Bleacher Report on Brandin Cooks

[n6249c]

Impressive! Great background on the trade, article removes any concern I had about Cooks attitude:

After the final practice last summer, Cooks approached Belichick to show his respect.

"Hi Coach, thanks for having us at your facility," Cooks remembers telling him. "I was impressed with how organized your practices are and how there is no wasted time."

Belichick nodded and made a mental note.

"Good seeing you," Cooks said as they shook hands.

In the offseason, the Saints knew Cooks had trade value, so they listened. The Titans, Eagles and Rams made pitches, but Belichick was willing to give more than the others.

Cooks sees similarities between Belichick and Saints coach Sean Payton—probably, he surmises, because both worked for Bill Parcells.

"Both are great coaches," he says. "I have a ton of respect for Coach Payton. He went to bat for me to draft me, and I could never forget that. He gave me the opportunity and helped me grow as a player. There is no bad blood whatsoever. If I see him now, I'm going to give him a hug. And Coach Belichick is awesome. He's someone you want to play your tail off for. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to play for him."

Cooks made this opportunity happen. Just like he made all the other opportunities happen.



Preparing to Be a Pat: Brandin Cooks Determined Not to Waste Shot at Greatness

 

[NG Pats Fan]

Great Great Article. It amazes me some fans were against this move when bb made it happen.

"A first round pick is too much for a WR"
"Cooks is selfish. He complains when he doesn't get the ball"


I've said it from the start. Cooks is an elite elite player. He will put up monster numbers and have the type of attitude new Englanders love.

 

[The Brandon Five]

 

[luuked]

Great Great Article. It amazes me some fans were against this move when bb made it happen.

"A first round pick is too much for a WR"
"Cooks is selfish. He complains when he doesn't get the ball"


I've said it from the start. Cooks is an elite elite player. He will put up monster numbers and have the type of attitude new Englanders love.

Totally misleading.

It was a first round pick for 2 years of a WR at cost control. And again this is a conversation that is worth having because you are trading in 3 years of a cheap player in exchange for minimizing the risk of him being a bust.

There is a pretty realistic chance that after our lease on Cooks expires in 2 years he will not be resigned.

I don't think many posters doubted that the move would be a huge short term benefit.

 

[The Brandon Five]

Totally misleading.

It was a first round pick for 2 years of a WR at cost control. And again this is a conversation that is worth having because you are trading in 3 years of a cheap player in exchange for minimizing the risk of him being a bust.

There is a pretty realistic chance that after our lease on Cooks expires in 2 years he will not be resigned.

Never mind minimizing. It eliminates the risk.

 

[luuked]

Never mind minimizing. It eliminates the risk.

I highlighted minimize on purpose because you can never fully eliminate the risk until you have seen how a WR takes in the playbook and how natural he is with options routes ect.

That being said given that we had joint practices with the Saints I'd say that BB & co had a first hand look on Cooks that should have further decreased that risk substantially.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

Totally misleading.

It was a first round pick for 2 years of a WR at cost control. And again this is a conversation that is worth having because you are trading in 3 years of a cheap player in exchange for minimizing the risk of him being a bust.

There is a pretty realistic chance that after our lease on Cooks expires in 2 years he will not be resigned.

I don't think many posters doubted that the move would be a huge short term benefit.

I haven't heard one person make the argument you are, most were questioning Cooks attitude about possibly being a "diva" or being selfish about wanting the ball. And they even questioned his ability to learn the playbook.

I understand your argument, it is a good one. I do strongly feel Cooks will resign with the patriots two years from now.

The patriots are really good about resigning highly productive offensive players ( Brady moss Gronk Hernandez Edelman )

 

[PatsBoy12]

Impressive! Great background on the trade, article removes any concern I had about Cooks attitude:

After the final practice last summer, Cooks approached Belichick to show his respect.

"Hi Coach, thanks for having us at your facility," Cooks remembers telling him. "I was impressed with how organized your practices are and how there is no wasted time."

Belichick nodded and made a mental note.

"Good seeing you," Cooks said as they shook hands.

In the offseason, the Saints knew Cooks had trade value, so they listened. The Titans, Eagles and Rams made pitches, but Belichick was willing to give more than the others.

Cooks sees similarities between Belichick and Saints coach Sean Payton—probably, he surmises, because both worked for Bill Parcells.

"Both are great coaches," he says. "I have a ton of respect for Coach Payton. He went to bat for me to draft me, and I could never forget that. He gave me the opportunity and helped me grow as a player. There is no bad blood whatsoever. If I see him now, I'm going to give him a hug. And Coach Belichick is awesome. He's someone you want to play your tail off for. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to play for him."

Cooks made this opportunity happen. Just like he made all the other opportunities happen.



Preparing to Be a Pat: Brandin Cooks Determined Not to Waste Shot at Greatness

This is such a great post. Thanks, OP.

 

[Wheelman]

"I work to be more than just a deep threat," he says. "When I voiced my opinion on that, it wasn't coming from a selfish standpoint; it was coming from a want-to-be-great standpoint. You probably can count on one hand the receivers who were considered great or went to the Hall of Fame who only took the top off. I felt I was so young that I want to continue to grow. I voiced my opinion about it, whether I was right or wrong. I felt I deserved the opportunity to do more and be considered more than a speed guy."

I remember hearing negative feedback about Cooks wanting more playing time. Now I understand what he meant and I think it's great! Just like the case of Marty last off season, you really can't believe the BS the media puts out there. I don't think Cooks is going to be a headcase like some Saints fans said he would be.

 

[luuked]

I do strongly feel Cooks will resign with the patriots two years from now.

I don't think the Patriots will resign with Cooks in two years. Not at his price.

 

[patsfan13]

Totally misleading.

It was a first round pick for 2 years of a WR at cost control. And again this is a conversation that is worth having because you are trading in 3 years of a cheap player in exchange for minimizing the risk of him being a bust.

There is a pretty realistic chance that after our lease on Cooks expires in 2 years he will not be resigned.

I don't think many posters doubted that the move would be a huge short term benefit.

Well Cooks is 23 now so when his contract is up he will be 25-26.

Question how many elite players at their position with a unique skill set has BB cut loose at age 26?

Cooks will be signed to 1 more contract.

 

[Ivan]

I don't think the Patriots will resign with Cooks in two years. Not at his price.

Yep, I think it's a rental as well, but a great rental. Belichick is willing to pay top dollar for HOF caliber talent but at around 100 million I doubt he will re-sign here.

 

[n6249c]

I don't think the Patriots will resign with Cooks in two years. Not at his price.

I think he will re-sign with the Pats, at a reasonable home team discount. After reading that article I'm convinced he is every bit as obsessive and committed to being the very best as Brady and Belichick. That seems to be more important to him than squeezing every last shekel out of his next deal. I'm convinced he'd rather be playing for the Pats at a reasonable salary than going to Cleveland for a record-setting salary.

 

[jimnance]

Only time will tell what Cooks does 2 years now.
Regardless if he stays or goes,this was a great trade. Not a good trade, a GREAT trade. Great player,great upside,great attitude.
Cooks is the main addition (along with a healthy Gronk) that Pats are heavy SB favorites. Not Gilmore. I like the Gilmore signing- but he's still a bit of a project. Various Patriots roasted him last year. He's not yet fulfilled his potential. I'm optimistic that between BB and being surrounded by an extremely talented secondary- he'll blossom into a probowl- caliber cb. But he's not there yet.
Cooks, oth, is a proven elite wr. If all the key offensive players are healthy,this offense will be insane. Any negativity on this trade is ridiculous.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I don't think the Patriots will resign with Cooks in two years. Not at his price.

What is his price? Has he made his terms clear ?

In your posts, the vibe you are giving is such that you think BB made a bad deal and that is not the case.

 

[Brady_Moss]

I'm drafting this guy in my fantasy league..

 

[luuked]

What is his price? Has he made his terms clear ?

In your posts, the vibe you are giving is such that you think BB made a bad deal and that is not the case.

I can understand that but the vibe you are getting is wrong and I am actually excited to have Cooks on board. Personally I think draft picks are overrated because of the amount of uncertainty so renting Cooks for 2 years at low cost (i.e. salary) was a good move. Especially because the first year for WRs is often a wash needed for development anyway.

But I can understand if some people see it differently and preferred their first round pick to be here for 4-5 years.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I can understand that but the vibe you are getting is wrong and I am actually excited to have Cooks on board. Personally I think draft picks are overrated because of the amount of uncertainty so renting Cooks for 2 years at low cost (i.e. salary) was a good move. Especially because the first year for WRs is often a wash needed for development anyway.

But I can understand if some people see it differently and preferred their first round pick to be here for 4-5 years.

Well, for those people who defend BB for not "loading up" this year, if he isn't locked up long term the acq of Cooks could be perecived as running counter to that. Just gotta see

 

[DarrylS]

The draft is a crap shoot, and as many times as a team hits it fails as many times, to get Cooks for a 32nd pick for two years is a no brainer.. believed before and believe more now that the Pats got the better part of that deal..

Salary this year is about 1.6M, next year it balloons to about 8.5 million, if he is as good as he looks in TC, the Pats may try to extend him to attain a friendlier cap #..

 

[TB_Helmet]

I'm drafting this guy in my fantasy league..

I agree. Take him and Brady in rounds 2-3 or even 1-2. That might sound like a reach, but in 2007 if you had done that with Brady and Moss, you might have won your league. Sometimes a QB has one of those years (Brady 07, Vick '10 or so, Pink Head '13). We might be seeing another one of those.

On a non-fantasy note, one thing great about that article was how hard Cooks works. He has a kindred spirit in his QB. They could be magical together this Fall.