Redskins Park gets its hustle and bustle back on Monday.
After two-and-a-half relatively quiet months, players return to the year-round facility for the start of off-season workouts.
This is the time when strength and conditioning coaches John Hastings, Bobby Crumpler and Harrison Bernstein work with players and keep them in shape for the upcoming season.
"What players will see is that [the coaches] are organized and enthusiastic," head coach Jim Zorn said. "You have a whole slew of coaches who are very excited about the idea of, 'Here we go, we're starting again.'"
The workout sessions are voluntary, but Zorn expects a good turnout.
"I hope we have great participation," he said. "I think we have a lot of guys who want to work and want to be a part of it. Even the guys who won't be here, I don't think they'll stay away long. I think everybody should want to be a part of what's going on."
For example, Chris Samuels and Derrick Dockery are expected to spend some time working out in Arizona while Cornelius Griffin is expected to work out in Florida, according to executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato.
"Some of the players have earned the credibility from the coaches because of what they did last year," Cerrato told Larry Michael on a broadcast of "Redskins Nation" on Comcast SportsNet.
Off-season workouts are particularly beneficial for young players.
It's the first time that second-year players like Devin Thomas, Fred Davis and Chris Horton will go through the strength and conditioning program.
Zorn also pointed to veterans who took advantage of off-season workouts last year to kick start a solid 2008 campaign.
"One of the things that happened last year--even though he was in a bit of a rehab mode--was Carlos Rogers," Zorn said. "You remember what he did last year with the rehab [after knee ligament surgery]. And then for him to come on so strong--he made a great impression on everybody, just working and getting himself ready. I think he benefited from our off-season program.
"I look back to Randy Thomas, who was injured the year before and came on strong. Casey Rabach was there the entire time. All of those guys worked extremely hard to get themselves ready.
"Even Santana Moss--he worked very hard. Now he was in and out [of Redskins Park] a little bit, but he didn't skip a beat after we got started. He never got injured, never pulled up, never took himself out of practice. He was great in training camp."
As for Zorn, he is happy just to have a degree of familiarity.
Last year, Zorn had been Redskins head coach for only a month when the team began off-season workouts.
"That's a huge difference from what I had going last year," he said. "Last year, every day was brand new. I think this year I have a real idea of what's coming. Although I was confident of moving in the right direction last year, I have a better feel for the direction [now]."
