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This has been my drum banging subject for a couple of months now. The medical staff performed like rookies in their rookie year. No data, no observation of training methods for them and learning on the job.

We have already seen positive impact from them this year. Mims and Wilson are healthy, no injuries in OTAs or mini camp and a reduced workload for the players in general. Add to that keeping long term injuries like Becton and Lawson in the rehab area and you can see the benefits and the learning. Expect a big jump this year, David. We WILL be healthier 😁

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Mims and Wilson are certainly headliners this spring. In the case of Wilson, he is beefy, but it’s the work he has done on his legs. Brady & Brees were examples of leg development that translated into success on the field. With Mims, his physical health, may give him the confidence he needs to grow as a player. Cager has gained 21 pounds and has 8 % body fat, major position switch to TE, inspiration to the entire team. No one is talking about Moore but he looks like he has gained about 10 pounds of muscle, looks more durable. Performance gains throughout the team will be interesting and could be a direct result from this initiative.

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The turf at the Meadowlands has to be part of this injury problem, grass is the way to go. The Athletic Care & Performance is coordinated training/nutrition/recovery health care that is player centric. What an attraction for potential free agents. What a resource for rookies, trying to make it. Bringing Doctors, trainers, nutritionist, rehab & message folks together to find solutions for players, creates better overall care, enables players to focus on their training and tweak it to meet their needs. The nice thing about this department, is that these continual conversations, keep the department evolving, everyone rowing the boat in the same direction with the overall goal of player development, creating a synergy that motivates the entire team. Culture game changer.

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That's a very good point on the turf, I took a look into that and we have UBU Sports Speed Series S5-M turf at Metlife, only Cincinnati and Minnesota have that variety. Vikings had the 12th worst AGL according to Football Outsiders and Cincy had the 7th best record, so little all over the place. I did look at the worst 10 teams from last year in relation to what they play on and :

Baltimore - Grass

Jets - Turf

Lions - Turf

San Francisco - Grass

Denver - Grass

Giants - Turf

Washington - Grass

New Orleans - Turf

Las Vegas - Grass

Indianapolis - Turf

So a perfect 50/50 split.

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Great point. Agree about the turf! Played on it in my day. Can’t say I loved it.

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The good news is that Douglas is not sacrificing player safety over the cost effectiveness of turf..

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Wow, you put a ton of work into this article! As always, well done!👍

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Thanks David, I really appreciate it. I wonder if this is the year the Athletic Care and Performance Department make their big leap? This organisation truely could be special…I seem to be thinking “it’s not if, but when” a lot these days

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