Defenses taking hits

Three brand name pass rushers are hurting. Jason Taylor, Osi Umenyiora and Shawn Merriman all have their respective teams holding their breath. Jason Taylor got his leg rolled over in last nights preseason game against Caoline. He immediately hit the ground and screamed in pain. It seems to have looked worse than it really was though as initial x-rays showed only a sprain. Still, the 'Skins will have Taylor undergo an MRI anyway.

The Giant's Umenyiora was carted off the field last night in the second quarter against the Jets. Coach Tom Coughlin said that early reports did not show any ligament damage but Osi will have an MRI today.

The worst news of all though comes for San Diego Chargers fans. It look like the career of OLB Shawn Merriman is in serious jeopardy. Merriman apparently has 2 torn ligaments in his knee. He is seeking another opinion to decide whether or not to have surgery. If he tries to play on the knee, he could just make it worse.

Fantasy Impact: Can we please shorten the preseason! I'm not saying that injuries can't happen with a 3 game schedule instead of 4 but the NFL has to do something. 4 games is just pointless. Anyway, losing any of these 3 players will really hurt the sack totals of their defenses. The Redskins already lost a starting DE this season, which prompted the Taylor trade. The Giants are thin because of the loss of Michael Strahan and anytime a team loses a player as dominant as Merriman it's almost impossible to replace him.