It seemed as though Riley Cooper was one controversial remark away from losing a spot on Philadelphia's 53-man roster had it not been for an ACL tear to receiver Jeremy Maclin.
Now the No. 2 in Chip Kelly's read-option offense, Cooper, with his versatility as a talented receiver and capable big-bodied blocker, along with his experience in similar concepts from his days at Florida, gives the Eagles plenty of value.
And if Philadelphia's success early on is any indication of what is to come, Cooper will certainly be a cog in Kelly's up-tempo offense – beginning in the blocking game.
Here, the Eagles are lined up in "11" personnel - one tight end, one halfback and three receivers - versus the Panthers in Week 2 of the preseason.
To counter, the Panthers are showing a Cover 2, man-under look with two deep safeties splitting the field in halves. With man coverage, the Panthers have given up their numbers advantage on the inside in an attempt to defend the width and depth of the field.
What unfolds is what is known as the bubble zone read concept, a wrinkle used under Kelly at Oregon, as described by Villanova’s receivers coach Brian Flinn:
"It is the spread’s most important constraint play since it is designed to make the defense defend the width of the field and remove defenders from the inside box who wish to stop Oregon’s running game. When executed consistently, the bubble efficiently and gradually tilts the numbers into the offense’s favor. The use of a bubble screen requires a pre-snap “bubble zone read” and when packaged with the inside zone read is commonly referred to as a constraint play.”
Together, with the bubble zone read outside of a spread formation, the play constrains the amount of defenders a team can keep in the box.
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It essentially forces the defense to choose what it's willing to give up. If a defense chooses to pack the box with defenders, it exposes itself to the pass. And if the defense chooses to cover all the receivers in the formation, then they will have the ball run at their front seven, which is now reduced.
At the snap, Nick Foles reads the unblocked defensive end, circled in red, who crashes down towards the inside give and the inside receiver sprints his bubble path.
From there it becomes simple arithmetic, and the option to throw the bubble screen is setup perfectly with a numbers advantage towards the left sideline.
Foles rolls to his left and is met by the
alley defender, who is put in a serious bind given bubble action from his receiver. He can either fill his gap and get burned on the bubble, or sit on the bubble and open a gap for Foles, although not too mobile, to run through.
The cornerback maintains his gap integrity, and attempts to tackle the ball carrier, risking a 2-on-1 matchup towards the sideline.
Given the safeties' distance from the bubble receiver, circled in red, Philadelphia will gain six yards before contact is made, and Cooper's big-bodied frame provides great edge blocking to spring Jason Avant.
And with every defender accounted for, the match up of the slot receiver versus the free safety in space is in the Eagles' favor. Although much of this play can be credited to Kelly's philosophy, without Cooper's perimeter blocking, although a small detail nonetheless, the play doesn't exceed more than two yards.
In an
interview with Philly.com's Paul Domowitch, Cooper voiced his approval for his increased blocking responsibilities in Kelly’s scheme
“That's perfect for me," he said. "I love that. Six-four, 230. You better be able to block [when you're that size]. That's one of my strengths and I love doing it."
Another facet of Chip Kelly's offense is utilizing big plays off of the zone-read. Oregon picked up chunk plays versus teams that overcommitted to the run game, mainly by way of deep crossing patterns.
Enter Cooper.
In the picture above, the Eagles are lined up in 11 personnel versus the Patriots in Week 3 of the preseason.
The Patriots remain in their base, 3-4 defense.
Notice Cooper is more in-line to the left tackle giving off the impression he's running a curl route, but he's going to run a deep crossing pattern on the backside.
To the strong side, Eagles' Avant is running an 8-yard out with Jackson running a simple "9" route. This will clear space for Cooper's crossing pattern and allow Vick a window to throw into.
At the snap, Vick reads the unblocked defender at the line, and pulls back the ball at the mesh point as soon as the linebacker crashes down for the inside give.
This moves both underneath linebackers towards the line of scrimmage.
Cooper, then, gets a free release off the line scrimmage and has room to work with in the middle of the field. He’ll look to get at a depth of 14 to 16 yards.
With the defense over pursuing the zone read fake, Vick has ample space to operate to the right side of the field. He can either pick up a first down with his legs, or, with neither a linebacker nor safety to be found, Vick can make an easy, accurate throw to Cooper coming across the middle of the field.
The result is a 17-yard completion to the former Gator.
Riley Cooper will have few, not many, chances to prove he can be more than a wide receiver who relies on his athleticism and size to shield off defenders. In two games thus far, the former Gator has racked up 39 receiving yards and one touchdown.
At 6-foot-3, 222 pounds, Cooper will be the target of many intermediate routes, including the deep crossing pattern, but it'll be up to the veteran in his fourth season - and Kelly, of course - to ensure he gets his touches.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper (14) catches a touchdown pass from quarterback Michael Vick during the second quarter of a 33-30 loss to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday in Philadelphia. Cooper had two catches for 25 yards in the game.
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