Glover Still Earns Respect After All These Years
Jana Wallis - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - The St. Louis Rams are headed here for Sunday's noon (CDT) match-up with the Dallas Cowboys, and arriving with them will be former Cowboys defensive tackle La'Roi Glover, returning to Texas Stadium for the first time since he was released back in 2006.
Glover returns with no hard feelings, but instead is looking forward to the reunion with some of his former teammates and the Texas Stadium fans who appreciated his play over four seasons.
"It's going to be a lot of fun," Glover said about coming back as the Rams' starting defensive tackle. "I'm doing my best to get my team ready and excited. It's going to be good to see some old faces and some of the old teammates."
Glover spent four seasons with the Cowboys (2002-2005) and earned four consecutive Pro Bowl berths, giving him six for his 12-year career. During his time with the Cowboys, Glover recorded 166 tackles - 124 of them solo - and 32 sacks. He moved from defensive tackle in the 4-3 defense to nose tackle his final season with the Cowboys to help accommodate the team's switch to the 3-4 defense.
Glover was released in 2006 when former head coach Bill Parcells decided he didn't fit into his 3-4 style of defense, needing bigger guys than Glover to play defensive end and much bigger to handle the nose in the 3-4.
Everyone might not agree with that assessment, including Glover.
"When I was [in Dallas], I played in [the 3-4] - I went to a Pro Bowl in it," Glover said in a conference call earlier in the week. "The style that Wade Phillips has brought [to Dallas], it's more of an attacking style. They're stunting guys; guys are on the move a lot. I think it would be a lot of fun to play in a system like that. I think I could play in a scheme like that."
So does Phillips, who was kind of surprised the San Diego Chargers didn't go after him in free agency last year since Glover is from San Diego and likely would have liked nothing better than to close out his career at home.
"I liked him, liked him when he was here," said Phillips, the former San Diego defensive coordinator. "I thought he'd fit in, in San Diego, but he was gone (in free agency) like that."
And why didn't the Chargers pursue him?
"Asleep at the wheel, I guess," Phillips quipped.
The Rams picked up Glover as a free agent instead, quickly inserting him into the starting lineup as the three-technique defensive tackle in their 4-3 defense. He picked up 34 solo tackles and 5½ sacks his first season in St. Louis, but the Rams value this 12th-year veteran for more than his playing ability.
"I think guys like [Glover] are the ones that keep you going," Rams head coach Scott Linehan said. "He's the first person to try to come up with solutions and ways of doing things that might be better and has the credibility, in my eyes, to do that. His worth on our team is well beyond his ability to play . . . it's to lead our football team and he's doing a great job of that."
And solutions are what the Rams are badly in need of as they meet the Cowboys. At 0-3, St. Louis is facing a 3-0 team without the help of starting running back Steven Jackson, likely three-fifths of its offensive line and starting cornerback Tye Hill. Starting quarterback Marc Bulger also is playing with two broken ribs.
But Glover, who has seen his fair share of tough starts and disappointing losses, isn't letting any of this bring him down.
"We are what we are," he said of being winless. "We're going to continue to work, we're going to continue to prepare, we're going to go out and do what professional football players do: Try to win football games."
Glover's knowledge of the game and his experience with different teams are some of the reasons he was one of Linehan's first acquisitions as head coach.
"He was one of my first signings because of his ability but also because of what I thought he would add to this football team," Linehan said. "He's the kind of guy that keeps it together when you're not doing well. He understands the NFL makeup and the season length and he's good for the young players who can get frustrated and discouraged when you've dropped a couple games in a row."
All of which is proving important now for the Rams.
But how long will Glover stick around to be the veteran leader?
Well, he isn't using the "R" word quite yet.
"I always said after 10 years I would take it one game, one year at a time," Glover said about the possibility of retirement. "I'm not even thinking about the 'R' word."
And that's a good thing, not only for the Rams but for the entire league.
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - The St. Louis Rams are headed here for Sunday's noon (CDT) match-up with the Dallas Cowboys, and arriving with them will be former Cowboys defensive tackle La'Roi Glover, returning to Texas Stadium for the first time since he was released back in 2006.
Glover returns with no hard feelings, but instead is looking forward to the reunion with some of his former teammates and the Texas Stadium fans who appreciated his play over four seasons.
"It's going to be a lot of fun," Glover said about coming back as the Rams' starting defensive tackle. "I'm doing my best to get my team ready and excited. It's going to be good to see some old faces and some of the old teammates."
Glover spent four seasons with the Cowboys (2002-2005) and earned four consecutive Pro Bowl berths, giving him six for his 12-year career. During his time with the Cowboys, Glover recorded 166 tackles - 124 of them solo - and 32 sacks. He moved from defensive tackle in the 4-3 defense to nose tackle his final season with the Cowboys to help accommodate the team's switch to the 3-4 defense.
Glover was released in 2006 when former head coach Bill Parcells decided he didn't fit into his 3-4 style of defense, needing bigger guys than Glover to play defensive end and much bigger to handle the nose in the 3-4.
Everyone might not agree with that assessment, including Glover.
"When I was [in Dallas], I played in [the 3-4] - I went to a Pro Bowl in it," Glover said in a conference call earlier in the week. "The style that Wade Phillips has brought [to Dallas], it's more of an attacking style. They're stunting guys; guys are on the move a lot. I think it would be a lot of fun to play in a system like that. I think I could play in a scheme like that."
So does Phillips, who was kind of surprised the San Diego Chargers didn't go after him in free agency last year since Glover is from San Diego and likely would have liked nothing better than to close out his career at home.
"I liked him, liked him when he was here," said Phillips, the former San Diego defensive coordinator. "I thought he'd fit in, in San Diego, but he was gone (in free agency) like that."
And why didn't the Chargers pursue him?
"Asleep at the wheel, I guess," Phillips quipped.
The Rams picked up Glover as a free agent instead, quickly inserting him into the starting lineup as the three-technique defensive tackle in their 4-3 defense. He picked up 34 solo tackles and 5½ sacks his first season in St. Louis, but the Rams value this 12th-year veteran for more than his playing ability.
"I think guys like [Glover] are the ones that keep you going," Rams head coach Scott Linehan said. "He's the first person to try to come up with solutions and ways of doing things that might be better and has the credibility, in my eyes, to do that. His worth on our team is well beyond his ability to play . . . it's to lead our football team and he's doing a great job of that."
And solutions are what the Rams are badly in need of as they meet the Cowboys. At 0-3, St. Louis is facing a 3-0 team without the help of starting running back Steven Jackson, likely three-fifths of its offensive line and starting cornerback Tye Hill. Starting quarterback Marc Bulger also is playing with two broken ribs.
But Glover, who has seen his fair share of tough starts and disappointing losses, isn't letting any of this bring him down.
"We are what we are," he said of being winless. "We're going to continue to work, we're going to continue to prepare, we're going to go out and do what professional football players do: Try to win football games."
Glover's knowledge of the game and his experience with different teams are some of the reasons he was one of Linehan's first acquisitions as head coach.
"He was one of my first signings because of his ability but also because of what I thought he would add to this football team," Linehan said. "He's the kind of guy that keeps it together when you're not doing well. He understands the NFL makeup and the season length and he's good for the young players who can get frustrated and discouraged when you've dropped a couple games in a row."
All of which is proving important now for the Rams.
But how long will Glover stick around to be the veteran leader?
Well, he isn't using the "R" word quite yet.
"I always said after 10 years I would take it one game, one year at a time," Glover said about the possibility of retirement. "I'm not even thinking about the 'R' word."
And that's a good thing, not only for the Rams but for the entire league.
posted by The Gryphon at 10:20 AM
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