Eagles

Surprise! Riley Cooper is having a good game

By Mark Saltveit

Published: Oct 11th, 2015 · 2:20 PM EDT

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The biggest early surprise of the Saints Eagles game is WR Riley Cooper, the most hated man on the team (besides coach Billy Davis for some weird reason).

Predictably, fans and writers complained when the Eagles threw to him on 4th and 7, incomplete. It looked like miscommunication between Bradford and Cooper, or perhaps an option play where Bradford threw the wrong way.

But Cooper has quietly been having a decent stretch here, starting with his 62-yard touchdown last week. Today, he caught a very low 14-yard ball on a key 3rd and 9. Yes, Bradford was targeting Cooper when he threw that terrible interception in the end zone, but Riley was wide open. He did his job and should have had an easy touchdown.

Late in the 2nd quarter, Bradford threw a low pass up the middle to Cooper, broken up on a great play by Keenan Lewis (who shut down DeSean Jackson in the 2013 playoffs). Even there, Cooper — who was injured on the play — used his body to prevent an interception, something Miles Austin should have done better in the red zone earlier.

I know he’s fun to hate, between his drunken racist rant, his bloated contract, lack of production last year and that hair, b ut give credit where credit is due. The Eagles have a lot of problems but right now, Riley Cooper is not one of them.

UPDATE: Of course, Cooper has a drop 5 seconds after I post this.