Redskins will face Cowboys without Taylor

By Brian Hunsicker

Published: September 24, 2008

ASHBURN — The Dallas Cowboys have laid waste to opposing defenses, a big reason why they’ll enter Sunday’s rivalry game with Washington at 3-0.
The Cowboys lead the NFL with 440 yards per game and are second at 32 points per game.
In beating Philadelphia in Week 2, Dallas’ offense led the way to 34 points; the other seven points came on Felix Jones’ 98-yard kickoff return.
The Cowboys rolled up 380 yards of offense, 68 rushing and 312 passing, both season lows.
And that came against a defense that sacked Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger nine times the following week.
Dallas had 453 yards of offense in Week 3 at Green Bay. Entering that game, the Packers had allowed 333 total yards in their two previous games, both wins.
“We’re certainly playing well,” Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. “You can see that in the first three games, moving the ball well and scoring a lot of points.
“That’s what you want from an offense.”
Now, it’s the Redskins’ turn.
And they’ll face the challenge without defensive end Jason Taylor, who injured his calf in Sunday’s win over Arizona and underwent emergency surgery early Monday morning.
Taylor talked about the surgery on Wednesday.
He said he noticed the injury but didn’t think much of it; he consulted with the team’s trainers who warned him that if the area turned numb, he had a serious problem.
“I thought they were half-joking,” Taylor said, leaning on crutches as he talked with the media.
After going to bed Sunday night, he noticed the area was numb. Around 3 a.m., he decided it was time to reach out to the trainers and doctors that had warned him.
Taylor said he wanted to wait until sunrise, but was told that was not an option.
Two hours later, Taylor was able to reach noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews, a medical consultant for the team.
Andrews, Taylor said, told him to get off the phone and get the procedure done.
The consequences of further waiting were dire.
“We’d be done. Forever,” Taylor said. “You could get dropped foot and be done.”
There are compartments to the calf muscle, separated fascia, a thick membrane.
Sufficient swelling or bleeding can cause the compartment to have a higher blood pressure than the rest of the body, Dr. Ben Wedro said in an e-mail.
Wedro is an emergency physician and a professor at the University of Wisconsin; he is also the founder MDDirect.org.
Compartment syndrome occurs when the blood pressure in one area is higher than the rest of the body, Wedro said. That prevents blood from reaching the muscles, which could cause the muscle to die. Surgery relieves that building pressure, Wedro said.
The prognosis for Taylor is unclear.
Taylor said he wants to be back on the field as soon as possible, but neither the trainers nor doctors could give him a firm return date.
“It could be a week,” he said. Then he paused. “It could be a couple of months.”
On Monday, the Redskins announced that Taylor would miss Sunday’s game in Dallas. Demetric Evans is expected to start in Taylor’s place.
That will make the Redskins’ challenge that much greater. Dallas quarterback Tony Romo has an array of receivers to throw to; Terrell Owens’ three touchdown receptions ties him for second in the league, and his 19.3 yards-per-catch average ranks him seventh. Tight end Jason Witten is third in the NFL in receptions and sixth in receiving yardage. In both categories, he is the only tight end in the top 10.
And if the passing game isn’t working, Romo can turn to punishing running back Marion Barber. The 6-foot, 220-pounder ranks sixth in rushing yardage and is tied for third in touchdowns, but is more notable for his aggressiveness.
“Nobody’s scared up here, but you’ve got to be smart,” Redskins safety Reed Doughty said. “The guy’s thick, so [if] you hit him where he wants you to hit him, you’re not going to have a good day. If you hit him low, you have a chance.”