Cooley tops Redskins’ injury woes; Cerrato defends personnel work

ASHBURN -- On the day after the Washington Redskins' top receiving weapon was sidelined, their chief personnel executive said he had loaded the 2-5 team with a playoff-caliber roster.

Vinny Cerrato, the executive vice president of football operations, also told reporters yesterday that coach Jim Zorn's job status was undecided in the days after the play-caller switch from Zorn to offensive consultant Sherm Lewis, who made his debut in the role in Monday night's 27-17 loss to Philadelphia.

"Frustrating and disappointing with 2-5," Cerrato said. "It's not where we expected to be."

With tight end Chris Cooley out for at least four weeks after suffering a broken ankle Monday night and the team facing a challenging schedule after its bye week, Washington's prospects for improvement are grim.

Earlier yesterday, Zorn said Cooley, a two-time Pro Bowl player, would be sidelined at least six to eight weeks and probably placed on season-ending injured reserve. A doctor's second opinion gave Cooley hope he can return to the field in a month. He'll have surgery today to insert three pins in the ankle.

Cooley stumbled to the turf without contact on the first play of the second quarter against the Eagles. Cooley, who has never missed a game since the Redskins drafted him in the third round in 2004, has 29 catches for 332 yards and two touchdowns this year.

"It's just devastating," Zorn said. "Much like the other really good players we have on our team, he brings the fight on the field, and it's going to be a big loss for us."

Zorn said two backups who play regularly, linebacker H.B. Blades and cornerback Byron Westbrook, suffered knee injuries that are being re-evaluated. He anticipates neither being available for the game at Atlanta following the bye week.

The Redskins already are without right guard Randy Thomas, out for the year with a torn right triceps, and left tackle Chris Samuels, who likely will go on injured reserve this week with a neck injury that has jeopardized his career.

"It all builds, but we have to make the best of it, and we will," Zorn said. "The bottom line is to win, and nobody really cares that guys get injured. You feel bad, but the team moves on, and the team stays together, and the team will put out great effort to pick up that slack."

Other injuries from the Eagles game include sprained ankles on four players: quarterback Jason Campbell, running back Clinton Portis, fullback Mike Sellers and defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Tackle Stephon Heyer stretched a ligament in his knee and was wearing a brace yesterday, and defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin sprained an elbow.

Cerrato, perhaps even more than owner Dan Snyder or Zorn, has received much of the heat for the dismal season. Players were bemoaning the lack of depth along the offensive line, with running back Clinton Portis saying: "We went into the season, and we didn't address that issue, and it came back to haunt us."

The offensive line began the season with no backups who had played a single NFL down last season, even though Samuels and Thomas were coming off multiple surgeries. With that duo now hurt, the reshuffled line has allowed 14 sacks in the past three games.

Cerrato said he "tried to address the line" in the offseason. He cited left guard Derrick Dockery and tackle Mike Williams as his main additions, even though Williams hadn't played since 2005.

The Redskins haven't selected an offensive lineman in the first two rounds of the draft since 2000, and Cerrato said there was nobody the team felt was worthy of the No. 13 overall pick this year.

"Are you having the results you wanted? No, you don't want the sacks," Cerrato said. "If it was Chris Samuels and Randy Thomas, would we be better? Absolutely. If you lose a Pro Bowler, it's definitely going to drop off. Where we're standing now, to have more depth, it would be great."

Still, when asked twice if he felt he gave Zorn a roster that could get to the playoffs, Cerrato said "yes" each time.

Last week, prodded by Snyder to do something about the struggling offense following a loss to Kansas City, Cerrato made the decision to have Zorn removed from play-calling duties. Cerrato then went silent for several days, making Zorn look like a lame duck who could be fired any minute.

It wasn't until Friday, on his radio show, that Cerrato finally discussed the play-caller change and said Zorn would remain the coach for the rest of the season.

Asked why he waited five days to endorse Zorn, Cerrato said: "We sat down and got our game plan together and that's why it was on Friday."

Asked if he was concerned about his own job security, Cerrato said: "I feel like my job's on the line all the time. It's not something that I really worry about. My job is to get us going and fill these holes when guys get hurt. Things take care of themselves after the season."

The first game with Lewis as play-caller did not yield promising results. The offense committed three turnovers, allowed six sacks, converted only 3 of 12 third downs. The Redskins still haven't scored more than 17 points in a game this season, and the question remains whether Cerrato's roster could win even if Bill Walsh in his heyday were calling the shots.

"We didn't win," Cerrato said. "But I thought Sherm provided a spark, and I think the offense did some good things. . . . I thought he did an excellent job."

Haynesworth questioned his teammates' desire following the loss. "Urgency, heart, 'want-to,' whatever. I don't know. We're lacking a lot of stuff right now," the defensive tackle said.

The Redskins' blocking problems contributed to a stellar night for the Eagles' newest acquistion, linebacker Will Witherspoon. On his sixth day with the Eagles, having been acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Rams, the eight-year veteran started at middle linebacker and had an exceptional stat line: eight tackles, one sack, one quarterback hurry, a deflected pass, one forced fumble and an interception returned 9 yards for a touchdown.

DeSean Jackson scored on a 67-yard run and on a 57-yard reception, both in the first half, for the Eagles. Donovan McNabb completed 15 of 25 passes for 156 yards, getting his 200th touchdown pass and surpassing 30,000 yards passing for his career. Trent Cole got two of Philadelphia's six sacks.

The Eagles lost Brian Westbrook in the first quarter with a concussion after his helmet rammed into linebacker London Fletcher's knee at the end of a 5-yard run. Coach Andy Reid said he expects Westbrook to recover fully but will play it safe with his star running back.