McCarthy's Emphasis On Wellness Appears To Be Paying Off

Last offseason's changes seem to be working when it comes to the health of McCarthy's football team. 

Last year, Mike McCarthy went about making some major revisions to his offseason program when it came to the health and wellness of his football team. From hiring nutrition expert Adam Korzun to implementing very different practice schedules, which lead to a 42 percent decrease in missed training camp practices, McCarthy was on a mission to try to reverse the havoc injuries had played with his team over the last few years. 

Well, taking a look at FootballOutsiders' annual Adjusted Games Lost for each team during the 2014 season, a formula they came up with to attempt to quantify how teams are affected by injuries, it would sure appear that McCarthy is on to something. 

As pointed out to me by Warren Sharp on Twitter, the change in the Packers' position on the AGL chart is striking, to say the least. McCarthy's team went from the NFL's most injury-ravaged team in 2012, to the second-most in 2013...to one of the healthiest teams in the league in 2014. 

Obviously, there are a lot of factors at play here and the Packers didn't magically improve their health by incorporating smoothies into their diets.

But McCarthy's willingness to embrace new methods stands in stark contrast to Tom Coughlin's reported aversion to them and the results when it comes to the health of their respective football teams sure seem to suggest, at least early on, that the Packers are on the right path when it comes to limiting the amount of time guys spend in the training room rather than on the football field.

 

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Comments (5)

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

July 03, 2015 at 08:53 am

Health factored into the Packers' successful season last year. Seems like this new program is worth pursuing. Some regression to the mean can be expected, but that doesn't mean that the new ideas aren't working. Here's to a successful and healthy 2015 team!

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Big T's picture

July 03, 2015 at 11:36 am

I think the defense is staying healthy because they don't tackle.

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Since'61's picture

July 03, 2015 at 01:56 pm

Big T - that's brilliant! And a very legitimate conclusion. Sadly, you may be correct. The defense plays like it is illegal to make a tackle and has done so for far too long. Thanks, Since '61

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Since'61's picture

July 03, 2015 at 01:53 pm

MMs approach in reducing the # of injuries has had dramatic positive results. He needs to continue the program and put a qualified person in charge of not only maintaining the program but continually researching new and additional steps that can enhance the program. We are learning something new about health and welfare everyday and the Packers should not hesitate to incorporate new information into their program as appropriate. Thanks, Since '61

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jeremyjjbrown's picture

July 03, 2015 at 08:53 pm

I for one am happy about the reduced number of hamstring injuries the Packers had. Hopefully the hydration testing continues to help this one.

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