March 14, 2025 • 30 mins
In the second hour, Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain talk about former Los Angeles wide receiver Cooper Kupp joining the Seattle Seahawks, including interviews and insight from Rams Play-By-Play Voice JB Long and our #1 quarterback, Hugh Millen.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Third down from the fourteen. He's got the snap off
his back foot.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
He threw to the end zone, Cooper Cupp leaping to
make the catch out of balance.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
He has it shotut snap to golf. He throws down
the line near side. Cup shakes a tax on.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
It's out the tail, HiT's side the five touchdown shot.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
That stats back to golf.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
He's got a fine, He's got time.
Speaker 5 (00:19):
He drills one twollion zone in the hearts Cooper Cup touchdown.
Speaker 6 (00:27):
Well, Cooper Cup again confirming this on his own Twitter account.
Uh coming back home to play for the Seahawks. Yakama
native obviously played it Eastern Washington and almost single handedly
beat the Huskies himself with Vernon Adams back in the
day at Husky Stadium.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (00:44):
He is thirty one years old. He'll be thirty two
in June. Multiple reports, including Adam Schefter saying a three year,
forty five million dollar deal. And look, I mean, obviously
I love to look at the numbers and uh and
talk about that. The guy's missed eighteen games the last
three years. He's missed a full season of football. So
that is something I'm sure that will be discussed when
(01:04):
the press Conference eventually happens here in Seattle. But if
you look at his numbers, Dick, in the last three years,
he's played thirty three games. All Right, I'm not going
to give you all the total numbers because just trust
me on this. Every seventeen games he's played the last
three years, one hundred and five catches, eleven hundred and
sixty two yards, and nine touchdowns. His performance has not
(01:24):
been the issue. His availability has been the issue.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yes, would you take if I just said, let me
throw out these numbers, and there's a reason I'm doing it.
Seventy nine catches, eight hundred and ninety four yards of
five touchdowns, would that be good enough for this year?
That's Tyler Lockett in twenty twenty three before he fell
off the cliff this past season. So, I mean, I
think I think that's probably a reasonable explain, you know,
reasonable expectations to give you what Tyler Lockett gave you
(01:49):
prior to Tyler Lockett falling off the cliff.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
Right, Well, he's gonna he's gonna be your highest paid
receiver right by far. I mean, yes, Jaysen's on his
rookie deal. Valdez has made in three million bucks a
year or whatever it is, and then Jake Bobo and
then a rookie. So you know, look, you expect the
guy to be your number one target when it's all
said and done. I mean, obviously, jackson'spit the jigbub may
be the most talented guy, he might have the better
(02:14):
season of all of them, but you kind of expect
Cooper Cup to give you fifteen million bucks worth of production.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
And I don't think that's unfair.
Speaker 6 (02:22):
I mean, I was just talking at Rich you know,
our boss Purple Sheet in the off He's like, how
much of this is Seahawks fans just getting excited because
the guys from the state of Washington played at Eastern
and almost beat the Huskies.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Blah blah blah.
Speaker 6 (02:32):
Well, I'll tell you this, that's part of it. I
think we're more excited about Cooper Cup here than anybody
would be if they signed him in Jacksonville or Houston
or the Patriots or whatever. But in twelve games against
the Seahawks, the guy's got seventy catches, eight hundred and
fifteen yards, and five touchdowns in twelve games against the Seahawks,
(02:55):
and it almost feels like it should be more than that. Right,
like you have in your mind's eye these image is
of Cooper Cup just crushing the Seahawks. And maybe more
of that came in the last three or four years
or three or four years ago, sorry, before he started
to get kind of banged up. But that's part of
it that we've seen what this guy can do. We
know what he's all about because you've played him twice
a year for the last ten seasons.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
He is the twenty fifth ranked wide receiver salary wise
at fifteen million.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Per year and not amazing by the way.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yes, and the only ones that are in their thirties
that are making more than him are Mike Evans and
of course the new DeVante Adams contract.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
So right, I mean that's a pretty big company.
Speaker 7 (03:35):
No low en number one salary, so you would hope
you would get a low end, number one package from him,
and sadly from him, you're expecting greatness and I'm totally
fine with that.
Speaker 6 (03:46):
I think he's fine with that. Hell, the Hawks should
be fine with it. They're not signing this guy just
to be a number three guy or be okay, They're
signing him to be phenomenal. They're signing him to be
I'm not saying DK metcalf because they played different positions obviously,
but they're signing him to be a problem for opposing
defenses and not just be a guy that just sits
there and you know, collects a paycheck. And look, I
(04:06):
mean the injuries obviously are a concern. Can he stay healthy?
Can he give you fifteen games? Can he give you
sixteen games?
Speaker 7 (04:13):
Right?
Speaker 6 (04:14):
If he misses five games, if he misses eight games
like he did in twenty twenty two, that's not something
I would sign up for. I need this guy to
be available for you know, basically, you know, every single
game of the year. If there's a game where he's
inactive because the Hawks are playing a meaningless game like
the Rams did a year ago in Week nineteen, then
I'm fine with that. But I'm jacked up about this man.
(04:37):
I think it's a perfect scenario for the Seahawks. I
think they got him on the cheap. To be honest
with you, if he had been healthy the last three years,
They're not getting him for fifteen million dollars. It's probably
gonna be twenty plus for Cooper Cup if he's been healthy.
So if he can stay healthy, and I know that's
a big if, and it's an easy opinion to have.
But if he can stay healthy, fifteen million bucks for
(04:58):
this guy might be a style.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
I'm excited, I'm all so, I'm also nervous. I don't
want to be I don't want to sound like a
hater because everybody, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
It won't be so negative. If you just.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Absolutely, you know, enter any skepticism in the conversation, you're
a hater. I'm just worried about I'm worried about two things.
I'm worried about how many games he's gonna play.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
You just busted my balls two days ago. I know
about the DeMarcus Lawrence thing. I know, but I'm excited
about it.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I didn't tweet four negative things in an hour, Okay,
I didn't tweet anything other than welcome back, Coop, So I'm.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Very excited about it.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
There's a completely different situation than that. I would just
say I'm number about them, worried about the number of
games he plays, and I'm a little bit worried about Okay,
is he has he slowed to the point where he's
an easy guard.
Speaker 6 (05:41):
Now, maybe that's that's all I'm concerned about. I mean,
I think all those are totally fair questions. Just like
the DeMarcus Lawrence, the guy played four games a year ago.
I mean, if you wanted me to lead with something
different and then bury the negativity underneath the top line,
which I guess is what you're getting at, then that's fine.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
That's your prerogative and that's your style.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
But I mean, look, there are negatives, there are risks,
there are concerns. I'm trying to kind of think off
the top of my head. How many guys miss a
full season of football over a three year period and
get forty five million dollars and fifteen million dollars a year.
There can't be a lot. Well, one guy that makes
that much money calling games for the Rams every year.
(06:22):
I mean that's child's play compared to his salary. Our
old pal JB. Long, the voice of the La Rams,
is with us now on the radio show from La
with a Hawks signing Cooper Cup.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
JB.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
How are you man?
Speaker 8 (06:33):
I wish that exaggeration or even fractionally true, so we
would all take it, right, But that's okay. We all
know we would pay them to do what we get
to do, so that's fine.
Speaker 6 (06:41):
Yeah, what do you do with you, guys, You're worth
fifteen million bucks in our eyes. Man, Just remember that
when you go to bed tonight. Well, let's let's talk
about this. First of all, Cooper Cup going from the
Rams to the Seahawks. You don't often see guys jump
from division team to division team like this. You don't
see guys that miss as much time as he's miss
getting in fifteen million bucks a year. Give us your
(07:02):
thoughts on kind of where Cooper Cup is right now
in his career and what the Hawks are getting in
this kid.
Speaker 8 (07:08):
Yeah, I mean it runs again. I'm chresfallin just having
called every snap of his career so far, and even
going back to his time and chaining with Eastern Washington.
I remember him beating Washington State and Pullman and being
there and having the first glimpse at the legend of
Cooper Cup one of the SCS all time greats. Personally,
I'm happy for him, given his roots in the area,
(07:30):
that he gets to continue his career. I do think
he has something left in the tank, and I'm excited
for him to get to prove it, especially in that
region where it's not just about his family and his football,
but his new coffee brand shout out Dodo.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
I've had some of it myself. I think it's going
to do well there in the Pacific Northwest.
Speaker 8 (07:48):
But you know, purely from a football lens, I'm.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
A bit confused.
Speaker 8 (07:53):
I don't know how deep into this conversation you are,
because while a lot of the things I've mentioned fit,
I don't necessarily understand it schematically, but I guess that
could be true, could be applied to a lot of
the things the Seahawks have done so far this offseason,
which is okay because you don't play games in March,
and I think that's probably the element of surprise or
the ace up their sleeve that they'll have come September
(08:16):
is what does it look like to have Cooper Cupp
and Jackson Smith and Jigba in the same formation?
Speaker 4 (08:22):
How's that going to play?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
So you see a little bit of redundancy there. What
you mentioned other things that the Seahawks have done. What
is confusing about what the Seahawks have done the last month?
Speaker 8 (08:33):
Well, yeah, I mean slot over slot is kind of
what I just mentioned there. I mean, Coop's one of
the all time greats. I don't see him necessarily playing
out wide I know he's got a really diverse skill
set and offers a lot to any offense.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
But I mean, I think Jsm's become.
Speaker 8 (08:46):
One of the premier elite players at that position.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
So I would pay good money to.
Speaker 8 (08:52):
See, like how the snap count and how the alignment
looks in a full sample size at the end of
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
We'll have to wait and see.
Speaker 8 (09:00):
I think I probably said on your airways before I
was a big Geno Smith fan, I don't think he
was given the truest or fairest opportunity to succeed there,
primarily with the offensive line in front of him, and
even though the Rams had some good success against him,
I think he was maybe as good as the second
(09:20):
best quarterback in the division, And so to see him
go to a different team and be replaced by Sam
Darnold doesn't necessarily check out again here in the spring,
and then the Metcalf saying yeah, I don't want to
speak for your audience. You guys know it better than
(09:40):
I do. But just looking at it from a division
rivals lens, I don't think it's hard to make the
case that the Rams, maybe the Cardinals will see about
the Niners will hopefully have gained some ground relative to
the Seahawks, who were, let's face it, overtime walk off
touchdown away from being in the Rams who was.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
At the end of last season, right, no doubt.
Speaker 6 (10:01):
Well, there's a lot of people, JB that share your
opinion on Darnold versus Gino. You're not alone in that regard.
But I do want to ask you, getting back to
Cooper Cup for a second, JB. Long the voice of
the Rams. The Hawks are going to sign Cooper Cup
to a three year, forty five million dollar deal.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
He's coming back home to the state of Washington.
Speaker 6 (10:17):
The guy that we saw four years ago who was
the AP Offensive Player of the Year. He was twenty
eight years old. Well, now he's going to be thirty two.
How much has he lost off his fastball since that season?
Speaker 8 (10:30):
You know, I saw some kind of next gen metrics
about separation kind of tilting against him over the last
few years, and I think that's probably fair. I think
that's a data point that's worth monitoring. I will say
there were a large swaths of last season where Cooper
Cup looked more like twenty twenty one Cooper than twenty
two or twenty three you look at what he did
(10:52):
drawing plays up in the sand basically in the second
half with Matthew Stafford in Week one at Detroit. That
was something to behold and I knew, and I said
as much on our airways, that wouldn't be sustainable being
targeted twenty one times in a game, not for him,
not for anybody. But even when he came back from
his injury in the middle of that season, side by
side with Pooke, it looked great.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
I was believing.
Speaker 8 (11:15):
Again, can't exactly speak to what happened at the tail
end of last season. It wasn't specifically health related, though
it did look at times like he was probably running
gingerly and wasn't getting nearly amount of separation that we've
become accustomed to, and clearly his target share and usage
fell dramatically as far.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
As the injuries go. Give us some more insight on those.
Are they just are they nagging? Are they just persistent?
Is it something that he's just going to have to
deal with, or has there been some bad luck involved
there too?
Speaker 8 (11:49):
Yeah, I mean I think it's all of those things, right.
I think usage rate has to be mentioned with respect
to Cupp and health and not just the fact that
he's running routes or getting balls on his way, but
the fact that he plays like a full back or
a tight end. We've all seen him, including your audience,
like fit up into the running service and root out
a linebacker or a safety. I always tell our fans like, yeah,
(12:10):
he won the triple Crown in twenty one. He won
the quadruple Crown. He was the best blocking receiver in football.
And it's something he'll never get enough credit for. I
think it's something he can definitely bring to Kubiak and
the Seahawks and will have real value in that regard.
But when you're on the wrong side of thirty and
you're doing that willingly and eagerly, yeah, I do think
you expose yourself to more of those moments, which is unfortunate.
(12:34):
But it is quintessentially the Cooper Cup experience, and it's
what makes him so easy to root for. Yeah, and
such a valuable component to everything that he and McVeigh
and the Rams have done together.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
Well. JB.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Long is with us a voice of the Rams.
Speaker 6 (12:46):
And look, man, those ankle injuries, especially for players like
guys in the NFL, they're like herpies they don't ever
go away.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
They just kind of hang around, man. I mean, and Cooper.
Speaker 6 (12:57):
Cup, dude, Game one, the first game of the year
against the Lions, twenty one targets in the opener a
year ago, fourteen catches, then he gets hurt in the
cardinal game, misses three games, and really was never consistently
the same. So I'm just kind of wondering if if
Cooper Cup hadn't gotten hurt, is he a Seahawk right now?
Speaker 4 (13:20):
It's a great question.
Speaker 8 (13:21):
I mean, I'd love to see that parallel universe. Believe me,
I like him better as a RAM than for any
of the other thirty one teams, something that I think
any of us wish for. You know, something that Matthew
Stafford said about this offseason stuck with me, which is
that Cooper loves the work, and I think the reason
so many of us were bullish on his chances to
come back and put up great numbers, which he did,
(13:43):
especially on a per game average in twenty twenty four,
is because he and Matthew had a healthy offseason together
for the first time since their Super Bowl year, their
first year together. You know that hadn't happened in twenty
two or twenty three. So I wish that for Cooper.
I wish that for Sam Donald and the seahawkscause I'll
be rooting for him fifteen times per year.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
You know.
Speaker 8 (14:03):
The other thing, I don't know if you guys have
touched on this yet or not, but Cooper's been pretty
outspoken about preferring the natural grass surface and thinking that,
you know, as many stadiums as possible should replace their
turf with grass. Clear that's not going to be the
case for his home games next year. I haven't scanned
the Seahawks opposing schedule to see how much of that
is true. You know, thankfully, staying in the NFC West,
(14:25):
he gets to play in San Francisco and Arizona, a
couple of natural surfaces there, so that might be something
to diggle layer deeper on, just as he tries to
extend his prime, which again I hope for him and
I believe still has a year or two left on it.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
I want that to be true. JB.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
You alluded to DK a couple of minutes ago, and
we're a bit confused. So you're saying that you would
have made DK Metcalf the third highest wide receiver in
football if you were you were the Seahawks.
Speaker 8 (14:51):
Yeah, I mean that's a different way of framing it.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
Right. It is a big price tag. I get it.
Speaker 8 (14:59):
I understand and that his skill set is not necessarily
as complete as some of those other piers in that
s tier who are getting that level of compensation. And
so if you're saying that you want to get out
of the DK business and move on with the next
chapter of whatever, this receiving core is going to look like, Okay,
that's fair. I don't think I can fault front office.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
For doing that.
Speaker 8 (15:22):
I know that he struck fear into many teams, including
the Rams, and I think his battles against Jalen Ramsey
in particular are some of my all time favorites and
covering the National Football League. So if they feel like
they have a viable alternative, if they feel like they
can get better by subtraction or power to them, we'll
see how that plays. I just know from a division
rivals lens, there's no spinning this any other direction other
(15:46):
than relief or optimism that he's not playing in a
different conference.
Speaker 6 (15:50):
If that makes sense, Well, I'm looking at just to
kind of go with your little point about the natural grass. Obviously,
eight games at home on the turf. Cardinals turf Rams,
turf Fuckings, turf. Panthers play on turf, just looked it up.
The Niners, Jaguars, commanders Pittsburgh, so four games so play
on grass. Of the seventeen. But tell, tell folks, what
(16:12):
kind of guy we're getting, right? I mean we all
think we're getting a good guy, but I haven't talked
to him or covered him at all since that Eastern
game against the Huskies a jillion years ago.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
What kind of guy we're getting?
Speaker 8 (16:23):
Yeah, I mean that's the easiest question you ask, and
I can't give you anything higher than ten out of ten.
I mean, you're getting someone who's going to be great
for your team. You're building your fan base, your city,
your community, all those things. And that's why I think
a lot of the early reaction that I've seen so
far is all right, well, you don't love to see,
you know, one of your hometown's favorites join the rival,
(16:44):
but it almost has. And maybe I'm over speaking here.
Tell me if I am a little bit of like
the Bobby Wagner effect right where you know, Bobby was
the arrival and a really competitive one. For all those years.
But my gosh, that year he had with the Rams
was super enjoyable and he was very easy to adopt
this one of your own, even though you knew him
as an enemy rather than a friend for much of
(17:05):
his career. I think that same experience will hold true
for Cooper Cupp. And look, I'll say this clearly, there
are entities betting against his twenty twenty five and beyond,
But isn't that the Cooper Cup experience. I mean, go
back to who he was as a middle schooler, high schooler,
college player, draft pick like Cooper Cupp believes that his
(17:28):
best is still yet to come. Because that belief and
maybe it's maybe it's misaligned, maybe it's naive, but that
belief is the only reason why he's a Super Bowl MVP.
So I'm not going to begrudge him for it, and
I know your Seahawks.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Fans won't either.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
JB. Long, Great stuff, man, appreciate this.
Speaker 6 (17:46):
The Rams Seahawks rivalry just got a little bit more
heated with Cooper Cup signing with the Seahawks. I love it,
great stuff, and we'll talk down there. I appreciate it, man,
all right.
Speaker 8 (17:57):
Appreciate the invitation and glad Cooper Cuff is coming home
in regard.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
You bet by JB Long with us on a daylight
today when the Seahawks make an acquisition like Cooper Cup,
we cannot go the entire show without hearing from our
QB one Humellan's voice extremely important at times like this.
Nobody will be able to break this down the way
he will. Next on ninety three to three KJRFM.
Speaker 9 (18:20):
You're listening to the exclusive home of the Huskies, the
Kraken and March Madness. Now back to Softie and Did
proudly brought to you by Emerald Queen Casino on Sports
Radio ninety three point three kjr FM.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Play action from Adams puffs fiers.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Deep looking for Cooper Cup cut touchdown Eastern Washington, forty
one yards.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Adams to Cooper Cup.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Adams the quarterback empty backfield throws looking for Cooper Cup
touchdown Eastern Washington, vernon Adams this second time he has
found Cup.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
By the way, how long was that first touchdown pass
right there? Forty one?
Speaker 8 (19:03):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (19:04):
See you kidd me, I mean just the stars are align.
He just had the wrong play by play guy.
Speaker 6 (19:09):
Now, well, first we get this guy saved out good time.
And now we got a guy with a forty one
yard bomb against the Huskies. I mean we all remember
that day. It was two thousand and fifteen.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Do I have that year? Twenty fifteen season?
Speaker 6 (19:23):
Cooper Cup twenty fourteen, Sorry, Cooper Cup in Eastern came
to U dub and almost beat him. Put up fifty
two and Cooper Cup eight for a buck forty five
free touchdowns. Well, no better guy to get on the
air to talk about this, signing that our QB one
have to have his voice on the air on days
like today. Hum milling with us and here we let's
just give you the floor man. Cooper Cup. Three years,
(19:44):
forty five million bucks with the Hawks, how about it?
Speaker 5 (19:47):
Well, I think it's a good acquisition in that you've
got a guy who has a distinct brand of making plays.
He's got championship pedigray. We'll talk about the injury con turns,
but here's a guy. You know, Tyler Lockett is one
of the smartest players who's ever played in a Seahawk uniform.
But if there's a way to even go a step
(20:10):
above in terms of football IQ the natural field for
playing wide receiver, Cooper Cup is that guy you compare
him with JSN that's gonna be as bright and high
IQ and instinctive of a receiver tandem as you're ever
gonna get. Now, there's a lot of questions about who's
gonna play where, But I'm watching the tape, uh, you know,
(20:32):
since I've learned of the news, looking at Unfortunately, right now,
I'm just looking at the real where the ball is
thrown to him, whether they're incomplete or not. I think
the only way to really evaluate a receiver is to
watch all routes, even the ones that you're not throwing
to him. But here's a guy that, uh, I think
and we'll get into the details here, but I think
(20:55):
he's more of a zone guy now because of his
you know, exceedingly high IQ. He has a feel for Okay,
what am I going to break in? Breakout? Do I
choke my motor down or do I just just go
vertical and just stop because I've got somebody the left
of the right of me. He's a very easy read
(21:15):
for the quarterback. And then you know his hands are
our elite. You know, he can't jump and he doesn't
have great size, but similar to Tyler Lockett, you can
be draped on him, and he has a way of
finishing the plays. There's a lot to like about this professional.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
So let's talk about the potential redundancy with JSN.
Speaker 8 (21:34):
JB.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Long mentioned that he thought that could be the case,
although I mean, I don't know why there wouldn't be
redundancy with Pooka Nakoulan Cooper Cup. They almost seem like
more similar players than JSN and Cup.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Am I wrong about that?
Speaker 5 (21:46):
Well, if you take all the core of the wide
receivers that had one hundred or more targets last year
and then you say, okay, what percent we're in the slot? Well,
out of thirty five guys, JSN was number one, eighty
one point two percent of his his route in the slot.
Cooper Cup was at sixty four percent, and and that
(22:09):
put him at sixth on the list. By the way,
By the way, DK Metcalf was dead last at eleven
point five percent, and second to Lowis was sixteen and
a half. So DK Metcalf was dead last for a
by a mile. If you go yards per route run,
that's not target, that's every time you run down the tar.
(22:30):
So the number is gonna sound a little low because
this includes balls that are not thrown you. But uh,
dk Metcalf was a respectable again on that list two
point four yards per route run and uh and then
you have let me get let me sort it. Here,
you've got Cooper Cup was at two point one two
(22:51):
and Jackson Smith and Jigbu was at one point nine
to four. So Metcalf was higher in the slot. They
just didn't put him in there. But back to Cooper Cup,
his his ability to run option routes, particularly I think
his best route is what I call a wake option route.
So let's say it does. It doesn't have to be
(23:13):
JSN as the decoy. He could be on the other side.
You could have anybody on the line of scrimmage. Let's say,
to Sam Darnold's left, if you motion Cooper Cup so
that he's aligned, there's a very close hip alignment. Now
you snap the ball and similar to like being in
in the wake of a boat, if you or or
in a jet stream. Some people call it if you
(23:34):
get Cooper Cup in the jet stream behind Derek Young.
Let's just you know, any wide receiver for the Seahawks. Now,
what Cooper Cupp is doing is he's reading how the
defense has responded to his motion. Are there defenders on
the inside leverage if he breaks out? Are they going
to go over the top or underneath? He has this
instinct to either break in or break out. And uh,
(23:58):
just because he has this this this kind of peripheral vision,
knowing where all of the leverage and the help is,
even at a declining age and injuries and what have you,
that high IQ look for a lot of those type
option routes because I mean, he's he's murdering those What
about the fit for Kobax offense, Well, somebody's gonna have
(24:22):
to play outside. You know, every team has a slot receiver,
and he's gonna be a slot receiver if you put
Cooper cup outside. Here, here's the problem. Outside, it's more
of a vertical type of a challenge for a corner.
So you're you're going to get a corner the opponent's
best athlete, and the yin in the yang outside is
(24:45):
more am I going deep or am I going shallow?
When you're in the slot, the yin in the yang
is more am I going to the inside or am
I going to the outside. Because usually almost all defenses
are capped with a safety in the middle of the field,
one or two safeties in the middlefield. So it's more
of a lateral game. Outside it's more of a vertical game.
And what happens is is if let's let's say I'm
(25:07):
a corner and you know, I run a four four
five and I and I got cup lined out and
he and it's like, okay, you're trying to sell me
on the go route, but you don't have any speed.
So I'm just gonna jog along on your inside hip.
I'm only going about eighty five percent speed right now.
And if you decide to stop on me, well, because
(25:28):
I'm only going eighty five percent, I'm not full throttle.
I can stop on a dime and I can glove you. You know,
if you were faster, then I'd have to open up.
I'd have to match you. I'd have to be going
ninety five ninety eight percent. Now if you stop, it's
like whoa. It takes me a lot more steps to
mirror your break. So so the the lack of speed
(25:49):
that he has, it manifests. It's more of a problem
on the outside. And so that's why I think he's inside.
That's why I think you're gonna see JSN. What did
I say earlier in the conversation, JSN number one at
uh at.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
It was the eighty eighty one point two percent.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (26:05):
That so now js N he's gonna have to play
outside more.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Now.
Speaker 5 (26:09):
He had the game winner against the Eagles his rookie year.
Uh that was outside. I want to pull up the highlight.
But he had that unbelievable almost game winner in the
in the Rose Bowl against Utah to the right side
on a fade. I think he was the widest receiver.
It's possibly he was in the slot, so I might
be misspeaking, But but you know, he's JSN has more versatility.
(26:32):
But I think that it's possible if you want to
be a little bit concerning about this year, taking jsn's
comparative advantage is in the slot. He's a better slot
receiver relative to all other wide receivers than he is
an outside receiver. I think he's competent in both. JSN
he's competent in both. He's he's proven in both. But
(26:53):
I think that that if we're talking about ideal we
it's it's gonna be that that particular question is going
to be something that we'll be watching from September on
about just how is this impacting JSN.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
How much will a receiver like Cooper cup help the
offensive line, because it wouldn't seem like they got a
whole blocks as long for a guy that's running routes
of five to ten yards.
Speaker 5 (27:15):
Yeah, I mean, he's he's he's not gonna have a
big impact well beyond the line of scrimmage. He's he's
very deft at finding openings near the line of scrimmage.
So yeah, so the ball can get out and you
can kind of trust him. Now if you put him
in the slot in man to man, you know, if
he's lost a little twitch and and and thus far
(27:37):
in some of the study, you know, I think there's
a little bit of man to man questions about whether
or not he can get open. And let me illustrate
it like this. Let's say you're you're a slot guy,
You're you're a defender in the slot, you're a nickel guy,
and you come out and you've got to cover a
wide receiver. I want you to imagine a five hundred
pound dude coming at you, and you've and and and
(27:58):
you let's just keep it simple. He's either going to
break to your inside to over the middlefield, or he's
going to break outside to the flat. Well, if that
five hundred pound dude comes up and he's trying to shake,
give you shoulder shakes and everything in your mind, you're
kind of laughing and you're going cut that fast. I'll
just wait here. Declare whether you're actually going in or
actually going out, because you're five hundred pounds and you're
(28:19):
as slow as a slug. So I'm you know, you
just don't concern me with all these shakes. I'm not
going to bite on those shakes. Well, if you can
relate to that dynamic, now, imagine you're saying, Okay, here's
a slower guy, a little bit older guy. He's given
me his shoulder shimmis. I'm not really inclined to bite
on those shoulder shimmys. I'll just wait till he declares
(28:41):
the direction he's going and then I have the speed
to catch up. And we're talking just feet and we're
talking about you know, micro seconds that all of this
is processing. But that's the difference between guys getting open
on an option route or not doing so. That's gonna
be one of the challenges that's why I say, I
think he's going to be more effective in zone.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
All right, well, tons to go over next time?
Speaker 6 (29:00):
Have you on man de Marcus Laura and Sam Darnold,
Marquez Valdez, Scandaling and now Cooper Cup.
Speaker 5 (29:04):
So hey, hey, I talked to Mike Giddings who owns
pro Scout and they've been advising the NFL since nineteen
seventy six. I just had a conversation with a half
an hour ago. He hasn't a Coper Cup has an
F injury grade that means three years or more with
three plus games missed that he factors historically going you
(29:27):
got a seven percent chance that he'll play. They have
a term called blue, red and purple. That will ever
play blue. Obviously he's been a Blue. But he says
those who do beat the odds, who defy the odds,
they are and I'm right, we're reading word forward what
he said. They are former Blue or multiple year Blue players.
Cooper Cup is a multiple year Blue player and but
(29:48):
he's he is trying to buck the odds of being
an F injury. This is a guy that is a
consultant to the NFL, and he says, your biggest mistakes
is you throw money at F injury players? It must
be discussed that Cooper Cup is an F injury player.
Let's see if he can defy the odds.
Speaker 6 (30:05):
No, it's the biggest concern by farm, No question, he's missed.
He's missed a full season the last three years. All right, man,
great stuff, you thanks pass.
Speaker 9 (30:11):
All right?
Speaker 1 (30:12):
You milling with us. We're gonna break textimonials. What do
you think?
Speaker 6 (30:15):
Cooper Cup is a Seahawks? And have the Seahawks gotten better?
Are they a better team today than they were maybe
a week ago? They've basically swapped Gino Smith and Sam
Darnold for DK Metcalf excuse me, Geno for Sam and
DK for Cooper Cup, while also picking up the second
and third round draft pick. So are they a better
team today when you factor in the draft capital? Are
(30:36):
they a better team today than they were maybe two
weeks ago? Four nine, four to five one? And then
Jackson Bevins, he of the Gino Defender Club, will join
at five on ninety three three KJRFL
Third down from the fourteen. He's got the snap off
his back foot.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
He threw to the end zone, Cooper Cupp leaping to
make the catch out of balance.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
He has it shotut snap to golf. He throws down
the line near side. Cup shakes a tax on.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
It's out the tail, HiT's side the five touchdown shot.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
That stats back to golf.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
He's got a fine, He's got time.
Speaker 5 (00:19):
He drills one twollion zone in the hearts Cooper Cup touchdown.
Speaker 6 (00:27):
Well, Cooper Cup again confirming this on his own Twitter account.
Uh coming back home to play for the Seahawks. Yakama
native obviously played it Eastern Washington and almost single handedly
beat the Huskies himself with Vernon Adams back in the
day at Husky Stadium.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (00:44):
He is thirty one years old. He'll be thirty two
in June. Multiple reports, including Adam Schefter saying a three year,
forty five million dollar deal. And look, I mean, obviously
I love to look at the numbers and uh and
talk about that. The guy's missed eighteen games the last
three years. He's missed a full season of football. So
that is something I'm sure that will be discussed when
(01:04):
the press Conference eventually happens here in Seattle. But if
you look at his numbers, Dick, in the last three years,
he's played thirty three games. All Right, I'm not going
to give you all the total numbers because just trust
me on this. Every seventeen games he's played the last
three years, one hundred and five catches, eleven hundred and
sixty two yards, and nine touchdowns. His performance has not
(01:24):
been the issue. His availability has been the issue.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Yes, would you take if I just said, let me
throw out these numbers, and there's a reason I'm doing it.
Seventy nine catches, eight hundred and ninety four yards of
five touchdowns, would that be good enough for this year?
That's Tyler Lockett in twenty twenty three before he fell
off the cliff this past season. So, I mean, I
think I think that's probably a reasonable explain, you know,
reasonable expectations to give you what Tyler Lockett gave you
(01:49):
prior to Tyler Lockett falling off the cliff.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
Right, Well, he's gonna he's gonna be your highest paid
receiver right by far. I mean, yes, Jaysen's on his
rookie deal. Valdez has made in three million bucks a
year or whatever it is, and then Jake Bobo and
then a rookie. So you know, look, you expect the
guy to be your number one target when it's all
said and done. I mean, obviously, jackson'spit the jigbub may
be the most talented guy, he might have the better
(02:14):
season of all of them, but you kind of expect
Cooper Cup to give you fifteen million bucks worth of production.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
And I don't think that's unfair.
Speaker 6 (02:22):
I mean, I was just talking at Rich you know,
our boss Purple Sheet in the off He's like, how
much of this is Seahawks fans just getting excited because
the guys from the state of Washington played at Eastern
and almost beat the Huskies.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Blah blah blah.
Speaker 6 (02:32):
Well, I'll tell you this, that's part of it. I
think we're more excited about Cooper Cup here than anybody
would be if they signed him in Jacksonville or Houston
or the Patriots or whatever. But in twelve games against
the Seahawks, the guy's got seventy catches, eight hundred and
fifteen yards, and five touchdowns in twelve games against the Seahawks,
(02:55):
and it almost feels like it should be more than that. Right,
like you have in your mind's eye these image is
of Cooper Cup just crushing the Seahawks. And maybe more
of that came in the last three or four years
or three or four years ago, sorry, before he started
to get kind of banged up. But that's part of
it that we've seen what this guy can do. We
know what he's all about because you've played him twice
a year for the last ten seasons.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
He is the twenty fifth ranked wide receiver salary wise
at fifteen million.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Per year and not amazing by the way.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yes, and the only ones that are in their thirties
that are making more than him are Mike Evans and
of course the new DeVante Adams contract.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
So right, I mean that's a pretty big company.
Speaker 7 (03:35):
No low en number one salary, so you would hope
you would get a low end, number one package from him,
and sadly from him, you're expecting greatness and I'm totally
fine with that.
Speaker 6 (03:46):
I think he's fine with that. Hell, the Hawks should
be fine with it. They're not signing this guy just
to be a number three guy or be okay, They're
signing him to be phenomenal. They're signing him to be
I'm not saying DK metcalf because they played different positions obviously,
but they're signing him to be a problem for opposing
defenses and not just be a guy that just sits
there and you know, collects a paycheck. And look, I
(04:06):
mean the injuries obviously are a concern. Can he stay healthy?
Can he give you fifteen games? Can he give you
sixteen games?
Speaker 7 (04:13):
Right?
Speaker 6 (04:14):
If he misses five games, if he misses eight games
like he did in twenty twenty two, that's not something
I would sign up for. I need this guy to
be available for you know, basically, you know, every single
game of the year. If there's a game where he's
inactive because the Hawks are playing a meaningless game like
the Rams did a year ago in Week nineteen, then
I'm fine with that. But I'm jacked up about this man.
(04:37):
I think it's a perfect scenario for the Seahawks. I
think they got him on the cheap. To be honest
with you, if he had been healthy the last three years,
They're not getting him for fifteen million dollars. It's probably
gonna be twenty plus for Cooper Cup if he's been healthy.
So if he can stay healthy, and I know that's
a big if, and it's an easy opinion to have.
But if he can stay healthy, fifteen million bucks for
(04:58):
this guy might be a style.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
I'm excited, I'm all so, I'm also nervous. I don't
want to be I don't want to sound like a
hater because everybody, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
It won't be so negative. If you just.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Absolutely, you know, enter any skepticism in the conversation, you're
a hater. I'm just worried about I'm worried about two things.
I'm worried about how many games he's gonna play.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
You just busted my balls two days ago. I know
about the DeMarcus Lawrence thing. I know, but I'm excited
about it.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I didn't tweet four negative things in an hour, Okay,
I didn't tweet anything other than welcome back, Coop, So I'm.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Very excited about it.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
There's a completely different situation than that. I would just
say I'm number about them, worried about the number of
games he plays, and I'm a little bit worried about Okay,
is he has he slowed to the point where he's
an easy guard.
Speaker 6 (05:41):
Now, maybe that's that's all I'm concerned about. I mean,
I think all those are totally fair questions. Just like
the DeMarcus Lawrence, the guy played four games a year ago.
I mean, if you wanted me to lead with something
different and then bury the negativity underneath the top line,
which I guess is what you're getting at, then that's fine.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
That's your prerogative and that's your style.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
But I mean, look, there are negatives, there are risks,
there are concerns. I'm trying to kind of think off
the top of my head. How many guys miss a
full season of football over a three year period and
get forty five million dollars and fifteen million dollars a year.
There can't be a lot. Well, one guy that makes
that much money calling games for the Rams every year.
(06:22):
I mean that's child's play compared to his salary. Our
old pal JB. Long, the voice of the La Rams,
is with us now on the radio show from La
with a Hawks signing Cooper Cup.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
JB.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
How are you man?
Speaker 8 (06:33):
I wish that exaggeration or even fractionally true, so we
would all take it, right, But that's okay. We all
know we would pay them to do what we get
to do, so that's fine.
Speaker 6 (06:41):
Yeah, what do you do with you, guys, You're worth
fifteen million bucks in our eyes. Man, Just remember that
when you go to bed tonight. Well, let's let's talk
about this. First of all, Cooper Cup going from the
Rams to the Seahawks. You don't often see guys jump
from division team to division team like this. You don't
see guys that miss as much time as he's miss
getting in fifteen million bucks a year. Give us your
(07:02):
thoughts on kind of where Cooper Cup is right now
in his career and what the Hawks are getting in
this kid.
Speaker 8 (07:08):
Yeah, I mean it runs again. I'm chresfallin just having
called every snap of his career so far, and even
going back to his time and chaining with Eastern Washington.
I remember him beating Washington State and Pullman and being
there and having the first glimpse at the legend of
Cooper Cup one of the SCS all time greats. Personally,
I'm happy for him, given his roots in the area,
(07:30):
that he gets to continue his career. I do think
he has something left in the tank, and I'm excited
for him to get to prove it, especially in that
region where it's not just about his family and his football,
but his new coffee brand shout out Dodo.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
I've had some of it myself. I think it's going
to do well there in the Pacific Northwest.
Speaker 8 (07:48):
But you know, purely from a football lens, I'm.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
A bit confused.
Speaker 8 (07:53):
I don't know how deep into this conversation you are,
because while a lot of the things I've mentioned fit,
I don't necessarily understand it schematically, but I guess that
could be true, could be applied to a lot of
the things the Seahawks have done so far this offseason,
which is okay because you don't play games in March,
and I think that's probably the element of surprise or
the ace up their sleeve that they'll have come September
(08:16):
is what does it look like to have Cooper Cupp
and Jackson Smith and Jigba in the same formation?
Speaker 4 (08:22):
How's that going to play?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
So you see a little bit of redundancy there. What
you mentioned other things that the Seahawks have done. What
is confusing about what the Seahawks have done the last month?
Speaker 8 (08:33):
Well, yeah, I mean slot over slot is kind of
what I just mentioned there. I mean, Coop's one of
the all time greats. I don't see him necessarily playing
out wide I know he's got a really diverse skill
set and offers a lot to any offense.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
But I mean, I think Jsm's become.
Speaker 8 (08:46):
One of the premier elite players at that position.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
So I would pay good money to.
Speaker 8 (08:52):
See, like how the snap count and how the alignment
looks in a full sample size at the end of
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
We'll have to wait and see.
Speaker 8 (09:00):
I think I probably said on your airways before I
was a big Geno Smith fan, I don't think he
was given the truest or fairest opportunity to succeed there,
primarily with the offensive line in front of him, and
even though the Rams had some good success against him,
I think he was maybe as good as the second
(09:20):
best quarterback in the division, And so to see him
go to a different team and be replaced by Sam
Darnold doesn't necessarily check out again here in the spring,
and then the Metcalf saying yeah, I don't want to
speak for your audience. You guys know it better than
(09:40):
I do. But just looking at it from a division
rivals lens, I don't think it's hard to make the
case that the Rams, maybe the Cardinals will see about
the Niners will hopefully have gained some ground relative to
the Seahawks, who were, let's face it, overtime walk off
touchdown away from being in the Rams who was.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
At the end of last season, right, no doubt.
Speaker 6 (10:01):
Well, there's a lot of people, JB that share your
opinion on Darnold versus Gino. You're not alone in that regard.
But I do want to ask you, getting back to
Cooper Cup for a second, JB. Long the voice of
the Rams. The Hawks are going to sign Cooper Cup
to a three year, forty five million dollar deal.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
He's coming back home to the state of Washington.
Speaker 6 (10:17):
The guy that we saw four years ago who was
the AP Offensive Player of the Year. He was twenty
eight years old. Well, now he's going to be thirty two.
How much has he lost off his fastball since that season?
Speaker 8 (10:30):
You know, I saw some kind of next gen metrics
about separation kind of tilting against him over the last
few years, and I think that's probably fair. I think
that's a data point that's worth monitoring. I will say
there were a large swaths of last season where Cooper
Cup looked more like twenty twenty one Cooper than twenty
two or twenty three you look at what he did
(10:52):
drawing plays up in the sand basically in the second
half with Matthew Stafford in Week one at Detroit. That
was something to behold and I knew, and I said
as much on our airways, that wouldn't be sustainable being
targeted twenty one times in a game, not for him,
not for anybody. But even when he came back from
his injury in the middle of that season, side by
side with Pooke, it looked great.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
I was believing.
Speaker 8 (11:15):
Again, can't exactly speak to what happened at the tail
end of last season. It wasn't specifically health related, though
it did look at times like he was probably running
gingerly and wasn't getting nearly amount of separation that we've
become accustomed to, and clearly his target share and usage
fell dramatically as far.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
As the injuries go. Give us some more insight on those.
Are they just are they nagging? Are they just persistent?
Is it something that he's just going to have to
deal with, or has there been some bad luck involved
there too?
Speaker 8 (11:49):
Yeah, I mean I think it's all of those things, right.
I think usage rate has to be mentioned with respect
to Cupp and health and not just the fact that
he's running routes or getting balls on his way, but
the fact that he plays like a full back or
a tight end. We've all seen him, including your audience,
like fit up into the running service and root out
a linebacker or a safety. I always tell our fans like, yeah,
(12:10):
he won the triple Crown in twenty one. He won
the quadruple Crown. He was the best blocking receiver in football.
And it's something he'll never get enough credit for. I
think it's something he can definitely bring to Kubiak and
the Seahawks and will have real value in that regard.
But when you're on the wrong side of thirty and
you're doing that willingly and eagerly, yeah, I do think
you expose yourself to more of those moments, which is unfortunate.
(12:34):
But it is quintessentially the Cooper Cup experience, and it's
what makes him so easy to root for. Yeah, and
such a valuable component to everything that he and McVeigh
and the Rams have done together.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
Well. JB.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Long is with us a voice of the Rams.
Speaker 6 (12:46):
And look, man, those ankle injuries, especially for players like
guys in the NFL, they're like herpies they don't ever
go away.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
They just kind of hang around, man. I mean, and Cooper.
Speaker 6 (12:57):
Cup, dude, Game one, the first game of the year
against the Lions, twenty one targets in the opener a
year ago, fourteen catches, then he gets hurt in the
cardinal game, misses three games, and really was never consistently
the same. So I'm just kind of wondering if if
Cooper Cup hadn't gotten hurt, is he a Seahawk right now?
Speaker 4 (13:20):
It's a great question.
Speaker 8 (13:21):
I mean, I'd love to see that parallel universe. Believe me,
I like him better as a RAM than for any
of the other thirty one teams, something that I think
any of us wish for. You know, something that Matthew
Stafford said about this offseason stuck with me, which is
that Cooper loves the work, and I think the reason
so many of us were bullish on his chances to
come back and put up great numbers, which he did,
(13:43):
especially on a per game average in twenty twenty four,
is because he and Matthew had a healthy offseason together
for the first time since their Super Bowl year, their
first year together. You know that hadn't happened in twenty
two or twenty three. So I wish that for Cooper.
I wish that for Sam Donald and the seahawkscause I'll
be rooting for him fifteen times per year.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
You know.
Speaker 8 (14:03):
The other thing, I don't know if you guys have
touched on this yet or not, but Cooper's been pretty
outspoken about preferring the natural grass surface and thinking that,
you know, as many stadiums as possible should replace their
turf with grass. Clear that's not going to be the
case for his home games next year. I haven't scanned
the Seahawks opposing schedule to see how much of that
is true. You know, thankfully, staying in the NFC West,
(14:25):
he gets to play in San Francisco and Arizona, a
couple of natural surfaces there, so that might be something
to diggle layer deeper on, just as he tries to
extend his prime, which again I hope for him and
I believe still has a year or two left on it.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
I want that to be true. JB.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
You alluded to DK a couple of minutes ago, and
we're a bit confused. So you're saying that you would
have made DK Metcalf the third highest wide receiver in
football if you were you were the Seahawks.
Speaker 8 (14:51):
Yeah, I mean that's a different way of framing it.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
Right. It is a big price tag. I get it.
Speaker 8 (14:59):
I understand and that his skill set is not necessarily
as complete as some of those other piers in that
s tier who are getting that level of compensation. And
so if you're saying that you want to get out
of the DK business and move on with the next
chapter of whatever, this receiving core is going to look like, Okay,
that's fair. I don't think I can fault front office.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
For doing that.
Speaker 8 (15:22):
I know that he struck fear into many teams, including
the Rams, and I think his battles against Jalen Ramsey
in particular are some of my all time favorites and
covering the National Football League. So if they feel like
they have a viable alternative, if they feel like they
can get better by subtraction or power to them, we'll
see how that plays. I just know from a division
rivals lens, there's no spinning this any other direction other
(15:46):
than relief or optimism that he's not playing in a
different conference.
Speaker 6 (15:50):
If that makes sense, Well, I'm looking at just to
kind of go with your little point about the natural grass. Obviously,
eight games at home on the turf. Cardinals turf Rams,
turf Fuckings, turf. Panthers play on turf, just looked it up.
The Niners, Jaguars, commanders Pittsburgh, so four games so play
on grass. Of the seventeen. But tell, tell folks, what
(16:12):
kind of guy we're getting, right? I mean we all
think we're getting a good guy, but I haven't talked
to him or covered him at all since that Eastern
game against the Huskies a jillion years ago.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
What kind of guy we're getting?
Speaker 8 (16:23):
Yeah, I mean that's the easiest question you ask, and
I can't give you anything higher than ten out of ten.
I mean, you're getting someone who's going to be great
for your team. You're building your fan base, your city,
your community, all those things. And that's why I think
a lot of the early reaction that I've seen so
far is all right, well, you don't love to see,
you know, one of your hometown's favorites join the rival,
(16:44):
but it almost has. And maybe I'm over speaking here.
Tell me if I am a little bit of like
the Bobby Wagner effect right where you know, Bobby was
the arrival and a really competitive one. For all those years.
But my gosh, that year he had with the Rams
was super enjoyable and he was very easy to adopt
this one of your own, even though you knew him
as an enemy rather than a friend for much of
(17:05):
his career. I think that same experience will hold true
for Cooper Cupp. And look, I'll say this clearly, there
are entities betting against his twenty twenty five and beyond,
But isn't that the Cooper Cup experience. I mean, go
back to who he was as a middle schooler, high schooler,
college player, draft pick like Cooper Cupp believes that his
(17:28):
best is still yet to come. Because that belief and
maybe it's maybe it's misaligned, maybe it's naive, but that
belief is the only reason why he's a Super Bowl MVP.
So I'm not going to begrudge him for it, and
I know your Seahawks.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Fans won't either.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
JB. Long, Great stuff, man, appreciate this.
Speaker 6 (17:46):
The Rams Seahawks rivalry just got a little bit more
heated with Cooper Cup signing with the Seahawks. I love it,
great stuff, and we'll talk down there. I appreciate it, man,
all right.
Speaker 8 (17:57):
Appreciate the invitation and glad Cooper Cuff is coming home
in regard.
Speaker 6 (18:01):
You bet by JB Long with us on a daylight
today when the Seahawks make an acquisition like Cooper Cup,
we cannot go the entire show without hearing from our
QB one Humellan's voice extremely important at times like this.
Nobody will be able to break this down the way
he will. Next on ninety three to three KJRFM.
Speaker 9 (18:20):
You're listening to the exclusive home of the Huskies, the
Kraken and March Madness. Now back to Softie and Did
proudly brought to you by Emerald Queen Casino on Sports
Radio ninety three point three kjr FM.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Play action from Adams puffs fiers.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Deep looking for Cooper Cup cut touchdown Eastern Washington, forty
one yards.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Adams to Cooper Cup.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Adams the quarterback empty backfield throws looking for Cooper Cup
touchdown Eastern Washington, vernon Adams this second time he has
found Cup.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
By the way, how long was that first touchdown pass
right there? Forty one?
Speaker 8 (19:03):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (19:04):
See you kidd me, I mean just the stars are align.
He just had the wrong play by play guy.
Speaker 6 (19:09):
Now, well, first we get this guy saved out good time.
And now we got a guy with a forty one
yard bomb against the Huskies. I mean we all remember
that day. It was two thousand and fifteen.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Do I have that year? Twenty fifteen season?
Speaker 6 (19:23):
Cooper Cup twenty fourteen, Sorry, Cooper Cup in Eastern came
to U dub and almost beat him. Put up fifty
two and Cooper Cup eight for a buck forty five
free touchdowns. Well, no better guy to get on the
air to talk about this, signing that our QB one
have to have his voice on the air on days
like today. Hum milling with us and here we let's
just give you the floor man. Cooper Cup. Three years,
(19:44):
forty five million bucks with the Hawks, how about it?
Speaker 5 (19:47):
Well, I think it's a good acquisition in that you've
got a guy who has a distinct brand of making plays.
He's got championship pedigray. We'll talk about the injury con turns,
but here's a guy. You know, Tyler Lockett is one
of the smartest players who's ever played in a Seahawk uniform.
But if there's a way to even go a step
(20:10):
above in terms of football IQ the natural field for
playing wide receiver, Cooper Cup is that guy you compare
him with JSN that's gonna be as bright and high
IQ and instinctive of a receiver tandem as you're ever
gonna get. Now, there's a lot of questions about who's
gonna play where, But I'm watching the tape, uh, you know,
(20:32):
since I've learned of the news, looking at Unfortunately, right now,
I'm just looking at the real where the ball is
thrown to him, whether they're incomplete or not. I think
the only way to really evaluate a receiver is to
watch all routes, even the ones that you're not throwing
to him. But here's a guy that, uh, I think
and we'll get into the details here, but I think
(20:55):
he's more of a zone guy now because of his
you know, exceedingly high IQ. He has a feel for Okay,
what am I going to break in? Breakout? Do I
choke my motor down or do I just just go
vertical and just stop because I've got somebody the left
of the right of me. He's a very easy read
(21:15):
for the quarterback. And then you know his hands are
our elite. You know, he can't jump and he doesn't
have great size, but similar to Tyler Lockett, you can
be draped on him, and he has a way of
finishing the plays. There's a lot to like about this professional.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
So let's talk about the potential redundancy with JSN.
Speaker 8 (21:34):
JB.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Long mentioned that he thought that could be the case,
although I mean, I don't know why there wouldn't be
redundancy with Pooka Nakoulan Cooper Cup. They almost seem like
more similar players than JSN and Cup.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Am I wrong about that?
Speaker 5 (21:46):
Well, if you take all the core of the wide
receivers that had one hundred or more targets last year
and then you say, okay, what percent we're in the slot? Well,
out of thirty five guys, JSN was number one, eighty
one point two percent of his his route in the slot.
Cooper Cup was at sixty four percent, and and that
(22:09):
put him at sixth on the list. By the way,
By the way, DK Metcalf was dead last at eleven
point five percent, and second to Lowis was sixteen and
a half. So DK Metcalf was dead last for a
by a mile. If you go yards per route run,
that's not target, that's every time you run down the tar.
(22:30):
So the number is gonna sound a little low because
this includes balls that are not thrown you. But uh,
dk Metcalf was a respectable again on that list two
point four yards per route run and uh and then
you have let me get let me sort it. Here,
you've got Cooper Cup was at two point one two
(22:51):
and Jackson Smith and Jigbu was at one point nine
to four. So Metcalf was higher in the slot. They
just didn't put him in there. But back to Cooper Cup,
his his ability to run option routes, particularly I think
his best route is what I call a wake option route.
So let's say it does. It doesn't have to be
(23:13):
JSN as the decoy. He could be on the other side.
You could have anybody on the line of scrimmage. Let's say,
to Sam Darnold's left, if you motion Cooper Cup so
that he's aligned, there's a very close hip alignment. Now
you snap the ball and similar to like being in
in the wake of a boat, if you or or
in a jet stream. Some people call it if you
(23:34):
get Cooper Cup in the jet stream behind Derek Young.
Let's just you know, any wide receiver for the Seahawks. Now,
what Cooper Cupp is doing is he's reading how the
defense has responded to his motion. Are there defenders on
the inside leverage if he breaks out? Are they going
to go over the top or underneath? He has this
instinct to either break in or break out. And uh,
(23:58):
just because he has this this this kind of peripheral vision,
knowing where all of the leverage and the help is,
even at a declining age and injuries and what have you,
that high IQ look for a lot of those type
option routes because I mean, he's he's murdering those What
about the fit for Kobax offense, Well, somebody's gonna have
(24:22):
to play outside. You know, every team has a slot receiver,
and he's gonna be a slot receiver if you put
Cooper cup outside. Here, here's the problem. Outside, it's more
of a vertical type of a challenge for a corner.
So you're you're going to get a corner the opponent's
best athlete, and the yin in the yang outside is
(24:45):
more am I going deep or am I going shallow?
When you're in the slot, the yin in the yang
is more am I going to the inside or am
I going to the outside. Because usually almost all defenses
are capped with a safety in the middle of the field,
one or two safeties in the middlefield. So it's more
of a lateral game. Outside it's more of a vertical game.
And what happens is is if let's let's say I'm
(25:07):
a corner and you know, I run a four four
five and I and I got cup lined out and
he and it's like, okay, you're trying to sell me
on the go route, but you don't have any speed.
So I'm just gonna jog along on your inside hip.
I'm only going about eighty five percent speed right now.
And if you decide to stop on me, well, because
(25:28):
I'm only going eighty five percent, I'm not full throttle.
I can stop on a dime and I can glove you. You know,
if you were faster, then I'd have to open up.
I'd have to match you. I'd have to be going
ninety five ninety eight percent. Now if you stop, it's
like whoa. It takes me a lot more steps to
mirror your break. So so the the lack of speed
(25:49):
that he has, it manifests. It's more of a problem
on the outside. And so that's why I think he's inside.
That's why I think you're gonna see JSN. What did
I say earlier in the conversation, JSN number one at
uh at.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
It was the eighty eighty one point two percent.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (26:05):
That so now js N he's gonna have to play
outside more.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Now.
Speaker 5 (26:09):
He had the game winner against the Eagles his rookie year.
Uh that was outside. I want to pull up the highlight.
But he had that unbelievable almost game winner in the
in the Rose Bowl against Utah to the right side
on a fade. I think he was the widest receiver.
It's possibly he was in the slot, so I might
be misspeaking, But but you know, he's JSN has more versatility.
(26:32):
But I think that it's possible if you want to
be a little bit concerning about this year, taking jsn's
comparative advantage is in the slot. He's a better slot
receiver relative to all other wide receivers than he is
an outside receiver. I think he's competent in both. JSN
he's competent in both. He's he's proven in both. But
(26:53):
I think that that if we're talking about ideal we
it's it's gonna be that that particular question is going
to be something that we'll be watching from September on
about just how is this impacting JSN.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
How much will a receiver like Cooper cup help the
offensive line, because it wouldn't seem like they got a
whole blocks as long for a guy that's running routes
of five to ten yards.
Speaker 5 (27:15):
Yeah, I mean, he's he's he's not gonna have a
big impact well beyond the line of scrimmage. He's he's
very deft at finding openings near the line of scrimmage.
So yeah, so the ball can get out and you
can kind of trust him. Now if you put him
in the slot in man to man, you know, if
he's lost a little twitch and and and thus far
(27:37):
in some of the study, you know, I think there's
a little bit of man to man questions about whether
or not he can get open. And let me illustrate
it like this. Let's say you're you're a slot guy,
You're you're a defender in the slot, you're a nickel guy,
and you come out and you've got to cover a
wide receiver. I want you to imagine a five hundred
pound dude coming at you, and you've and and and
(27:58):
you let's just keep it simple. He's either going to
break to your inside to over the middlefield, or he's
going to break outside to the flat. Well, if that
five hundred pound dude comes up and he's trying to shake,
give you shoulder shakes and everything in your mind, you're
kind of laughing and you're going cut that fast. I'll
just wait here. Declare whether you're actually going in or
actually going out, because you're five hundred pounds and you're
(28:19):
as slow as a slug. So I'm you know, you
just don't concern me with all these shakes. I'm not
going to bite on those shakes. Well, if you can
relate to that dynamic, now, imagine you're saying, Okay, here's
a slower guy, a little bit older guy. He's given
me his shoulder shimmis. I'm not really inclined to bite
on those shoulder shimmys. I'll just wait till he declares
(28:41):
the direction he's going and then I have the speed
to catch up. And we're talking just feet and we're
talking about you know, micro seconds that all of this
is processing. But that's the difference between guys getting open
on an option route or not doing so. That's gonna
be one of the challenges that's why I say, I
think he's going to be more effective in zone.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
All right, well, tons to go over next time?
Speaker 6 (29:00):
Have you on man de Marcus Laura and Sam Darnold,
Marquez Valdez, Scandaling and now Cooper Cup.
Speaker 5 (29:04):
So hey, hey, I talked to Mike Giddings who owns
pro Scout and they've been advising the NFL since nineteen
seventy six. I just had a conversation with a half
an hour ago. He hasn't a Coper Cup has an
F injury grade that means three years or more with
three plus games missed that he factors historically going you
(29:27):
got a seven percent chance that he'll play. They have
a term called blue, red and purple. That will ever
play blue. Obviously he's been a Blue. But he says
those who do beat the odds, who defy the odds,
they are and I'm right, we're reading word forward what
he said. They are former Blue or multiple year Blue players.
Cooper Cup is a multiple year Blue player and but
(29:48):
he's he is trying to buck the odds of being
an F injury. This is a guy that is a
consultant to the NFL, and he says, your biggest mistakes
is you throw money at F injury players? It must
be discussed that Cooper Cup is an F injury player.
Let's see if he can defy the odds.
Speaker 6 (30:05):
No, it's the biggest concern by farm, No question, he's missed.
He's missed a full season the last three years. All right, man,
great stuff, you thanks pass.
Speaker 9 (30:11):
All right?
Speaker 1 (30:12):
You milling with us. We're gonna break textimonials. What do
you think?
Speaker 6 (30:15):
Cooper Cup is a Seahawks? And have the Seahawks gotten better?
Are they a better team today than they were maybe
a week ago? They've basically swapped Gino Smith and Sam
Darnold for DK Metcalf excuse me, Geno for Sam and
DK for Cooper Cup, while also picking up the second
and third round draft pick. So are they a better
team today when you factor in the draft capital? Are
(30:36):
they a better team today than they were maybe two
weeks ago? Four nine, four to five one? And then
Jackson Bevins, he of the Gino Defender Club, will join
at five on ninety three three KJRFL
Dave 'Softy' Mahler and Dick Fain News
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