Could coach Mike Woicik be the problem...

[lqmac1]

For all these injuries? Has he lost his training touch, you think? It seems every year there is a significant injury on this team!

[Reality]

It is hard to blame impact injuries on the training staff. That said, the early season hamstring injury outbreak is something that I feel falls squarely on their shoulders.

/reality

[Rack Bauer]

Originally Posted by Reality

It is hard to blame impact injuries on the training staff. That said, the early season hamstring injury outbreak is something that I feel falls squarely on their shoulders.

/reality

Hamstring injuries, more often than not, are a result of not hydrating well enough.

That may or may not be on him, but the players themselves - being that this is their profession - should take it upon themselves to make sure they're hydrated AND stretched daily, not just before practice.

I can't really blame the conditioning coach for players not drinking enough water.

[Idgit]

I'd be interested in hearing what 'losing his training touch' might entail.

[Rack Bauer]

Originally Posted by Idgit

I'd be interested in hearing what 'losing his training touch' might entail.

I think a big reason the cowboys have been so strong in the 4th quarter this year is Woicik.

[Idgit]

Originally Posted by Rack Bauer

I think a big reason the cowboys have been so strong in the 4th quarter this year is Woicik.

I think so, too. JG's said as much in a couple press conferences, and it's pretty apparent. The injury bug has been killer this season, though. It's unrelated to the trainer, I'm sure, but it's still killer.

[Reality]

Originally Posted by Rack Bauer

Hamstring injuries, more often than not, are a result of not hydrating well enough.

That may or may not be on him, but the players themselves - being that this is their profession - should take it upon themselves to make sure they're hydrated AND stretched daily, not just before practice.

I can't really blame the conditioning coach for players not drinking enough water.

As an active athlete for most of my life, I'm quite familiar with why hamstring injuries can occur. That said, the training staff is responsible for insuring players stay hydrated and stretch appropriately. One or two hamstring issues is quite common on teams, but the rash of issues we had earlier in the season and in training camp definitely makes you wonder how thorough they do their job and the routines and training techniques they employ with the players.

That is not to say Woicik or any one person is to blame, but just like the coaching staff, there are certain expectations of the training staff as well. Sometimes, good coaches get replaced due to poor performance when it is not their fault, but the NFL is a results driven league.

/reality

[Illini88228]

Originally Posted by Idgit

I'd be interested in hearing what 'losing his training touch' might entail.

Exactly.

It cracks me up how much people here hate coaches. As long as they're someplace else, they're the best thing since sliced bread. As soon as they come here, all of a sudden they couldn't coach their way out of a wet paper bag. It's preposterous.

Woicik is still a good S & C coach. Just like Houck was still a good o-line coach and Parcells was still a good head coach, etc. People just want someone to blame and because they don't know what the real causes are, they blame the coaching staff in the name of "accountability" which apparently translates roughly to arbitrary blame for things that are beyond your control.

[Yuma Cactus]

Originally Posted by Rack Bauer

I think a big reason the cowboys have been so strong in the 4th quarter this year is Woicik.

Exactly.

[jobberone]

The risk factors for hamstring injuries is having muscles that are not long enough for the forceful action, prior injury, and imbalanced muscles. I think players should be properly hydrated but I don't know if that is a risk factor or not without doing some reading.

The staff should evaluate players regularly as to lengthening their tendons and muscles and to ensure proper balance between the quads and hamstrings. Players injured should be evaluated almost daily esp in the rehab phase.

It's not an easy task to maintain balance although I'm not up to date with the latest technology. You can still measure acceleration and repetition but there is an art to getting not only balance between quad/hamstring in one leg but also both legs need to be roughly equal.

It's always been easier for me to train my quads than hamstrings.

[Reality]

Originally Posted by Rack Bauer

I think a big reason the cowboys have been so strong in the 4th quarter this year is Woicik.

That is a very valid point. I know Garrett stressed that very point back in training camp. He said the team needed to be able to play a full 4 quarters and every game of the season.

If you look back in recent years, some of our seasons end fading can be blamed on conditioning, lack of sufficient depth and the inability to close out games or come from behind in games in the second half of the season. Say what you will, but there has been an improvement in that area this year.

I still say the training camp and early season hamstring issues were disconcerting. It may very well be due to the training staff relying more on players to do their part back then and later becoming more involved and aggressive in staying on the players after the outbreak of those rash of injuries.

/reality

[Picksix]

Originally Posted by jobberone

The risk factors for hamstring injuries is having muscles that are not long enough for the forceful action, prior injury, and imbalanced muscles. I think players should be properly hydrated but I don't know if that is a risk factor or not without doing some reading.

The staff should evaluate players regularly as to lengthening their tendons and muscles and to ensure proper balance between the quads and hamstrings. Players injured should be evaluated almost daily esp in the rehab phase.

It's not an easy task to maintain balance although I'm not up to date with the latest technology. You can still measure acceleration and repetition but there is an art to getting not only balance between quad/hamstring in one leg but also both legs need to be roughly equal.

It's always been easier for me to train my quads than hamstrings.

Hydration does play a part in it. Having enough water is essential for just about anything, and having proper electolyte balance is important because sodium and potassium are (in part) responsible for muscle contraction, action potentials, fiber recruitment...all that technical stuff.

But a lot of it is what you said about muscle balance and overall flexibility. For instance, the hamstrings and quads oppose each other to maintain balance at the hip and the knee. If the quads are too much stronger than the hamstrings, then the hammy's have to work harder to maintain that balance. When you sprint, the hamstrings are responsible for much of the power and drive. If they have to work harder than they really want to, they'll fail.

Another example is lack of lower back or hip flexor flexibility. This can make it difficult for the hamstrings to work through their optimal range of motion, thus again making them have to work harder than they want to. How much of this falls on the training staff, I'd say some. But the truth is, so many of these pro athletes have a lot going on outside of their team, especially in the offseason. Personal trainers, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, physical therapists, you name it.

[durrrr]

It's a violent game. Players get hurt. Doesn't have to be anyone's fault.

[RastaRocket]

I feel like the injuries this season are just bad luck. We don't really have any nagging hamstrings or anything of that nature. Everything seems to be the result of just playing a physical game.

[Risen Star]

.....



I'm sorry, I was distracted counting Woicik's Super Bowl rings. What was the question?