Cowboys counting on aging, injured Glenn
By JAIME ARON,
AP Sports
Posted: 2008-05-22 16:33:49
IRVING, Texas (AP) -As much as Jerry Jones wanted to add a receiver to help Terrell Owens and Tony Romo, he's struck out so far this offseason.
No free agents. No draft picks. No trades.
Instead, the Dallas Cowboys are counting on a comeback from Terry Glenn, who missed nearly all of last season because of two knee operations and wasn't on the field for the start of voluntary organized team activities this week.
Problem? Just proceeding with caution, said Jones, adding that he had "a good long personal visit" with Glenn on Monday.
"There is no medical reason right now that he couldn't come out," Jones said. "But ... we weren't going to ask him to win the Super Bowl out there. So that is a key. We don't want him to do that in training camp, but we do want him to get as much timing and as much work with Romo as he can. He's doing some receiving. And we want him to spend as much time with the young receivers as he can."
Glenn turns 34 the day before players report to training camp. Owens is 35, giving the Cowboys perhaps the oldest starting tandem in the league.
Dallas' justification is that Owens is in tremendous shape and that Glenn is still among the fastest players, even if he's lost a step because of age and injuries.
Glenn has played all 16 games only twice in his 12-year career. He's also had two seasons pretty much wiped out by injuries.
Last season, the problems began at the start of training camp. Surgery was needed, then on his first day back he was hurt again - leading to another surgery.
He recovered in time to play some in the season finale, but didn't catch a pass. He started the Cowboys' only playoff game and had two catches for 30 yards.
In Glenn's absence, Patrick Crayton emerged and Jason Witten set all sorts of club receiving records for a tight end. But neither are the deep threat Dallas needs to loosen up defenses.
Jones talked about acquiring someone else, but has spent his time and money plugging other holes. He's filled most, leaving this to the fingers-crossed belief that Glenn can pick up where he left off.
"In my mind there isn't a player out there in a given game or looking at looking at next year that could make a bigger impact to take some of the heat off of Terrell than Terry Glenn," Jones said.
"You may say, 'Well, shouldn't you be spending that much time and planning on another receiver or receivers?' We're going to do that too, we have to do that. But he's too valuable and has got too much of a chance to impact our offense to not put that emphasis on him."
Jones still has several months to make a deal, but it seems unlikely based on the disclaimers he threw out Wednesday - everything from the passing game being improved because they had upgraded the caliber of receivers at tight end and running back to saying newly acquired cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones could get spot use at receiver, if he's reinstated, of course.
"Not that I'm being defensive about it, and not that if there was any way I could improve this team I wouldn't do it, but I think we've added some punch to the offensive side of the ball," Jones said.
Maybe the best news for Cowboys fans is that Romo and coach Wade Phillips aren't worried about it.
"I think Terry Glenn is going to surprise a lot of you guys," Romo said. "He's taken the approach he's going to get healthy and when he does he will get back on the field. I assume, and I think he does, too, that he will be fine come training camp."
Phillips noted that Glenn has been working out in the team's offseason training program.
"He lifts a lot of weight with that knee and he's done well," Phillips said.
Thursday was the third day of Dallas' OTAs, wrapping up the first week. The club will continue going Tuesdays through Thursdays for three more weeks, then the following Tuesday to Thursday will be a minicamp. Then they'll shut things down for five weeks until opening training camp.
Until then, the Terry Glenn Waiting Game plays on. Will he take the field during OTAs? Minicamp? Training camp?
"I can't say anything," receivers coach Ray Sherman said. "I've had a chance to talk with him and we just have to wait and see what's going to happen."
