Speaking of coaches who rarely curse, what is it like to play for Gregg Williams?
(Laughs). Gregg is a fiery coach, and I think on the defensive side of the ball you need a little of that. You need a coach who will light a fire up under you every now and then. I think if we gave Gregg a helmet on Sundays he'd be out there trying to make plays with us, so he definitely gets you going. He comes from that Buddy Ryan school of thought - a high intensity type coach. As a defensive player you love playing for a fiery defensive coordinator like that.

During a routine drug test last August, your urine sample was classified as diluted, and by league rules you were placed in the NFL's substance abuse program. For the rest of the season you were subjected to random testing and you even had to undergo a psychiatric evaluation - even though you didn't actually fail a drug test. How tough was it to go through all of that and should the NFL fix the system so they're not penalizing a guy who could have simply drank too much water?
It was a tough deal last year. I hated it because I felt like I was being accused of a crime I didn't do. It really pisses you off because you shouldn't be guilty until proven innocent. It should be the other way around. But unfortunately, in that situation, it wasn't the case. They definitely need to revisit that whole rule. I think in some of the other leagues - like in baseball or the NBA - if a guy's sample is too diluted they just test him again. Especially if he hasn't ever failed a drug test.

I've never failed one, all the way back to college, and this is my eighth year in the league. I got tested in the first couple days of training camp, when it's pretty damn hot in Virginia, so you gotta be hydrated because they're constantly preaching to us to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Well, you don't wanna be too hydrated or you can get thrown into some crazy deal that haunts you all year. So, I think they need to revisit it and come up with some better ways to handle it to weed out the guys who are trying to mask something versus the guys who are just trying to take care of their bodies and do the right thing by hydrating.

Between the drug test, your hip injury last season and the dislocated elbow this preseason, I know you just wanted to get all of that past you and play football. How great has this solid start been for you personally and are the 2007 Washington Redskins for real? I know Coach Gibbs doesn't like predictions, but can we expect a return to the playoffs?
It's been great to put all that stuff behind me. Last year was a tough year for me, a tough year for the team, our coaches, the fans - everybody. It's great to put all that behind you and start on a clean slate. So far we've gotten off to a pretty good start and we're just trying to focus on the next game. We're trying to go 1-0 for a week and not look too far down the road. We're not worried about playoffs or starting to get measured for our Super Bowls rings or anything like that. We're just out here working hard and approaching each game by putting our best foot forward and doing the best we can do. If we can consistently do that all year, then I think we'll be fine.

Talk to us about gameday. Are your superstitious? Do you have a set routine - you know, a certain meal or music to get you in the right frame of mind?
I'm not a real superstitious guy. I like to listen to music to get hype. I like my music really loud so I can almost go into like another dimension. I don't have a lot of superstitions. My towel has to be really nice and perfect, the way I like it and my music's got to be loud. That's it for me.

Anyone who has ever stepped into the locker room or watched you on the field during a TV timeout knows you love music. What are you listening to these days and what should fans put in the CD player to get them fired up on Sundays?
You know, I'm all over the place. When I first come into the locker room we've got maybe an hour and a half before its gametime, so I've got the slow jams pumping. I don't wanna get too hype too fast. So I've got some slow jams, maybe some south rock. But about 30 minutes before the game you start to crank it up a little bit. Right now we've got that Young Jeezy, T.I. and that Soulja Boy's been pretty hot lately. That's kind of how I do it.

For fans, I would definitely go T.I. with T.I. versus T.I.P. That's probably the hottest CD out right now. The hottest single out right now is probably "Crank That" by Soulja Boy.

A lot of your teammates are big into video games. Between the PS3 and the 360, I know some big games of Madden and Halo are played. Do you play?
I've got a PS3, but I haven't played it a bunch. Actually, I haven't played it any. I've been over on the PS2. I love playing NCAA college football. That's my favorite game. I think some of the guys play Madden and have tournaments, but I'm more of a college guy. I just like to run the option. That's one of my favorite plays and you can't really run that on Madden, so I always play it on NCAA.

What would you be doing for a living if you never got into football?
If I hadn't played in college and hadn't gotten a scholarship then maybe I would have went into the military. Try to do it that way and choose a profession. Or, I'm really into history, so maybe I would have become a history teacher.

Which military branch could you have seen yourself choosing?
My uncle was an Army guy, but I think I would have tried the Navy SEALs - that's the coolest thing ever. I don't know if I could even make it, but definitely trying would have been cool. I would have been able to say I tried it and got this far.

And what do you see yourself doing after you retire from football?
Maybe teaching history. I think I want to go back to school and study history a little more. Maybe teach, and I don't know, maybe even a little coaching.

I'm not sure if you know this, but 2,551 miles from Ashburn, Virginia, is a town called Marcus, in Washington State. Have you ever been out there?
I've never been out there. A couple people looked it up on the Internet and told me about it. I used to know the population, but I can't remember it right now ...

At last count, there was something like 117 people there. Even though you've never been there, how do you envision the town of Marcus, Washington?
I think it should just be happy all the time. There should be a happy hour and wingfest every day, you know what I mean? There should be a mandatory nap time, so people can get off of work and go home and take a nap. But people would definitely be hype and have a good time with a bunch of parades, parties and a real upbeat town.

Photo by Brian Murphy

So if you roll in do they automatically have to give you the key to the city? How does that work?
I think I should be able to get the key to the city. If it's a town called Marcus, Washington that would only be right. I should at least be considered for the key, if not given to me.

It's funny because you grew up in Auburn and then went to Auburn. Your name is Washington, and you're playing in Washington. At some point, you're going to end up in Marcus, Washington - it's already been laid out there for you.
(Laughs). I think so. I think that's probably my destiny. I'll be a history teacher out there in Marcus, Washington. That sounds like it may be in my future.

And finally, when they make a movie based on your life who will play you and what will the name of the movie be?
I think Denzel Washington might play me in the movie, and the name of it would be Grustling - a mixture of hustling and grinding. We call it grustling.

Interviewed by Brian Murphy, September 2007.