Cowboys Coach Says Amari is ‘Not Elite’ (But There’s a ‘But’)

Cowboys Position Coach Says Amari Cooper is ‘Not Elite’ (But There’s a ‘But')

FRISCO - Sanjay Lal is an educator, not a provocateur. So when the Dallas Cowboys receivers coach says his star pupil Amari Cooper is "not elite,'' there must be context and reasoning behind it.

And indeed there is. Lal wants from Amari the same thing Amari wants from himself: Straight A's.

“He’s not elite yet,” said Lal, per Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News. “As his coach, not as a fan, as his coach, he’s not elite yet.''

Yeah, but ... Cooper, through his first seven weeks this season (including the loss to the Jets in which he played just three snaps before going to the sidelines with his quad injury), he's got 38 catches for 621 yards and five touchdowns. In 16 games with Dallas following the year-ago trade with the Raiders, he's totaled 93 catches for 1,346 yards and 11 TDs.

So along with Lal's eye-popping statement, there must be a "but.''

"But,'' Lal added, "I want to make clear: He can be elite, and he will be.”

At just 25, Cooper is already a perennial Pro Bowler, and seems headed there again. That's fairly "elite.'' But to Cooper's credit, you get the impression he is continuing to reach for the higher level Lal wants for him.

Cooper has called his so-far performance "good,'' adding, “I wouldn’t say it’s been too far off from what I expected. I expected to come in here and be a playmaker and help this offense and help us win games. I think I’ve done some of that so far.”

"Some of it''? That attitude is all about reaching for more. That's why Lal says Amari can be like a "Ferrari ... There’s potential there to be that, something special, something gold jacket. Hall of Fame-type ability.”