oriented", me-first NFL player.

Cooley counters Shockey's shockingly absurd pomposity with an understated, intelligent and endearingly simplistic approach to both life and the game he loves. You won't see many flags being thrown in Cooley's direction for bone-headed penalties like personal fouls or taunting. Nor will you hear him making a fool of himself off the field. Like Shockey, Cooley possesses a youthful exuberance for the game, but unlike "The Hotheaded One", Cooley also possesses tremendous respect for the game, for his fellow players and coaches, and for the fans. Redskins fans will take pride in Cooley, not only for his performance on the field, but also for his conduct both on and off of it.

Cooley won't likely catch 50 or 60 passes a year, but his impact on the field will most assuredly be felt, and defenses that fail to account for his abilities as a blocker and as a receiver will most certainly regret it. Coach Gibbs will employ Cooley's versatile talents in ways that lesser coaches would never have imagined, and while he will never garner the kind of attention that teammates like Portis and Coles draw from defenses and the media, he will be every bit the workhorse that draws this offense forward. It will be Cooley's blocks that spring Portis for extra yardage, his subtle exploitation of holes in coverage that frees up Coles for the game-breaking reception, and his grinding, tackle-busting runs after the catch that breaks the will of defenders...

...and he'll do it with that self-effacing grin that tells you he's just as surprised by it all as everybody else is.

I like Chris Cooley. He's a good guy.

Jeremy Shockey can kiss my Redskin-lovin' ass!

fo' real yo! preach on brother Crisp! Can I get a witness!

[jrocx69]

shockey = media hype

[Big C]

um, i recall shockey burning the hell out of us. he has the big play potential that only gonzalez and heap have.

[Daseal]

Shockey is a gifted player, as much as I hate him. Cooley will be a great player for us and I think was the right decesion. He fits into our offense perfectly!

[That Guy]

cooley would be different... by year's end there'll be millions of ST jerseys floating around.

[SKINSnCANES]

He was the right decision because Cooley can play hback the way Gibbs wants an hback to play. Its almost better for us that people will over look cooley and not worry as much about him. It will be easier for him to get screen or go out for passes since teams wont be eyeing him. plus I dont think anyone is upset about our pick of taylor, heh

[That Guy]

cooley is a blocker and safety valve, heap and shockey are more like having extra receivers...

[Big C]

see the whole playin in ny argument doesnt really work for me, since its usually the good teams that gt the hype, and the giants havent been good since hes been there...

[SKINSnCANES]

Originally Posted by Big C

see the whole playin in ny argument doesnt really work for me, since its usually the good teams that gt the hype, and the giants havent been good since hes been there...

when were the giants bad last before last year? 2000 they were in the superbowl. Thats close enough to make yoru argument invalid. The giants were picked by many to go to the superbowl last year but had almost every start injured during the season. NY gets hype because its NY, and the media in NY will make a story out of anything.

[SKINSnCANES]

very nice joe.

[Big C]

2000??? wow thats a long time ago. no1 has talked about the giants ina while. on espn, they rarely mentioned the giants until they got manning...

[SKINSnCANES]

four seasons ago ?!?!? youre basing an argument about how the Giants havent had a good team in forever on how logn then? Do you consider one year a long time.

[SKINSnCANES]

they were 10-6 the yera before last.

[SmootSmack]

Eli Manning is a big story because of his bloodlines and because of the fact that he demanded a trade. But do you think it would be as big a story if he had demanded a trade to Cleveland for example. And do you think the chance to play in New York didn't play a big factor in his family's decision to demand a trade?

[Big C]

when did i say they havent been good in forever? they havent been a good team since shockey was on the team...meaning the hype isnt on ny as much as usual