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Glenn
Posted on Thu, Aug. 12, 2004
Once-controversial Glenn now flies under radar
BY JENNIFER FLOYD ENGEL
Knight Ridder Newspapers
OXNARD, Calif. - (KRT) - Terry Glenn has walked a mile in Quincy Carter's shoes.
He has felt what Ricky Williams was feeling.
Or pretty close to it.
Glenn did not fail a drug test, as Williams and Carter reportedly did this year, in 2001 in New England. He missed the test, which in the world of the NFL substance abuse program is treated as the same thing.
No delineation was made in the firestorm that followed. The stigma, hoopla and questions were the same and, having lived through it, Glenn can understand better than most why Williams would choose to walk away.
"Oh, I definitely did (consider retiring)," the Cowboys receiver said. "I went through a similar situation a while ago, though mine wasn't as direct. It was a point there where I felt like maybe if I just walked away from the game, all this stuff will go away. But the game wasn't really what I wanted to walk away from."
Glenn loves football, which is why Cowboys coach Bill Parcells loves him. He "gets it," to use a Parcells phrase.
Glenn is coachable, willing to do what is asked and singularly focused on winning. He does not quit and his work ethic is unmatched. He goes about his business with hardly any fanfare.
"That's pretty much how I always wanted it to be," Glenn said of his relatively low profile, which allows him to slip away after training camp practices virtually unnoticed.
"I was forced into that role (in the spotlight in New England) because of the round I was drafted and the success we had," said Glenn, the Patriots' first-round choice in 1996. "But right now this is who I am, a guy who likes to stay off the radar for the most part. Hopefully the defense will keep me off the radar a little bit until I run past them and catch a couple of touchdowns."
Not that flying low is difficult when the other two receivers among the Cowboys' top three are Antonio Bryant and Keyshawn Johnson. The former spent the off-season in the headlines for throwing a jersey in Parcells' face, while the latter is a lightning rod for attention. Everybody wants to know what Keyshawn thinks about everything, every day.Glenn, in contrast, is so low-key you almost forget he is on the team, except in games.
"I do not think people get him. His thing is, he wants to win," said Cowboys running back Eddie George, Glenn's teammate at Ohio State. "One of the first things he told me when I signed was, he was going to block his butt off for the backs this year."
Unlike in 2003, when Glenn was the slot receiver on third down and in three-receiver formations, Parcells has been using Johnson in the slot in camp. Glenn is on the outside, a much better fit for his skills. As Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre once said, Glenn makes running look easy, and in an offense short on speed, they need him on the outside.
"I just think that's a better spot for him," Parcells said. "He's not a big guy, and (the slot's) a heavy traffic area."
Which is not to say Glenn did not do well for himself there last season. He quickly became Carter's go-to guy. Johnson is simply a better blocker.
So how is Glenn doing in camp?
"Terry's good," Parcells said and then repeated it again. And again. And again.
Parcells barely talks about Glenn, even when pressed, which, if you study Parcells' talk, is a good thing.
The players he does not have to worry about, who have been around him before and do what he wants without being asked, are the ones he barely talks about. That is also why you probably won't see a lot of Glenn in preseason games. Parcells will get him just enough work to get him ready. Glenn is not worrying about the lack of repetitions, either. He knows Johnson is going to get his catches, Bryant is going to get his catches and he is going to get his.
"The real thing that Keyshawn and I have together, relationship-wise, is that I respect his game and he respects my game, and there are very few games that Keyshawn respects," Glenn said.