Still Guessing On Glenn

Eatman - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
November 16, 2007 6:18 PM

IRVING, Texas - Nobody likes to be asked the same question over and over.

It's bothersome when every other e-mail or phone call we've received on our radio shows here in the last few weeks pertained to the same subject.

What's worse is when you don't have the answer. In fact, you don't even have a clue.

So finally, I won't say I have all the answers - not sure anyone really does in this case - but I might have a clue.

At least I can say I have a better idea when wide receiver Terry Glenn will return from his knee injury this season.

And for now, let's go with "when" he returns. It sounds a lot better than "if" he returns, though right now, it still seems like a big "if."

The Cowboys are still unsure exactly when or if Glenn will make it back this season.

But just know if they didn't think there was a chance at all, they wouldn't be working so hard.

Regardless of what the media thinks or even what some of his teammates are able to see, Glenn is dedicated to coming back this year. If he wasn't, he would've had the microfracture surgery that likely will be needed at some point in the near future, and would've gone to injured reserve earlier this season.

Remember back in early September, just a month after Glenn had the first arthroscopic surgery to remove a tiny cyst from the back of his right kneecap, the Cowboys' receiver suffered a new, unrelated injury to his knee and went to Columbus, Ohio, to get another opinion. Glenn decided then he would have yet another surgery to remove loose particles from his knee, instead of the season-ending microfracture surgery.

Glenn made that decision because he wanted to play. While he hasn't said much here as of late, it still appears Glenn wants to play - this year.

While the wide receiver has made a career out of running away from defensive backs, Glenn is even craftier when it comes to dodging reporters.

He knows the time schedule of the open locker room and when the media is allowed to watch practice. Glenn has made sure he doesn't cross paths too often with reporters who will be asking questions that Glenn doesn't really have the answers to.

Glenn can't say when he's going to return.

Associate trainer Britt Brown, who directs all of the team's rehabilitations, can't give the answer either.

But what Brown can say is how dedicated Glenn has been, and how the rehab looks from his eyes.

"He's here three hours almost every day," said Brown, who has been with the Cowboys since 1996.

"Monday through Saturday, he's here for three hours. He's working hard. In my opinion, he's doing OK at this point. But we're just going to have to see how he progresses through the next phases of his rehab."

So what are those phases exactly? And just what has Glenn been doing here lately?

Well, he just completed a full week of jogging. The Cowboys are hoping he can progress to the treadmill on a consistent basis and from there, begin running outside.

At that point, Glenn shouldn't be too far from getting back on the field.

But this has been a slower process than usual, and there's one reason why: This hasn't been usual.

Every trainer in the NFL will tell you that no injury is the same. However, they've seen plenty of separated shoulders, torn ACL's, sprained feet and all that.

And they've seen their share of torn cartilage injuries to the knee, similar to what Glenn is dealing with.

But this is still a unique situation. Not just because of the nature of the injury, but Glenn's position and his age.

The 33-year-old receiver has been one of the best NFL players in the game for one main reason - his blazing speed.

That's not to say it's the only reason Glenn has had a great career. He has great hands, and even better concentration. And to play wide receiver in this league at 5-11, 196 pounds, he's got to be tough. Glenn may not live over the middle, but he'll go and he'll take his shots.

But make no mistake, Glenn is a speed demon and the only way he's going to be able to come back and be . . . Terry Glenn, is to be at full strength.

And that's the key word in this equation - strength.

This rehab has been about more than just making sure his knee is strong enough to withstand the pounding of running, cutting and physical contact.

Brown and the team's strength and conditioning staff has been working hard to make sure Glenn's entire body - especially his legs - are back to normal.

It all started with that first injury back in training camp.

I vividly remember standing on the sideline in San Antonio when Glenn gingerly walked up to the trainer after a play, pointed to his knee and said "I heard a pop."

That's never good to hear from a starting wide receiver. But for some reason, you didn't think it had the makings of anything serious.

In fact, it wouldn't have surprised me if Glenn had gone back to practice that day. So to be writing a column here in mid-November still wondering when or if he'll return at all is still surprising.

But that injury was the first domino in this process.

After the initial knee scope on Aug. 1, Glenn had more swelling in his knee than expected. While it usually takes about a week for the swelling to go down, it was closer to four weeks for Glenn.

That's not just four weeks with an oversized knee. That's a four-week vacation for all of your leg muscles as well.

And once Glenn finally did get back on the practice field, the week before the first game of the season, that's when he had yet another knee injury, this time resulting in a second surgery.

All this time, Glenn's quad muscles have been getting weaker.

So while his knee might be getting close to 100 percent again, the muscles that make Terry Glenn what he is and what he has been, are not there yet.

"It's taken longer, not only because of the problem he had initially and we're trying to get him as strong as we can, but he had a serious injury," Brown said. "He opted not to have the microfracture (surgery) because he wanted to try and play. But because of that injury, it's a serious problem he has to overcome. We'll have to see how he does."

So that's where the Cowboys are with Terry Glenn - they're seeing how he progresses.
They want to see what he can do. They want to see him start to run at full speed. And they want to see how he reacts from that.

Of course, they want Terry Glenn on the field. His teammates do, too. Even receiver Patrick Crayton, who has started every game this year in Glenn's absence, said he wants to see Glenn back soon.

"We still need him - that's an important component," Crayton said. "Just to have that extra threat that a team has to prepare for. If he's out there, you know what he's going to do."

If Glenn is out there playing, he's going to run.

And no matter what you think about how good this team has been, the Cowboys, and all NFL teams, can use a guy that can run like Terry Glenn.

Regardless if this football team is 8-1. Regardless if the Cowboys have the No. 2 offense in the NFL. And regardless if this offense is "great", as head coach Wade Phillips called it last week.

If Terry Glenn can get himself on the field this season and show any defensive back that he can run by them, that will make a difference. If he comes back for a game, he doesn't even have to catch a pass. The first time he runs by the cornerback and maybe the safety, too - just having that on film will be worth it.

Remember, this isn't just a wide receiver who can run. This is Terry Glenn. He's earned that respect. So if he comes back for the final couple of games or perhaps in time for the playoffs, he'll make people notice.

Opponents having to recognize where a speed receiver is on the field can open things up in the middle for guys like Crayton, Jason Witten and the running game.

So there you have it. Probably didn't provide as many answers on this situation. Definitely didn't, couldn't and still can't provide THE answer that everyone wants.

We just don't know "when" right now.

But if I had to guess, and that's all it would be is a guess, I'd say Glenn still has another month before he returns to action. Maybe he misses four more games with the possibility of testing it out against the Eagles on Dec. 16. While there's a chance the Cowboys might not have a lot to play for by then, it's unlikely they will have home-field advantage locked up for the entire playoffs until at least the last week of the season. So the guess would be that Glenn can come back, maybe for the last two or three games of the regular season. But if not, and he misses the entire regular season, it wouldn't be out of the question he would make his season debut in the playoffs.

Doesn't sound normal. Then again, this isn't a normal situation and Glenn has never been just a normal wide receiver.

Again, all of that is just a guess. That's all we can do regarding Terry Glenn right now.