ARLINGTON, Texas -- Redskins coach Jim Zorn said after Sunday's game that running back Ladell Betts had a "torn cruciate ligament." He said Betts would undergo an MRI to determine the severity of his left knee injury.
"We've got to get an MRI on this to see if it's just a little partial tear," said Zorn. "We've got him in a soft cast, so that's all I can tell you right now. We'll get a better evaluation after we get back."
Zorn also delivered the news that starting right guard Chad Rinehart had a fractured fibula. Obviously Rinehart will probably be out for the season. If Betts only has an MCL, he could return in three or four weeks. But when I saw him being carted off, it didn't look like an MCL to me. We'll keep you updated tomorrow.
Here's how Zorn summed up the game: "I think just from the emotion of losing that game, it's just a heart-yank for our players. We felt like 'here we go, we're climbing ourselves out of it.' I just told them I was proud of them. To lose it that way at the end in a hostile situation is just so harad. It wasn't any one thing, but at the particular time that things were happening, you were getting stabbed every time something happened, even with our injuries. Yet, we hung in there. I really believe this is a special team of players who will not just check things in being 3-7. It is bleak, and yet we're going to come back, we got a big game next week. We're going to look at our roster and patch it up and go again."
You can't question the Redskins' effort in this game, but you can question some of the playcalling. To play it conservatively late in the first half was something that bothered me. You're 3-6 and you have the Cowboys on the ropes in their brand new stadium. Take a shot in the end zone on third-and-1 with 15 seconds left. I've tried to defend Zorn at times, but there's no defending him in that situation.
Quarterback Jason Campbell played a really good football game, but it was like Sherm Lewis wouldn't completely show trust in him. The Skins got conservative any time they sniffed the red zone -- and that's a problem. The Redskins called plays like they were scared to death of losing. Give me a break.
This offense honestly played well enough to win. So take some shots. Don't play for field goals. On this day, that strategy came back to haunt Zorn and his playcalling buddy, Sherm Lewis.
"We've got to get an MRI on this to see if it's just a little partial tear," said Zorn. "We've got him in a soft cast, so that's all I can tell you right now. We'll get a better evaluation after we get back."
Zorn also delivered the news that starting right guard Chad Rinehart had a fractured fibula. Obviously Rinehart will probably be out for the season. If Betts only has an MCL, he could return in three or four weeks. But when I saw him being carted off, it didn't look like an MCL to me. We'll keep you updated tomorrow.
Here's how Zorn summed up the game: "I think just from the emotion of losing that game, it's just a heart-yank for our players. We felt like 'here we go, we're climbing ourselves out of it.' I just told them I was proud of them. To lose it that way at the end in a hostile situation is just so harad. It wasn't any one thing, but at the particular time that things were happening, you were getting stabbed every time something happened, even with our injuries. Yet, we hung in there. I really believe this is a special team of players who will not just check things in being 3-7. It is bleak, and yet we're going to come back, we got a big game next week. We're going to look at our roster and patch it up and go again."
You can't question the Redskins' effort in this game, but you can question some of the playcalling. To play it conservatively late in the first half was something that bothered me. You're 3-6 and you have the Cowboys on the ropes in their brand new stadium. Take a shot in the end zone on third-and-1 with 15 seconds left. I've tried to defend Zorn at times, but there's no defending him in that situation.
Quarterback Jason Campbell played a really good football game, but it was like Sherm Lewis wouldn't completely show trust in him. The Skins got conservative any time they sniffed the red zone -- and that's a problem. The Redskins called plays like they were scared to death of losing. Give me a break.
This offense honestly played well enough to win. So take some shots. Don't play for field goals. On this day, that strategy came back to haunt Zorn and his playcalling buddy, Sherm Lewis.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Matt Mosley
Mosley, an award-winning writer for The Dallas Morning News for seven years, joined ESPN.com in January 2007. Mosley, a Baylor graduate, writes columns, features and blogs for ESPN.com.
