ASHBURN, Va. -- Five observations on the 2003 Washington Redskins, gleaned from training camp practices of July 30-31:

	Steve Spurrier, right, didn't have a stellar NFL coaching debut in 2002.

1. Glance out at the practice field and Steve Spurrier at least looks the same as a year ago. Trademark visor. Darting eyes. A rolled-up and wrinkled play chart sticking out a back pocket of his shorts. A well-nurtured tan. But as one of the local beat writers so accurately assessed the Ol' Ball Coach's second NFL training camp: "He's the same, but somehow things feel different, you know?" Yeah, we know, since there clearly is a palpably different vibe to the team's 2003 training camp and to Spurrier's pervasive persona as well. Spurrier is always going to be, well, Spurrier, a guy whose brilliance and ego was eventually going to force him to test his football acumen at this level. And he is always going to relish the verbal give-and-take with the media, where he often comes off as smarmy and hubris-rich. On Wednesday morning, after Matt Bowen had laid a huge hit on tailback Trung Canidate during a half-speed drill, and was admonished by the coaching staff, Spurrier was asked if it was he or one of his assistants who chastised the Skins' new emotional strong safety. His reply: "No, it was me who said something to him. I mean I'm the head coach here." What stopped short of reminding the masses, but what you just knew he wanted to add, was: "And don't anyone forget it." That said, Spurrier appears to be a man who was humbled a bit by his lack of instant success in his NFL rookie campaign. The Redskins, no one need remind Spurrier, were just 7-9 in his debut season. That's about a decade's worth of defeats for a guy who ruled the SEC roost, even if he was despised by some peers, while resurrecting the Florida football program. There are some coaches whose profiles supercede those of their players and Spurrier certainly is included in that elite subset. But this camp lacks, and thankfully so, the circus atmosphere of his first go-round. And while there is never any doubt about who is the boss around here, Spurrier is allowing offensive coordinator Hue Jackson much more input, and seems far more comfortable with George Edwards as his defensive coordinator. Last year, recall, Spurrier was such an NFL greenhorn that Marvin Lewis, defensive coordinator at the time, had to do much of the camp planning. For all of his scheming genius, Lewis sometimes seemed to rub Spurrier the wrong way. Lewis, of course, is gone now. And so are some of the expectations that accompanied Spurrier here after his superb college career. The latter isn't such a bad thing. And neither is a Spurrier, who will never publicly concede it, but who got some comeuppance in 2002.

2. Edwards, who once served on Spurrier's staff at Florida, might have a difficult time maintaining the Redskins' lofty No. 5 defensive ranking of a year ago. And that isn't necessarily his fault. The Washington front four remains a large question mark and, while no one here will mourn the Tuesday decision to jettison tackle Dan Wilkinson (c'mon, 16 tackles in 12 games), his departure does remove not only a veteran starter but also the unit's most girthy individual. Until the Redskins can acquire another tackle -- and they would consider a trade if someone like Grady Jackson of New Orleans was available -- they will have to experiment with career backups like Jermaine Haley and Bernard Holsey in the lineup next to Brandon Noble. There is a notable lack of inside size, unlike a year ago, when Wilkinson and the also departed Daryl Gardener provided plenty of bulk. Noble is a try-hard, blue-collar guy who will bleed for you, but he isn't particularly special beyond his unquestionable effort. Left end Renaldo Wynn is also unspectacular but solid and, at the right end spot, there is at least an inkling of uncertainty. It appears that veteran Regan Upshaw, a productive player in spurts but also hindered by injuries the last couple years, will be the nominal starter. The venerable Bruce Smith, just three sacks shy of Reggie White's league record, likely will be a situational performer. Until last year, when they managed to finish 12th in the league against the run, the Redskins have been mostly miserable versus the ground game. Opponents will run at the front four until it proves capable of stopping people. Notable on the front four is that Edwards will not utilize the many "stunt" packages on which Lewis relied in '02. The intent is to allow the Washington linebacker corps -- LaVar Arrington, Jeremiah Trotter, Jessie Armstead -- to do much of the attacking. Coming off a knee injury, and a subpar season, Trotter will be permitted to run downhill to the ball. Instead of having big tackles protecting him from offensive linemen, Trotter will have to shed some blockers on his own, but actually likes that style. Several players have responded better to Edwards than they did to Lewis, because they say he is a better communicator. That might pay off eventually for the Skins. But the immediate concern is bolstering the front four. While management won't panic, and will hope to add a veteran tackle even late in preseason, the Washington personnel staff is certainly keeping its ear to the ground.

3. When scouts talk about speed, they usually refer to linear quickness, the ability to get vertically up the field. But wide receiver Laveranues Coles, the former New York Jets star who defected here as a restricted free agent, is an unusual player in that regard. While he can run deep, Coles' strong suit is his uncanny knack for creating horizontal separation from a cornerback. That's not to say you'll never see Coles, the Skins' new $35 million weapon, sprint up the boundary, right past the cornerback, and then make a classic over-the-shoulder scoring catch. But far more often, certainly in his 2002 breakout campaign, Coles authored big plays in the intermediate zone. And of the scintillating grabs that he made here early in camp, most were of that variety, although Coles also ran some sharp "post-corner" and "fade" routes that demonstrated his versatility. "He is just fearless in coming over the middle, going about 110 miles per hour, and trusting that you're going to get the ball to him in stride," said quarterback Patrick Ramsey. "He explodes out of cuts, and never has to throttle down, never loses a step." Coles has a very strong run-after-catch component to his game. Built more like a tailback than a wide receiver, he also has tailback-type running instincts, and can blow through the interior secondary. Coles isn't the only reason, though, that the Redskins should be able to field one of the NFL's fastest wide receiver corps. Clifford Russell, a third-round pick in 2002 who missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury, is a true burner. Veteran free agent acquisition Patrick Johnson also has great speed but he comes with plenty of questions. In five seasons, Johnson has never posted more than 29 catches and has averaged just 13.3 grabs per year. His 16.2-yard average, and average of one touchdown every 7.4 receptions are admirable, but Johnson never seems able to stay healthy long enough to make his speed really count. Former first-rounder Rod Gardner was miscast in the past as a "lead" receiver, but should really flourish now that Coles' presence permits him to be the complementary No. 2 guy. Gardner is the classic No. 2 wideout, a good, physical route-runner with solid hands and just a touch of sneaky deep speed. Rookie Taylor Jacobs, a second-round pick who had played for Spurrier at Florida and is familiar with the offense, was very impressive in the Tuesday and Wednesday practices. Backup quarterback Rob Johnson suggested Jacobs is the best route-runner he has ever seen as a rookie entering the league. Taylor made a great route adjustment and catch on a deep post Tuesday morning. The newfound team speed, and the intrinsic nature of Spurrier's offense to great "voids" into which the receivers can settle, should make this a much-improved area.

4. The charismatic Arrington, thrust into a public leadership position in his fourth season, has taken well to the role. The never-bashful linebacker has become a quasi-spokesman for the defense, doing interviews after every morning practice, and logging a ton of "face" time. On the field, Arrington rarely goes half-speed, even in the half-speed drills, and his mouth is definitely non-stop. On one Wednesday morning pass play, when Coles made a superb catch, in which he laid out his body to snatch the ball, but failed to jump back up to run, Arrington got into the face of the prized wideout. "Don't be scared, (expletive)" the linebacker screamed. "Catch the ball and run!" The second player chosen in the 2000 draft, Arrington has limitless ability, and really emerged as a force in '02, when he had 11 sacks. But while they won't ever acknowledge it publicly, the coaches here still feel that the man known familiarly as "L.A.," is too much a freelancer and missed way too many sacks last year. Edwards will still bring Arrington off the edge this season, because to not blitz him would be to subjugate one of his most meaningful skills, but don't look for the linebacker to be turned loose quite as much. And there is this element: Edwards will ask for more accountability from Arrington, a notorious gambler who certainly needs to play the scheme more often, and will ask him to drop and cover more than in the past.

5. Those detractors who never saw Spurrier when he coached at Florida still harbor the misconception that the running game is merely an afterthought to him. Not true. In fact, despite injuries last year to starting tailback Stephen Davis (now departed), the Redskins still finished a respectable No. 13 in rushing offense. Certainly it's true that the running design of the Fun-and-Gun offense is unusual, one in which the draw play is probably the most notable staple. There are tosses and counter tosses and, for the most part, if the Washington running game is working well, the backs should hit nothing but air for the first couple yards. In such an offense, the staff is hopeful that former St. Louis first-rounder Canidate, acquired in a trade for a fourth-round pick, can be a nifty fit. Sources said that Canidate, who was listed at 197 pounds in St. Louis, actually came to camp at 208 pounds. The fourth-year veteran logged just 98 carries and totaled only 495 yards in three seasons with the Rams, but did have an impressive 5.1-yard average. The offense here isn't designed to get any tailback the ball 25 times a game, but it will maximize average and so Canidate might prosper. That said, some staffers also like a couple of blue-collar overachievers from a year ago, Ladell Betts and Kenny Watson, although one of them might be sacrificed in the final roster cutdown if the Redskins decide that kickoff returner Chad Morton can handle third-down chores. The man who is clearly on the spot, though, is Canidate. One benefit he will have is a much improved interior offensive line. In recent years, the Redskins just seemed to feel they could plug any slug blocker at the guard spot. The results demonstrated how flawed that philosophy was, and the Washington guards were inexcusably bad. But the team opened the coffers to import free agents Randy Thomas and Dave Fiore and, even if the latter still has some issues about an historically balky back, the upgrade is obvious. There are now some inside holes and the quarterbacks aren't seeing as much inside pocket

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.