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Cimini: Jets' performance department undergoes shake-up, sources say

C Mart

By C Mart
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C Mart

C Mart

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The New York Jets' athletic care and performance department, created three years ago to combat a high injury rate, has undergone a shake-up in the aftermath of another injury-plagued season. Three experts hired to lead the department are no longer with the organization, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

Gone is Brad DeWeese, who was named the director of high performance in March 2021. Also gone are his top lieutenants -- Robert Sausaman, the assistant director of high performance, and Matthew Sams, the director of sports science.

A Jets spokesman declined comment, saying the team doesn't discuss the status of employees. The three departures weren't performance-related, a source said.

The Jets still have a performance department that utilizes sports science and supplies information to the football operation, but the usage of that information will continue to evolve over time. They haven't replaced DeWeese or Sausaman, according to the team's website, but they hired Alexander Carnall as the sports science coordinator.

After an injury-plagued 2020 season, the Jets studied the issue and decided to make a bold move by hiring DeWeese and creating a performance department. The objective was to improve player safety by consolidating areas such as strength and conditioning, nutrition, rehab and mental performance.

The Jets' 2023 season was defined by injuries, none bigger than quarterback Aaron Rodgers' torn Achilles on the fourth snap of the season. By the end of the season, the offensive line was decimated by injuries, which resulted in 13 different starting combinations. All told, 15 different linemen saw action. The Jets finished 7-10, ranking 31st in total yards.

After the season, general manager Joe Douglas discussed the injury problem. He said "certain injuries are unpreventable," adding the Jets have done "a lot better job in terms of [preventing] soft-tissue injuries."

But speaking of the line, he said, "Obviously, we've invested a lot of resources in that position. I know I've sat here and had conversations with you in the past about how much availability is of importance to this group, and for the last two years we've been banged up."

Addressing the line, the Jets acquired three veteran starters this offseason -- Morgan Moses, John Simpson and Tyron Smith -- and used their first-round pick on left tackle Olu Fashanu.

The Jets haven't made any changes to their strength and conditioning group, which is headed by Mike Nicolini. He was hired at the same time as DeWeese & Co. in 2021, Robert Saleh's first season as head coach. The Jets are 18-33 under Saleh, ranking among the most injured teams over that span.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/40109094/jets-performance-department-undergoes-shake-sources-say

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Falco21

Falco21

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I don't think some poeple realize it's not solely up to Woody to change to grass. The stadium is shared with Giants ownership. I remember reading after the end of last season that Woody has always wanted to change to grass but Mara does not want to due to the added expenses maintaining it. I tried locating that article again, but I'm having trouble finding it. 

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Ghost

Ghost

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I don’t know what they did or did not do, but they were awful. Ultimately, grass is needed but the Giants have to agree too and I don’t think they want grass. 

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rangerous

rangerous

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So let’s get this straight.  The jets are building a larger organization so it’s even more rule by committee?  Maybe not.  They obviously need to address this issue but maybe the first thing is to look for players who don’t have injury histories.  

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Larz

Larz

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They did get rid of the hammy epidemic.  
 

It used to be a huge department with multiple MDs.  Probably just a cost saving decision.  How many different ways can they say stretch hydrate and eat right for 3 years lol. This is the new group.  They still have sports science and rehab positions with the typical trainers and strength guys and nutrition programs 

 

looks like they also got rid of the mental performance position. She was the person they showed last year with Clemons during camp.  Not sure I agree with that. Very underrated aspect of athletic performance is mental state 
 

Athletic Care and Performance

Mike NicoliniHead Strength & Conditioning Coach

David ZuffelatoHead Athletic Trainer

Dr. Omar AhmadAssistant Strength & Conditioning Coach

Forrest HightowerAssistant Strength & Conditioning Coach

Thomas MyslinskiAssistant Strength & Conditioning Coach

Ezron BrysonAssociate Athletic Trainer

Bobby DaplynSenior Associate Athletic Trainer

Julia FordAssistant Athletic Trainer

Greg RosequistCoordinator of Rehab

Nicolette MenseTeam Dietitian

Alexander CarnallSports Science Coordinator

Kevin IversSports Science Fellow

Vaishwan DaveSeasonal Intern, Athletic Training

Grace KennedySeasonal Intern, Nutrition

Dalton LeightnerSeasonal Intern, Athletic Training

Melanie LouisSeasonal Intern, Athletic Training

Njeri RobinsonSeasonal Intern, Athletic Training

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Smashmouth

Smashmouth

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IMO when it comes to injuries and a performance department or physical trainers its all about the nagging soft tissue injuries that cause players to miss games or leave games early. I do not in any way blame them for season enders (as i have heard some allude to on youtube and other media outlets) because some of the greatest athletes in history have all dealt with season enders they are just unfortunate . Players twist, take a bad step, get your foot caught in the turf and  boom season over. 

When, however, players are constantly dealing with pulled muscles like hammy's I believe that is a big issue and we have also seen a lot of those as well, that could most of the time be attributed to condidtioning rather than the freak nature of season enders. I think our trainers have failed over the last 5 or so years in this department and I think it was a good idea to make a change.

When it comes to the turf which may be the bigger culpret when it comes to season enders the Jets from what we hear have been battling the Idiot Mara's on getting the turf changed which also brought up the possibility of the Jets having their own stadium in Queens and that would be a good step 2 . Start building that bitch NOW and when the lease with the idot Giants is up we can have our own field, our own Identity, and hopefully less injuries.

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Warfish

Warfish

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11 hours ago, jetspenguin said:

Fire the guy who makes the decision about NOT playing on real grass.

Sent from the FOREVER AND EVER Suicide Watch desk.
 

We can fire the Giants Ownership?

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BreeceHallofFame

BreeceHallofFame

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7 minutes ago, Smashmouth said:

IMO when it comes to injuries and a performance department or physical trainers its all about the nagging soft tissue injuries that cause players to miss games or leave games early. I do not in any way blame them for season enders (as i have heard some allude to on youtube and other media outlets) because some of the greatest athletes in history have all dealt with season enders they are just unfortunate . Players twist, take a bad step, get your foot caught in the turf and  boom season over. 

When, however, players are constantly dealing with pulled muscles like hammy's I believe that is a big issue and we have also seen a lot of those as well, that could most of the time be attributed to condidtioning rather than the freak nature of season enders. I think our trainers have failed over the last 5 or so years in this department and I think it was a good idea to make a change.

When it comes to the turf which may be the bigger culpret when it comes to season enders the Jets from what we hear have been battling the Idiot Mara's on getting the turf changed which also brought up the possibility of the Jets having their own stadium in Queens and that would be a good step 2 . Start building that bitch NOW and when the lease with the idot Giants is up we can have our own field, our own Identity, and hopefully less injuries.

15/30 stadiums use artificial turf 

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jetspenguin

jetspenguin

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17 minutes ago, Warfish said:

You offering up the $2.0 billion plus that's gonna cost?

If so, that's very kind of you, thanks!

Well if it was my team and/or I get to share in the billions of dollars in profit that this team rakes in off the backs of the paying fans while in over a decade not putting a winning product on the field then maybe I'd consider it.

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Alka

Alka

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11 hours ago, y2k8 said:

 

So they fired the entire performance department but it wasn't performance related?

Confused Always Sunny GIF by It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

I think they were giving a speech to the brass of the Jets, and they started the speech with "Ladies and Gentlemen", which as we all know, if offensive to people, and can not be said.  They were fired for this.  They should have said: "To all of our Friends in the audience" instead.

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