Giants to kick off the NFL season hosting Washington

NFL executives will officially announce the opening weekend and national TV games at the annual owners' meeting which begins in Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday.

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The kickoff is expected to be earlier than the usual 8.30pm (EST) and is likely to be scheduled for 7pm (EST) - 12 midnight for British fans, who will be able to watch the game exclusively live on Sky Sports.

The Giants lost 22-10 in the same fixture at Giants Stadium last season, but beat the Redskins 24-17 in Washington last season, splitting the series. Prior to that, the Giants won the three previous meetings with their rivals at the Meadowlands.

The clash will mark Jim Zorn's head coaching debut for Washington, who will also kick off the pre-season schedule as well, playing the Indianapolis Colts in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, on August 3.

The day before the game, former Redskins Darrell Green and Art Monk will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress is not expected to participate in the New York Giants' offseason program because he is rehabbing ankle, knee and shoulder injuries.

Burress played through the ankle injury all season, but this is the first report of a shoulder injury, which is described as a slight AC joint separation.

After studying Clinton Portis on tape during the offseason, Redskins coach Zorn is preparing the seven-year veterean running back for a bigger role in the offense.

Portis, who finished sixth in the league in rushing with 1,262 yards, is spending his offseason training at the team's complex.

"We think that he can be a 1,800-yard back this season," assistant head coach/running backs Stump Mitchell said.

Despite the implementation of the West Coast offense, the team will keep their blocking schemes intact and believe that continuity will allow Portis to thrive as their feature back.

The Redskins are also contemplating expanding Portis' role as a receiver after he hauled in a career-high 47 passes last season.

"We know that he was productive as a receiver last season, but most of his receptions were of the 'check-down' variety," Mitchell said.

"We will see how he runs routes during mini-camps and Organized Team Activities and determine if we can make him a bigger part of the passing game. He is a complete player with an unbelievable set of skills and we must find a way to maximize his talent."

A Miami judge has postponed the trial of four men accused in the slaying of Washington Redskins' safety Sean Taylor until August.

Defense attorneys and prosecutors said on Friday they weren't prepared for trial to begin April 7 as initially planned. Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy rescheduled the case for August 25.