FILM CRITIC: Joe Gibbs' first trip through the NFL featured a limited replay-review experience. The coaches had no say in the matter. Whether a play was reviewed was left to the official in the replay booth.
This time around, Gibbs has the option of requesting two replays per game. If he's correct, the play is reversed. If not, he loses a timeout.
Gibbs leaves as little to chance as possible, and trial-and-error is not one of his favorite methods of operation. Timeouts are crucial to Gibbs, and he doesn't want to waste one on a bad replay-appeal decision.
So Gibbs, leaving no detail unturned, has hired Larry Hill to serve as the Redskins' replay expert.
Hill has plenty of expertise. He spent the past five years working as a replay official for the NFL. He was the man in the booth for the NFL at last season's Super Bowl.
When a questionable play takes place, Gibbs will ask Hill whether it's wise to appeal it. Gibbs' reasoning is that his assistant coaches always will want to appeal and almost always will think the call has gone against them and will be reversed. Hill will serve as a voice of reason. He also will advise Gibbs on whether a play can be appealed.
"I think that will be a real benefit for me," Gibbs said. "He'll travel with us, fill out all the reports. We're going to have officials here [at practice] every day, and he will coordinate that.
"With the two-point play and adding the challenge system, coaches don't have enough to do on the sidelines anyway."
Then Gibbs laughed and said, "Now we've got a real nightmare. It's like you should flip a coin and start throwing stuff."
GROIN PAINS: Running back Clinton Portis sat out of yesterday practice because of a sore groin.
"We've got about three of them, and that starts to concern you," Gibbs said. "You try to be careful and back off a little bit."
NET GAINS: The Redskins have placed nets between the uprights on all four of their practice fields. Now, everyone will know whether field goal attempts in practice are good without having to stand behind the uprights.
The only drawback is that on shorter attempts, kickers John Hall and Ola Kimrin tend to kick the ball over the nets. On longer kicks, 40 to 50 yards, the ball lands in the net.
Gibbs also has a clock in one corner of the field for every practice. It counts down from 15 minutes and also displays a 40-second play-clock timer.
USE TWO, GET ONE FREE: One reason Gibbs wants the best advice possible on challenges has to do with a rule change this season. If a coach uses both his challenges, and is successful on both, he earns a third challenge, if he has a timeout left. Unsuccessful challenges cost the team issuing the challenge a timeout.
Last year, after a coach used his two challenges, he was out of luck if something came up later in the game.
DEPTH OF FEELING: Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams pleaded with people not to pay attention to the initial defensive depth chart.
"Please do not take that much stock in how we start the game or end the game in terms of units," Williams said. "That is going to change drastically over the course of a five-week preseason."
But it was difficult not to notice that the first string free safety is Andre Lott and the third-string strong safety is Ifeayni Ohalete.
Lott was the third-string free safety last season. Ohalete was the starting strong safety last season. Todd Franz is playing with the second unit at strong safety now, and Matt Bowen, last year's free safety, has moved to strong safety.
Lott probably is keeping the position warm until Sean Taylor gets up to speed. Taylor, the team's first-round draft choice, is not likely to sit on the sidelines, barring an injury or complete flop, considering the size of his contract and his physical abilities.
"The thing I like about Andre is that he has corner movement skills," Williams said. "Now I need to see him have safety toughness skills.
"I'm anxious to see him play. You can see we have him with the starting unit, and that is what we think of him right now."
TWO'S A CROWD, AND ILLEGAL: The NFL plans to keep celebrations in check this season. If one player engages in a spontaneous celebration, that is all right. If two players engage in a celebration at the same time, and it appears to be rehearsed or staged, that will result in a 15-yard penalty.
In other words, if one player does the "Lambeau Leap" and jumps into the crowd in the end zone seats, that's allowed. If a second player takes the leap, that's a 15-yard penalty.
And if one player uses an object that is not a part of his uniform - a Sharpie pen, a cheerleader's pom-poms, a cell phone - that also will result in a 15-yard penalty.
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