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HOUSTON — Cooper Kupp goes into the Rams’ crippled against the Houston Texans connected Sunday looking to proceed 1 of the hottest starts to a play by a walk receiver successful modern NFL history.
That could contiguous Coach Sean McVay with a high-class occupation sooner oregon later, possibly adjacent successful this game, 1 the Rams should triumph big.
A manager wants his players to bash large things. But helium besides wants to support his stars from the hazard of wounded and overwork if a crippled gets one-sided. What does helium bash erstwhile a subordinate is piling up unprecedented numbers but it’s champion for the Rams that helium comes retired of the game?
“As acold arsenic those things go, it’s ever astir the squad first,” McVay said Friday, portion acknowledging “you privation to spot guys person success.”
Fortunately, Kupp is alert of but not obsessed with his early-season statistics.
“Things get backmost to you,” Kupp said of the numerical niceties. “That’s not the goal. It’s large that it has travel on with america winning a batch of games. As agelong arsenic we support winning games, I’ll beryllium precise happy.”
Aiming to bash that, the Rams (6-1) are 16-point favorites implicit the Texans (1-6).
The Texans person rookie Davis Mills astatine backmost amid Deshaun Watson’s ineligible troubles, and conscionable traded starring rusher Mark Ingram to the New Orleans Saints, drafting an outburst of choler from Houston wide receiver Brandin Cooks connected Twitter.
But the Rams aren’t rather shipshape either. They agreed Friday to fto DeSean Jackson question a trade earlier Tuesday’s deadline aft the wide receiver caught lone 8 passes successful the archetypal 7 games, 1 for a 75-yard touchdown. They’ll person rookie Ernest Jones astatine wrong linebacker aft trading Kenny Young to the Denver Broncos connected Monday to unfastened wage headdress space. They’ll beryllium missing astatine slightest 2 starters, with near tackle Andrew Whitworth (knee) and antiaircraft chemoreceptor tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day (pectoral strain) declared out.
Against those uncertainties, Kupp looks similar the surest of definite things.
Kupp led the Rams successful receptions and receiving yards by constrictive margins implicit chap wide receiver Robert Woods successful 2019 and 2020 but has taken it to a caller level successful the archetypal 7 games of this season.
Kupp leads the NFL successful catches (56), receiving yards (809) and receiving touchdowns (nine). To enactment that successful perspective:
• He’s the archetypal receiver successful the Super Bowl epoch with 800-plus yards and nine-plus touchdowns successful his team’s archetypal 7 games.
• If helium catches passes for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Texans, he’ll beryllium the 4th subordinate successful league past to bash that successful 3 consecutive games.
• Two touchdowns would marque him the 2nd receiver with aggregate TDs successful 5 of a season’s archetypal 8 games, the archetypal being Don Hutson successful 1942.
• His 607 yards connected plays wherever helium lined up successful the slot are 223 much than the second-best receiver successful that alignment, Christian Kirk of the Arizona Cardinals, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
• If helium kept up his 115.6-yards-per-game pace, helium would person 1,965 successful the 17-game play and bushed Calvin Johnson’s grounds of 1,964 successful a 16-game play for the 2012 Detroit Lions, with Matthew Stafford astatine quarterback.
Kupp jelled good with Jared Goff, but his teamwork with Stafford this play is 1 crushed for his accelerated start.
“He’s connected with this quarterback, and those guys are taking america arsenic an discourtesy to benignant of a antithetic place,” Rams violative coordinator Kevin O’Connell said, noting however Kupp watches portion with Stafford to amended recognize what the backmost sees.
Talking astir his season, Kupp sounds arsenic funny successful his much-praised blocking arsenic helium is astir his receiving stats.
“I deliberation I’m doing a amended occupation of being a amended portion of antithetic parts of the offense, whether that’s tally blocking oregon walk blocking, going down the tract oregon catching underneath stuff,” helium said. “All the antithetic parts of this game, I consciousness similar I’ve improved since I was a rookie, and that’s what I’m excited about.”
Kupp’s all-around crippled is what impresses Texans manager David Culley.
“He’s having the benignant of twelvemonth present that guys imagination of having,” Culley told L.A. writers. “I’m not surprised, due to the fact that helium is simply a precise skilled player. When I accidental that, I’m saying this feline conscionable knows however to play. He is simply a precise bully shot subordinate that happens to play wide receiver.
“Nobody’s been capable to incorporate him to this point.”
What could halt him – from grounds numbers, astatine slightest – is simply a Rams blowout that sends Kupp and different starters to the sidelines early.
McVay said helium usually doesn’t cognize his players’ statistic during games. The 1 clip helium faced a dilemma implicit whether to fto a subordinate pursuit numbers came earlier the last crippled of the 2017 season. Todd Gurley was successful the pb for the NFL rushing title, but the Rams had already clinched the part title, truthful Gurley was rested; Kareem Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs played that week and bushed him by 22 yards.
“Those are the things that are hard, due to the fact that the astir important happening for our squad was to person Todd steadfast and acceptable to spell for the archetypal circular of the playoffs,” McVay said this week.
If the circumstances were the aforesaid and Kupp was going for a grounds successful the last regular-season crippled connected Jan. 9 against the San Francisco 49ers, what would McVay do, and what would Kupp privation him to do?
It would beryllium a bully occupation to face.
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