Cooper Kupp

white is right

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For me, I think one of the most positive aspects of Kupp's historic success this year could be the precedent for the future success of white wide receivers coming into the league. While the Caste System propaganda is relentless - I think this has the potential to have a big impact in years to come.

Although in some ways it is a bit counter-intuitive, the fact that Kupp did what he did without having the measurables of a Jordy Nelson or a Matt Jones makes it harder to explain away his success as being an athletic freak. He has shown to the next generation of athletes that despite only clocking a 4.6 forty-yard dash - he is plenty fast enough and can run every route and make every catch.

Following Wes Welker's success with the Patriots, he effectively became the pioneer of the slot receiver position and created an "acceptable" niche in the NFL's ecosystem for white wide receivers to succeed. After Welker, white slot receivers were accepted - and even in some cases sought after. Without Welker, it is unlikely players like Danny Amendola, Cole Beasley, Julian Edelman etc would have got the opportunities to prove themselves on the big stage.

Despite all the good things that developed from this, there was still a caveat. As effective as they proved to be, I think there was a very real sense that white slot receivers were tolerated because they were not "real" receivers in the mold of a Randy Moss or a Jerry Rice. Slot guys were limited in their effectiveness, as they couldn't succeed on the perimeter or down the field with the best corners. As the game evolved away from the run-heavy style of the 1990s, the slot receiver basically took over the role of the old-school fullback. Just as fullbacks like Moose Johnston played Robin to Emmitt Smith's Batman - so too white athletes could fit in as slot receivers without threatening the ingrained athletic assumptions of the league.

This is where I think what Kupp did can have an even bigger impact than Welker in carving out a space for white receivers. While he operates out of the slot more often than not, he can win on any route both inside and outside the numbers - and at 6'2'' can also go up and make contested catches against the best defenders in the business.

Looking back a few years, it is striking to see how the similarities between Kupp and another great receiver from the Pacific Northwest - Mike Hass.

Physically they are almost identical.

Kupp is 6'2'' 208lbs, runs a 4.62 40-yard dash with a 6.75 second three-cone drill, 116-inch broad jump and a 31-inch vertical jump.

Hass was 6'1'' 210lbs, ran a 4.59 40-yard dash with a 6.97 second three-cone drill, 116-inch broad jump and a 32-inch vertical jump.

On the playing field both dominated their competition, with Hass posting three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons at Oregon and winning the Biletnikoff award in his final year.

While both were touted as mid-round prospects, Kupp was given an opportunity in his rookie year to start, while despite impressive training camp performances Hass was stashed at the bottom of the Saints' roster before being discarded - bouncing around practice squads for a few years without ever getting a chance.

Although Kupp has transcended the slot receiver label he initially received when he entered the league, the success of players like Welker no doubt helped open the door to him getting his opportunity.

However for Hass, at that stage there weren't many contemporaries to follow in the footsteps of. Reading up on some old stories and comments from fan forums (aside from the relentless caste-speak - one article joked his speed could be measured by sundial), the best the top receiver in College football could hope to achieve was a career similar to Ricky Proehl or Wayne Chrebet.

In some ways Kupp's achievements make Hass's story all the more tragic, knowing that he was totally capable of dominating the league in a similar way - but never even got the opportunity to make a single catch. On the flipside, it shows that while the Cast System is still a pervasive force, it is not set in stone and gains can be made. No doubt if Kupp had been born 15 years earlier, there's no way he would dream of achieving the success he has enjoyed in 2021.
We talked about it before but Largent was supposedly "only a 4.6" 40 guy and he didn't just run short curl patterns. Jerry Rice was timed at this speed but was given the benefit of the doubt and is the modern GOAT but Don Hutson has a valid argument for GOAT status because of his sheer dominance of his era.

PS, Largent's speed was such a bee in the bonnet of the average defensive back that Seattle used to play mind games with them by guarding his times like a classified document.
 
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Jimmy Chitwood

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Bob, that was an excellent post! thanks for sharing it.
 

white lightning

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I agree. Bob's post was very well thought out and well written. We have many writers here that blow magazines like S.I. away if you ask me. The knowledge
and talent on this board is very large and underappreciated at times. Please post more Bob as we all enjoyed it. Thanks.

It sure would be great if Cooper Kupp had the same effect on white wide receivers as Lemaitre had on white sprinters in track and Cmac in football.
 

Bob

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Bob, you should post more often here :beer-toast1:

Thanks Don. Yes I really should post more - I've been following the site for years as a lurker, but my job requires a lot of writing so I tend to try and avoid it after hours. However thanks to my benevolent government's insane vaccine mandate policies I don't have a job anymore - so I've got a bit more time on my hands.

Getting back to Cooper Kupp, having followed the way media and fans have been reacting to him, it's interesting how by the NFC Championship game there were no caveats or qualifications (or at least very few) about how good he was.

Even in recent years with receivers as good as Welker or Jordy Nelson, I always felt there was an element of the media and DWFs being able to explain away their success. Eg Welker was great but he was only a "slot receiver", and while late in his career Jordy started to get proper recognition, there was a reluctance to place him in the very top tier of receivers as I think a lot of people thought he succeeded because Aaron Rodgers was throwing him the ball.

And while there were a lot of qualifications early on about Kupp, they have disappeared as the season has gone on. As good as Matt Stafford has been this year, it's Kupp who is in the MVP conversation. And while Odell Beckham has played really well during the playoffs, even guys like Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe acknowledged on their show that he is the clear WR2 to Kupp's WR1.

You don't hear any digs about Kupp's speed, his ability to go down the field, or attributing his success to his quarterback or lack of attention from the opposition defence. Before I made the comparison with Mike Hass, but as White is Right mentioned, in terms of size and speed Kupp is pretty much identical to Jerry Rice.

I think that's what's most exciting for me - I can't recall any white guy ever being so widely acknowledged as THE dominant receiver in football, without resorting to backhanded compliments and Caste System stereotypes. I'm guessing you'd probably have to go back to a guy like Steve Largent or even further back to someone like Lance Alworth?
 
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Thanks Don. Yes I really should post more - I've been following the site for years as a lurker, but my job requires a lot of writing so I tend to try and avoid it after hours. However thanks to my benevolent government's insane vaccine mandate policies I don't have a job anymore - so I've got a bit more time on my hands.

Getting back to Cooper Kupp, having followed the way media and fans have been reacting to him, it's interesting how by the NFC Championship game there were no caveats or qualifications (or at least very few) about how good he was.

Even in recent years with receivers as good as Welker or Jordy Nelson, I always felt there was an element of the media and DWFs being able to explain away their success. Eg Welker was great but he was only a "slot receiver", and while late in his career Jordy started to get proper recognition, there was a reluctance to place him in the very top tier of receivers as I think a lot of people thought he succeeded because Aaron Rodgers was throwing him the ball.

And while there were a lot of qualifications early on about Kupp, they have disappeared as the season has gone on. As good as Matt Stafford has been this year, it's Kupp who is in the MVP conversation. And while Odell Beckham has played really well during the playoffs, even guys like Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe acknowledged on their show that he is the clear WR2 to Kupp's WR1.

You don't hear any digs about Kupp's speed, his ability to go down the field, or attributing his success to his quarterback or lack of attention from the opposition defence. Before I made the comparison with Mike Hass, but as White is Right mentioned, in terms of size and speed Kupp is pretty much identical to Jerry Rice.

I think that's what's most exciting for me - I can't recall any white guy ever being so widely acknowledged as THE dominant receiver in football, without resorting to backhanded compliments and Caste System stereotypes. I'm guessing you'd probably have to go back to a guy like Steve Largent or even further back to someone like Lance Alworth?

Lance Alworth was considered the best WR in pro football during 1965-69. Some NFL partisans downgraded him for the supposedly "inferior AFL defenses." Steve Largent during 1976-89 was "one of the best." Swann and Stallworth, Jerry Rice were rated ahead of him. They played in multiple Super Bowls. Largent led most WR career statistical categories when he retired after 14 years.
 

Leonardfan

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For me, I think one of the most positive aspects of Kupp's historic success this year could be the precedent for the future success of white wide receivers coming into the league. While the Caste System propaganda is relentless - I think this has the potential to have a big impact in years to come.

Although in some ways it is a bit counter-intuitive, the fact that Kupp did what he did without having the measurables of a Jordy Nelson or a Matt Jones makes it harder to explain away his success as being an athletic freak. He has shown to the next generation of athletes that despite only clocking a 4.6 forty-yard dash - he is plenty fast enough and can run every route and make every catch.

Following Wes Welker's success with the Patriots, he effectively became the pioneer of the slot receiver position and created an "acceptable" niche in the NFL's ecosystem for white wide receivers to succeed. After Welker, white slot receivers were accepted - and even in some cases sought after. Without Welker, it is unlikely players like Danny Amendola, Cole Beasley, Julian Edelman etc would have got the opportunities to prove themselves on the big stage.

Despite all the good things that developed from this, there was still a caveat. As effective as they proved to be, I think there was a very real sense that white slot receivers were tolerated because they were not "real" receivers in the mold of a Randy Moss or a Jerry Rice. Slot guys were limited in their effectiveness, as they couldn't succeed on the perimeter or down the field with the best corners. As the game evolved away from the run-heavy style of the 1990s, the slot receiver basically took over the role of the old-school fullback. Just as fullbacks like Moose Johnston played Robin to Emmitt Smith's Batman - so too white athletes could fit in as slot receivers without threatening the ingrained athletic assumptions of the league.

This is where I think what Kupp did can have an even bigger impact than Welker in carving out a space for white receivers. While he operates out of the slot more often than not, he can win on any route both inside and outside the numbers - and at 6'2'' can also go up and make contested catches against the best defenders in the business.

Looking back a few years, it is striking to see how the similarities between Kupp and another great receiver from the Pacific Northwest - Mike Hass.

Physically they are almost identical.

Kupp is 6'2'' 208lbs, runs a 4.62 40-yard dash with a 6.75 second three-cone drill, 116-inch broad jump and a 31-inch vertical jump.

Hass was 6'1'' 210lbs, ran a 4.59 40-yard dash with a 6.97 second three-cone drill, 116-inch broad jump and a 32-inch vertical jump.

On the playing field both dominated their competition, with Hass posting three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons at Oregon and winning the Biletnikoff award in his final year.

While both were touted as mid-round prospects, Kupp was given an opportunity in his rookie year to start, while despite impressive training camp performances Hass was stashed at the bottom of the Saints' roster before being discarded - bouncing around practice squads for a few years without ever getting a chance.

Although Kupp has transcended the slot receiver label he initially received when he entered the league, the success of players like Welker no doubt helped open the door to him getting his opportunity.

However for Hass, at that stage there weren't many contemporaries to follow in the footsteps of. Reading up on some old stories and comments from fan forums (aside from the relentless caste-speak - one article joked his speed could be measured by sundial), the best the top receiver in College football could hope to achieve was a career similar to Ricky Proehl or Wayne Chrebet.

In some ways Kupp's achievements make Hass's story all the more tragic, knowing that he was totally capable of dominating the league in a similar way - but never even got the opportunity to make a single catch. On the flipside, it shows that while the Cast System is still a pervasive force, it is not set in stone and gains can be made. No doubt if Kupp had been born 15 years earlier, there's no way he would dream of achieving the success he has enjoyed in 2021.

Great post! I do hope you start posting alot more.

Mike Hass was the player that made me fully accept and acknowledge the vehement anti-White discrimination that takes place in college recruiting and the NFL. It's a shame he was never afforded an opportunity - he has a much more legitimate gripe than Brian Flores.
 

wile

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When Haas was in Chicago that topic came up a few times by the media and even the main receiver at the time Mohammed why ain't he playing.
 

BeyondFedUp

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white lightning

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I would have sworn someone would have posted this news from yesterday about Kupp winning the Offensive Player of the Year award.

Rodgers, Watt, and now Kupp taking the top honors in a League that's more caste than ever. Wow. Just wow:

https://www.nfl.com/news/rams-wr-cooper-kupp-named-2021-ap-nfl-offensive-player-of-the-year

A huge congrats to all 3 guys. Especially Kupp who should have gotten alot more mvp votes in my honest opinion. This
season was the most amazing overall season of any nfl wide receiver in history. Yes he may have finished 2nd in yards barely
but he dominated in all the other categories over any receiver in the history of the nfl. He also won the Triple Crown!
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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how good is Kupp?!? everyone watching the game knew where the Rams wanted to go with the ball, and the Bengals defense did everything they could (including what? 4 consecutive penalties holding/interfering with him?) and they STILL couldn’t cover him.

the man is LEGEND.
 

white lightning

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Cooper Kupp first won the triple crown for receivers. Then he won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year! Now he wins the Super Bowl MVP! :)
 

Flint

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You know what means. He’s on the DWF s radar so he won’t be available to pick on a “caste” fantasy football team.
 

dwid

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Cooper Kupp first won the triple crown for receivers. Then he won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year! Now he wins the Super Bowl MVP! :)
That's why I was severely disappointed to see all of my social media feeds were about Eli Apple sucking rather than Cooper Kupp's greatness. I mean not that I'm a fan of Apple but Cooper has abused every defensive back he's faced this year. Some people are delusional
 

Jerry Reb

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You know what means. He’s on the DWF s radar so he won’t be available to pick on a “caste” fantasy football team.

Same as McCaffrey, but a small price to pay!
 

Jerry Reb

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That's why I was severely disappointed to see all of my social media feeds were about Eli Apple sucking rather than Cooper Kupp's greatness. I mean not that I'm a fan of Apple but Cooper has abused every defensive back he's faced this year. Some people are delusional

A pro-white site is fairer than the typical DWF to black players like Eli Apple. Lurkers take notice.
 
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TweetSee new TweetsConversationClutchPoints@ClutchPointsAppCooper Kupp just wrapped up one of the greatest seasons in NFL history
178 receptions, 2,425 yards, 22 TD's
Receiving triple crown winner
Broke Travis Kelce single postseason catch record (31) with 33
NFL's Offensive Player of the Year
Super Bowl MVP

TweetSee new TweetsConversationESPN Stats & Info@ESPNStatsInfo

Cooper Kupp joins Emmitt Smith & Terrell Davis as the only players in NFL history to record 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 20 TDs in a season (including playoffs) during which they also won the Super Bowl.
Smith did this in both 1992 & 1995.
Davis did this in both 1997 & 1998.

Cole Cubelic@colecubelicCooper Kupp 2021 including playoffs:
178 receptions
2,425 yards
22 TD's
478 receiving yards this postseason is a franchise record & 2nd most all time in a single postseason.
3rd player with 6 rec TDs in a single postseason.
No WR had ever gone over 2,000 reviving yards.
 

Extra Point

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Kupp's 2021 season was better than any season Jerry Rice ever had.
 

white lightning

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index.php
 

Phil

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Tweet from Field Yates:
Cooper Kupp's full season(21 games)

178 catches 2,425 yards, 22 TD
NFL regular season receiving triple crown
Unanimous All-Pro
Most catches in a single postseason(33)
NFL Offensive Player of the Year
Super Bowl MVP

One of the greatest individual seasons ever.
 

Don Wassall

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Here's a very nice highlight reel of Cooper's record setting 2021-22 season:

 

Don Wassall

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Old Peyton, Eli Manning Story About Cooper Kupp is Awesome

by Andrew Gould

Cooper Kupp just finished an all-time great season. After recording the second-most receptions (145) and receiving yards (1,947) ever in a single season, he scored six playoff touchdowns and became the first wide receiver in the last 13 years to be named Super Bowl MVP.
Few envisioned this level of dominance when the Los Angeles Rams drafted him in the third round of 2017. However, he had two famous fans before making the NFL.

In 2019, Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times (h/t Rams Wire’s Cameron DaSilva) recalled a young Kupp attending the Manning Passing Academy. As Peyton Manning told Farmer, he and Eli Manning would bicker over which quarterback got to team up with the wide receiver.

“Eli and I would argue over who got to throw to Cooper, because all of his routes were very precise,” Peyton said. “He had great control of his body. You always knew where he was going, when he was going to break out or break in. For a quarterback and receiver, sometimes it takes a while to develop that timing. But he was one of those guys who right away for me and Eli the timing was easy. And of course he caught everything as well.”

Per DaSilva, Rams general manager Les Snead discovered Kupp at the Manning camp, and Peyton’s praise held major sway.

“Peyton mentioned to Eli, and all the subsequent college QBs, ‘Hey, Cooper Kupp’s my guy. Y’all can figure out who y’all are throwing to, but Cooper’s mine,’” Snead said. “At that point, you took the note to follow the kid.”

It turns out Peyton wasn’t just relishing the chance to throw to another Cooper, which worked well when he teamed with older brother Cooper Manning in high school. Years later, Kupp developed the same synchrony with Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles.

Every NFL quarterback today would likely argue just as passionately for the opportunity to work with Kupp.

https://thespun.com/more/top-stories/old-peyton-eli-manning-story-about-cooper-kupp-is-awesome
 

Don Wassall

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The Rams just made Aaron Donald the highest paid non-quarterback in the league, while Cooper Kupp's new deal makes him just the sixth highest paid receiver. NFL players now make silly money like they do in the NBA and MLB, but fair is fair, Kupp signed for under his market value.

Rams signed WR Cooper Kupp to a three-year extension through 2026.
The deal is essentially a new five-year, $110 million deal that puts Kupp among the league's highest-paid wide receivers at $22 million per year. Kupp, 29 next week, said he didn't need to reset the wideout market, and he now slides in as the sixth-highest paid receiver behind Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Brown, and Stefon Diggs. Kupp is coming off an historic 145-1,947-16 line last year as the Offensive Player of the Year. He's the WR1 headed into fantasy drafts.
 
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