Galloway's motor won't stall

A reduced schedule and rigorous regimen help the receiver remain among the NFL's fastest.

By RICK STROUD, Times Staff Writer
Published September 21, 2007

Joey Galloway has stayed fast despite two ACL surgeries (one on each knee) and a torn groin sustained in 2004.
	[BRENDAN FITTERER | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [BRENDAN FITTERER | Times] Joey Galloway heads to the sideline after one of his two touchdowns Sunday against the Saints.

TAMPA - The thing about speed is it's supposed to be measured in short distances. That's what makes Joey Galloway's run as the NFL's fastest receiver for the past 13 years so amazing.

The calendar cannot catch up to him.

At 35, he shows no signs of slowing, not after consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.

Sunday against the Saints, Galloway left more defensive backs breathing exhaust with four catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns, one a 69-yarder.

On his first score, Galloway took advantage of a crushing block on the safety by receiver Michael Clayton before downshifting and coasting the last 40 yards.

"I knew that I needed to get to top speed and then enjoy myself," Galloway said.

"And once I was able to reach top speed, you get a feel for what's around you."

What Galloway is doing goes against conventional wisdom. Throw in two ACL surgeries, one on each knee, and a torn groin, and it's like winning a marathon in flip-flops. Not to mention he has caught passes from 16 quarterbacks, six with the Bucs.

"Somebody told me the number of quarterbacks, and it brought a tear to my eye," Galloway said. "I (didn't) want to know because it is comical."

What wasn't so funny was how coach Jon Gruden nearly extinguished the human torch when he arrived from Dallas in 2004.

Gruden had never had a burner such as Galloway, and he almost ran out of Sharpies drawing new plays. The result was Galloway tore his groin in the season opener and missed six games.

"It was my fault also," Galloway said. "I was excited. I came from Dallas. I was not doing a whole lot in the offense. ...He took me to Hooters. We started talking offense. And the crazy part is, the more he could draw up, the more I wanted it.

"I was like, 'Just give it to me.' They were like, 'Take a day.' I was like, 'Let me see what the offense is like first.' I would go down the script and say, 'Uh, I can't take a day. There's some good stuff on that script. I've got to get in there.' So it was sort of both of us."

The next offseason, the Bucs devised a schedule that gave Galloway Wednesdays off. Because players don't normally run on Monday and take Tuesday off, Galloway had three days to cool his jets.

"I can't even describe it," Galloway said. "A lot of guys look at that and say, 'Wow, I wish that was me.' And I say, 'Look, it took years - years - to get to this.' It wasn't like I walked into the league and started taking Wednesdays off. And I had to pay for it with a groin tear.

"But now it allows me to come out on a day like (Thursday) and get after it. We'll go hard (today) and recover, and I'll be ready for Sunday. So it's been great."

While rest has been a key factor, Galloway hasn't snored himself to 4.2 speed in the 40. He has a rigorous offseason training regimen four days a week with Nebraska strength coach Dave Kennedy. It started when both were at Ohio State, and they return to the campus every year.

"I go through a process - through the squats, the hang cleans, the sprints, the parachute runs - all those things I'm sure sprinters do," Galloway said. "Then there are days when there are a lot of cutting drills, the explosion stuff that you need to play football.

"No. 1, I don't get out of shape. A week or two weeks after the season, I'm working out again. And then my approach has always been to get better, to get faster, to get stronger. So through both ACL's, through the torn groin, the goal hasn't changed."

As Galloway left the locker room this week getting ready to not practice, 31-year-old receiver Ike Hilliard was asked if it bothered him that the Bucs' speed demon was handled like china.

"Joey can take the whole week off. I don't care," Hilliard said. "We know he's going to run by guys on Sunday."

Rick Stroud can be reached at stroud @sptimes.com.

[Last modified September 20, 2007, 22:31:50]