In Glenn They Need

impact, so wherever I'm at, I'm going to make plays." 

Every play, of course not. Cornerbacks don't make "every" play. But most plays? You bet, starting with the game-saving, end-zone interception on fourth down in San Diego. 

But you don't learn to respect a guy when things are going well. It's when they don't, and Glenn was intimately involved in those two fourth-quarter touchdown passes Washington completed to win the game. 

Glenn did not hide. Faced the music in the locker room afterward. In fact, hung out until he did so, putting the plays that not necessarily were all his fault on his shoulders nevertheless. Good guy. Better teammate. 

Same thing in Seattle. Tough, tough loss for the Cowboys. But he went out of his way to make eye contact with a loitering me waiting for him to finish dressing, saying first, "What's up?" an open invitation to talk. 

Again at Giants Stadium, with the Cowboys' locker room mostly vacant, excusing himself to finish putting on his shirt, tie and suspenders to his cool blue suit before he willingly faced the still awaiting masses. No matter the loss. No matter the ankle that had to be killing him. 

Which is another thing. The guy is a competitor, too, confident and unafraid of losing. Remember the deep pass he nearly intercepted late in the Denver game, the play he ended up coming down on his head and knocking himself a tad loopy? Well, he took one play off, mostly because he had to since the trainers came on the field to tend to him, and back he came for the third-and-eight. 

Well the Broncos, in this tie game with 55 seconds remaining, weren't no dummies. They saw what happened. And they remembered Glenn bit hard on an out-and-up Jake Plummer completed to Rod Smith for a touchdown early in the game. They tried it again, at Glenn, factoring the above for sure. Not this time. Glenn had that weak stuff covered, incomplete. 

Same thing this past blustery Sunday. Not only did Glenn intercept a pass in the end zone to snuff out a potential Giants scoring drive, he intercepted his second pass and returned to the Giants' 7 to set up the Cowboys' only touchdown. But in doing so, he came up lame, immediately grabbing high above his left ankle, and having to be helped off the field by the trainers. 

Good news, the Cowboys scored their touchdown from that 7. Bad news, they scored in one play, and within a matter of five minutes, after getting a little extra tape, here came Glenn off the bench, standing right next to Parcells, waiting for the defense to go back on the field as if nothing happened. Neither seemed to say a thing to either. They just knew. 

And like clockwork, first play, Eli Manning airs one out deep to Tim Carter down the right sideline. Glenn was fighting tooth and nail to run with Carter on that bad ankle that was in a walking boot and being MRI-ed the next day. Carter had him by a step, but dropped the over-the-shoulder attempt with Glenn coming down hard on him at the end. And on third-and-6 two plays later, here came the Giants at Glenn again, this time Manning throwing left to the much taller Burress. Glenn had him blanketed so well, Burress, at 6-5, resorted to shoving Glenn to the ground, resulting in an incompletion and declined offensive pass interference penalty. 

All lit up Glenn's words from the spring like a Christmas tree: "Wherever I'm at, I'm going to make plays." 

Now the Cowboys might be playing without Flozell Adams, Al Singleton and Dat Nguyen these days. And they still might be playing without Henry come Sunday in this even bigger game against Kansas City now that they are a game back of the Giants in the NFC East and muddled in a scrum for a playoff berth. 

But for my money, they darn well had better not be playing Sunday without one Aaron Glenn.   

MICK SHOTS