Lost among the numerous fights that broke out during the Cowboys and Rams co-practice yesterday was an event that was much more scary. Cowboys guard Zack Martin injured his neck on a running play and ended up staying on the ground for several minutes. Whenever a neck is involved in any kind of injury, caution is the keyword. The Cowboys training staff surrounded Martin leaving many observers wondering if Martin had sustained a serious injury.

Quarterback Tony Romo and the rest of the starting offensive linemen gathered around Martin while he was being checked. Owner Jerry Jones and his son Stephen, the team's executive vice president, came down from the tower where they observe practice to check on last year's first round pick. "Obviously, it's scary for everybody when a player goes down like that, much less Zack,'' Stephen Jones said afterwards. "Hopefully he's going to be fine.''

Fortunately for Martin, for the Cowboys and for the fans, it appears it is a minor injury. The diagnosis is a stinger. The projection is that Martin will miss around one week of practice time, which would include the upcoming preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers.