Amari Cooper wants targets.
The Dallas Cowboys WR came out this week and admitted how frustrated he is on his lack of targets as well as the Dallas Cowboys offense overall.
“I’ve got to be honest, it actually does,” Cooper told 105.3 The Fan. “Because, yeah, we’re winning, but the defense is playing a huge part in that. We’re not really as explosive as we should be. We’re not converting a lot of their turnovers to touchdowns. A lot of them are field goals. And I feel like I could be a huge part of that, so that’s what frustrates me,” Cooper said. “I think I can do more in the red zone if I get the targets. I think I can do more on third downs if I get the targets. To help the offense be where we need to be, I definitely think I can help change that, for sure.”
The Cowboys are 10-4, but the Dak Prescott-led offense is trying to return to what it was at the beginning of the season.
Cooper exploded in Week 1 with 13 catches, 139 yards, and a pair of scores on 17 targets. Since that game, he’s topped 100 yards just once and has had a max of 8 targets. In November and December combined, Cooper has been targeted just 23 times.
His quarterback knows full well that Cooper hasn’t been as involved as he would like, and responded back to his frustrations.
“I mean, you want to get the ball to him,” Prescott said Thursday. “You’d much rather have a guy saying that and a guy hungry for the ball than him shying away from it in critical situations or just when you need to. It’s a balance.
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We’ve got a lot of playmakers on this team and on this offense, particularly when you’re talking about the receivers: not just those three, but the guys- Ced[rick Wilson] and Malik [Turner] behind them- and then you’ve got two great backs. It’s only one ball. He understands that, and he does whatever he can to help the team when he’s not getting the ball. But yeah, I would love to get him the ball more, as much as some of the other guys.”
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy also downplayed any so-called drama caused by Cooper voicing his opinion.
“I have no issue with guys wanting to do more. That’s definitely what you’re looking for,” McCarthy said.
“Everybody’s committed to the final result,” the coach explained. “How you get there is always the fun part of the challenge, particularly when you have a number of guys that can contribute and want to contribute. I just think that’s all part of it. Big picture focus: complementary football is the goal, and we all understand it takes all three phases. I think the fact that all three phases have shown the ability to be the lead dog based on the week and based on the competition, hopefully, will benefit us moving forward.”
Through the first six games of the season, the Cowboys averaged 460.8 yards and 34.2 points per game, but now they are averaging 352 yards and 25 points per game in the last six games.
