Offseason MVP – Jay Glazer?
Posted: July 24th, 2015 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 57 Comments »Go back and read a book about the NFL from the 1960s or 1970s. You’ll find out that even star players had offseason jobs. They might work in insurance or do some sales. A couple were actually lawyers. No one has time for that these days. The NFL is a year-round business.
Former Eagles DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy get a lot of notoriety for their partying, but even those guys put in plenty of work to stay in good shape. Some current Eagles are taking things to the next level in their pursuit of greatness.
Robert Klemko wrote a terrific piece for MMQB on Jay Glazer and the offseason training he does with NFL players, including Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz, DeMarco Murray and John Moffit.
A typical day at Unbreakable consists of an unorthodox hip-focused stretching session with David Honorel (inspired, he says, by the movements of bears, crocodiles, frogs and gorillas), speed training with Liggin, weight training with an emphasis on safety, MMA work including boxing, wrestling and hand fighting with Glazer, Evans, Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner John Lewis and former UFC stars Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture. Glazer co-owns the gym with Brian Urlacher and Lindsey Berg, an Olympic volleyball player who now plays professionally overseas. Their faces are painted on a gym wall with the word “Unbreakable”, but it’s Glazer who runs the show, transforming fighting drills into football drills.
And
John Moffitt, the former Denver Broncos guard and now potential Eagles starter, came to Glazer after a nearly two-year hiatus from the sport during which he admits to letting his body go to a degree. He weighed 283 pounds, down from his playing weight of 320, and had the biggest gut of his life. The initial sessions were exhausting. Today he’s back above 300 pounds and slimmer than he was at 283.
“You keep hearing him say, ‘neutral face’ or ‘get your hands off your hips,’ ” Moffitt says of Glazer. “It’s very annoying when you first start that, but after a while it makes you stronger. It makes you used to being tired and used to being in pain and you don’t fight it anymore so it makes you more resilient. It just stacks on itself, on itself, on itself, to where you become a stronger individual.”
Glazer’s training can have a major impact on the Eagles.
Lane Johnson has proven to be a good RT. But he wants to be special. Glazer has gotten Johnson into the best shape of his life and has toughened him up. Johnson is a gifted athlete for his size and now should be able to combine that with improved physicality and strength. He could become an outstanding RT this year.
Lane Johnson RT @thesauce54: @JayGlazer out of all the Eagles players u worked with over the summer, whos standing out the most?
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) July 24, 2015
Ertz is a gifted receiver, but he has struggled as a blocker in his first two years. You would have to think the MMA training would be a big help to Ertz’s blocking ability. He will be stronger. He will be more physical. Ertz will have a better understanding of balance and the importance of a good power base.
Brent Celek has been a terrific TE for the Eagles for a while, but Ertz is more talented. You want Ertz on the field more than Celek, but that can’t happen until Ertz shows he can be a reliable run blocker. Ertz made a terrific decision to train with Glazer. That is the best thing he can do (outside of contact football) to improve the big hole in his game. The sky is the limit for Ertz, if he can prove to be an every-down TE.
I don’t know that there is a specific hole in Murray’s game, but it is very encouraging that a player coming off his best season and after getting a mega-deal just paid his own way to go work his butt off to try and improve. That’s the mentality Chip Kelly is desperate to find.
As for Moffitt, he is the most intriguing player of all. He has 15 career starts, the same number as Matt Tobin and Andrew Gardner combined. Moffitt is in the best shape of his life and he is hungry to get back on the field. He’s not going to turn into a Pro Bowler, but if he could become a reliable starter, that would be huge.
BGN compiled some terrific Tweets from Glazer on Moffit.
“I have never been so proud of a guy I’ve trained than I am of John Moffitt. Retired two years ago bc he knew he had drug issues, took time to go to rehab, clean up his life, beat his demons and he has taken his life back! Guy inspires us every day. He came to me 3 months ago @unbreakable to train to take his career back. He’s become the favorite of every player in our gym. He officially un-retired today. Free agent starting guard. So proud of him to get here.”
“Amazing how this guy took his life back. He’s taught us in the gym a bunch about beating your demons.”
“In these past months Moffitt has been training with us we’ve also had guys like Steve Hutchinson, Shaun O’Hara & Jackie Slater come work with him.”
“Re: Moffitt, anyone who COMMITS to improving & righting his wrongs should be applauded. Life is about overcoming & improving. So proud of him.”
“Getting a little misty. Today we sent John Moffitt off to Philly. Three months of complete dedication. He showed us bad decisions CAN be overcome by better ones.”
Man, Glazer really feels strongly about Moffitt. That doesn’t mean Moffitt will pan out. It would be a great story and a lot of people will be pulling for Moffit, but the NFL is all about results. Pro football can be a cruel mistress. NFL history is full of feel-good stories that ended on the waiver wire.
If Glazer can get Lane Johnson to take the next step in his career and John Moffitt to become an effective starter, Jeff Stoutland just might be sending a Christmas card his way.
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As far as Shady and his party…ugh. Dumb. Usually women flock to football players. Why on earth would you throw a party like this, knowing the negative attention it can bring your way?
There is nothing illegal about this or anything like that, but it just seems like a poor decision.
Unless Jimmy Bama gets invited. Then I’m all for this.
.@cutondime25 Shady, can I go to your party? pic.twitter.com/rG9DeXIbg4
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) July 23, 2015
That poor cat…
_
I don’t know that there is a specific hole in Murray’s game
According to Randle, Murray couldn’t see any holes either…
Maybe Murray likes boneless meat?
I found a picture of Jimmy’s cat after it worked with Jay Glazer for a few months.
Brilliant.
ATG:
Well depicted.
Depicted? You date yourself. I believe the preferred term now is dejpeged.
…
Wow, picking one of those story lines to be most excited about is tough: the guy that knew he had something to fix, the guy who wants to go from good to great, the guy on top who wants to stay there, or the guy who is trying to reclaim his life.
At very least, I know I’ll be able to root for this team with a clear conscience.
In contrast to the Mayor of Dallas and Roger Staubach, both of whom will be ogida-stricken when the Hardyboys take the field.
The mayor of Dallas is Mike Rawlings — a native Bostonian.
He’s a Patriots fan.
I cannot picture the Mayor of Dallas ever admitting he’s a Patriot fan, even if he is. He did call the Hardy signing “a punch in the gut,” and he was actively campaigning against domestic violence well before that ignominious signing.
Finding out that OBJ works out there tells me more why Chip coveted him so much. He wants to be the best there ever was.
Obj is the wr I loved watching the most in college the last few years
I had an argument with a friend of mine last night about ODB, he’s a Cowboys fan (no one is perfect) and I was saying I think outside of megatron ODB is going to be the best WR in the NFL, and he is going to terrorize the NFC East for years. He thought ODB was just overrated.
Considering ODB missed almost all of training camp and the first 4 games and put up those kind of stats his rookie year, I am convinced he’s on his way to a top 3 WR career. Shame we couldn’t get him.
IMO, OBJ and Jarvis Landry were probably 1a and 1b when it comes to having the best hands for a WR recently. Those two just practice making ridiculous one handed catches with each other and it shows up on the field.
It’s kinda early to tell if OBJ can continue his ridiculous production but he has like a 89% chance of going to be dominant if he remains injury free. It’s a good time to be a QB and fan since the WRs are evolving to be such freaks these days (it’s a shame that we don’t have our own freak WR).
Any reports on the players from other teams who trained with Glazer?
Yes. Some names don’t make me feel better like Odell Beckham, Justin Pugh, and their DT. 1 Redskins player and no Cowboys players. Outside of that some names make sense, Calais Campbell and Joique Bell. Still looking for an extensive list.
http://mmqb.si.com/2015/07/23/jay-glazer-mma-training-nfl/
I don’t expect Moffit to be a Pro Bowler, I won’t be surprised if he can’t manage to start. However even if he does manage to play at a Herremans level of play of 3 years ago that is a HUGE boost to this line.
If you look at what Moffitt did as a starter when he was still drug-addled, considering it takes over 16 games to develop as an NFL OL, he projects to be a average to above average starter based on all this stuff we’re hearing.. projecting and doing are two different things. I am rooting for him to start. It’s ironic that Mathis left the team trying to be the highest paid OG, and Moffitt joined the team trying to be the lowest paid. Tho he wants a prove-it year, since he took a pay cut to come here he’d surely want to re-sign. The top 4 OL are signed long term, and the UDFAs and last years PSers are signed for three years, but everyone else (Tobin, Kelly, Gardner, Molk, Moffitt) are essentially on one year contracts. They really don’t have developmental depth because they haven’t drafted OL, but Moffitt seems the most long term of the one year guys.
Mathis didn’t leave though. He was shown the door.
HE had been asking to see that door for two years and no other team wanted him. He made his own bed and now he’s sleeping in it alone without a job!
he’ll have a job, it’s just a matter of exploring for the best deal. He’s likely looking for his last big multi-year deal. The question is just whether he’ll get more than he was getting here.
Sleeping in his bed alone? He should throw himself a party!
with only females too. it could be the beloved Eagles that are now hated because they aren’t Eagles anymore party.
Tobin has 2 cost controlled years left
That’s a good point. I forgot that he made the team as a rookie rather than spending time on PS. Every team is going to sign UDFA OL so it’s not particular to do so, but maybe Chip Kelly likes the UDFA route for this reason. Dennis Kelly is in his walk year before he’s had an extended trial. I hope you’re right about Tobin and I’m right about Graham.
3 of the top 5 UDFA bonuses went to OL, 4 if you count Tomlinson.
Shady is a public figure who does not grasp the fact that he is a public figure.
Also. Besides his disdain for half the human race, he appears to have developed a constant need for attention and he seems to have become more and more childish as the off-season has progressed. Kempski was right to draw him with that Tonka truck. ;~D
It says in the article that Shady has a publicist, I presume paid. That guy saved himself the cost of a strategic communications degree by learning how to say ‘yes, Shady, that’s a great idea.”
& then did he pay a lawyer to tell him a confidentiality waiver would protect him from a criminal or civil complaint filed by a party guest?
The hole in Murray’s game would be staying healthy over the course of 19 games.
[…] Offseason MVP – Jay Glazer? – Tommy Lawlor of IgglesBlitz.com […]
Apparently old “spray tan” never saw a hole he didn’t like…
I wonder if the agility and hip work will make moffitt better in space than he was before. That was his biggest knock right? He looked decent to me but I am pretty bad at talent eval and only watched the highlights.
I would think yes, and that goes for all the athletes training there. They have some standard classes, but I think they might tailor some of the 1-on-1 work to fit who they’re working with.
It’s great to hear about Ertz, Johnson, Moffit, and Murray – but I need to hear about Maxwell, Carroll, Thurmond, Jenkins, or Rowe there – because ODB working on his game is scary.
Well Carroll has allegedly had “maybe the best offseason out of anyone up to this point”..
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Thurmond Allegedly makes plays all over the place and has always been around the ball whether it’s PBU, INT or even stripping the ball at the end of the catch…. Considering Thurmond is playing a New position, if he is really a
Ways around the ball so soon in his transition to safety THATS a very promising sign.. of course we are probably starting to rule out Wolff too soon, at least I hope,
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As for Byron Maxwell, I don’t need to hear a damn thing about him other then he is healthy and ready to go…. That dude was as battle tested as we could ever hope to get from a free agent CB… It’s is good tho to hear guys like Barwn and the Pope raving about how Maxwell “is exactly who they thought he was”……ROWE is interesting, very Talented, sounds like a smart young DB, but I really have No Love for rookie Corners.Id really prefer not seeing him. But I hope he makes it impossible for the coaches to keep him on the bench which would be a great sigń…. But I also do believe in guys like Nolan Carroll and Thurmond to perform better then just someone who is babysitting the spot waiting for ROWE to grow up, I do think these guys are Capable of forming a better Secondaey then most seem to think… I hate,rookie corner, I mean I really hate them,, but I’d love,ROWE to prove me wrong.
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ODB is a great player, but he is one Giant.. I can’t say they have any other players I fear. As for ODB, he is awesome, but he needs to prove he won’t spend half his career on the injured list
I agree with you GEAGLE.
I think Carroll has earned the trust of the coaches as they have raved about him putting in the work in the off season to earn a starting corner position.
I think Maxwell will perform better than we could have hoped for and our entire secondary will be considerably improved to the point where we are considered a top ten defense by seasons end.
In fact, I won’t be surprised if they are top 5.
I say this with the understanding that we have had huge upgrades in the secondary and also bolstered our LB’er position with the addition of Kiko Alonso, who just might turn out to be our best off season trade, unless Bradford plays at the level I think he will.
Not just the secondary, but also promoting Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry seeing more playing time will also reap huge benefits as the season unfolds as well.
I am so excited about this whole team and I really believe this could be our year, more than I have in all my years as an avid Eagles fan.
That and just pure dedication to his body and craft in which he seemed to not have before. He is reportedly lighter (in a good way) then when he played in Seattle so that should give him added mobility.
As recently as last night I commented on how I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t even start, and on the other side of the spectrum I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes an effective starter for us. I am hesitant to be really optimistic regarding him just because normally situations like this in the NFL don’t usually work out. On the other end I am optimistic because if he was a solid starter in Seattle it may make sense to think he may once again be one with us now that he is fully dedicated to football.
Yeah, I have been saying this all along that Moffit will start ahead of Tobin.
I expect that he will have a lot of success due to the fact of the players who will be lining up on either side of him.
We are going to BEAST this season and our running game will not be stopped, even if the box is stacked.
We are going to rip this division to shreds. Just watch
and see. Go Eagles !!!
can’t wait until the season begins
Jimmy Bama could mention to Shady that he hasn’t broken his confidentiality agreement with Marlon Favorite.
Ha. Great point!!!
Reading that article on Jay Glazer with all that focus on that violent indomitable mentality and violent hand fights and all that, it just seems like the distilled essence of football. Mix that with the off season top 100 lists from nfl network and various independent writers, and it’s had me thinking. It kinda bugs me that it’s such a QB weighted approach. No QB’s train with Glazer, because they play a different game almost. They are specialists with a rare skill, like kickers, except QB’s touch the ball every play and the league has become a passing league so those skills are in hyper-demand so the concept of value goes off the chart. Now obviously it’s not right to compare a QB to a kicker, they are usually team leaders, they take hits (though there are fewer and fewer ways to hit a QB as time goes on) and are a core piece of football’s identity. I don’t mean to pick on QB’s, there are just times I wish the nfl weren’t as QB-centric as it is though.
Maybe that’s just that Philly DNA that loves players like Dawk (I could imagine Dawk scaring people in that gym) and those early 90’s defenses.
Props to you Mr. LAwlor for being one of the few eagle sites that didn’t whore themselves out due to the July Football vacume and post the football equivalent of the “Caitlen” story, of chip being married in the past…laughable how many football posted that insignificant TMZ Crap…
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Glazier has been doing great work with Football players, and MMA fighters for years.. Even before Glazier there was little doubt in my mind that at the end of this next season “Bane” Johnson would be nationally recognized as the best Right Tackle in the game, combining with The Boss Hog JP, to have two of the badest bookend Mofos in the game, Kicking ass and taking names, helping out our New Guards….so much talk about unexperienced Guards, and not enough Talk about the Tackle DOMINATION that will be on display on both sides of the Line, with the Crafty Athletic VIKING. KELCE running the show providing support to whatever Guard needs it…. Our Line will be more then fine..
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Glazier has been a big supporter of Demarco for years, often raving about how Murray is one of the most football intelligent RBs in the game which is why OTs pretty Obvious that chip would love that Guy… since arriving he has taken leadership over our Veteran RB room and has us all trading notes after every practice…Recently Sanchez was gushing about how he is like the Incredible Hulk of RBs in the weight room… Really looking forward to seeing that man Run behind unbalanced line of Lane Johnson lining up next to Jason Peters….Ryan Mathews is one Of those players I hated when he wasn’t an eagle..Im excited about what he brings to the table and how he can fit with Murray and Sproles, but I’m hesitant and hoping he can help me shake soft image I have of him… Physical RB so it’s not that he has ever been soft, I guess I just felt like he underachieved for how good he could really be. Hopefully a smaller supporting Role allows us to maximize his strengths and eliminate the weaknesses (injury, fumbles at bad times)…
ERTZ may have not broken out to our expectations last year, but it should pay off in the long run that ERtz is having to work so hard to get on the field since arriving here, instead of a talent like him getting the SIlver spoon treatment as soon as he was drafted,.. he KNOWS catching passes isn’t enough, we won’t allow it to be, He is being held to hire standards and it should pay off in a big way, Since we have basically kept this talented young weapon HUNGRY still going into year 3…..With His elite level athleticism, pass catching/Route Running Polish, once he gets his blocking at an elite level he will be one of the most dangerous weapons in the game,,,
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Once we get to the point where Like Celek, he will SMASH YOU in the run game, and defensive Coordinators have to account for his threat to block you, it forces Defnses to play with an extra Linebacker on the field, and that’s when we get to split Ertz out into the slot, and his threat to block basically awarded him a matchup in space against a Linebacker for him to Feast on…..We need to get to the point where Ertz is an Elite “Pick your Poison” type of unstoppable weapon. Put a Safety on him, and smash them in the run game, put an extra linebacker in the game and split him out wide or in the slot and he should beat any LB in space…..
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Ertz growing into a quality Blocker will provide him better match ups to feast on in the passing game. As his blockimg improves he will grow into the Elite Pass catching TE he strives to be… He Certainly has all the talent he could ever hope for, he seems to have the work ethic and he is being a sponge soaking Knowledge from the Likes of Celek, the best blocker at his position, Glazier and the MMA training, elite Blocking coach from the Cowboy, this kid even cold called Tony Gonzales on his quest to grow into a Monster for year 3… When you have the Takent, and you put in the work, with the right guidance and coaching, it’s going to pay off,,, Hard work is generally rewarded.. maybe talented TEs like Travis Kelce worked as hard as Ertz, but I doubt anyone out worked him.
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Can’t wait to see it all pay off for the talented Thoroughbred,,,Bradford and Ertz could be a dangerous Combo. bradford throws a gorgeous ball down the seam.
I haven’t actually seen the statistic, but I do bet that he is the only TE in the NFL that compiled 700 yards while playing such a low percentage of the snaps. Wouldn’t surprise me if that stat not only stands for last year but plenty of years prior with maybe Hernandez as the only other exception. Again I’m not sure about all of that, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
As far as his blocking I don’t think he will ever be a TE that will consistently smash opposing defensive players. He just doesn’t have the body type for it like Celek does. I believe he can be an effective blocker using his long arms and good technique to keep defenders off of him.
PT can be deceiving. Low percentage of snaps can still be a high percentage of passing plays. That said, being in on more runs will help both him and the O.
Very true, but I do think there is something to be said about that. At the same time when he is in there the D knows it is going to be a pass so they gear up to stop it.
Every DC in the NFL would love to have an athletic TE stay in and block. Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski not catching passes is a win almost every time.
Tell that to the Colts. 😉
“Via the Associated Press, Cardinals rookie receiver Damond Powell was wounded by gunfire outside his home in Toledo, Ohio on Friday evening.
According to the Toledo Blade, Powell was shot in the face. Three suspects were seen in a gold vehicle, wearing masks.
According to police, the undrafted free agent was in his driveway when shots were fired from a car. Police said the injuries do not appear to be life threatening.”
Literally can’t imagine what life is like for some of these guys.
I really respect Glazer and what he is doing with these players, as he only trains the players who are looking to achieve the highest level of both physical and mental fitness.
He is teaching players to tap into their darkest and most insane parts of their minds and how to channel that insanity into each battle they will face on any given down.
You always see players who are very talented but they don’t have that killer instinct mindset and get beat by the guys that are willing to gouge out their own eyeballs to win on any given down, so to speak.
I will bet anyone that Lane Johnson is going to reach the Elite level this coming season and he will be more dominant than he has ever been.
I see the majority of our running game being focused on him grading the road over 75% of our running plays this coming season.
I can’t wait to see when defenses start stacking the box and we run some play action and Sam hits wide open receivers with laser precision passes that seem to be shot out of a cannon.
I really feel that this offense could put up historic numbers from a “points scored”, standpoint.
I predict at least eight games where we put up at least 50 points.
This season could be one of the most memorable seasons we may ever witness as Eagles fans IMO.
This will be the team to beat by mid season and the most feared team by the end of this season,
When we play Dallas, I want to see domination more so than any other team, just to shut the collective mouths of all those front runner fans and show then that letting Murray go to the Eagles was the biggest GM blunder in NFL history.
Now that would be something we can all appreciate.
wow, you have the right mindset, but other teams are out trying to improve to. Every team has stories of guys doing crazy training to get ready.
Very true, but not every team has a player like Lane Johnson, who comes in at 6’6, and 317 pounds of muscle who is just 25 years young.
Not many players have a resume’ like his either.
He played QB in his high school days then moved to the defensive line in College and transitioned to Offensive Tackle and played so well that it allowed him to be selected as the fourth overall draft pick in the 2013.
He was already considered the best O linemen in that years draft even though two other O linemen were picked ahead of him.
Instead of being satisfied with all those accomplishments, and after making a boatload of cash, he could have taken a vacation in this off season and rested in Hawaii or some other tropical destination.
But he did not aspire to be just another good player, or even a great player for this Eagles team.
He aspires to the the greatest Offensive Tackle that has ever played the game, as his actions have spoken louder than any of my words.
Keep your eyes on Lane “Big Country” Johnson this season, as I am completely sold on the fact that he will achieve his pursuit of greatness and will help this team reach historic heights that the Eagles have never experienced since becoming a franchise.
Yes I am extremely high on Johnson’s ability and I truly believe he has elevated his skill level to the “Elite” status that will soon be acknowledged by whoever lines up across from him this coming season and NFL media pundits alike.
I dunno. There’s tremendous talent on every NFL roster. Every fan can look at their team’s roster and find more than a couple guys with great resumés and otherworldly measureables.
That’s taking nothing from LJ. It’s just that the league is populated with the best football players on earth.
Shady can pay women to party with him and his posie. This about him being so cheap he wants them for free. Good thing he cancelled the party because those “free” women might have been treated like they were paid for.