On day three of training camp, coaches and players began to settle in and focus more on the details. Position coaches spent extra time working with players on technique before 11-on-11 drills closed out practice.

For the third day in a row, both offensive and defensive squads broke up onto separate fields and practiced against each other. This created some unusual matchups.

At one point, Laveranues Coles donned a green cap over his burgundy helmet and played defensive back. His assignment: cover Gari Scott. On the other practice field, Brandon Noble wore a blue cap on his helmet and tried to pass protect against Norman Heuer.

"Be quick on the feet!" shouted linebackers coach Dale Lindsey.

Later, from assistant head coach-defense Gregg Williams: "Work on your angles, let's go!"

With Champ Bailey traded to Denver, Fred Smoot has stepped to the forefront of the Redskins' secondary. He openly invites offenses to line up the team's top receiver against him. Joe Gibbs obliged on Sunday, working Laveranues Coles against the fourth-year cornerback.

On Monday, Smoot had an easier go of it, covering young receivers Sean Dillard and Jafar Williams on successive plays. Later, Smoot knocked away a deep pass to Taylor Jacobs, drawing a chorus of "Smoooooooot" cheers from the fans in attendance.

Last year, Smoot stepped up as one of the team leaders after playing through several injuries. His easygoing personality has caught the attention of Joe Gibbs.

Asked what impresses him about Smoot, Gibbs said: "His sense of humor. Fred keeps everyone going. I don't care whether it's off the field, on the field, warm-ups. He always has some kind of joke, comment--or he's making fun of someone. He's probably making fun of me, I just haven't heard it yet."