Washington Redskins Newsflash: Chris Cooley Sucks

I will make one thing clear before I bash the Redskins fan favorite Captain Chaos. Chris Cooley is not the main reason why the Redskins are losing games.

Listen I love Cooley. I customized his jersey in 2004, knowing he would help the Redskins for several years. Those years have started to run dry.

Chris Cooley is the most overrated ‘weapon’ in the NFC. Let me go ahead and list 9 other tight ends I’d rather have in the league right now. The first couple of names are obvious, but I’ll expand on some of the choices that you might think are a little bold. Visit www.boldsportstalk.com for all the latest opinions

1. Antonio Gates – Does anyone time their jumps better than Gates. He could possibly be a Hall of Famer. When has Chris Cooley pulled down a jump ball in the end zone? Or commanded a double team from a safety?
2. Dallas Clark – I think he has two extra fingers on each hand. I don’t remember him ever dropping a pass. Clearly Peyton Manning does skew his statistics but Clark has made plays against some of the AFC’s toughest defenses for nearly a decade.
3. Dustin Keller – The best thing about Keller (and the new crop of younger tight ends) is his versatility. He can line up in the slot or even at the flanker position. Plus he has the speed to make plays down the sideline. Cooley catches most of his balls in the middle of the field. Cooley’s acceleration rating in Madden should be in the 30’s. His lack of any speed burst with the ball causes him to be brought down short of the first down marker majority of the time.
4. Jermichael Finley – Finley constantly creates matchup problems for opposing defenses. He stands at 6’5”, two inches above Mr. Cooley. Finley has excellent foot work, body extension and can adjust to a poorly throw ball on the fly. Finley currently leads tight ends in yardage at 265. Also Cooley has fumbled a ridiculous 9 times in his career. Eight of those fumbles were in games decided by seven points or less. Finley has put the ball on the floor just once in three seasons.
5. Tony Gonzalez – Even at the age of 34, Gonzalez can still take over a football game. Just ask Gregg Williams and the Saints, a team TG shredded in week 3. That’s something Chris Cooley CAN NOT DO anymore. Unreasonable Redskins fans still harp on the three touchdown game Chris Cooley had in 2005 against Dallas, a 35-7 rout of Washington’s arch rival. Even in that game, Cooley only totaled 71 yards and didn’t top 100 yards all season. In fact, Cooley’s reached over 100 yards just twice in his career.  Just last decade alone, Tony Gonzalez had 26 100 yard games. Cooley just doesn’t get the separation like nearly every other ‘stud’ tight end.
6. Vernon Davis – Last season Davis pulled down 13 touchdowns. Since 2008, Cooley has 4 touchdowns. In seven career seasons Cooley has hauled in 31 touchdowns, which isn’t terrible. His best season was in 2007 where he crossed the plane eight times. But if you recall, the Redskins were a lousy team for much of Joe Gibbs last season. That was until Todd Collins guided the Redskins to four straight victories. Cooley scored just one touchdown in that crucial four game playoff push.
7. Greg Olsen – The Miami grad may be the best Hurricane alumni at Tight End in 2010’s NFL world. Olsen can execute a fly pattern almost on a wide receivers level. Redskins fans most wonder what it feels like to consistently throw deep balls to a tight end. Also, I bet you can guess Cooley’s least productive quarter. Yup, the fourth, the one that matters the most. Number 47 has registered 73 catches in seven seasons, less than one catch per game.
8. Jason Witten – Possibly the most consistent tight end over the last three seasons. 96, 81 and 94 catch seasons were backed up by his yardage—1,145, 952 and 1,030. And Witten consistently makes his big plays against division rivals. Witten entered the NFC East in 2003, a season before Cooley yet the Cowboys tight end has 66 more catches and 909 more yards than the Redskin. Cooley has nowhere near the kind of impact Witten has evidently displayed.
9. Aaron Hernandez – Hernandez might be the spearhead for the new revolution of tight ends in the NFL. Hernandez lines up all over the field, including in the backfield and at wide receiver. His speed and strength could eliminate the Cooley / Todd Heap un-athletic type. You’re telling me you wouldn’t want a Hernandez / Fred Davis combination? Yes, Cooley is a decent run blocker. But the Redskins need people who can get open down the field.

The list of nine tight ends above are what I would consider ‘weapons.’ Each candidate has some unique trait or statistic that separates them from the middle of the pack. Nothing about Chris Cooley can be considered a weapon anymore. He lethargically runs routes, lacks any speed with the ball, has unpredictable hands and a fumbling problem all have been common themes in recent Redskins seasons.

Redskins fans become delirious and don’t realize when some of their favorite players just aren’t cutting it anymore. Fred Smoot, Jon Jansen and LaVar Arrington were all fan favorites with blazing personalities. These guys probably were left in the lineup because of that factor alone.

Should Cooley be benched just yet? Probably not. But if he fails to produce game changing plays for Kyle Shanahan’s offense, it’s time to turn to the backup. Owen Daniels was able to reach the end zone five times last season for the Texans. If Cooley comes up short of that number, I think it’s time to move on.  

The Shanahan’s needs to find a way to get Fred Davis in the game, maybe even using him more like an Aaron Hernandez. Cooley can only serve as Donovan McNabb’s security blanket these days, and that won’t be enough for the Redskins to win eight games