And thanks to a guest at the park, there was one fewer changed face: longtime head trainer Bubba Tyer was in the building yesterday. "Bubba was the trainer when I was here," Gannon said. "It's good to see Joe Bugel -- he wasn't with us when I was here in 1993, but he's a legend here and it's great to see him out here coaching. It's one of the great things about the Redskins, how the history is so important. You look at the logo and the name ... it strikes a chord in a lot of people, whether you live here in the D.C. area or you're just a fan of the National Football League. They've got a proud and rich tradition."

Gannon was an NFL player for seventeen years with five teams, and two of those teams are playing today. In 1998, Gannon was one of three quarterbacks with the Chiefs; the other two were both guys out of Michigan: Elvis Grbac, and current Redskins backup Todd Collins.

And -- in separate conversations -- the two of them spoke VERY highly of one another. Here's Gannon on Collins: "Todd and I were together in Kansas City, and I'm really proud of him. Here's a guy who's in his fifteenth year, and he's just been a consummate professional, a guy who's done all the little things and a guy that can step in at a moment's notice and really play very well. He and I spent a lot of time together in the quarterback meeting room in Kansas City, had a lot of laughs. He's a very funny guy, very quick-witted and humorous. I think it's great to have that type of guy in the meeting room, especially with a younger quarterback like Jason Campbell -- a guy who's been through a number of different systems and changes, who understands defensive football, and can really have a positive impact on a player like Jason Campbell."

Meanwhile, here's Collins giving Gannon credit for instilling some of those very qualities in him: "I played with him for a year in '98. Rich was a twelve year vet at the time, and I really learned a lot from him. His approach to the game, the way he prepared for the game. He was a backup for a long time in his career, had been a one-time starter like I was in Buffalo. And he had been outta the league for a year, kinda battled his way back in, and was seen as a backup quarterback until he got an opportunity in '98. That's when Gruden went to Oakland, they signed him to a four-year deal, and then he's the NFL MVP a few years later."

That, Collins said, represents pretty much the fantasy scenario for a backup QB. "He played a lot of good football in Kansas City, but if someone had told the average Chiefs fan that this guy was gonna go to the archrival Oakland Raiders and be the MVP of the league and be in the Super Bowl, I don't think they woulda bought it."

The reason for that success, according to Gannon? "I think my career was about perseverance, hanging in there and battling. I didn't come into this league with a silver spoon in my mouth, and certainly Todd didn't either. But he's been able to survive, and that's a big part of this business."

I was hoping for some amusing Gannon stories, but Collins wouldn't oblige. "He's a pretty clean-cut guy," Collins said. "I was driving home behind him after practice one day, and he's swerving around a little bit. So I say, 'Rich, you gotta pay more attention to the road, what were you doin'?' And he said, 'I use that time to memorize my formations.'"

I asked Collins if it was strange seeing his former teammate doing prep work to announce games, especially a game against the team they were both on. "It is kinda weird," Collins said, "just because '98 is pretty fresh in my mind, because he had some impact on me in our time together. But now he's been out of the league for, like, five years and he's been broadcasting, and I'm still playing. But he played seventeen years, so I've still got two more to catch him."

As I usually do when I talk to these guys, I asked Gannon what his impressions of the team were after watching practice. His answer was about what you'd expect, for better or for worse. "I think clearly one side of the ball is further ahead than the other side," Gannon said. "The defense is playing well right now, they're playing with confidence. The young players are really starting to come into their own over there -- I really like Orakpo, I think he's got a chance to be a special player. I think the addition of Albert Haynesworth has freed up a lot of guys along that defense, and they're playing fast.

"On the other side of the ball," he continued, "it's a unit that's in transition. I think they're still trying to find their identity. I think the inability to run the football right now is a concern, and it puts more pressure on Jason Campbell. The issues along the offensive line, we see Joe Bugel out there working with the guys, trying to get the guys acclimated to the speed of the game, get them ready for what they're gonna see against Kansas City. They're gonna have their work cut out for them. I think the important thing for them this week is to try to find a way to run the ball with success; if they can do that, I think this offense can continue to make strides."

And Collins's final thoughts about seeing Gannon at practice? "He looks really old," he said, laughing. "I hope I don't look that old.