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LaVar Arrington Al Bello/Getty Projected starting lineup Offense No. Player Pos. 80 Laveranues Coles WR 87 Rod Gardner WR 82 Brian Kozlowski TE 60 Chris Samuels LT 66 Derrick Dockery LG 52 Cory Raymer C 77 Randy Thomas RG 76 Jon Jansen RT 86 Walter Rasby TE 8 Mark Brunell QB 26 Clinton Portis RB 10 John Hall K Defense No. Player Pos. 97 Renaldo Wynn DE 96 Cornelius Griffin DT 75 Brandon Noble DT 91 Regan Upshaw DE 53 Marcus Washington SLB 59 Micheal Barrow MLB 56 LaVar Arrington WLB 21 Fred Smoot CB 24 Shawn Springs CB 41 Matt Bowen SS 36 Sean Taylor FS 19 Tom Tupa P 2004 Draft Rd. Player Pos. School 1 Sean Taylor S Miami 3 Chris Cooley TE Utah State 5 Mark Wilson OT California 6 Jim Molinaro OT Notre Dame Outside the Huddle Training days Joe Gibbs will keep the Washington Redskins at their home training facility, Redskins Park, after Steve Spurrier ended the tradition of holding training camp at Carlisle, Pa., last year. On off-season During the offseason, Gibbs instructed players to be at Redskins Park three days per week to participate in "voluntary" walk-throughs and meet with positions coaches. Reserved, Player of the Week Gibbs has relinquished his prime parking spot in front of Redskins Park -- and across from owner Daniel Snyder -- and will give it up to certain players. The old sign "Reserved, Coach Joe Gibbs" now says "Reserved, Player of the Week." Prime Time The Redskins play three primetime games -- all at home and all against rivals. They play Bill Parcells' Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 27, the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 10 and the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 12. 2003 Revisited The Prophecy: "[Laveranues] Coles is precisely what the Redskins needed when they sought to bolster their wide receiver corps ... " The Lie: "We've got a home-run hitter [Trung Canidate] in the backfield." -- Hue Jackson (2003 offensive coordinator) --Athlon Sports Pro Football 2003

Daniel Snyder's five-year tenure as the Redskins' owner reached its nadir after Steve Spurrier resigned following the team's worst season since 1994. But by luring Joe Gibbs out of retirement, Snyder scored a coup and brought visions of the Hall of Fame coach recreating the franchise's glory days of three Super Bowl titles. During perhaps the most active offseason in franchise history, the Redskins molded the team in Gibbs' image, signing 19 players to bonuses totalling roughly $58 million (not including rookies).

Washington is expected to set the record for highest payroll in NFL history, with a projected figure between $110 and $120 million. On top of that, the Redskins have set a league record by paying their assistants a combined $5 million -- and that is a conservative estimate. This spending brought the Redskins one of the NFL's most experienced staffs. Gregg Williams, the assistant head coach in charge of defense, is expected to make up for any shortcomings on a unit that finished 25th in the 32-team league. Of course, the biggest acquisition of the year was the stunning hiring of Gibbs, who coaches in the salary-cap era for the first time. Gibbs, who signed a five-year contract worth $28 million (another league mark), has vowed to stay for the entire contract. The high-risk, high-reward hire will finally bring the Redskins respectability -- or more ridicule.

Gibbs wasted little time putting his stamp on the team by courting Mark Brunell, the 11-year veteran, from the Jacksonville Jaguars. The move spurred controversy before Gibbs' first practice after Patrick Ramsey's agent demanded a trade.

The left-handed Brunell is the ninth-ranked passer in NFL history at 85.2, and he led the Jaguars to the AFC title game two times. Ramsey, on the other hand, has started just 16 games in his two-year career. Last year, he threw for 2,166 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions on a 53 percent completion rate. He missed the final five games with a foot injury.

Gibbs made finding an accomplished feature back one of his top priorities. He found one -- Clinton Portis. Only the third player in NFL history to rush for at least 1,500 yards in each of his first two seasons, Portis was named the 2002 NFL Rookie of the Year after rushing for 1,508 yards and 15 touchdowns. He followed that up with a 1,591-yard, 14-touchdown performance last season.

The price was steep -- Washington traded away Champ Bailey -- but Gibbs is convinced he found his man, even if Portis is a bit on the small side at 5-foot-11, 205 pounds.

"To me, running backs kind of come in all packages and sizes," says Gibbs. "So what you're looking for is just a real good running back." He found one.

Washington's wideouts were one of the bright spots on an otherwise mediocre offense. The crew was led by Laveranues Coles, who made his first Pro Bowl after amassing 1,204 yards on 82 catches. Coles has displaced his former high school rival, Rod Gardner, as the Redskins' No. 1 wideout.

Gardner had the worst statistical season -- 59 catches for 600 yards -- of his career, but those numbers still make Gardner one of the better No. 2 wideouts in the NFC. And Washington's No. 3 receiver is Darnerien McCants, who tied Coles with a team-high six touchdowns despite catching just 27 passes. McCants was almost released prior to the 2003 season but has emerged as a valuable commodity.

The Redskins figured they were set on the offensive line last year when they added guards Dave Fiore and Randy Thomas to pair with bookends Chris Samuels and Jon Jansen. However, the line was maligned while struggling in Steve Spurrier's minimum protection schemes.

This unit should finally live up to the hype under the tutelage of Joe Bugel, considered one of the best offensive line coaches in NFL history. During Gibbs' first tenure, Bugel helped mold undrafted players such as Jeff Bostic and Joe Jacoby into All-Pros. Samuels has a renewed passion after struggling last season.

In the first day of free agency, the Redskins signed defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin and Phillip Daniels, who can play tackle or end. No area needed to be revamped as much as the Redskins' defensive line, with its self-described "no-name" tackles, who lived down to their nickname. The Redskins recorded just 27 sacks, and the team's best pass-rusher was veteran Bruce Smith, who has retired.

Brandon Noble is expected to recover from a season-ending knee injury suffered in the 2003 preseason, and the run-stopping tackle will be like a new addition. However, the Redskins didn't address the need for a pass-rush specialist. Regan Upshaw, who switched to the left side because of Smith's presence, will battle Daniels for the start at right end. Renaldo Wynn remains solid though unspectacular at left end, but he must improve his pass-rushing skills. The line will be get some help on those occasions when linebacker LaVar Arrington drops down to end on passing downs.

Arrington is the only linebacker remaining after Jessie Armstead and Jeremiah Trotter were released. However, the Redskins still have one of the NFC East's most talented units after signing outside linebacker Marcus Washington and middle linebacker Micheal Barrow. At age 35, Barrow, who led the NFC in tackles last season, is in tremendous shape, thanks to a maniacal regimen.

Washington and Arrington give the Redskins two linebackers who excel at rushing the passer. Washington, who compiled 18 sacks in the past four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, is expected to play at strong-side. That would move Arrington to the weak-side, giving him an easier path to the quarterback.

The Redskins lost Bailey, perhaps the NFL's best cornerback, and replaced him with a player who held the designation early in his career before being hindered by injuries. Shawn Springs, a Pro Bowl pick in his second NFL season, has missed nine game due to injury since the start of the 2001 season. The Redskins thoroughly examined Springs' medical records before signing him.

Rookie Sean Taylor, one of the top safety prospects in the past decade, should help make up for Bailey's loss. Taylor is expected to start at free safety, pushing Matt Bowen to his natural position of strong safety and displacing Ifeanyi Ohalete. "[Taylor] will be a very good fit," says Williams, "for what we want to do on defense here -- to keep the attacking principles going."

The Redskins also acquired cornerbacks Ralph Brown and Walt Harris to play in Williams' cornerback-heavy defense.

The first group Gibbs joins in practice is special teams. And many of the moves during free agency, such as the acquisition of James Thrash, were based on a player's ability to contribute on special teams. Gibbs inherits one of the club's most reliable kickers in recent memory, John Hall. The Redskins also signed punter Tom Tupa to replace Bryan Barker and re-signed snapper Ethan Albright. Chad Morton is the Redskins' dangerous kick and punt returner.

The Redskins have addressed most of the weaknesses that contributed to a 5–11 record last season, though some holes appear to remain on defense, particularly free safety and defensive end.

Gibbs returns to an NFC East that appears to have a murderer's row of coaches --Tom Coughlin with the New York Giants, Bill Parcells of the Dallas Cowboys (against whom Gibbs has struggled) and Andy Reid of the Philadelphia Eagles (whose team has won the past three NFC East titles). Gibbs should be helped by a schedule that doesn't appear to be particularly tough, with only six games against teams that made the playoffs last season.

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