“I hate getting up in the morning,” Davis said. “[But] that was stuff I did when I was younger. I get a lot of sleep now. I don’t have a choice. You have to be reliable.

“Everyone’s going to look at every little thing until I do something like make a big play. Then people will be like, OK. That’s what it’s going to take. I know that. I’m ready to do that.”

The Redskins, of course, would be pleased if that’s not a hollow promise. In practices, Davis has shown more than the two receivers he was drafted with in the second round, Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas.

And if the athletic Davis comes through, the Redskins can use the two tight end sets that they desire, with both he and Chris Cooley in the slot on opposite sides. Someone would have a mismatch.

“[Davis] has been very effective all camp,” Redskins coach Jim Zorn said. “He’s playing very fast. He’s an aggressive player and he’s kind of a no-nonsense player. He’s not trying to flash or move the ball around, he’s catching it, turning and going. It’ll make a big difference for us. I really like what he’s doing. I couldn’t be happier with how he’s improving.”

But this wouldn’t happen without the changes in Davis.

“Fred has been a responsible individual through this camp,” said tight end Chris Cooley, who has helped tutor Davis and is close to him.

Part of the change first happened after the 2008 season opener. Davis found himself in an unusual spot for that game — on the sidelines. In street clothes. The next day he met with coach Jim Zorn, wanting to know how he could avoid a repeat of that scenario. Zorn said Davis started working differently afterward. He was inactive in three other games later that year, but finished the year playing more than Todd Yoder opposite Cooley.

“That was one of the significant things that happened to him,” Zorn said. “That hurt him. … One of the things we talked about last year was to make us put you on the field. That’s what he’s done.”

Redskins Notes

» Albert Haynesworth has a request: He wants to play offense. OK, it’s more that he thinks it would be fun to play, allowing him to return to his roots as a high school tight end. Not to mention someone who said he once ran the 100-yard dash in 11.5 seconds (or 11.7 seconds; he couldn’t remember for certain) as a high school junior.

In Tennessee, Haynesworth said he occasionally ran a play or two on offense in practice.

“Some tight end stuff, like in a goalline package,” he said. “We had a goalline package where they put me at fullback.”

When asked how his hands were, Haynesworth said, “They’re all right. I’m an athlete, man.”

Before high school, Haynesworth was a running back. When the high school coaches saw his size, they switched him to the line.

“I had never put my hand in the ground,” he said. “I guess it’s worked out for me.”

Yes, it has. And in practice Monday, he went twice in one-on-one drills vs. Chris Samuels. It appeared each won one battle. But not in Haynesworth’s mind.

“I don’t know about him getting me once,” he said. “Both times I was there by the [phantom] quarterback. But we didn’t have a quarterback back there so you can’t count it as a sack. Maybe it’s for the offensive line to make them feel better, I don’t know.”

» The Redskins sidelined by injuries Monday were: receiver Santana Moss (hamstring), running back Anthony Alridge (toe), guard Rueben Riley (ankle) and right tackle Jeremy Bridges (ankle).

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