Isn't it odd how a person can perform well statistically and still look somewhat underwhelming to the eye sometimes in sports?
It seems to me that, as fans, we've been more or less trained to follow the media spotlight. With the Pats this season, the media has cast its Kleigs mostly on Gronk and Lewis (and Brady, of course). So, our attention is drawn away from Cooks and what he does, literally behind the "scenes" that the media focuses on.
Was the fact that Cooks went over 1,000 yards for the season even mentioned during the game broadcast Sunday? The Pats thus became one of only two teams with two receivers in the Top-15 in receiving yards, the other being KC (Tyreek Hill: 1183, and Kelce: 1038). Was that even noted?
Also, in TV coverage itself, the camera follows the ball and the ball-carrier so exclusively that it often feels to me like watching the game through a mailing tube. So, unless the guys in the booth stop re-re-regurgitating factoids about Gronk growing up in Buffalo long enough to breakdown a play from a different view on replay, fans rarely get to see who else was open, who had great coverage (often Chung), who made critical downfield blocks (Dorsett makes a lot of those), etc.
Even when they do show a replay, they often ignore subtle and unexpected (but crucial) contributions to focus on the obvious, although that often applies to post-game analysis as well. The other day, I saw a breakdown (either Lazar or Baldinger) of a Lewis run up the gut that highlighted a great block by Andrews. What was ignored was the fact that Dorsett had slowed down the would-be tackler first, then handed the guy off to Andrews (who promptly drove the guy back a couple yards into another defender). But, then, Dorsett immediately and deliberately did a 180 to block an LB from invading Lewis' running lane. It wasn't anything like a "devastating" block; Dorsett just leaned into the LB's chest long enough for Lewis to get by behind him. But it was enough to prevent the LB from being able to get a hand on Lewis and it helped create another five yards of free running space.
In the SEA-DAL game, late in Q2, Byron Maxwell created the turnover that led to the first SEA TD by punching the ball out of Dez Bryant's grasp after a catch. The booth replayed it a couple of times, highlightling the punch out and then the recovery by KJ Wright. What they ignored was that Maxwell didn't even attempt to go for the loose ball himself. Instead, he immediately started blocking Bryant. Very, very smart move, given the situation. Buck and Aikman completely missed it.
The point being that, if a player seems "underwhelming", it's good to consider what the media may be causing you to miss about the guy's actual performance.
