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Camping out with the 'Skins
As a visitor wades through the sea of burgundy and gold at Redskins training camp, a sense of excitement and anticipation in addition to heat and humidity fill the air.
This year's camp has been abuzz with the arrival of many new faces, most notably head coach Jim Zorn.
“Joe Gibbs was definitely the standard everyone reaches for when they become head coach of the Redskins,” fan Jim Jones, 40, of Salisbury, Md., said July 22. “I think Zorn's West Coast-style offense is going to be exciting for the team and the fans.”
Jones and his 8-year-old son, Ethan, made the three-hour morning commute to witness their first Redskins training camp.
“I felt like he was old enough to come out here, and I wanted to bring him out to see some professional players and get him motivated for his Little League season,” Jones said.
In addition to the arrival of a new head coach, many fans are excited to see what kind of impact recently acquired all-pro defensive end Jason Taylor will have.
“I think the addition of a Pro Bowler like Jason will greatly improve our defense and make quarterbacks in our division like Tony Romo, Donovan McNabb and Eli Manning a little more scared to play the Redskins,” said 20-year-old Centreville resident Navi Bajwa, who makes yearly trips to the training camp.
Some fans had trouble spotting the new star as he was donning a No. 55 jersey as opposed to the No. 99 jersey he wore in his 11 years with the Miami Dolphins.
Andre Carter currently wears No. 99, and Taylor joked in his press conference that he and Carter would have a “dance-off” for the number.
On trading numbers with Carter, Taylor commented, “He was open for it, but I thought about it and talked to my wife and decided to let 99 stay in Miami and start a new chapter here.”
Why the number 55?
“I like double digits. Eighty-eight is a receiver, 77 is ugly and 66 is a lineman, so 55 worked,” said Taylor, who also wore the number 55 in the 1997 Senior Bowl where he won defensive MVP honors.
“It was different, very different, and I think it was very obvious to some of the guys in the locker room who noticed that I was uneasy with it at first and looking at the helmet and figuring out what it was,” Taylor said. “It's interesting but very different. I'm still learning the defense, the practice schedule and my teammates.”
Fans in attendance at Redskins Park may also wonder about the players without logos on their helmets. Those are rookies. Eighteen of them, to be exact.
With the Redskins' first pick being the 34th overall selection in this year's draft, they selected Michigan State University wide receiver Devin Thomas.
“I looked at the receiving class that was coming out, and as far as my abilities, I felt like I was at the top,” said Thomas, who left MSU after his junior season.
“It was sweet,” Thomas said. “I thought I would get drafted a little earlier, but when I started looking at who was here, I definitely saw Washington as a team I would love to go to, and it's really turned out great here.”
Initially the move from East Lansing to D.C. for spring mini-camps landed Thomas in a small apartment, but four weeks ago he purchased his own house in the area.
“It's totally different from living in the dorms,” Thomas said jokingly.
Thomas said the transition from college life to NFL life wasn't too hard.
“Really, the difference, though, is the money and the fact you have a lot of free time. You don't have school to worry about. It's not like you have to stay right there on campus. You have a lot more time to do what you want to do, but at the same time, you've got to be smarter about what you do and take care of your body.”
As to where he fits in on the team and where he sees himself as a rookie, Thomas said, “Right now I kinda see myself mixing in a little bit, probably not really starting right away but coming in and contributing where I can, on third downs and in the running game too with blocking.”
In years past rookies have been known to get hazed by veteran players and have to perform duties as a rite of passage. Thomas said the rookies have had to carry some of the other players' equipment, but he said, “They've been cool. They've cut down the hazing a little bit. We had to sing one night, but coach told them to chill out.”
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