DMN Blog: Marcellus Wiley blames the 'Boys strength and conditioning for poor Dec's

[WoodysGirl]

Eureka!!! ESPN's Marcellus Wiley, a Cowboy in 2004, thinks he knows what's haunting the team and it's a theory you haven't heard before

5:00 PM Fri, Dec 26, 2008 | Permalink
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Marcellus Wiley doesn't think it's the coaches' fault that the Cowboys haven't won a playoff game since 1996. He doesn't think it's the players' fault, either. And no, he isn't blaming the owner and general manager. He's pointing the finger at strength and conditioning coach Joe Juraszek, who coincidentally joined the team in 1997.

Using one of his ESPN soap boxes, Wiley calls Juraszek "the common denominator" through the regimes of nice coaches and tough coaches who haven't won playoff games.

By the way Joe Juraszek take heart when you read this. Marcellus says you are a guy, "I personally love." Solace thy name is Marcellus. How Shakespearean.

Here's Wiley:

"...The strength and conditioning coach is in charge of filling up your tank, getting you in shape and also keeping you at a great level of physical conditioning so that you can make it through the tough part of the season which is December and January. It's not about coaching. It's not about T.O. It's not about Romo. It's about the atrophy of these muscles and the conditioning of this team."

How did the Ivy League educated Wiley come to that conclusion?

He said he thought it up in "my big brain" and "uncover(ed) the fact that there has been one guy in the building other than Jerry Jones that has been there since all these playoff troubles and it was the strength and conditioning coach..."

Wiley never said why he was so willing to let the owner and general manager who employs Coach Joe off the hook so easily.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

That is the dumbest thing I have ever read.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

That is the dumbest thing I have ever read.

Really. Parcells is a fanatic about his S&C coaches, and he said Juraszek was the best he ever had.

 

[Don Corleone]

I don't believe this for a minute. Parcells was a stickler for strength and conditioning, and yet, same results.

Marcellus, it's the players stupid. Not the coaches, not the scheme.

 

[TwentyOne]

Yeah someone posted the video of that. That was one of the most dumbest comments i have ever seen. Mr. Wiley tried to bring in something clever to get his career on track i guess something nobody brought up before. But it showed just him being very untalented.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

Well Jimmy Johnson's guy is in New England now, so it might have some truth to it...

 

[Hostile]

Well Jimmy Johnson's guy is in New England now, so it might have some truth to it...

That guy has 6 Super Bowl rings too, and came within an eyelash of a 7th last year.

 

[Don Corleone]

Well Jimmy Johnson's guy is in New England now, so it might have some truth to it...

I would hope that Pats success would have more to do with the talent they have on their team, and not the strength coach.

 

[jobberone]

I don't buy it as the common denominator. But there could be something to running out of steam. Doubt it but until we start doing better in Dec then there are going to be theories.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Well it's his opinion. I suppose he's entitled to that.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

Seems like a decent guess. If it were all the fault of Jerry Jones, why wouldn't we just always suck? We don't. We play well for the majority of the season the last few years and when it gets later in the year, we stop playing well.

Makes sense.

 

[ZeroClub]

Everybody has a theory on the Cowboys problems.

Maybe Marcellus Wiley knows what he's talking about.

Lord only knows that Wiley is very good at talking and at finding plausible excuses.

 

[rcaldw]

Who was the other guy who he said had been in the building through all those years? Find that guy and you will have your culprit.

 

[Hoofbite]

To what does Marcellus attribute his ****ty performance in Dallas?

Tell us a little about that, Dat Dude.

 

[bmf31]

Eureka!!! ESPN's Marcellus Wiley, a Cowboy in 2004, thinks he knows what's haunting the team and it's a theory you haven't heard before

This same thought crossed my mind last year!

 

[Monster Heel]

As healthy as the Cowboys have typically been, I have a hard time believing the Jurazek is bad.

 

[WoodysGirl]

Ex-Cowboy blames club's issues on strength coach

December 27, 2008 2:54 PM


Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Former Cowboys defensive end and current ESPN analyst Marcellus Wiley has come up with an interesting theory. He took a look at the Cowboys' playoff drought dating back to 1996 and decided that the one common denominator was strength and conditioning coach Joe Juraszek. Marcellus, who only played in Dallas for one season said he "personally loves" Juraszek, but it's tough to tell after reading the following quotes:

"The strength and conditioning coach is in charge of filling up your tank, getting you in shape and also keeping you at a great level of physical conditioning so that you can make it through the tough part of the season which is December and January," said Wiley on NFL Live. "It's not about coaching. It's not about T.O. It's not about Romo. It's about the atrophy of these muscles and the conditioning of this team."

Wiley said he "uncovered the fact that there has been one guy in the building other than Jerry Jones that has been there since all these playoff troubles and it was the strength and conditioning coach..."

Sorry, but I'm not buying this one. I've been around this organization for seven years and I've never heard a player question Juraszek's approach. In fact, he's been known to call players at all hours to make sure they're sticking with their diets. Even when players are off, he's on call to meet them for workouts at the facility. I know at least one member of the Cowboys' medical staff who was completely floored by Wiley's statement and was in the process of tracking him down. Juraszek has emerged as one of the most respected strength and conditioning coaches in the league. And Bill Parcells, a man who has a lot of thoughts on how players should condition themselves, was a huge fan of his.

I can point to several reasons for the Cowboys lack of playoff success (the search for Troy Aikman's replacement, poor drafts, poor coaching, etc.), but Juraszek is the last guy I'd point the finger at.


Cowboys-Eagles, Marcellus Wiley, Joe Juraszek, Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, Troy Aikman

Read comments or leave a comment

 

[theogt]

It's the receivers', the QB's, the owner's, the head coach's, the offensive coordinator's, the defensive coordinator's, the O-line's, and now the trainers' fault.

And somehow I think this is RW38's fault too.

 

[Maikeru-sama]

Off topic:

Wasn't Marcellus Wiley the guy Bill Parcells called into his office and asked him was he on drugs ?

The Cowboys problems in December have nothing to do with conditioning.

 

[silver]

if only the S&C Coach would make them mentally tough.