When asked who would make the decision on which knee surgery Terry Glenn has, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said, “Of course this is America, the one getting operated on gets the final say.” That would be Glenn, and he has two choices. He either has season-ending microfracture surgery, the procedure which attempts to promote re-growth of the damaged articular cartilage behind the kneecap, or he can have the torn cartilage removed through arthroscopic surgery, which if successful could have him back in just more than a month. A successful microfracture procedure would be best for his long-term quality of life while the scope would get him on the field sooner but probably lead to arthritic problems late in life since the necessary cartilage between adjoining bones would be missing. As Jones said, it’s his choice.
The Cowboys will receive no injury sympathy around the league for losing nose tackle Jason Ferguson for the season in the season opener. In the opening week, the Bears lost two starters for the season, safety Mike Brown and defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek, who was starting for the suspended and then released Tank Johnson. The Redskins lost offensive tackle Jon Jansen for the season. St. Louis lost starting tackle Orlando Pace for the season. Miami lost starting safety Yeremiah Bell for the season. And look at the Giants, with Osi Umenyiora, Brandon Jacobs and Eli Manning all expected to miss time.
Funny thing on Terrell Owens’ first touchdown reception in the very back of the end zone: Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said he “took something off the throw” at the last second with Owens so wide open and yet still almost overthrew him. Owens had to stretch out to pull the ball in one-handed, just getting his second foot down inbounds.
After scoring 45 points in the opener, the NFL record for most points in a single season came up, and not only did Romo know it was 556 points, belonging to Minnesota in 1998, he also knew his backup, Brad Johnson, began that season as the Vikings starter in the opening two games before suffering a fractured leg and giving way to Randall Cunningham. Johnson did, though account for seven touchdown passes that year. By the way, that’s averaging now 34.75 points a game. Four times the Vikings scored more than 40 points in a game that season, including the 46 put up on Thanksgiving Day in a 46-36 beating of the Cowboys.