Jim Lang

Jim Lang is a Connected anchor and NFL reporter for Sportsnet. Also check out Jim's website, www.jimlang.ca

Day 1 of Sportsnet's NFL training camp tour began Monday in Ashburn, Va., home to Redskins Park.

A few thousand fans showed up on a mainly gray and rainy morning to watch their favourite football team in action Monday in Ashburn, Va., home to Redskins Park. There was no music being played over the loud speakers because this was a camp that is all about the business of getting ready for the upcoming regular season.

The Redskins training facility is also home to the most interesting player/coach battle going on in the NFL right now. On one side you have Mike Shanahan -- two Super Bowl rings, 146 career wins, one of the most respected head coaches in the NFL. On the other side you have Albert Haynesworth -- a six-foot-six, 350-pound two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle.

Haynesworth has quickly discovered that Shanahan is not a coach that you want to mess with. Haynesworth did not take part in the Redskins off-season conditioning program or any of the OTAs. Now he is paying the price for his actions. While the rest of the team works their collective butts off through the daily grind of two-a-day practices, Haynesworth is still trying to pass the Redskins basic conditioning test.

This morning Haynesworth made it through three 25-yard shuttle runs before having to shut it down because of ongoing problems with his knee. Shanahan has made it very clear to the assembled media that Haynesworth will not get into a live practice until he can pass the conditioning test.

Meanwhile the rest of the team is getting ready, physically and mentally, for the upcoming season and forming a bond with each other. Speaking to mammoth fullback Mike Sellers he made it very clear that he is not at all happy with Haynesworth. Unlike Haynesworth, Sellers and the rest of the team put in the time together working out in the off-season and taking part in the OTAs.

Donovan McNabb took that one step further as he hosted his own quarterback and receivers mini-camp at his home in Arizona just before the start of the main training camp. Everyone else on the Redskins seems to be eagerly buying into Shanahan’s way of doing things -- everyone except Albert Haynesworth.

A number of Redskins stood out in Monday’s session, not the least of which was McNabb. The former Eagles franchise quarterback still has a great arm and he was throwing some laser beams to wide receiver Santana Moss. Trying to make the most of tight end Chris Cooley’s hands, Shanahan had him split out either as a wide receiver or in the slot as an “H” back depending on the formation. Both Cooley and Moss were acting like they won the NFL lottery by having a quarterback like McNabb running the Redskins offence now.

Despite the presence of McNabb, the Redskins are still going to run the ball as much as possible. The three-headed monster of Clinton Portis, Willie Parker and Larry Johnson all got reps, with Porter getting the bulk of the reps with the first-team offence.

Defensively there was a lot of teaching going on as the Redskins get used to the nuances of the 3-4 defence. Veteran linebacker London Fletcher spends every available second before the ball is snapped to make sure that everyone is lined up in the right place. Of course it would be a lot easier for the Redskins coaching staff if their $100-million Pro Bowl defensive lineman was in good enough shape to take part in the practices.

So while the coaching staff and his teammates wait for Albert Haynesworth to get into good enough shape to start practicing, the rest of the players are quietly going about their business of preparing for the season.

Future CFLer –- No. 16, wide receiver Brandon Banks. The tiny five-foot-seven, 155-pound Banks looks like a little kid out there up against the rest of the Redskins. Having said all that, the rookie out of Kansas State looks like he was born to play in the CFL. The other future CFLer was Sellers. The former Blue Bomber said that after he’s done playing in the NFL, he wants to come back to Canada to play one more year in the CFL.

Up next Mario and I will be at McDaniel College in Westminster Maryland for Ravens camp.