Given what has transpired in preseason play to this point, maybe Steve Spurrier should re-nickname himself the "ol' ballsy coach."

A welcome breath of fresh air to the national media, who find candor a diminishing commodity around the league, the Washington Redskins coach is more like a dead skunk in the middle of the road to some of his peers. But love him or hate him, no one can argue Spurrier isn't the most compelling personality to come to the NFL in years, and perhaps outside of Pittsburgh safety Lee Flowers there have been no public suggestions he won't succeed.

Spurrier concerns himself more with points than polarization and, in a short period of time here, he has fashioned an army of true believers. To a man, it seems, even the most senior Washington players have gone from curious to convinced, and few first-year coaches can claim such speedy acceptance.

"The word everyone uses is 'arrogant,' but I think 'confident' is a better fit," said venerable cornerback Darrell Green. "He believes fully in everything he does. There's never been any hesitation and you never see any holding back. I've seen a lot of new head coaches where the self-doubt is obvious. But he never shows you that side because, I guess, it doesn't exist. It never occurred to him that this might not work."

	Spurrier thrives on proving other people wrong.

His critics aside, it is now occurring to most coaches who have played the Redskins in preseason that Spurrier might indeed make it work, that his "Fun and Gun" offense can create an instant impact. The prevailing opinion was that Spurrier would eventually succeed because, even taking into account his lack of professional experience, he is too smart to fail.

But eventually was supposed to be a couple years down the road, not in his baptismal campaign in the league, not even in his first preseason exposure. The Washington offense might yet crash and burn in two weeks, when the ammunition is live and defensive coordinators have installed something more daunting than the high school coverages they have played during the exhibition season, but Spurrier has definitely gained some respect.

Not that he frets over such matters.

Just as Spurrier did at the University of Florida, he can't help but wear his emotions on his sleeve, and his perception of being slighted on his lips. In even a short interview, one comes away with the palpable suspicion that Spurrier actually wants to be derided by his peers, to have his "little college offense" questioned.

If, in fact, there were no ghosts out there, Spurrier would conjure them up. If there were no easy targets, no skeptics at whom he could launch his feigned self-effacing comments, he would erect a few. You see, Spurrier needs to be doubted and scrutinized, because his ego dictates that he have something to prove to somebody out there who hasn't totally bought into his program.

Spurrier doesn't so much want respect as he does an excuse for retribution. He'll get one every week this fall which, for him, is a delicious proposition.

"Look, we don't apologize and we don't ask anyone else to (apologize) for the way they play," Spurrier said after a recent practice. "We're just trying to coach and play ball and (marked sarcasm here) be as good as it takes to be in the NFL. I mean, we're the new guys at this thing, right?"

Sure enough, but Spurrier is also the cagey old hand when it comes to the art of ersatz poor-mouthing, even if he represents the New Age head coach in the NFL. With the pendulum having swung back in the direction of the sideline, it is appropriate that Spurrier finally answer the NFL temptation this year, when it has never been so obvious the league is a coach's domain.

At least in preseason, he is proof positive that the NFL is as much about systems anymore as it is personnel, and that if your "O" can beat the other guys' "X," you will win more often than not. When it comes to doodling the "X's," few can match Spurrier's genius.

"It's just like back in college," said quarterback Danny Wuerffel, who has flopped with three other franchises but will be named the Redskins starter for the regular season. "He's standing there calling stuff off the top of his head. No cheat sheets. No game plan in front of him. Everything is right between his ears. And he makes it work."

But will it work in a couple more weeks? Will the Washington offense still have receivers running unchecked through opposition secondaries. And will Wuerffel, with six career starts in five previous seasons, still be putting up mind-boggling passer rating numbers?

Spurrier, who for all his brilliance still allows such doubts to get under his onion-thin skin, disdains such queries. They are, by nature he believes, a slight of him and his assistants and his players. This much is certain: He is a coach who plays offense every second of the game, a guy who would feel right at home if his breaks ever failed driving down a hill, because he has no concept of backing off the throttle anyway. Every play is drawn up as one meant to get into the end zone. If it doesn't, the next one will, he feels.

The doubters have been somewhat put in place, at least quieted for a while, until the season begins. Both they and Spurrier, at least in his heart, know he will have to run the ball more. He will have to protect better. And his wide receivers probably won't enjoy the five-yard cushions with which they have worked in preseason play.

But who's to say that Spurrier doesn't have more up his sleeve as well?

"Well, we've got a pretty deep bag (of tricks)," he acknowledged. "And maybe we haven't hit the bottom of it, either."

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