If it was Aug. 1, Joe Gibbs might have been concerned. On May 1, the Washington Redskins coach wasn't losing much sleep over his offense's sluggish performance during the first two days of minicamp.
"At this point in camp, you expect some of that," Gibbs said. "We have a great attitude. I think we have a great bunch of guys. How good we're going to be remains to be seen. For me, it's going to be a work in progress, and it's going to be hard to tell until we start playing games."
The Redskins' offense didn't particularly look like regular-season material yesterday, though quarterbacks Mark Brunell and Patrick Ramsey did show some signs of progress from Friday's session.
One day after Ramsey took the first set of snaps with the starting offense, Brunell lined up under center at the start of yesterday's workout. By the end of the afternoon, Brunell, Ramsey and Tim Hasselbeck had all taken an equal number of snaps, with none of the three particularly distinguishing himself from the others.
Washington's defense looked far more in midseason form. Cornerback Fred Smoot intercepted a tipped pass out of Brunell's hands, and pass rushers were frequently in the quarterback's face.
Linebacker LaVar Arrington, while excited about his unit's performance thus far under new defensive coach Gregg Williams, cautioned not to read too much into the disparity between offense and defense at this stage of the spring.
"That's always how it is," Arrington said. "Because the offense is so complex, it's definitely going to be a little slow with its development."
Samuels seeks rebound
After a season he calls his worst since high school and an offseason that featured some surprising trade rumors, Chris Samuels would like nothing more than to get back on the field and re-establish himself as one of the NFL's premier left tackles.
Samuels, though, has been reduced to mostly a spectator this weekend as the Redskins take precautions with his surgically repaired right shoulder. The fifth-year veteran, who has been participating only in noncontact conditioning drills, said he could be back in time for next month's final minicamp. If not, he's confident he'll be ready to go once training camp commences in July.
"We're not going to rush it," he said.
Whenever he is cleared to return to the huddle, Samuels is determined to put his subpar 2003 season behind him.
"I feel like I have something to prove," he said. "I had a terrible season last year. I have to get back to where I should be. ... It was hard on me mentally, because I know what type of player I am and what I can be. I'm just going back to square one, focusing on this season."
For a brief period last month, there was speculation Samuels might not be in a Redskins uniform this season. A rumor popped up on the Internet that Washington was looking to trade Samuels to the Oakland Raiders in order to move up in the draft and select Iowa tackle Robert Gallery.
It didn't take long for the rumor to become widespread, but Samuels was given assurances from his agent, Jimmy Sexton, that no deal was in the works.
"I really didn't worry about it too much," Samuels said. "I want to be here, I love the area, I love this organization. My agent did some checking around, talked to the Redskins and the Raiders, and they said it wasn't a possibility that it was going to happen."
Redskins band official dies
Harry Hinken, the Washington Redskins Marching Band personnel director who three times tried to become the first paraplegic to swim the English Channel, has died of cancer at age 79.
Hinken, an Arlington insurance agent, lost the use of his legs from polio in 1953, when he was 29 and a 6-foot-4, 195-pound former high school sports standout. He poured his energies into the Redskins Marching Band and open-water swimming, which he began as physical therapy.
Hinken, who died April 23 at Northern Virginia Community Hospital, was about 14 when he joined the band as a trombone player. He temporarily left during World War II to serve as a Marine Corps paratrooper.
Hinken became the band's drum major before illness forced him to switch to the administrative side, where he auditioned people to sing the national anthem and organized the band's halftime shows and other appearances.
He developed a freestyle-type swimming stroke that generated enough speed to make his legs flutter. He trained for nearly two years for his first attempt to swim the 22-mile English Channel in 1967, which ended after 10 hours when he encountered an oil slick.
Hinken suspended subsequent efforts in the next two years because of high winds and heavy seas.
Complications from diabetes and a neurological disorder later led to amputation of his legs.
Survivors include his wife of 48 years, Thelma Hinken of Arlington, a daughter, Kim, of Springfield, and a son, Doug, of Fairfax.
Extra points
Guard Dave Fiore's attempted return from knee surgery continues to move along at a slow pace, prompting assistant head coach for offense Joe Bugel to speculate whether the seven-year veteran's playing days are numbered.
"I feel so badly about the guy because he's got a lot of zippers on his knee," Bugel said. "I don't know what's going to happen to Dave — he's not permitted to practice right now. But whether he plays football or doesn't, if he ever decides to coach, he'll probably be a heck of a coach."
Fiore said retirement from pro football is the last thing on his mind.
"No, right now I'm focusing on returning and that's it," he said. "I never quit anything. I'm focusing on getting better." ...
Wide receiver James Thrash missed yesterday's practice after his recently born child had to be taken to the hospital. Thrash was back at Redskin Park early in the evening.
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