Sabin - Claiborne packs on the pounds

[mcnuttz]

Cowboys CB Morris Claiborne packs on the pounds so he can get ‘more physical’

By Rainer Sabin / Reporter
rsabin@dallasnews.com




IRVING — One of Morris Claiborne’s goals this off-season was to add weight to his lean frame. As a rookie, the Dallas Cowboys’ 5-11 cornerback didn’t exactly tip the scales at 185 pounds.
So, at the behest of secondary coach Jerome Henderson, he hit the gym and packed on some muscle that would allow him to better absorb the heavy contact he faces on a weekly basis during the NFL season.

“Now, I’m at 193,” Claiborne said.

Claiborne said he is getting used to moving with the added weight but is happy it’s there. He knows that in new coordinator Monte Kiffin’s scheme the cornerbacks will press receivers and will be required to defend the run — responsibilities that are sure to take a toll on Claiborne’s body.

“Anytime you’re out there playing corner you have to be ready, you have to be ready to tackle when the opportunity presents itself, so with me putting on a couple of pounds and getting more physical and being in the weight room I think is going to help a lot,” Claiborne said.

Claiborne, who played in 15 games as a rookie and recorded one interception as well as one forced fumble, is hoping to make a greater impact in his second season.

“I’m excited for him to work on his body and get stronger and bigger because he had to do that to get to the level that we expect him to play at,” Henderson said. “So he’s doing that work to get stronger and bigger and faster and then you come out here today and you see him start to move and he moves around really well. Again, I’m excited for his upside too. He just has to be stronger. There were times last year when he wasn’t strong enough to execute a certain technique, so he’s had to get stronger to do that and he’s done the work to do that.”

 

[boozeman]

This is why I hate this point of the offseason....fluff pieces talking about how so and so is bigger, faster, stronger...and then they do the exact same shit when the games start.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

This is why I hate this point of the offseason....fluff pieces talking about how so and so is bigger, faster, stronger...and then they do the exact same shit when the games start.

I actually get nervous any time I hear so and so packed on pounds. Unless you are a lineman I don't really want to see that. Felix wasn't any more bruising with an extra 20 pounds, he was just slower. I've never seen a skilled position player put on 20 pounds and then go, wow he really improved.

Now with 7-10 pounds hurt Claiborne? Probably not at all. But I seriously doubt it helps him at all. I could care less about the weight as long as he is actually getting stronger in the weight room. I'd rather hear about his bench press increasing or something silly like that.

 

[Bluestar71]

I actually get nervous any time I hear so and so packed on pounds. Unless you are a lineman I don't really want to see that. Felix wasn't any more bruising with an extra 20 pounds, he was just slower. I've never seen a skilled position player put on 20 pounds and then go, wow he really improved.

Now with 7-10 pounds hurt Claiborne? Probably not at all. But I seriously doubt it helps him at all. I could care less about the weight as long as he is actually getting stronger in the weight room. I'd rather hear about his bench press increasing or something silly like that.

This always seems to backfire, with the Cowboys anyway. Instead of getting bigger, faster, stronger, Cowboys players adding weight just seem to become slower and less explosive without adding any particular durability with their extra mass.

 

[Cotton]

Claiborne says getting bigger and stronger has made for a 'tremendous' offseason

Morris Claiborne had to do a couple of things this spring.

One, get bigger.

Two, get stronger.

So far, so good.

“I feel like I’ve had a tremendous offseason with getting in the weight room and trying to get stronger,” the second-year cornerback said Tuesday after the Cowboys’ first OTA practice at Valley Ranch. “Actually, I put on a couple of pounds. Last year, I was at 187. Now I’m at 193. So I’m just trying to learn how to move with that weight and just get comfortable.”

Claiborne and the Cowboys figure he can use the extra weight to become a stronger tackler, a skill that will be required more from the cornerbacks under new defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. Last year as a rookie, Claiborne never got up to speed with his strength because he spent the spring recovering from wrist surgery.

“There were times last year where he wasn’t strong enough to execute a certain technique,” secondary coach Jerome Henderson said. “So he had to get stronger to do that. He’s done the work to do that.”

Claiborne has known all spring about the physical style that will be required of him and fellow corner Brandon Carr. But he believes he is ready for it and feels confident as he enters his second pro season.

“I told someone the other day, I feel a difference when I pull up in the facility than I did a year ago,” Claiborne said. “I feel like nothing’s too much new to me. I expect everything how it was last year. We’ve got a couple of coaching changes, but nothing stopping. I’m just trying to continue to get more comfortable, continue to get more established in this system, so I can go out and play and have fun.”

-- Carlos Mendez

 

[Carp]

This always seems to backfire, with the Cowboys anyway. Instead of getting bigger, faster, stronger, Cowboys players adding weight just seem to become slower and less explosive without adding any particular durability with their extra mass.

I just think it is a natural progression for a young man. He is in a professional strength and conditioning program, makes sense that he is going to get bigger. The pounds are negligible IMO.

 

[ravidubey]

This is why I hate this point of the offseason....fluff pieces talking about how so and so is bigger, faster, stronger...and then they do the exact same shit when the games start.

This is not good, BTW, because Claiborne's biggest weakness is speed, not durability. His injury last year was a fluke shot to the face, and no amount of bulking up would have changed the result.

But extra bulk can make it harder for a CB to swivel and slows you down no matter what they say.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

This is not good, BTW, because Claiborne's biggest weakness is speed, not durability. His injury last year was a fluke shot to the face, and no amount of bulking up would have changed the result.

But extra bulk can make it harder for a CB to swivel and slows you down no matter what they say.

If it's only really six pounds I can't imagine it will impact anything too much.

 

[Carp]

ravid studies game tape and metrics. Those 6 pounds will alter life as we know it.

 

[ravidubey]

ravid studies game tape and metrics. Those 6 pounds will alter life as we know it.

I can't stand it when players add weight and claim to "not lose speed". It always seems to blow up in our faces ala Bradie James and Julius Jones.

 

[Carp]

6 pounds though, come on. He is probably much more fit now that he was last year.

 

[ravidubey]

6 pounds though, come on. He is probably much more fit now that he was last year.

I hope so. In my experience following football it seems to throw NFL players off their game whenever they are asked to play at a weight they aren't used to. Six pounds might not seem like a lot, but even four or five pounds can change the weight class of a boxer.

If it were a lineman or pass rusher I probably wouldn't care, but a CB relies on his speed and Claiborne was comparatively slow to start with.

 

[GForce78NJ]

I can't stand it when players add weight and claim to "not lose speed". It always seems to blow up in our faces ala Bradie James and Julius Jones.

Roy Williams, Felix Jones

Still though, its 6 lbs not 15