Eagles' Riley Cooper capitalizing on opportunity

THERE WILL be a new sheriff in NovaCareland in a few weeks, and one of the first things he will do after calling 1-800-MATTRES and putting the framed picture of the wife and kids he will never see on his office credenza, is to fill up his coffee mug, grab the remote, put his feet up on his desk and watch the 16 disaster movies produced and directed by Andy Reid and his coaching staff this season, including Thursday's night's 34-13 turnoverfest.

For a lot of Eagles players, these final few games are meaningless. They either will be released, won't be re-signed or will be taken to the New Jersey Pinelands and abandoned. Maybe some have built up enough of a career resume that the new sheriff will ignore what he sees on the tapes.

For others, though, like 2010 draft picks Brandon Graham and Riley Cooper, these games are a chance to flash, much like a free-agent rookie in the preseason.

"I've [already] got a lot of tape," said Cooper, the 6-3, 222-pound receiver, who had the Eagles' lone touchdown in Thursday's debacle, catching an 11-yard scoring pass from Nick Foles in the second quarter. "I've been practicing here 3 years. I've got a lot of game film, too.

"But it's good to be out there and starting. I'm getting a lot of snaps. I feel really comfortable out there."

Cooper, a fifth-round pick in the 2010 draft, had just 23 catches his first two seasons with the Eagles. He had hoped this would be his breakout season, but then he broke his collarbone early in training camp and missed the first five games of the season.

He saw minimal action in his first three games back, catching just two passes for 18 yards. But in the last six games, he has 17 catches and three touchdowns, including the one against the Bengals.

"I'm extremely excited to be out there getting into the swing of the game," Cooper said earlier this week. "You're playing every snap, so you're blocking, you're running routes, you're doing everything. I just love being in the action."

Cooper has started the last three games because DeSean Jackson is on injured reserve with cracked cartilage in his chest.

He caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Foles against Dallas 2 weeks ago, had four catches for 37 yards in last week's win over the Bucs that snapped an eight-game losing streak, and had three more catches and a TD Thursday night.

"Me and Nick have a trust thing going," Cooper said. "I trust him, he trusts me. He loves throwing me the ball and I love catching it."

All three of Cooper's catches against the Bengals came in the first half. Foles only had four completions in the second half.

Maybe the new sheriff will look at Cooper and see a big guy with decent hands who isn't quite fast enough to be a consistently productive receiver in this league. Or maybe he will see a guy with a lot of upside who can be a helluva weapon in the red zone.

Cooper's touchdown catch Thursday was his third red-zone scoring reception of the season, tying him for the team lead with LeSean McCoy.

"I pride myself in being able to do everything, whether it's run-blocking or catching the ball anywhere on the field. I try to be a total wide receiver. It's great that we've been able to score in the red zone using a bigger body."

Graham, the Eagles' first-round pick in the 2010 draft who has spent most of his first 3 years in the league trying to come back from ACL and microfracture surgery and trying to silence comparisons with the defensive end the Eagles didn't take in that draft - Jason Pierre-Paul, turned in the best performance of his young career Thursday, notching 21/2 of the Eagles' season-high six sacks of Andy Dalton.

Graham also had three hurries, six tackles and a forced fumble, knocking the ball out of Dalton's hand on a second-quarter sack. It was recovered by Trent Cole and set up the first of Alex Henery's two field goals.

"He made a couple of big plays early in the game," defensive coordinator Todd Bowles said.

Graham became the Eagles' starting left end 3 weeks ago when the Eagles released Pro Bowler Jason Babin. He has played about 70 percent of the defensive snaps the last 2 weeks and is making the most of them.

"He's getting better as it goes," Bowles said. "Every week he's gaining confidence. The more he plays the better he feels. So he's getting better."

Graham has four sacks in the last three games and now has 51/2 for the season. That equals Babin's total before he was released.

Bowles almost certainly will be getting his walking papers in a few weeks along with the rest of the coaching staff. But Graham's impressive play the last few weeks, like Cooper's, are on tape for the new sheriff to see.

On Twitter: @Pdomo

Blog: eagletarian.com