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Morris Claiborne spoke to Eric Allen this week in relation to his move from the Cowboys to the Jets, he was asked why he decided to join the Jets and his answer was a little bit different. You often hear that players came to win (not likely with us unfortunately), or due to having worked with the coaches, loved the city etc etc. You don't often hear that it was down to the training staff:
“I just fell in love with the training staff, the things that they do and the options they give you to be able to take care of your body,” he said in an interview with senior team reporter and team insider Eric Allen. “They really care about you as a person.”
When you think about it, this actually makes a lot of sense for a player who has experienced so many injuries. I mean he came into the league on the back of a wrist surgery in 2012. He's experienced AC joint separation, a dislocated left shoulder, a torn left patellar tendon, hamstring and ankle injuries and a number of other problems. So when looking for a new team, you want to make sure that the team you're signing with has people who can directly work with you on an individually structured plan designed to keep you on the field.
“It’s just been a lot of things that have happened where you ask yourself where that came from,” Claiborne said. “Even though you felt like you’ve done everything in your power to be ready for the upcoming season and stay healthy, you just have things that happen to you.”
We may not have the best players in the league, or the most accomplished coaches...but hell, our training staff are league leading in the eyes of at least one free agent. I just thought this was a cool little snippet. As much as I'd love to say it was all down to the training staff, Claiborne also loved the system that Todd Bowles runs:
“It’s a lot of man-to-man,” he said. “It takes a lot of thinking out of the game. You can just play football and I like that. Ever since college, that’s the type of player that I’ve been. I feel like when I’m at my best, I’m going out there playing man-to-man. When I’m healthy, I can take a whole side of the football field away.”