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Josh Ellis - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
January 5, 2010 5:02 PM
IRVING, Texas - When Marc Colombo broke his fibula and suffered a high ankle sprain against Green Bay in November, a number of his teammates came by to shake his hand in the locker room following the game.
The Cowboys at first believed he would be out for the season. Last week, with his rehab from ankle surgery winding down, Colombo's fellow offensive lineman were giving him a hand again, this time applauding in unison as he stepped onto the field at Valley Ranch for the first time in six weeks.
On Tuesday Colombo practiced for the first time since the injury. After nearly two months of recovery, the Cowboys plan to reinsert him as the starter at right tackle in Saturday's wild card playoff against Philadelphia.
"It seems like forever," Colombo said. "I started doing on-the-field stuff two weeks ago. And I had sort of mini-practices last week, three in a row to kind of build up my stamina, and we're going at it this week pretty good. . . . I had a target date of the last game of the season or first game of the playoffs. There wasn't one point when I said I don't think I'm going to make it, it just worked out just right."
Colombo takes over for third-year tackle Doug Free, who has played well in relief duty. To regain his job, Colombo had to shake off any rust which might have accumulated with the layoff, and get himself back in shape.
"Everything is about the work you've put in beforehand," Colombo said. "Maybe some of those problems will arise - I'm not saying they won't. But me and our athletic trainer Britt Brown and Joe Juraszek, our strength coach, have been working to kind of do stuff that's going to be relevant to what I'm about to go do.
"We did a lot of football stuff as far as rehabbing. We've been going at it pretty good and I've been working really hard to make sure the transition is going to be as successful as possible."
Colombo may have to play through some pain, though he is regarded as one of the Cowboys' toughest players. A first-round pick of Chicago in 2002, he battled knee trouble early in his career but has become a mainstay on the Cowboys' offensive line, starting as the right bookend since the beginning of the 2006 season. He inked a four-year, $22 million contract extension with the team on Dec. 8, 2008.
After playing in only 23 games during his first four years in the NFL, Colombo had started 57 straight for the Cowboys until Packers defensive lineman Johnny Jolly fell into his left ankle. Colombo was taken off the field on a cart, and had to spend several weeks in a walking boot after surgery. The 31-year old said the injuries early in his career might have given him some perspective in dealing with his latest.
"The stuff that's in the past is in the past," Colombo said. "But as far as rehabbing, you kind of have a better idea how to go about it. Hopefully it will be very successful."
As the games get tougher in the postseason tournament, the Cowboys are hoping Colombo's celebrated nastiness can help. While Free may be more athletic, and graded highly in several games, the 6-8, 318-pound Colombo, and his brawling style, are being welcomed back.
"Doug's played excellently, I think his play speaks for itself," offensive line coach Hudson Houck said. "I think he'll be a starter in this league. He's proven that, he started for a number of games and did extremely well, we're very pleased with what he's doing. We're happy to have Marc back. Marc is a great leader on our offense, and what he brings to our team is hard to measure."
Since Colombo won the starting job in the '06 preseason and left guard Kyle Kosier signed as a free agent the same year, the Cowboys have had relatively few injury troubles along their front five. The same starting unit combined for only two missed starts their first couple of season together.
Kosier missed all but three games in 2008 with foot injuries, though, and the group seemed to suffer from a lack of continuity. They haven't appeared to miss much with Free in the lineup for the entire second half of the season, essentially. A fourth-round pick in 2007, Free gives the Cowboys confidence in their tackle depth, something Jerry Jones said he wasn't sure about before the season.
Right now, though, the Cowboys are happy to have their starter back.
"Dougie's done a good job," Colombo said. "He's got a bright future ahead of him. He's a good young tackle and he's versatile, and I appreciate him coming in and doing his job. . . . We've got a tight offensive line group and if any one of us goes down it's a big deal. They've been very supportive and I'm just excited to get back out there."
