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ASHBURN, Va. - During a news conference in which he discussed three more season-ending injuries and revealed discouraging news about three other players, Redskins coach Jim Zorn was hit with a coughing fit. He needed a drink to help him continue.
"Sorry about my voice," he said.
Maybe it's time to put some bubble wrap around this team. No one, it seems, is safe.
Add Ladell Betts, Chad Rinehart and Eddie Williams to the injured reserve list. Also, don't expect Clinton Portis to return from his concussion for at least one more game and maybe two. Chris Cooley won't even get out of his walking boot for another 10 days, and DeAngelo Hall has a sprained knee that could cause him to miss this week's game.
"Brutal. Brutal. It's been brutal," said Rock Cartwright, the third-string running back who is now the first-stringer with Portis and Betts out. "Hate to lose a guy like Ladell. Hate to lose a guy like Rinehart. We lost a lot of key guys we planned on having for the season."
The injuries are a downer from a loss that all but buries the Redskins (3-7) in the NFC East cellar.
"It's something that I've never been around," Zorn said. "I've been on some teams that had injuries, but these are injuries that are IR-type of injuries, and we've had a lot of them . . . It's pretty bad, but the thing that's amazing is we played the team that's leading the division and we went toe to toe with who we had."
In the locker room, players looked for silver linings. Backups get a chance to step up and show their stuff. Asked how the constant shuffling will affect the offensive line's chemistry, Mike Williams shrugged.
"We've played with everybody," he answered. "So it's really not 'Well, can y'all get into rhythm.' We've shuffled everybody in. That's not an issue, believe it or not."
