By Jason La Canfora
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 2, 2006

Coach Joe Gibbs said the Redskins will enter the season with John Hall as their place kicker and Derrick Frost as the punter, and expressed confidence in their abilities.

The team brought in two punters to compete with Frost this week, before he shined in Thursday's loss to Baltimore. Hall did not make a field goal more than 40 yards in the preseason games or scrimmage, but Gibbs was unequivocal in his support.

"We feel real good about all of that," Gibbs said.

Gibbs said Frost will handle punts, hold for kicks and perform kickoffs and "John Hall is our guy" kicking field goals. "He's a seasoned veteran guy there. That's what you want in a field goal kicker."

Hall has missed 14 games the past two seasons with various leg injuries; he underwent abdominal surgery in the offseason and was 2 for 4 in the preseason games. He had a kick from 43 yards blocked last Saturday at New England and missed wide from 42 yards on Thursday against Baltimore. Gibbs, however, said he has no issues with Hall's leg strength, which should be buoyed by no longer kicking off.

"He's got plenty of leg," Gibbs said of the 10th-year kicker.

Frost, entering his third NFL season, was inconsistent for the Redskins last season and struggled in the preseason as well before finishing strong on Thursday. His punts all traveled more than 40 yards, and his kickoffs went to the 5-yard line or better in the 17-10 loss to the Ravens.

"Sometimes you need to stand up and say, 'Hey look, I'm the guy,' " Gibbs said, praising Frost for his work this week.

Gibbs said he believes that most of the Redskins' injured starters will be ready for the Sept. 11 opener against Minnesota, with running back Clinton Portis and cornerback Shawn Springs the possible exceptions. They are both recovering from long-term injuries, while defensive linemen Renaldo Wynn (ankle), Cornelius Griffin (knee), Phillip Daniels (back) and Demetric Evans (tooth) are further along in their recovery.

"With the exception of Clinton and Shawn, we kind of know what we've got with everybody else there," Gibbs said. "I think most of our other guys will be ready to roll; they should be, hopefully by that time. I know our defensive linemen think they're going to be ready to go."

Springs is rehabbing from abdominal surgery and could miss several weeks of the season. Portis partially dislocated his left shoulder in the first preseason game and has not practiced since, but has been pointing toward playing in the Monday night opener. Quarterback Jason Campbell and wide receiver Jimmy Farris suffered minor hamstring injuries Thursday, but nothing serious, and reserve linebacker Robert McCune was out with a hamstring injury.

The Redskins' second-string offensive line was battered in the final two preseason games, allowing sacks on four straight series at one point Thursday, with massive openings on the perimeter and interior of the line. There are few proven backups on the roster at that spot, and Gibbs said sorting out which linemen will make today's 53-man roster will be challenging. It's also a position the Redskins are expected to watch closely as other teams make their final cuts.

"There's not a lot of spots on our team, but I do think there might be an isolated case or two where we say this could be a good person for us to add," Gibbs said.

Gibbs blamed the reserve line's sack issues Thursday largely on "individual mistakes." . . .

Rookie safety Reed Doughty had planned to return to Redskins Park this weekend after his first son was born about a month premature in Colorado this week, but Gibbs has urged him to take as much time as necessary. Doughty, a sixth-round pick in April, missed Thursday's game to be at the hospital, where his son was placed immediately in an incubator and needed oxygen.

Gibbs said the infant was doing much better yesterday. . . .

Gibbs said weak-side linebacker Warrick Holdman fared well while playing middle linebacker with the second-team defense Thursday.