Getty It is Super Bowl or bust for Amari Cooper.
Star receiver Amari Cooper has a lot of confidence in the Dallas Cowboys this season. So much that Cooper has no problem talking about the team’s Super Bowl chances through the first five weeks of the season.
“I look at it like this, it’s not about the opponent we playing,” Cooper told reporters after the Cowboys’ win over the Giants. “It’s about our standard, it’s about us being the best we could possibly be. Because our mindset is on a championship, to be a championship [team] you want to be clean as an offense. Our goal should be to score every drive. You score every drive, how can you lose?
“So, when we fall short of that, that’s when I kind of get worried a little bit because when you’re on a roll like this, it’s just, you start thinking about a Super Bowl, you know. That’s just the reality of it and you start to want it more and more and more and more the closer you get. And you should start to worry about the little things more, like if we could stop this drive, I think what if that happens later and see that’s just how I’d be looking at it. But yeah, I think we just got to play a little bit cleaner, and I think we could that’s the only reason I’m talking like this, because I really think we could.”
Cooper: ‘It’s Not About Who We’re Playing’
Cooper has been playing through multiple injuries early this season including a tweaked hamstring. The receiver also injured his ankle against the Giants but showed no signs of missing any time with the latest injury. Cooper snagged three receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown in the team’s win over their NFC East rival.
The Cowboys were able to overcome a slow start to the game to cruise to a 24-point win over the Giants. Cooper does not see this as a sign of strength as the receiver expressed frustration that the Cowboys offense did not play a complete game. The Cowboys wideout described this reality as “not good” if they are trying to win a championship this season.
“That’s not good, though,” Cooper said of the Cowboys’ turnaround. “It’s not good, it’s not good. We don’t need to have those mistakes. This was a good team we played, but it’s not about who we’re playing. It’s about us and our standard and where we’re trying to be, where we’re trying to go. It’s all about perfection to me, that’s the goal of perfection. Obviously, you’re never going to be perfect, but we’ve got to be cleaner than that.”
McCarthy: ‘Everything We Do Is About Winning the World Championship, Period’
Hard Knocks clip of Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy talking to the team about the goal being to win the Super Bowl
Cooper is not the only one to talk about the team’s Super Bowl aspirations as both Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy discussed the Cowboys’ goal during training camp. During HBO’s Hard Knocks, McCarthy noted during a team meeting that, “everything we do is about winning the world championship, period.”
“You’ve seen the schedule, 207 days until that Super Bowl,” McCarthy explained. “Everything we do is about winning the world championship, period. That’s all that matters, and once you hold that trophy up, I’m going to tell you right now, it’s heavier than you think. But when you hold it up, there ain’t nothing else in this business.”