Cowboyzadam
08-28-2007, 10:25 AM
IRVING – Terence Newman has not missed a regular-season game in his four-year career. He is not sure he will be able to extend his consecutive games played streak to 65 when the Cowboys open the season on Sept. 9 against the New York Giants.
Newman has a small tear of his right plantar fascia, a band of tissue that starts at your heel and runs along the bottom of your foot. The injury will keep him out of Thursday's preseason finale at Minnesota, and the Cowboys aren't sure when their top cornerback will return to practice.
"I am going to try to be ready for the opener," Newman said. "That is the target date. I don't think I am going to miss the opener. If I am ready, I am playing. If I'm not ready, I am playing. I am going to do all I can to be ready."
Newman suffered the injury while practicing against Denver at Valley Ranch when his right foot slammed the ground. He did not play against the Broncos on Aug. 18. He was unable to practice last week, and additional tests detected the small tear.
Newman said surgery is not an option and that he would be better off if he had completely torn the tissue. He is wearing a protective boot when he sleeps so his toes remain flexed and the plantar fascia stretched.
Newman indicated he could be forced to take pain-killing injections in order to play.
"It's something that is going to be bothering me for the whole year," Newman said. "At the same time there is ways we can deal with it to limit the pain that I have right now. The problem that I have is that I can't plant on it. There is no way I can plant on my foot."
Wide receiver Patrick Crayton suffered from plantar fasciitis after the rookie minicamp in 2004 and need a little more than two weeks to be healthy.
"It feels like you're walking on a knife," Crayton said. "Every stride you take, it hurts."
Any prolonged absence by Newman would be a big loss for Wade Phillips' defense, especially after the performances of the backups in Saturday's loss to Houston. Newman also returns punts.
Newman's replacement, Aaron Glenn, struggled against Houston's Andre Johnson, though Phillips said they would have prepared differently for a regular-season game. Backups Jacques Reeves, Joey Thomas and Alan Ball failed to respond, too.
How Phillips uses safety Roy Williams in his scheme is dependent on Newman. Without Newman, the Cowboys might not be able to put Williams as close to the line of scrimmage as they would like.
"It's a concern when your corner who you put in man-to-man and trust him to cover his guy so you can help with other people is not out there," Phillips said. "There is not a whole lot I can do about it except work other people and get other people ready. That is what we will try this week, work other guys and see what they can do."
The Cowboys' search for depth at cornerback is not just at Valley Ranch. Every scout is responsible for a handful of teams during the preseason, and they will watch the waiver wire as teams make final cuts.
"You can never have enough corners," Phillips said. "That's a very hard position to play. Confidence is very important. Once a guy loses confidence or doesn't do well or whatever, sometimes they step back. You are always looking for those guys that can play."
But the Cowboys need and want it to be Newman. The best he can do right now is hope.
"We have only really gone through a couple of days of steady treatment," Newman said. "Once a week gets through, and we have been doing it, we will get a judge of how it's going to feel. Until we get a steady dose of treatment, I'm not going to know."
Newman has a small tear of his right plantar fascia, a band of tissue that starts at your heel and runs along the bottom of your foot. The injury will keep him out of Thursday's preseason finale at Minnesota, and the Cowboys aren't sure when their top cornerback will return to practice.
"I am going to try to be ready for the opener," Newman said. "That is the target date. I don't think I am going to miss the opener. If I am ready, I am playing. If I'm not ready, I am playing. I am going to do all I can to be ready."
Newman suffered the injury while practicing against Denver at Valley Ranch when his right foot slammed the ground. He did not play against the Broncos on Aug. 18. He was unable to practice last week, and additional tests detected the small tear.
Newman said surgery is not an option and that he would be better off if he had completely torn the tissue. He is wearing a protective boot when he sleeps so his toes remain flexed and the plantar fascia stretched.
Newman indicated he could be forced to take pain-killing injections in order to play.
"It's something that is going to be bothering me for the whole year," Newman said. "At the same time there is ways we can deal with it to limit the pain that I have right now. The problem that I have is that I can't plant on it. There is no way I can plant on my foot."
Wide receiver Patrick Crayton suffered from plantar fasciitis after the rookie minicamp in 2004 and need a little more than two weeks to be healthy.
"It feels like you're walking on a knife," Crayton said. "Every stride you take, it hurts."
Any prolonged absence by Newman would be a big loss for Wade Phillips' defense, especially after the performances of the backups in Saturday's loss to Houston. Newman also returns punts.
Newman's replacement, Aaron Glenn, struggled against Houston's Andre Johnson, though Phillips said they would have prepared differently for a regular-season game. Backups Jacques Reeves, Joey Thomas and Alan Ball failed to respond, too.
How Phillips uses safety Roy Williams in his scheme is dependent on Newman. Without Newman, the Cowboys might not be able to put Williams as close to the line of scrimmage as they would like.
"It's a concern when your corner who you put in man-to-man and trust him to cover his guy so you can help with other people is not out there," Phillips said. "There is not a whole lot I can do about it except work other people and get other people ready. That is what we will try this week, work other guys and see what they can do."
The Cowboys' search for depth at cornerback is not just at Valley Ranch. Every scout is responsible for a handful of teams during the preseason, and they will watch the waiver wire as teams make final cuts.
"You can never have enough corners," Phillips said. "That's a very hard position to play. Confidence is very important. Once a guy loses confidence or doesn't do well or whatever, sometimes they step back. You are always looking for those guys that can play."
But the Cowboys need and want it to be Newman. The best he can do right now is hope.
"We have only really gone through a couple of days of steady treatment," Newman said. "Once a week gets through, and we have been doing it, we will get a judge of how it's going to feel. Until we get a steady dose of treatment, I'm not going to know."