Games with Names - Highlight Reels: Wide Receiver Techniques

Episode Date: June 29, 2025

In this week's edition of Highlight Reels we're talking Wide Receiver techniques. Julian and some of the best Wide Receivers to grace The Nuthouse breakdown techniques, route running, and all the intricacies of the position. From Cooper Kupp to Keyshawn Johnson, we get some incredible insight from some unguardable dudes. Support the show: http://www.gameswithnames.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an i Files Miami, stories of families who never stopped fighting. Listen to Cold Case Files Miami on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Games with Names. I'm Julian Edelman and we've got a brand new compilation highlight reel starting now. Now Cooper Cup talks about why receiver techniques. Receivers in art form. No one does, you do it different.

It goes back to the same conversation. It's like, you know, there's Picasso, and other artists. Matisse. Michelangelo. Donatello. Raphael. Ninja Turtles.

Ninja Turtles. There it is, there it is. So like, there's all these different ways to do it. So I don't want to get stuck just doing one way. I want to have some other stuff I can do and force me to kind of go and learn from people. I remember before the 20, my second year, before the 2018 season, it's Friday

before we report on Tuesday for training camp. I'm with Kyrs Conway. Yeah, who's that? The receiver? Yeah. From what team? Bears. Bears.

What year? Yeah, I think. So, I'm with Conway and we show up on Friday, and he's gonna take me through some drills. I just want to get on Friday, and he's going to take me through some drills, and I just want to get perspective, I want to see someone else take me through stuff. A lot of times I go with someone, and I might spend a few days working out with someone,

and I grab one thing that I want to take with me. Sometimes there's nothing, sometimes it's like, man, there's just a treasure trove of stuff that I want to use here. Yeah, with Curtis Curse Conway, and we ran a curl route for an hour straight. An hour straight of a curl route, three days before training camp,

my toes were, I pulled my cleats off, toes bloodied, like, gone. Every year. Yeah, gone. Ugh. You know, so you go, but I wanted to go hear from someone, I wanted to hear from someone different. What was his technique, how was it different? You know, was he go yeah, but I want to go here for something. I hear some something different and what was his technique?

How was it different? You know, he attacked the leverage guy or was he just go straight up in the back? We did attack we did more attack leverage stuff It was like the stems and things like that But I don't even remember if it was from him that I like pull this but it was kind of a beginning of this idea of like As a receiver, I never want to think of myself as slowing down, I want to decelerate, right? I want to always be thinking I'm accelerating.

So even when I get to the top of a route, I want to accelerate down into the ground, right? Like what's the, one of the best stoppers in the world? A javelin, right? Javelin comes down, stops, right? So I want to be like a javelin when I'm Javelin comes down, bing, stops, right? So I want to be like a javelin when I'm running, I want that angle, I want to accelerate down at 45, and when I'm accelerating, put my foot down,

you know what Newton says? Energy, potential? Yes. He also says every force has an equal and opposite reaction. So if I accelerate down into the ground, the ground's going to stop me, push back against me. It's got to go somewhere. And now as a DB, you see me accelerating,

I'm accelerating down towards the ground, and you're backing up, but I'm stopping. Yeah, but you have to have your technique in your body. All that stuff, oh, there's so much. I'm saying like they're running curls for an hour, getting my feet bloodied. Like, I probably didn't grab a whole lot of stuff from it, but it was like the beginning of this thought,

like man, how do I want to stop? Now, Pukunakua on developing alongside Cooper Cup. You're running indie drills and like everybody's getting ready to line up and I'm like, yo, I'm going to make my way to the front right behind Cooper. Yeah. I'm going to make my way to the front to be number two, just so I can watch him go.

Watch his whole rep, watch how he's like like doing everything whether it's routes on air? It was the cone drills or he were going up in one-on-ones like like and then when I got to go on the reps with It I'm like, alright coupe like hey, we got this So like we're lined up two by two and we're going to wear in a stack and it's me and Cooper be like All right. What are you about to do right here? I'm like and he'd be like, I think I'm about to get inside leverage And then I'm a work in I'm a inside leverage and then I'm going to work him, I'm going to cross face and then I'm going to one-two at the top.

I'd be like, all right. And we're like, as we're going out, we're still kind of talking to me like, oh. And then you watch him do exactly what he said was going to happen to me like, holy cow. This is how football should feel like. Man, there's a different type of feeling when you get to go and watch somebody

because they're giving all these cues that, man, you're like, oh, I just have my corner out right here. I'm going to go, I'm going to find a way in. He's like, all right, no, it's going to look like this. He's going to roll down. He's going to play outside leverage. I'm going to get to his inside shoulder. I'm going to one-two him at the top, and I'm going to win.

And then he would go one-two him at the top, and he would win. I'm like, damn, Coop. Next up, Antonio Gates breaks down his record-setting touchdown catch. You just in the moment, I'm looking at the side of, I'm reading my side of the field. I don't got time to try to read the whole, scan the whole field.

What's the play? It was like a sticky pump, you know, and I'm looking at the backer. So sticky is five yards, stick route, and then go. Yeah, and go, right, come around, right? So I knew it was, I felt like it was zone, you know, and I got to remind you, I got gotta guess this one after my first two steps. Is this, who's this on?

Is this on linebacker? Yeah, this is on linebacker. It felt like cover four, if I can look at it. It felt like he was gonna try to push. Split. Yeah, but it was like two safeties, so it's hard to determine, because we're in the red zone, right?

It's hard. Less space. It's hard, it's hard to determine. But me, the red zone, right? It's hard. It's hard. It's hard to determine. But me, I don't even, that was the beauty of not playing either. I don't overthink nothing. I just go play.

You see what I'm saying? Because when you got this football high IQ, you come down, you can overthink. It's still football. It's green grass or it ain't. Just play. You know what I'm saying? That was my philosophy.

Once I ran up on him, I realized he stayed inside. He didn't push, right? So I'm thinking like, well, the corner didn't look like he was squatting, so that's why I kind of trying to figure out what was cover six, it was four, it was two. You know what, let me just get back around here. I felt like it's some type of zone, right?

Which I felt like it was cover four because he drove it, the safety drove it so hard. You know what I'm saying? So I ended up just trying to loop around and get around the linebacker with the idea of, if it's four, let me give him a little something cause he's going to have to go. He's trying to get underneath me.

Yeah. He's going to have to go if it's four. Great space. Yeah. And if it's two, so basically my idea is that if it's two, I can still just come on and come around him. But you got to come flatter. I got to come flatter. If it's four, I got to still come flat. come around him We gotta come flatter. I gotta come flatter if it's four

I gotta still come flat that I'm the safety's guy once I get a straight he's him now I gotta beat him right so the backer is not really the concern. It was more so the safety I've always used that formula anyway. I ain't got time to worry about the first dude. Where's his help, right? So I'm back. Okay, Tate's where you're gonna go. Yeah, so I just kind of gave me listen I felt like he wasn't really moving. I said there's no point of me wide and wide. He ain't coming. Yeah, right So I just came over angle. Let's see. Yeah, they do they trying yeah to four. Yeah three for two three for two That's what it might have been. So and I've seen enough of those coverages to know or box. Yeah Would like Danny when Danny was on our team so So I got the, I was the air scrolls.

We'd get them in a slot, such as formation as a backer, linebacker, safety, whatever. So we know it's three for two. Formation indicator. You take a, I go over here, the backer got me. I go vertical, the safety got me. I always try to figure out where the help was at. I never thought about the actual guy who's covering me.

In my mind, to me, I was going to beat him. Where's his help? That determines his leverage, that's going to determine how he's shading, how he's moving. And I felt like he didn't really move. There wasn't no point in me getting wide. And you had to get open on him for you to get the ball. Yeah.

Because that's what the quarterback's seeing. Yeah. Now, Danny Amendola breaks down the double pass. Walk us through the pass, beat by beat. Well, we got to start by the full season. I think we never, we practiced it a couple, maybe three times, whether it be in a walkthrough or- I thought we put it in like week two.

We put it in week two. We actually ran it against, we had it called with an alert versus KC- You needed to have the zone, right? Yeah, versus Kansas City on that Monday night game. And they gave us a man look. So we had to check out of it. Check out of it.

And run a slant backside with JoJo LaFelle who took it to the house actually. But because they gave us a man look, we couldn't run it. So we got called off and then we didn't see it again until I think we ran it in a walkthrough and we missed it in the walkthrough. In the walkthrough missed it the night before the game. Yeah.

So the coaches are freaking out. They're like, we're going to scrap it. I'm like, these these slappies can't complete a pass. And then and then they called it in the game and we got the right look. And then end up working out, man. Remember this ball? Let me see. I remember I remember the way it feels.

Oh, yeah, that's nice. It's a little wobbly though. Was it a, was it a complete spiral or no, it was a little one to get out there. Little wobbly. I thought I overthrew him. Now, like, don't let me get this email. Hey, little joker run, catches it a little high step in the end zone. Tracked it down. That was, that was the loudest I've ever heard Foxboro

Well, we were down 14 points twice in that game. That was the second time. Yeah, I tied it up at 28 I tied it up at 28. They went up 14-0 then we went to 14 14, then they went up 28 to 14. Yeah You remember the lead up to this? Josh now, I don't yeah Josh just came up to me in the drive before he goes I don't need to just came up to me in the drive before he is. I don't need to give you any lead time for for the double pass, do I? I'm like, no, I'm good.

Yeah. Sitting there, shit in my pants. Fuck, man. For this thing out there. Yeah. Thinking about the walk through the night before. Yeah. What were you thinking when you let that ball fly?

I thought I overthrew you. No, I was good. I was, I was jogging too, bud. I don't know. You were right in stride. Didn't even have to turn the jets on. Steve Smith Sr. is up next, talking about becoming the X receiver.

And we had practiced, the play is called X Climb, we practiced that play so many times. And me and Jay could not get on the same page. I run it this way, he throw it that way. He throw it this way, I wouldn't run it that way. And it just seemed like it was not gonna work. And then when they called it a game, it worked.

Twice, you guys hit it twice. Now, the X-Clown, there's verbiage probably for the protection and there's something else or does that tell everyone what to do? So this is where ball is. This is the part where some people don't like that I actually know ball. You know, they kind of think that I don't know ball and people always talk about, you know, especially with my stuff, they always talk about Steve. Just, he just talks and the offense we were running that year was Dan Henning. Yeah.

What's that tree from? That tree is from Charlie Weiss, which means we had, maybe if these words sound familiar to you, Ole Re Circle. Oh yeah. Max Deli XQ. Yeah, Ole's the out with the flag. Yes sir. Two man concept, two man concept.

X Clown's the backside telling the X what to do, but there was probably something in front telling the other guys what to do. Yes, and then we had. Was it like Toga? They called it 10. 10. Two ends. Two ends, we had 10. Topper, topper, two posts. Yeah. Yeah.

So that was, that was the offense. And, you know, I had to learn how to play receiver in a way that I just really didn't know how to play receiver at that time, you know, going to Utah. I was, I was actually in college, junior college. I was a Z originally. Yeah. But my wide receivers coach in college, junior college. I was a Z originally. But my wide receivers coach in college switched me to X. Because I'm right handed, but I'm left hand dominant.

So I would be at Z with the ball in my left hand and I was stiff on my right. Well they come and just poke it out. I had Z with the ball in my left hand, and I was stiff on my right. Well, they come and just poke it out, so they moved me to X, and that's how I became an X. Because of how you handled the ball? Because of how I handled the ball. Bro, I only carried the ball in my left arm because I was a four back.

Everything left, left. I was the same way, because I was in Pop Warner, I was the four back in a Wishbone offense and I always ran left. And so you always kept it on the outside. And so I would always, even to this day, that my most comfortable side was my left side holding the ball, which is very unorthodox

for right-handed guys. That's crazy. So you turned into an X in college because your right hand, you're better with the ball in your left. So you give the stiffy. And in this point in your career, you were still kind of feeling your feeling on how to learn how to play receiver in this offense, that Charlie Weiss style offense.

So is this clown route? Is it like a bow post? Yes, it's. So, cause you inside released and then you stemmed up and then you hit them with the outside with the couple and then you post it. Cause it was, it was, it was built off Q. Yeah.

Q is just a bow. Yes. So it was built off the Q because I ran it so well. Yeah. Stem inside. Get vertical. Get vertical. Go to the corner. So I'll stem inside and then I just went,

but I ran that one and I leaned, but the reason I leaned. To make him think it was going a shitty bow. Yes, but it was also the lean was to put my foot in the ground to go. Create this rep duration. Yes sir. Yeah, people, people don't realize you were primarily an X, like people try to put you in like categories where you're a no Steve Smith was the you're probably the most dominant

X in my eyes of all time under six foot like you like in you. But you didn't play like you were. It was fucking amazing to me to watch you play when you could run by people. You could run the routes that I ran and I specialized in. But you could win on a go route. You could stack a guy, run away from a guy. And you were so dynamic with the ball and strong bottom legs. Like you never got down like in you.

dynamic with the ball and strong bottom legs. Like you never got down. Like, and you, like, it's fucking crazy that it all stemmed back to the coach in college. I said, hey, you only hold it in your left. I think we got to put you at X. It was, it was a problem. That's fucking crazy. Up next, we've got Pukin' Akua

on becoming Matthew Stafford's go-to receiver. Chemistry between you and Matthew Stafford. When did you feel that chemistry actually ignite and like you knew you were going to have this 10 catch game going into the week two, where you're going to have the performance you have? So rookie mini camp, we come, we get drafted, we show up. And then there's like two weeks after that,

the rookies got to stay after everybody else goes. And everybody's leaving, but except me and my roommate, Davis Allen, he was the, I was 177, he was 175, two picks in front of me. We're at the hotel together, we're both rookies, so we're staying and everybody's going, and we're like, oh, we're going to stay. And we get a text of like, yo,

from one of our strength coaches, he's like, yo, Matthew wants you to come out and catch, for like, Higgs is going to be there, our other wide receiver, Van Jefferson, is going to be there, and they're like, he wants you to come out, and I'm like, yo, for real, like, out of all the guys on the team, like, he asked me and like, my roommate to come out,

and I was like, yo, I got to run the best routes in my life. If I cannot drop a ball, like, it's got to be as good, or it's got to be the best route run I've ever had in my life. And the first day, you've thrown with him, like you see when you're coming out of breaks, and the ball's in the perfect spot every time. I'd be like, yo, if I could keep my feet,

and as long as I can see the ball spin for a second, I'm like, this is, I'm like, he is not missing. Whether it's upfield, we're running an outroute, puts it on your front shoulder, you can turn, tap and turn and get out of the side, then you're running out of curl break, it's on your front shoulder, you can turn, tap and turn and get out of the side, then you're running on a curl break, it's on your inside pad so you can drop step and turn over your inside shoulder,

and that was like, holy cow. So you're basically telling me that you guys had instant chemistry. I mean, low key, I felt like, first thing I was like. Honestly, I'm not even going to second guess that, because I went with him once to Golden West. We threw together. I think we threw 45 balls.

I think we went 45 for 45. We never even met each other. That's how elite his arm talent is. Like Puka was saying, the ball come right out there, right out that break, it's right on your forehead. Right up on your forehead. And he just over here slings it. Now, Steve Smith Sr. on the greatness of Davante Adams

and his own mentality as a route runner. I favor the old guys too. So I still think Davante Adams is still that guy. He's never been a four, three guy. But his releases are remarkable. Just the way he does his hands, ball placement, catch radius, body control, tempo. Sudden burst, really good.

Sudden burst, and then his creativity to stack you, even though he's not faster than you. So just him being able to use his leverage. So like, I look at that, but then there's other guys, I think, that are promising who have the ability. Who's someone that you think that kind of reminds you of you if there's anyone? See, so people ask that and-

I know, it's hard to do that. So the reason why- I just did it, it's bad. I'm not judging you. The reason why I have a hard time answering that question is because I also remember that I was supposed to be a fifth round draft pick. I was also told I was just a returner.

So now that I'm done playing, everybody's like, oh, he reminds me of you, but when I was playing, people didn't like me. And so you didn't like me, and then there's, you know, we read our stuff on there, and they're like, you know, people are like, oh, Steve was just a slot receiver. And I think, really, I was.

Didn't know that. I think the game has changed, but I also think there are players out there who don't remind me of myself because I think they are significantly better. I played the way I played because I was obviously, I did, like, I didn't have quick feet like Chad, like I couldn't do great cone drills.

I rounded my routes. I never ran the same route the same way. So there were things that I did that I used as my advantage, but I ran my routes kind of ADD. Like I was never consistent on doing things. I did it my way. But I was really just kind of like covering for the fact that, man, I was just playing on hope and a prayer.

And so that's just kind of like, I know I was playing with house money, right? I know that, so just roll the dice and say, man, put all the chips in. So when I go across the middle and I know I'm gonna get hit, you got a choice, you get hit with the ball or without the ball. And so a few times like, all right,

I get hit with the ball and then I get up and I'm like, man, you know, a guy used to hit me and he'd be like, oh, what you want with that? And so I started getting up, like, if you think you crazy, I guy used to hit me, he'd be like, oh, what you want with that? And so I started getting up, like, if you think you crazy, I'm crazier. And so it was more like to feed into, like, to intimidate and show, bro, I'ma be here all day.

Your best didn't hurt me. No. Cooper Cup is up next, talking about the unconscious competence you need as a receiver. And there's just so much you can do better, so many things, so many details that you can press yourself on and like, you know, what kind of tools can add to your tool belt as counters to what worked?

Like what worked? How are people going to stop it? How do I counter that? Yeah, and you're in the point of your career where you could watch film and you can go practice off a specific look of how it may not have went your way. And you could put that and play that game in your mind and and you're probably at the point where you you're running routes oh yeah oh yeah running yeah exactly I mean you get better playing football playing football

yep exactly I think there's there's a few different steps that just like the visualization side of things of where you're like you know I'm I know my wife knows I'm laying in bed and suddenly I'll just be like, bow, flinch out. I was like, okay, what were you doing there? Like what was happening? Yeah, I got to take, I was running, it's rather the safety was driving down, you know, like it's like, it's real. It's like you get to this point where you're visualizing things to the point where your body is like reacting to it and you're going, you take the next step and now we're, you know, OTAs, we're running routes on air.

And we don't run routes on air just to run routes on air. There's an intent behind what you're doing. You're seeing, hey, this is how this DB is playing us. Let's run this route. I'm talking to Matthew. Hey, this is three carry. It's a tight carry outside. Like, how are we going to run this route on this one?

What angles are we coming out at? So now you're running routes on air and you're visualizing these things. So now when it does come time that you're competing, you've seen that, you've seen that you visualize it, you've felt all those steps that you're gonna take, you've seen how he's gonna play and react to each move you're gonna do. At that point, once you've played the game,

it's like, man, I've taken this rep over and over and over again already. We used to call that deja vu. You practice so much once you're doing the game, it's like deja vu. It's a... That's a great feeling too. It is.

People don't realize the amount of reps you put into a play for it to work. Because there's like 20 different looks you can have. And when you practice it and you rep it over and over and over with intent, like Cooper said, and you use those reps, once you get to game day, it's in your subconscious. So once you can react faster

and you get to use your athleticism more, because once you know what's coming, then that's when techniques and your superpowers get to come out. Exactly, and when your mind's on, your body's off a lot of time. Right? When you can get to the point where your mind's seen it so much, that that's now subconscious. Sean McVeigh calls it unconscious competence.

Unconscious competence. Unconscious competence. I bet you he's got some sayings. What other sayings does he have? He's got some fucking sayings. I know him. He's all riled up all day. You got to let him come naturally. I can't just start pulling him out of things like that. You know what I'm saying?

Just keep it in the back of the thing. So we had this rep right here. Keep that in your subconscious if something comes along in this next part of the interview. I'll pop a flaget. Flaget. Yep. Cooper, did you say that you would wake up dreaming about reps?

Oh, yeah. No, this isn't just about dreaming. This is full on like, I'm awake, laying in bed, and I'm just visualizing. It's playing so clearly in my head what's happening that my body is reacting to what's happening in those moments. And it's become, it's honestly become a problem

to the point where it's like, gosh, if we're like, my wife's like laying on me, and I'm daydreaming or something like that, she can get like, boom! I move and her head's popping up off my shoulder. It's a problem. So we've had to figure out how to like, you know, balance those things a little bit so that we're not hurting each other.

I'm going to say illegal hands to the face. Illegal hands to the face right there. Thanks for listening. Remember to tune in every Tuesday for a brand new episode and every Sunday for another Games with Names highlight reel. In 2012, 16-year-old Brian Herrera was gunned down in broad daylight on his way to do homework. No suspects, no witnesses, no justice.

I would ask my husband, do you want me to stop? He was like, no, keep fighting. After nearly a decade, a breakthrough changed everything. This is Cold Case Files Miami, stories of families who never stopped fighting. Listen to Cold Case Files Miami on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.