Amari Cooper on the Browns Passing Game Being More ‘Explosive’; Key Player Returns, Another Does Not, More
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper talked to media regarding how the offense can produce more explosive plays.
BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns are 5-3, despite having one of the worst passing games in the NFL. A big part of the reason is due to the poor play, overall, at the quarterback position.
Deshaun Watson missed three full games and the majority of a fourth and the play during his absence was not very good–at best.
There has been very little ‘fireworks’ in the first eight games that Watson and other players on offense talked about before the season began
Currently, the Browns are 29th in the NFL in passing yardage at just 184.1 yards per game. The Ravens have one of the stingiest passing defenses in the NFL, ranked second in giving up just 170.7 yards a game.
A lot of the Browns passing game success will depend on Watson.
Watson has risen to 19th in the NFL in passer rating at 86.7 with six touchdowns and three interceptions after starting even lower. By contrast, this week’s opponent, Lamar Jackson is sixth in the NFL with a rating of 100.8. He has nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
From training camp, Kevin Stefanski and the players have talked about having an explosive offense and it has not been very explosive. Stefanski was asked about having few consistent big plays other than from Amari Cooper.
“Yeah, I mean, our pass game, we want to lean on,” Stefanski said. “Like you mentioned, Amari, Dave (Njoku), Elijah (Moore), I think those things come in bunches. (Cooper’s) doing a great job. He’s doing what he’s asked to do. I think he’s a threat with the ball in his hands. So those are all things that will continue to grow over the course of the seasons.”
