After seven long seasons, Fred Smoot finally experienced the NFL playoffs last year. It was only a taste, though, because the Redskins quickly exited with a 35-14 loss to Seattle.
Now his appetite has grown. He believes the Redskins of 2008 can go deep into the playoffs and make a run at a Super Bowl.
That's one reason why he has been regular participant in the Redskins' off-season workouts this year.
"I just want to pick it up," Smoot said. "I still feel like I have a lot in my career that I haven't fulfilled yet. That's why I'm here [at off-season workouts]--I'm keeping it going.
"Hopefully I can pick up where I left it off last year, and better things will happen for me."
After two mediocre seasons in Minnesota, Smoot returned to the Redskins last year and re-emerged as a top cover cornerback during the Redskins' stretch run last year.
He moved into the starting lineup after Carlos Rogers was sidelined for the season with a knee ligament injury.
He had five tackles and five passes defended in the Redskins' Week 15 win over the New York Giants. A week later, he had seven tackles and an interception in the Week 16 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Smoot could return to a starting role--opposite Shawn Springs--at the start of the 2008 season. It's uncertain if Rogers, still rehabbing the knee injury, will be fully ready by that time.
Smoot admitted to disappointment that Gregg Williams is no longer with the Redskins, but he was glad to see Greg Blache land the top job on defense.
And Smoot's excited that Blache doesn't expect to change things.
"He doesn't think we need much change, he just thinks there are a couple of things we need to improve on," Smoot said. "He just points us to those things and we improve on them.
"I think, on offense, Coach [Jim] Zorn has a great view of the team. We played the Seahawks in the playoffs [where Zorn was an assistant coach last year], so he should have a good feel for the team and where he needs to make upgrades."
-- FEDEXFIELD ATTENDANCE MARK
Another year, another Redskins home attendance record.
The NFL announced this week that the Redskins established a new NFL home attendance record in 2007, with a total of 711,471 fans attending games at FedExField.
It's the eighth consecutive year that the Redskins have led the NFL in regular season home paid attendance. The eight-game average in 2007 was 88,934.
The Redskins also set a new NFL attendance record by playing in front of 1,264,890 fans in their 16 games, home and away.
Washington fans set a new franchise record on Dec. 30, 2007, when 90,910 fans attended the Redskins' 27-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys at FedExField.
