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Well, the Saints are not contenders as projected to be. The Colts ripped the Saints for 41 points, complete destruction and a complete meltdown by Drew Brees. So, now that the NFL season is officially underway, we can get to more pressing matters - Terry Glenn.

DallasCowboys.com had two articles earlier the first reporting that Glenn suffered a knee injury and that he would miss two games maybe more, soon after that, an updated article appeared and stated Glenn was lost for the season and stated:

Jones said Glenn’s knee injury is similar to that of former Cowboys center Al Johnson, who missed his entire rookie season in 2003 following microfracture surgery.

“You hate to see this with one of your top players and we need all of those we can beyond the field,” Jones said. “”It’s a real blow for Terry and for us.”

Then the mystery began, because after that, the story reverted back to the whole “2 week or more” article. Either way you cut it, its bad news for Glenn and the Cowboys.

The latest news being reported states that Glenn does in fact have a knee injury, and could be serious. The DMN states:

According to several sources, the veteran wide receiver reinjured his surgically repaired right knee and will miss one game, if not more. Glenn’s agent, Jimmy Gould, said no decisions have been made, and Glenn will seek advice from several doctors.

The key here is the whole seeking advice from several doctors. This leads me to believe the first diagnosis is bad, and Glenn wants some second opinions. Glenn has a history of injury, and if this ends up being a microfracture in the knee, then that’ll be all she wrote, career ender, especially at 33.
So what is a microfracture injury? You can read more here

Typical recovery time varies by age and sport:

Current studies have shown a success rate of 75 to 80 percent among patients 45 years of age or younger, even among professional athletes.[3][5] With the help of physical therapy, patients can often return to sports (or other intense activities) in about 4 months. However, this is a best-case scenario and depends on the severity of the cartilage damage (and any other conditions existing in the knee). Normal patients and professional athletes who play at the highest level however are quite different, as Chris Webber, who underwent the surgery, has stated that a full recovery in 4 months is nearly impossible. Webber returned to the NBA eight months after his surgery but did not feel “like himself” until a few years later.

Its gonna be Hurd time, and Crayton will have his shot to really prove is worth in his contract year this season. It’s been a very active preseason in Dallas, lets hope for some good news somewhere soon…

You can cross Terry Glenn off the Giants game, he’s developed a new injury, his knee. Great. Just Great. No reason to get too uproared; however, this is very disappointing and basically takes out the speedy deep threat Glenn brings to the table.

IRVING, Texas - Three days before their regular-season opener, the Cowboys learned wide receiver Terry Glenn’s problematic right knee likely will force him to miss two weeks and possibly more, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones said late Thursday afternoon.

Glenn missed all of preseason after having arthroscopic knee surgery Aug. 1 to remove a tiny cyst from the back of his right kneecap. The 33-year-old receiver returned to practice Wednesday but sat out Thursday because of what Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips described as swelling in his knee.

Without Glenn, the Cowboys would have to rely even more on Terrell Owens, fourth-year veteran Patrick Crayton and second-year veterans Sam Hurd and Miles Austin. Crayton started three preseason games in Glenn’s place, with Hurd entering the lineup in three-receiver sets.

The Cowboys also have rookie Isaiah Stanback, but the fourth-round pick is more of a developmental player making the transition from college quarterback. (DC.com)

I expect to see Hurd and Romo connect on some key drives, these two have chemistry, Crayton will also supply some support in the slot.

Now, in regards to our All-Injury Prone Team:

1. Kevin Burnett

2. Marcus Spears

3. Terry Glenn

4. Anthony Henry

Its a miracle if any of these four players go through the year without missing a game or two due to injury. Kevin Burnett leads the way at #1, he’s been injured year round since his rookie year (not much of an exaggeration). Marcus Spears comes in 2nd; however, to his credit, this has been the 1st training camp/preseason in which he was not out due to injury.Terry Glenn is in at #3, he’s always been bugged injuries, and there’s the famed “she” quote from Parcells, when they were in New England, and Anthony Henry rounds out the list, Henry has been known to have the injury bug since he’s been in Dallas.

UPDATE: GLENN OUT FOR 2007 SEASON!!!!!!

IRVING, Texas - Three days before their regular-season opener, the Cowboys learned wide receiver Terry Glenn’s problematic right knee will force him to miss the entire 2007 season, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones said late Thursday afternoon.

Jones said Glenn’s knee injury is similar to that of former Cowboys center Al Johnson, who missed his entire rookie season in 2003 following microfracture surgery.

“You hate to see this with one of your top players and we need all of those we can beyond the field,” Jones said. “”It’s a real blow for Terry and for us.”

WOW, we are really taking a beating with injuries. I think this ends Glenn career, we’ll be moving in a new direction. Microfracture surgery has ended the careers of several young players in the past, and at 33, it’ll be a huge uphill battle. My best wishes, Glenn is a weapon, and could be a huge blow. When GLenn missed games we lost games…
UPDATE 2: The above has been removed from dc.com, and the previous quote at the top is now the headliner, so here we go…Expect Wade to be evasive on the Glenn injury as he has been with the Ellis injury. I’m going to watch the game tonight, will check back and see if this mess gets figured out.

Yes, Newman is banged up, but he’s determined to play against the Giants. Tomorrow Newman, will get the injection to numb up the inflammed area at the bottom of his foot, he will test out planting, bump and go, his speed, and man-to-man. Once its shown that he can play through the pain, he will play.

In my eyes, Newman is old school. He’s a Parcells guy through and through, no disrespect to the current regime, but Newman was Parcells first draft pick in the first round in Parcells first year in Dallas. Parcells coached players on all levels, and very hands-on, and I’m positive he enstilled the tough as nails attitude into his players. Newman has the “play through the pain - tough guy attitude” for the field of play, in the same veign of Jason Witten. These guys step up and play even if they are banged up.

Newman will be there on Sunday Night, so get ready. Having Newman really bolsters the defensive secondary, and will let the defensive schemes be alot more aggressive. Reeves will be the starting Nickel back when Newman is on the field, so that’s good as well. Reeves is a solid #3 CB for us.

If, for whatever reason Newman does not play, this bumps Reeves to #2CB, and allevates Nate Jones as the starting Nickel back, and that means, uh-oh time, seriously. You can’t even sugar coat the implications of that.

Jerry Jones commented on Newman’s progressions:

“I really liked his response today,” Jones said Wednesday of Newman. “We’ll see how he feels in the morning. Those things are sore in the morning. I know he’s going to do everything he can to play. We’re hoping we can get him out in the actual team (practice on Thursday).

“He was pushing off and then would push off and then come back a little while later and push off again. He did some things today that when he pushed off a little yesterday were a little more sensitive yesterday than today. So it was an improvement from yesterday.” (DC.com)

In the end though, if Newman does not play, I still have my money on Jason Garrett’s offensive schemes to do more than Kevin Gilbride’s, hence the “W” will go to Big D.

I’ve taken some time to look around the web this holiday, and I found some good articles on the Giants, and their roster. Here’s a good read from David Syvertsen at MVN’s Giants 101. They have some good Giants opinions there:

Here we are. Finally within one week of the season opener in Dallas where we hope to trounce the cocky Cowboys and wipe the smirk off Tony Romo’s face. Starting today, each Giants 101 writer (hopefully) will dish out their thoughts regarding the 2007 season using the same format. Look at it as both a preview and a little competition between the writers here at Giants 101.

Season Record: 7-9

NFC East Standings

1 - Dallas Cowboys (11-5)

2 - Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)

3 - New York Giants (7-9)

4 - Washington Redskins (7-9)

Top Offensive Player: Jeremy Shockey - TE

-With Eli Manning appearing to finally be ready to take his game to the next level, I am under the assumption that the greatest beneficiary will be 27 year old and 6th year veteran Jeremy Shockey. I have stated time and time again that the one thing that separates Shockey from a monster year is health. If Shockey can avoid the injury bug, which is a big if, he will absolutely thrive in this offense. Kevin Gilbride has proven over the course of his tenure as offensive coordinator that he likes to use the short passing game. He has also stated and shown that after lulling the defense to sleep, he won’t hesitate to throw the ball downfield. That philosophy alone will reap enormous rewards for Shockey. Combine that with how improved Eli has looked this preseason in terms of accuracy and comfort, and I have to think a 90 catch-1,000 yard season could be in store for our maniac TE.

Top Defensive Player: Osi Umenyiora - DE

-A year ago at this time I projected a monster season from a DE I have had high hopes for ever since his fumble return for a TD in Baltimore back in 2004. Coming off a 14.5 sack season in 2005 where he simply looked like the best DE in football at times, I was ready for him to come out from under Michael Strahan’s wing and completely dominate. However, the hip flexor injury that kept him out for 5+ games and just 75% for about 5-6 more really hampered his diversity as a DE. With his explosion clearly back and again, a scheme that will suit his and the players’ around him abilities, he will take off. I am predicting more than 16 sacks while playing the run incredibly tough as always.

Top Rookie: Ahmad Bradshaw - RB

I am going out on a little bit of a limb with this one but after watching this kid break off big run after big run after big run, my expectations have sky rocketed. He is starting off the season as team’s kickoff return man, therefore his opportunity to contribute and make plays will immediately exist. As far as him getting the chance to get into the backfield, I think that we’ll see #44 get plenty of carries later in the season for a couple reasons. First being unfortunate; I don’t think Brandon Jacobs will be able to stay healthy as a feature back all season. Secondly, the power run scheme is great and all but after our running game struggles early on, which I think will be the case, the coaching staff will be pressed to bring in a change of pace back every now and then. That is where I see Bradshaw coming in and possibly having a Willie Parker-in-2005 type impact from the get go.

Three Bold Predictions

Eli Manning will make the Pro Bowl

-I said it yesterday in my “10 Things the Preseason has Shown” article that Eli Manning is about to take off. Originally I was going to wait until next year to say this, but I am confident in my statement that he will take his game and place it amongst the league’s best. His up and down start to a career along with a massive amount of media scrutiny has led many of you to start getting a little weak in the knees but with weapons galore on the offensive side of the ball and a much, much more QB friendly system will reap enormous rewards for Eli.

Aaron Ross will be starting by week 12

Look, no matter how you look at this situation we have in the defensive backfield, it is extremely difficult to think we have the potential to be anything above average back there this season. With 33 year old Sam Madison appearing to be an injury waiting to happen and RW McQuarters 30 year old RW McQuarters sure to slow down if he has to start week after week just like last year, we’re going to need a kick in the butt at CB. If you are going to have a position of weakness, you want to at least have youth at that spot so there can be hope for the future. (more)

Here’s the Giants current 53-man roster:

OFFENSE

QB (3)

Eli Manning, Jared Lorenzen, Anthony Wright

RB (4)

Brandon Jacobs, Reuben Droughns, Derrick Ward, Ahmad Bradshaw

FB (1)

Robert Douglas

TE (3)

Jeremy Shockey, Kevin Boss, Michael Matthews

WR (6)

Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, Steve Smith, Sinorice Moss, David Tyree, Anthony Mix

OT (3)

David Diehl, Kareem McKenzie, Guy Whimper

G (4)

Rich Seubert, Chris Snee, Zach Piller, Adam Koets

C (2)

Shaun O’Hara, Grey Ruegamer

DEFENSE

DE (4)

Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Adrian Awasom, Michael Strahan

DT (5)

Fred Robbins, Barry Cofield, William Joseph, Manuel Wright, Jay Alford

OLB (5)

Kawika Mitchell, Mathias Kiwanuka, Reggie Torbor, Gerris Wilkinson, Zak DeOssie

MLB (2)

Antonio Pierce, Chase Blackburn

CB (5)

Sam Madison, RW McQuarters, Corey Webster, Aaron Ross, Kevin Dockery

S (4)

Gibril Wilson, James Butler, Michael Johnson, Craig Dahl

Specials (2)

K Lawrence Tynes, P Jeff Feagles

During training camp and throughtout most of the preseason, I thought this would be an easy win, and the Giants would get whipped. I’m NOT so confident right now with all our injuries at very key positions. The secondary will be tested often, the the running defense will have their hands full with Jacobs and Droughns. Shockey has always had his way with our secondary, so hopefully this weaknesses are being addressed at Valley Ranch this week. By no means are the Giants a blow over team. I expect us to run out of the nickel as a base defense until Newman returns.

The key to victory will be a fast start and strong finish. Unlike previous seasons under Parcells, the offensive team did not score soon enough, and did not score enough points to snuff out opposing teams. Garrett’s attack happy offense should help out in this area. Let’s hope the defense can keep up with the offense this time.

Cowboys Nation has hit its first crossroad before the season even starts. In fact, I would say 50% are unsure if we can win against the Giants with the roster we have right now. The main concern is CB and LB.

Some fans cannot believe Glenn is gone? and I ask why? Neither Glenn nor Reeves or any of the other backups have quality skills to be a #2CB in relief. Now we’re in trouble. Some people say “don’t panic”…get real. Its time to worry. And if you think we can fill some of our inadequacies from the waiver wire you’re dreaming. I’ve looked, and there’s nothing out there. Even if there was someone out there, you’re taking someone that another team had all offseason and in the end did not like for whatever reason.

No, the waiver wire is not the way to go. Unfortunately, the only way to get some help is via trade. There’s rumors swirling that Marcus Spears is on the trading block, but nothing has manifested yet.

Linebacker is also paper thin. You can’t count on Burnett, he’s injured all the time, its becoming detrimental to the team. Ellis is the great unknown, who knows anything about Ellis, anything solid on this guy? No one seems to know anything about his status. Spencer is slated to start, and Carpenter will probably relieve the MLB and OLB on opening day, and special teams…Superman or what? What the heck is going on here??

No one is going to be happy about the roster right now, but either way you slice it, if we would have kept “this guy” over “that guy” is irrelevant. We simply don’t have quality, championship depth. When you make cuts on a quality roster, it should be easy to see who you are keeping. We shouldn’t have to be sacrificing one position for another, and that’s the situation in Dallas right now. You need depth if you want to make it down the stretch. The best teams out there have quality depth at various positions.

Can Kevin Burnett go one season without an injury. There were rumors the Cowboys would be looking at moving a LB for a CB, and I’m hoping this comes true. Please take the injury prone Burnett off our hands and get us a capable cornerback. The latest news from Cowboys camp is not good, Newman has a tear in his heel, and says the injury will bother him all year. Not good, not good at all! In addition to that, we have Burnett being injured again, and will require surgery. Ellis will not be ready, and could go on PUP for 6 weeks, and in all honesty, Spencer and Carpenter have just been average at OLB. I’m not hitting the panic button yet, but it’s looming.
DMN on Burnett:

LB Kevin Burnett said Saturday night that he didn’t think his ankle injury was serious, but X-rays showed bone chips. He’ll have an operation tomorrow, and the plan is for him to be ready to go against the Giants.

Other injury news:

OLB Greg Ellis, who has been day-to-day for a month, is visiting Dr. James Andrews in Alabama to get a second opinion. “We think he’s pretty close [to playing],” Wade Phillips said. “We’d like to get a second opinion for both parties, so he’ll be comfortable.”

K Martin Gramatica has a slight pull in his right hamstring. Phillips wasn’t sure whether Gramatica would kick against the Vikings.

LT Doug Free and WR Terry Glenn, both recovering from knee injuries, are both expected to practice Saturday.

Phillips said he thought Terence Newman will “be fine.” By that, I assume Phillips meant Newman wouldn’t miss any regular season action.

Gramatica is all but assured to be cut here soon, the kicking battle was close upto about two weeks ago, and then this last weekend, Gramatica missed a chipshot. Its’ Folk time.

And on Newman’s latest injury news:

CB Terence Newman said he doesn’t have plantar fasciitis after all. He has a tear in his plantar fascia near his right heel.

“I think it’s something that’s probably going to be bothering me for the whole year,” Newman said. “At the same time, there’s ways that we can deal with it that will limit the pain that I have. Right now, the problem that I have is I can’t plant on it. There’s no way that I can plant on my foot.

“We can do things that can help me out during a game – maybe freeze it a little bit, I don’t know. It would have been better if I completely tore the whole thing, I think, than just to tear half of it.

Newman said the Cowboys’ trainers have told him this is an extremely rare injury. Doctors they discussed it with could only think of two cases they’d seen. That makes it very tough to predict a timeframe for his recovery.

“I’m going to try to be ready for the opener,” he said. “That’s the target date. I don’t think I’m going to miss the opener, one way or the other. If I’m ready, I’m playing. If I’m not ready, I’m playing.”

Newman sounds optimistic enough, unfortunately, I don’t share this optimism. Sure, he says he can play, but how effective would he be, we won’t know until the time arrives. If anything, a Newman at 75% is still better than our backup CBs, that looked like crap against the Texans. Newman’s heel could be our Achilles heel this year, and just all the more the reason for us to get a solid #2CB, and reload the backup CBs, we are paper thin.

The preseason is half over, and injuries around the league are piling up at an exponential rate. The Cowboys got a few scares in our last game, but nothing too major. Here’s the latest injury reports (DMN):

Look for cornerback Quincy Butler and defensive end Jason Hatcher to return to practice this week. Coach Wade Phillips said there is nothing new on Greg Ellis’ return.

Tight end Anthony Fasano sounded more optimistic about his shoulder injury than Phillips did. Fasano said he expects to practice Tuesday but Phillips was awaiting word from the trainers.

Fasano has been bothered by this injury since last year. He re-injured it earlier in the off-season and had the shoulder driven into the turf in the second quarter vs. Denver. Not sounding too alarmed, Fasano said if it was a regular season game he would have returned.

Running back Jackie Battle is sporting a boot on his left ankle. He’s picked the wrong time to get hurt.

I expect Jason Hatcher to be fully involved once he returns to the field. In my opinion he posseses a better pash rush than Spears, but to Spears’ credit he appears to be a different player this year. So, in the end, Spears and Hatcher should both have solid numbers, and you can’t ask for a better situation than that. Jackie Battle could be out of the 53-man roster now, I doubt he makes it now. There was a chance he may have. But as I wrote in a previous post, Stanback was the key for Battle. Stanback is playing now, making plays, and looking the part in practice. In addition to Stanback looking good, he may have leap frogged Miles Austin who had a horrible game against the Broncos. So, with that being said, depending on Battle’s health outlook, he could be looking at the practice squad, which may not be a bad thing for him with his injury, we could carry him there, rehab him, and have him ready for 2008 for sure, when the RB makeup could be revamped again. We’ll see.

Miles Austin could have single handedly dropped himself out of a spot. Austin should be able to make the first cuts on the 28th, but he better make some plays at WR and not depend on his special teams skills. Tyson Thompson has re-emerged as the featured return man, so Austin is in trouble there too.

Wide Receivers that make the team are: Owens, Glenn, Crayton, Hurd, Stanback

Austin is on the bubble now, and may not make it.

Joey Thomas is playing well, and has flown past Nate Jones in the CB position battles.

Cornerbacks that make the team are: Newman, Henry, Glenn, Reeves, Thomas

Jones and Ball are climbing an uphill battle at this point

Safeties that make the team are: Williams, Hamlin, Watkins, Davis, Brown

Brown makes the team, because of his diversity, he’s been playing at safety, but can also play at CB

The Fullback position is still somewhat clouded, it appears Hoyte is the man, but I think rookie Deon Anderson may be earning his stripes on special teams, he’s laying the wood on people everytime, and that’s the type of player you want on the field come gameday.

Dude, are we getting Ayodele?

There could be some hope at the NT position, it looks like Remi Ayodele could be distancing himself from the rest of the backups, and now has a shot at making the team. The others are pretty much out. By game three, the rosters are beginning to mold into that 53-man version we’ll see for 16 games. Ayodele played a lot of snaps after Ferguson sat down for the night. That’s promising.

The Ellis watch

Supposedly Ellis was “very close” to practicing. Who knows what is going to happen here at this point. His future remains clouded, and with that, so are the linebacker rosters. If Ellis is unable to return soon, or can’t continue on, we have some questions. I know Junior Glymph makes the team as a backup, and next would probably be Alex Obomese as a potential backup to Spencer.

Basically, I’m not equating Ellis into the starting 53-man roster. Obviously, if the Cowboys keep him on, he won’t start, this is a for sure thing. Ellis has an injury that takes over a year to fully heal, and he’s not ready. He stated he still has pain that won’t go away, so that’s a red flag. Obomese is making plays, but would he be able to play a few snaps to spell Spencer in relief? This next game is big for the backup LBs.

I want to take a peek at an intriguing story that’s developing in the back drop of training camp. At issue, Isaiah Stanback’s roster value versus Jackie Battle’s roster value. When the team plays against the Colts this Thursday night, we’re going to see Battle run over people, make plays, and finish his runs. On the other side of the coin, we will not be seeing 4th round draft pick Isaiah Stanback play. So, how does an undrafted rookie from the University of Houston get on the team? That is the question. I’ve already seen enough from Battle to know he’s the real deal at his position; however, the same cannot be said about Stanback. Stanback has not practiced since we drafted him in April. He missed all the mini-camps, all the OTAs, and all of training camp.

To top it off, Stanback was drafted to take over punt returning duties, something he hasn’t even done. He hasn’t played receiver in 4yrs. Would he better at PR than Skyler Green, who was a return specialist in college, but failed to make the team? At this point, we just do not know. His value on the roster seems bleak.

What’s the thing that’s saving Stanback’s roster spot? Nick Folk. Nick Folk is going to beat out Gramatica, and we’re only going to carry one place kicker, which leaves that roster spot for Stanback.

It’ll be interesting to see what the Cowboys do with the RB back situation. We know Julius Jones, and Marion Barber III are starting. And it sounds like Tyson Thompson will be kept around because of his game breaking speed and his value on special teams. We could see Thompson and Austin try out at the PR spot, since we’re short there. Who really wants Newman on PR, NO BODY…The Cowboys have to be thinking about the future here as well. Not having Stanback ready, is creating a butterfly effect, or in this case - Stanback effect.

If Julius runs well, and he probably will, do the Cowboys extend him or let him go elsewhere? If Julius leaves, we have Barber as the primary running back for 2008. The Cowboys will want to keep a strong stable in the backfield, so you’d be looking at Barber coupled with Thompson? or would you rather have Barber coupled with Battle? Speed vs. Power basically. Thompson has pretty much peaked and we’ve seen everything he has to offer; however, Battle has come on strong from the get go, and he has not slowed down, instead he continues to impress. And what about the Darren McFadden scenario? Some fans, already have him penciled-in as our first pick in the first round. Its quite the predicament. This is how the Cowboys will be looking at Thompson vs. Battle.

Best case scenario: Battle makes the practice squad and no one picks him up. I’m not sure that would happen, its a definite risk.

Worst case scenario: Battle makes the practice squad, and gets plucked immediately.

At what point do the Cowboys, take the hit, and put Stanback on IR? Supposedly, he was going to practice last Tuesday, that did not happen. Stanback has been injured since October 2006. I did not see the game but the injury was described as a:

“gruesom incident — and the way Stanback lay in agony on the turf — made the injury look serious.”

Stanback, has been rehabbing against the lisfranc sprain which ended his collegiate season. Since then, Stanback has developed shin splints. What the heck are shin splints, and why can’t he recover from them? Read about shin splints here. In brief, its described as painful condition that effects the shin as a result of running and jumping. They take a very long time to heal. Great…

The reality is that the Cowboys, under Phillips, are not going to cut Stanback; they’re being extremely patient with their 4th rounder.

The Cowboys placed Stanback on the Active/Non-Football Injury List at the beginning of camp, which could protect them from having to make a decision on his roster spot.

As long as Stanback remains out of practice, the Cowboys have the option of keeping him on NFI for the first six weeks of the regular season. Then, they would have three weeks to see if he could return to practice, and if he did return, three more weeks to decide whether to activate him to the roster or place him on injured reserve. In all, the Cowboys could wait 12 weeks into the regular season before deciding what to do with his roster spot. (from dc.com)

I’ll take a peek at the 53-man roster soon. Check back later.