The offseason is officially over. 

The Washington Redskins gathered on Saturday afternoon for a team meeting, and on Sunday morning they’ll be the first NFL team to have a real, live training camp practice in 2008.

Coach Jim Zorn said on Saturday that morning practices will be “heavy,” with players typically in full pads.  The afternoon sessions will be less intense, and on some days veterans will practice only once per day.

“You will see some days will be a morning practice and a special teams practice in the afternoon,” Zorn said.  “There won’t be anything else but special teams.”

Still, the experience will be more intense than the camps under Joe Gibbs, with more contact.

“I think our lines — they’ll have physical contact every day,” Zorn said.  ”Our running backs and our linebackers [will have contact].  Even our defensive backs and receivers have to learn how to block or shed blockers downfield.

“It’s the live contact, where you’re taking a guy to the ground and leaving your feet — we have to watch that [to avoid injuries].”

Because of extensive offseason practices, which entail plenty of contact in T-shirts and shorts, training camp for most if not all teams generally isn’t the same grueling, physical hardship that it has been in past years.

Still, it can turn serious.  Seven years ago, Vikings tackle Korey Stringer died due to practice in intense summer heat.