ASHBURN, Va. � It sure didn�t take long for Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen to begin remaking the Washington Redskins.

The changes have been swift and widespread in the 2� months since Shanahan was hired as the team�s coach and executive vice president. He�s been working alongside Allen, the new general manager, in the aftermath of a 4-12 season under the now-departed Jim Zorn and Vinny Cerrato.
�There�s a new sheriff in town,� former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann said in a telephone interview Thursday. �Make no bones about it, Mike is going to run that ship in a very tight, disciplined way, and everyone will be held accountable.�
There�s the overhaul of the staff of assistants, a planned switch to a 3-4 defense, 100 percent attendance at voluntary offseason workouts this week � the sorts of things that might be expected.
Less anticipated? The suddenly measured approach to free agency under free-spending owner Dan Snyder, especially considering there is no salary cap.
�Everybody said, �It�s a non-capped year. Boy, those Washington Redskins, they�re going to go out and spend, spend, spend, spend, spend,�� Theismann said. �But it�s one thing to have the ability to go and do it. It�s another to be able to have the patience to figure out what you need and do it the right way.�
As someone who came to the Redskins as a free agent himself, starting linebacker London Fletcher is familiar with how the team tends to operate in the offseason.
Not this time around, though.
�They always knew how to create excitement or anticipation during free agency in years past,� Fletcher said at Redskins Park. �But it�s a new regime here now.�
Instead of getting a LaDainian Tomlinson or Julius Peppers, say, the Redskins began the free-agent signing period with these pickups: offensive lineman Artis Hicks, who started only 13 games over the last three seasons with the Vikings; nose tackle Maake Kemoeatu, who spent last season on injured reserve with the Panthers; and tight end Sean Ryan, who has two touchdown catches in six NFL seasons.
�I guess it was a breath of fresh air, so to speak. Not thinking, �Oh, here we go again, same old situation, going out, trying to buy a championship,�� Fletcher said. �So by them not doing that, being very deliberate in their approach to free agency, targeting the guys that they wanted to target, I was definitely excited about the way they approached it.�
Washington recently added running back Larry Johnson and quarterback Rex Grossman, two players who could push incumbent starters Clinton Portis and Jason Campbell, respectively.
Still, Johnson only was given a base pay of $3.5 million over three seasons, while Grossman got a one-year deal. Hardly the big-bucks payouts given to guys such as Deion Sanders and Adam Archuleta in the past, not to mention the $100 million, seven-year contract with $41 million guaranteed that defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth received a year ago.
�They�re being very judicious in where and how they spend their dollars,� Theismann said. �Your running back situation, you brought somebody in. Your quarterback situation, you brought someone in. Your offensive line situation, you brought people in. And they�re not costing you a lot of money. That�s the other side of it: Every person that�s been signed, it hasn�t been a bank-breaker, like with Albert last year.�
There are other differences all around these days � even in the weight room. About 20 pieces of equipment were removed, and a couple of power racks are on the way in, new strength and conditioning coach Ray Wright said, part of an effort to boost efficiency.
More on-field changes are on the way.
First of all, there will be other player additions, of course � don�t forget, the Redskins cut 10 on the day before free agency began, a roster-slashing Fletcher called �very dramatic and drastic.�
So, for example, linebacker Joey Porter reportedly was on his way to Virginia for a visit, something Fletcher endorsed. And there is the not-so-insignificant matter of rebuilding the offensive line.
�We don�t know who�s going to be the left tackle,� Hicks said. �We don�t know who�s going to be the right tackle, and so forth.�
He�s one of those under-the-radar pickups in free agency, a guy who said Thursday �it�s too early� to know whether he will wind up playing tackle or guard for the Redskins.
Another key litmus test for �the new Redskins� looms with next month�s NFL draft.
Thanks to all of last season�s losing, the Redskins own the No. 4 pick in the first round. Will they address what is generally considered their biggest need and take a left tackle? Or will they take a quarterback with a household name, such as Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford of Oklahoma or Jimmy Clausen of Notre Dame?
Fletcher, for one, likes the way things are going so far.
�It�s a different feel around here with Coach Shanahan,� Fletcher said. �Just a different aura, different feeling. You can sense the excitement. Everybody�s excited about being here working ... and preparing to win.�