Many of Jones’ catches came in obvious third-and-long situations into double coverage. ![]() The team didn’t throw deep as liberally with a running game led by Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, Eddie Lacy and Jalston Fowler and a game manager at quarterback in Greg McElroy. Jones accounted for 33.4 percent of the team’s receiving yards that season and caught 21.5 percent of those throws, but three other players caught at least 25 passes. ![]() 2010Īlabama attempted 362 passes and 3,395 yards in Jones’ final season at Alabama. But comparing the players’ final seasons at the Capstone is, to interject a cliche, apples to oranges. That ’14 season clearly is better than anything Jones produced in college. Perhaps he’s (smartly) realized that between the new rules hamstringing defensive backs and the fact that even the best college defenders have a difficult time covering a truly elite receiver, there’s no need for balance. Kiffin has developed a reputation for force-feeding his No. 1 receivers for Lane Kiffin’s offenses his last three full seasons. Is there any discernible difference in these figures other than the number of games played? Player C: 124 catches, 1,727 yards, 16 touchdowns (14 games)īefore revealing the answers, take a close look. Player B: 118 catches, 1,721 yards, 14 touchdowns (13 games) Player A: 111 catches, 1,292 yards, 15 touchdowns (12 games) Let’s play a game I’ll call “unmask the player.” Can you name each of these? Failure to account for the differences in offense. But the margin is much smaller than most will lead you to believe, and recency bias is a big reason why. Jones’ hands were not the best in college football, and Cooper deserves a slight edge there. He had a handful of those concentration drops in ’13 as well, including a few in the end zone. I suppose you forget that drops were the biggest knock on Cooper following the 2013 season? Check out this pass in the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma that hit him in the face. 1 Mississippi State?Ī brief two-game lapse in concentration, you say. Remember Cooper’s less-than-stellar performance against LSU this year? What about his two big drops in a close game against No. The reality is that drops were a concern at points for both players. The implication is that Jones may have been the better athlete, but Cooper’s flawless execution elevated him. One of the pro-Cooper arguments is that Jones dropped passes at Alabama, while Cooper was a polished route-runner. We value what we know, and we know what we remember. It’s Sociology 101.Īsk ESPN to predict the results of a poll, Top 10 greatest college receivers of all-time, and the network will guarantee results that slant toward recent history. In the mind of the square, that skews the narrative in Cooper’s favor automatically. It’s been more than four years since Jones played a college game, while Cooper capped off the best season by a receiver in Alabama history just last month. The team’s recent strong performance inflates their value in the mind of the square bettor, and Vegas (along with sharp bettors) reaps the benefit. ![]() ![]() 500 team goes on a three-game win streak against much better teams thanks to some luck and good timing, and then the general public can’t bet on that team fast enough the next game. The Las Vegas sportsbooks wouldn’t exist without it.Ī. Here are the Top 5 misconceptions and fallacies that involve any pro-Cooper comparison with Jones. Despite what can only be classified as the single greatest season by an offensive skill player in Alabama history, I still believe that Jones had the better three-year career. That question came up in conversation at the Saturday Down South office early in the fall, and it’s sparked a debate that’s raged throughout the last several months. Which player turned out the better college football career for the Crimson Tide? Two of the greatest receivers in SEC history attended the University of Alabama with just one year separating them, coincidentally the 2011 team which featured one of the most dominating defenses in college football history.
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