WHEN WE WENT to summer camp, we spent our time swimming at the pool or sharing ghost stories around campfires. When the Washington Redskins report to their summer camp on Friday, they won’t have any time for swimming or campfires. They’ll be too busy trying to put a plan in place that will help the team rebound from last season’s 11-loss campaign.

Ghost stories may not be eradicated from the team’s training camp itinerary, though, because any chatter about the team’s defense of a year ago is spooky enough to be considered one. That’s because Washington’s defense, which had ranked in the top 10 for three consecutive seasons prior to a year ago, couldn’t have been more inconsistent.

The unit ranked 31st out of the 32 teams in total defense. Washington’s pass defense finished the season as the league’s 23rd-best.

Worse than the team’s ineffectiveness at stopping opposing passers was its struggle against opposing running backs. Only five defenses were shoddier at stopping the run than the Redskins, who forced seven fewer turnovers than any other team in football.

The scariest part about the defense’s decline is that most of the players and coaches still don’t know what triggered the regression.

It’s as if the team had been diagnosed with some sort of disease a year ago and is hoping to have a full recovery this fall, even though doctors still don’t know what was wrong.

The team will count on its new personnel to act as medicine for the ailment.

Middle linebacker London Fletcher-Baker was added to help resurrect the team’s run-stopping abilities.

Washington’s secondary, which was annihilated by injuries a year ago, underwent a bigger restoration than any other unit on the team’s roster. The Redskins signed free-agent cornerback Fred Smoot, a six-year veteran who spent his first four years as a fan favorite in Washington.

Smoot is expected to compete with fourth-year cornerback Carlos Rogers for a starting spot opposite Shawn Springs. Signees David Macklin and Jeremetrius Butler also will vie for playing time on the team’s cornerback depth chart.

First-round draft choice LaRon Landry, a hard-hitting and athletic safety from LSU, will likely start opposite Pro Bowler Sean Taylor.

Some teams can get by without getting stellar play from their defense. The Redskins won’t be one of those teams. Despite having a bevy of playmakers, the team’s offense is going to be guided by Jason Campbell, who has just a half-season of NFL experience under his belt.

If Washington’s defense plays the way it did in 2005, when it ranked 10th in the NFL, the team might return to the playoffs. But if its defense relapses to last season’s form, Redskins fans can expect another dreary season.