Julio stats vs Cooper stats

[BamaHoosier]

Any time you have a player who starts to emerge as a superstar, the natural inclination of human nature is to try to compare said player to the greatest to ever play. For example, not to long ago I had a conversation with someone who said Amari Cooper would be the next Julio Jones. Now, I personally disagree with this statement. Julio Jones, in my opinion, was the most gifted Wide Receiver to ever don crimson and white, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Amari Cooper will not be the "next Julio Jones", he will be the ever present Amari Cooper. Will Coop ultimately leave the legacy that Jones left? I believe he will, but he can only be himself, not the reincarnation of one of the all-time greats.

That being said, the thought process did get me wondering what the comparative stats would be between the two for their first seven games. The numbers surprised me a little bit, and if anything, they got me even more stoked than I already was about Coop. Here's what I found:

Through the first seven games of his career, Julio caught 22 passes for 341 yards, 4 touchdowns, and an average of 15.5 yards per catch. Amari through his first seven has gone for 27 catches for 381 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 14.1 ypg. So Amari Cooper through his first 7 games has actually matched, and has even barely exceeded that of Julio in total yardage.

Now, who knows where Cooper will be in the next few years, but there's one thing that I do know. While there will never be another #8, we are darned blessed to have #9 on our team right now.

Roll Tide

 

[LCN]

Nice post . I'm of the opinion that while Cooper will never become as gifted an athlete as Julio , I believe he's a more natural receiver as true freshman than Jones was . Julio was prone to dropping routine catches during his freshman and sophomore seasons . JMO

 

[OreBama]

In all fairness, the stats wouldn't tell the whole truth as JJ was option #1,2, and 3 in the passing game from the very start. Amari Cooper reminds me of the Georgia receiver who was compared to and drafted along with Julio. AJ Green, I believe.

 

[smohabbat]

Cooper is a beast. I like the comparison to Green more than JJ. Green is the better receiver but JJ is the better athlete. Aj Green is arguably the best WR this season and along with Calvin Johnson the best vertical threat there is.


Cooper will be amazing but production might slow down with Chris Black coming back next year and lord knows about Eddie Williams he has excellent size but Idk if he's going to play D or O.

....

 

[cmmiller711]

I love Julio Jones. I sat in my dorm room at Riverside East and watched the crappy video stream of him committing to UA with my roommates while we all jumped around like idiots.

That said, I've felt from the first game i watched Julio in college that he was the biggest freak of nature athlete i'd ever seen that LEARNED to play receiver. He was Terrell Owens to AJ Green's Randy Moss. (sans personalities) Amari cooper looks more like that naturally gifted WR to me. Julio just busted his behind to utilize his unbelievable athletic ability until he became a WR.

I dont know if that makes sense to y'all, but it does to me.

 

[cmmiller711]

if anything, that statement is a testament to Julio's amazing selflessness and work ethic. I am so proud of that man.

 

[gamersfuel]

keep in mind though that Julio didnt have AJ to throw him the ball. JP Wilson and McElroy had nowhere near the same arm.

 

[subherbanite]

I've had this conversation as well. Amari is not and will not be the physical specimen that Julio was. But IMO, Cooper is a far more polished WR at this point compared to Julio's freshman year. He runs very crisp routes, has GREAT hands and will attack the ball instead of waiting for it.

The kid has blown me away this year and his future looks so bright. I hope Christian Jones and some of the other young WRs take that next step so they'll all be this dangerous.

 

[Florida Tom]

All, well said!

 

[marcusroby]

His route running is where the difference is. Cooper is so smooth and Julio was just a man that would not ne denied. The running game will surely benefit from Cooper on the outside.

 

[Florida Tom]

His route running is where the difference is. Cooper is so smooth and Julio was just a man that would not ne denied. The running game will surely benefit from Cooper on the outside.

I agree, this is not a dig on Julio but at time he looked like he had rather hit someone than catch the ball. He was one tough cookie.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I love Julio Jones. I sat in my dorm room at Riverside East and watched the crappy video stream of him committing to UA with my roommates while we all jumped around like idiots.

That said, I've felt from the first game i watched Julio in college that he was the biggest freak of nature athlete i'd ever seen that LEARNED to play receiver. He was Terrell Owens to AJ Green's Randy Moss. (sans personalities) Amari cooper looks more like that naturally gifted WR to me. Julio just busted his behind to utilize his unbelievable athletic ability until he became a WR.

I dont know if that makes sense to ya'll but it does to me.

I think that's a very good description. I'd add that AC is also built more like Green and catches more like Green, without it's even looking like it's an effort...

 

[JBama_in_PCOLA]

I remember watching Coop in the all star game. I couldn't believe who we got. He is like the greatest of cognacs, just smooth with everything! Tennessee had no answer for him and he is just getting started. Now, teams will start keying in on him and that will leave receivers like Bell, Jones and Norwood wide open.

 

[AlexanderFan]

keep in mind though that Julio didnt have AJ to throw him the ball. JP Wilson and McElroy had nowhere near the same arm.

Cha-ching. Winner. Nothing against the quarterbacks Julio played with, but their arm strength was barely adequate for major college football. With AJ under center there is no part of the field that is safe for a defense: flat, curl, outs, deep ins, screens, and most importantly for wide outs like Amari and Julio, the go routes. AJ can easily reach every part of the field. With JPW and GMac you could draw an imaginary line about 30 yards down the field, and your safeties didn't have to worry about going beyond that line to defend a pass in the air. Cooper is a great athlete and he will be a great wideout, but he also is the beneficiary of a more physically gifted quarterback to get him the ball.

Look no further than the 11 yard out route he ran for a first down last night vs. ucheat. AJ made that throw look easy, the aforementioned previous qbs probably wouldn't have even looked over there, and if they did throw the ball, it would've looked far different.

 

[Alasippi]

I think all our wide receivers are very capable of making the big play at any time. Cooper though, I agree, looks more like a senior than a freshman. I don't know that I've ever seen a true freshman so polished in his route running skills and he can flat out go up to get the ball.

 

[JBama_in_PCOLA]

Btw... Watch out for Cyrus Jones... He's getting his footing!

 

[Matt0424]

What impresses me about Cooper is how good is hands are, especially for a Freshman. That's the seperatin between him and JJ at this point in their careers. I agree with the assessment that he (Jones) was a GREAT athlete who learned to be an amazing reciever...where as it looks like AC is a natural at the position.

 

[venegoni]

The way Cooper is catching the ball reminds me of a taller leaner Prothro. Both would catch anything close to them.

 

[Tides_of_Change]

His route running is where the difference is. Cooper is so smooth and Julio was just a man that would not ne denied. The running game will surely benefit from Cooper on the outside.

This is pretty much exactly what I observed in the post-game thread. While Julio has the better physical gifts to win a toss-up, Amari almost effortless puts himself into a position to beat someone by the routes he runs. I wouldn't be surprised if Amari winds up the more accomplished of the two because of Coach Nuss' insistence on keeping the WRs involved in the passing game. And, as someone else said, it IS all the more impressive because he's having to navigate through a logjam of top-talent receivers now rather than being the only big dog on the team.

 

[rgw]

I'd say that Julio was probably a higher percentage of the passing offense in 2008 than Cooper in 2012. Cooper benefits from a deeper all around WR corp...you aren't going to shift coverage his way because Norwood, Bell, and Christion Jones will burn you.