joecrisp
09-08-2004, 07:40 PM
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!
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!