Washington cornerback Josh Norman said Raiders receivers Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper did a lot of talking before Sunday night’s game, then did nothing to back it up.
According to Norman, Oakland’s tandem boasted they’d get 200 yards receiving against Washington. In truth, Crabtree and Cooper couldn’t even get 20 yards receiving as they combined for just two catches and 13 yards in the Raiders’ stunning 27-10 loss.
WATCH – "We are here and we are waiting"@J_No24 delivers an emotional message for @KingCrab15 & @AmariCooper9 @ABC7News pic.twitter.com/KUMms7WPtT
— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) September 25, 2017
“What was personal, other than them getting their tails whupped?” said Norman, when asked if he took the Raiders’ boasting personally. “I mean, first and foremost, you don’t come up in here and say what you’re going to put up on somebody. Two hundred yards? (Crabtree) didn’t catch two balls. He only caught one, huh? So please, whatever you do, do not run your mouth if you’re a wide receiver and expect to show up on Sundays, because I’m telling you, we are here and we are waiting.
“Don’t come out here and tell me what you’re going to do. Show me. You’re going to have to run through me to get that.”
Washington’s defense made life rough all night for Derek Carr and Oakland’s offense, holding the Raiders Pro Bowl quarterback to just 118 yards passing, a good chunk of which came in the meaningless final couple of minutes. But of particular importance, Washington silenced Crabtree and Cooper, both of whom struggled to get open and hang onto Carr’s passes.
Crabtree had one catch for just seven yards on just three targets from Carr, including a costly drop, before leaving in the second half with a chest injury. Cooper, meanwhile, caught just one pass for six yards and added a couple more drops for a league-leading six in just three games.
“Whatever that young cat said, Coop, go and take it back,” Norman said. “Crabtree? I have nothing to say to you. Yes, I may be Cover 2, but I’m Cover 1 too. I’m Cover 1, Cover 2, Cover 3 and Cover 4. All of them. All of the ingredients to make a perfect attack. We do all the extra stuff. When you come out on this field, you going to see about us.”
