Redskins Insider

When Washington Redskins right guard Chad Rinehart went down with an injury early in the third quarter of Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, undrafted free agent Edwin Williams became the latest name to go through the revolving door and land on the Redskins' offensive line.

Williams, a former Maryland Terrapin, is the 11th offensive lineman to step into the lineup this year on a unit that has suffered a string of injuries. And with Rinehart out for the season with a broken fibula - the second-year guard underwent surgery on Monday and will be placed on the season-ending injured-reserve list, Coach Jim Zorn said - Williams may be the 10th lineman to start for Washington this season.

It would be a quick rise up the depth chart for Williams, who was among the surprises on the 53-man roster after impressing coaches during training camp.

"I feel like sometimes somebody is writing my story for me," Williams said. "The only thing that could be different is I just wish we could have won that game [Sunday]. It's different watching the game, but then when you get into it [the loss] hurts even worse. So I'm just trying to improve."

Zorn went with Williams to replace Rinehart over Will Montgomery, who started three games this season, because he said he wanted a bigger body to match up with the Cowboys' defensive line.

Coach Jim Zorn has come under fire for so many things this season, it's sometimes hard to keep track of who's upset with him and about what.

During the long delay in the final seconds of the first half in Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, I received a lot of email from fans who hoped Zorn would take a shot into the end zone when play resumed. The Redskins were leading, 3-0, and Zorn, with no timeouts remaining, played it safe after the break, attempting a 39-yard field goal that place kicker Shaun Suisham missed.

The email I received at halftime was complimentary toward Zorn compared with the stuff after the game. Fans were frustrated that Zorn would be so conservative in that situation. I mentioned what occurred in my game report but was not critical of the decision because I thought I understood Zorn's thinking.

Quarterback Jason Campbell probably had one of the best performances of his career while dealing with constant pressure. He made many impressive throws on the move, but the pressure was there. Zorn simply did not want to risk Campbell being sacked, which could have knocked the Redskins out of Suisham's range. And Suisham had made his first 13 attempts.

So considering the shaky pass protection and Suisham's accuracy until Sunday (he also missed a 50-yard attempt), I didn't have a problem with Zorn's decision. But it seems I'm in the minority on this one.

"I can explain it," Zorn said today during his news conference at Redskins Park. "With 21 seconds to go, we did take a shot and they had five guys back. I took a shot to the end zone with five different guys. Then with 15 seconds left, and no timeouts, I couldn't risk either getting sacked, I couldn't risk completing the ball inbounds and trying to get a last-second field goal.

"So I thought the smart thing to do was take the field goal right there, in field-goal range. We had the ball at the 26-yard line and, you know, it was missed. We just went in at halftime. We still had the lead. I think we were very excited about the possibilities at that particular time."

During his news conference today, Coach Jim Zorn confirmed that running back Ladell Betts will miss the rest of the season because of torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments, the team plans to bring back Marcus Mason to help Rock Cartwright and Quinton Ganther and top cornerback DeAngelo Hall could miss this week's game against the Philadelphia Eagles because of a sprained knee.

"I don't expect to have him back," Zorn said of Betts, who will be placed on the season-ending injured-reserve list.

Hall finished Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys despite a sprained MCL, "but he may be out for a week," Zorn said. "Depends on how fast we can get him back.

"He's not an injured-reserved candidate. I guess I have to say that now, I guess. He played hard. He finished the game. We'll see how fast we can get him back."

Coach Jim Zorn's quick injury update..."I'll talk about this [rash of injuries] for years to come," Zorn said. " 'Wow, remember back in 2009...' " :

Clinton Portis will not play Sunday in Philadelphia. "The question is whether he will play against the Saints as well," Zorn said. "We'll get him moving that week [before the Saints game] and see how he's reacting." Zorn said there has been no consideration given to shutting him down for the season.

Zorn confirmed that Ladell Betts is out for the rest of the season with medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligament tears; he said that surgery is possible. According to Redskins PR (via Matt Terl), Betts will be placed on the season-ending injured-reserve list.

Chris Cooley will have to wear his walking boot another 10 days or so. "That is not good news for me, " Zorn said. As with Portis, there has been no IR decision.

DeAngelo Hall has a sprained knee and may be out for a week. "It depends on how fast we can get him back. He's not an IR candidate -- I guess I have to say that now -- he's not an IR candidate," Zorn said.

Chad Rinehart is in surgery now, having his broken fibula repaired. Fullback Eddie Williams is having surgery for the same thing.

Mike Williams is further along than Albert Haynesworth, Zorn said. Both just have to work back into shape; Haynesworth is hitting the treadmill. "They're just pretty severe ankle sprains," Zorn said.

As for the backup running back, Zorn said he anticipates that the team will re-sign Marcus Mason.

Pro Bowl defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was disappointed about missing Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys because of an ankle injury. But Haynesworth was pleased with how well the defense played -- the defensive line in particular.

"I knew they were going to step up and play," he said. "I knew they were going to do that."

Haynesworth said he was not sure about his status for Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. "It could be lot better," Haynesworth said of his ankle. "It could be a lot worse."

Despite being 3-7, the Redskins must stay focused and play for pride at this point, Haynesworth said. "As long as we keep working, as long as we don't hold our heads down, we'll be fine," he said.

Just finished talking to veteran defensive end Andre Carter, who is one of the most positive individuals I've ever covered.

I asked Carter if he feared things would become strained between the offensive and defensive players after Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The offense again struggled while producing only two field goals and wasting another strong effort by the defense.

Carter expressed confidence the players and coaches would remain united because "negativity only brings more negativity, so you just always have to bring optimism and keep working. One thing about us, we're very pleased about how the offense has been moving the ball. We've been running well.

"With the passing game, you can tell they've kind of shortened it up a little bit because the protections have been a little shaky, which can happen, but there's been times where they've been able to give Jason [Campbell] time. One thing about our side of the ball, we've just got to get more opportunities for our offense. That's what we have to do."

Although the Redskins have not yet reviewed the results of Ladell Betts's MRI that was scheduled this morning, they believe he has suffered torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments and will undergo season-ending surgery, a league source said.

The source, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to comment on the team's medical dealings, stressed that the severity of Betts's knee injury -- suffered in the first quarter of Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys -- could not accurately be determined until medical personnel reviewed the MRI exam. But the Redskins suspected Betts had multiple torn ligaments after he was removed from the game, and Coach Jim Zorn after the game revealed that Betts, at the very least, tore his MCL.

With top running back Clinton Portis already ruled out of the upcoming game against the Philadelphia Eagles and Betts expected to be sidelined for the team's final six games, the Redskins are expected to sign another running back. And although Zorn said the team, as of Sunday, had no plans to place Portis on the season-ending injured-reserve list, it might be wise for them to consider doing so because of the lingering vision problems he has had since suffering a concussion in the Nov. 8 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

The Dallas Cowboys are tied for 13th in the NFL (with the Pittsburgh Steelers) in scoring with an average of 23.1 points per game, but the Redskins, minus Albert Haynesworth on defense, gave up only a touchdown in Sunday's 7-6 loss at Cowboys Stadium.

"You held a team that averages [26.8] points a game at home to seven," said secondary coach and defensive spokesman Jerry Gray. "If we'd have said we was going to hold the Dallas Cowboys to seven points, you'd think we would be stupid. There's no way. Come on.

"I thought our guys did a great job of putting a great plan together. We stopped the run, didn't give up the big pass. We let a guy [Tony Romo] scramble. ... You look at it, he made some plays. He's a Pro Bowl quarterback, but if we hold Dallas to seven points and they walk out with a win, something's wrong."

(The Redskins rank 29th in scoring; they're averaging 14.6 points.)

The Monday chats

Cindy Boren will be taking your questions at 11 a.m. Mike Wilbon chats at 1:15 or thereabouts.

The view from Dallas

Not surprisingly, Tim Cowlishaw can't get past the fact that the Cowboys managed only a single TD. ... The Cowboys haven't won a game in which they've scored seven or fewer points since 1970. Randy Galloway shares Cowlishaw's concerns.

Looking ahead to Philly

Paul Domowitch recaps and analyzes the Eagles' Sunday night win over the Bears. ... The Eagles are 6-4 and Sunday night's game was no thing of beauty; Phil Sheridan writes that the key to the team's success is its kids. ... The question of the day at The League concerns just what's up with the NFC East; is it possible it's the worst division in the NFL?

Washington Redskins kicker Shaun Suisham entered Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys a perfect 12-for-12 on field-goal attempts this year. But after the Redskins' difficult 7-6 loss, Suisham spent time answering questions about his first two misses -- either of which could have won the game for the Redskins.

"I feel awful," Suisham said. "The guys worked so hard today. You got a tight game like that, and you miss a couple field goals, it's very frustrating and disappointing."

The first miss came well within Suisham's range, a 39-yarder at the end of the first half which Suisham hooked wide left. The play, though, came after a great deal of confusion in which the officiating crew took an inordinate amount of time to review whether Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell had thrown an incompletion before he stepped out of bounds on the prior play. The officials also seemed befuddled about whether they would then assess the Redskins a delay-of-game penalty.

After a delay of perhaps 10 minutes, Washington got the ball at the 21 yard line with 15 seconds left -- and Suisham missed for the first time this season.

"That's no excuse to miss a kick," Suisham said. "It's different, yes, but it's certainly no reason to miss."

Redskins secondary coach Jerry Gray, who reportedly is among at least four candidates being considered for the University of Memphis head coaching position, declined to comment on whether he plans to pursue the position.

"We'll talk about that later," Gray said after the game.

Larry Porter, LSU running backs coach, reportedly is the front-runner for the job.