Landry/Bell both to start

this is 2x better than Leonard/Smith...nothing against Leonard, but Smith is fucking awful

 

Yes, Landry>Leonhard (but both injury prone) and anybody>Eric Smith.

 

that or we are concerned with landrys health. i think i heard on the radio that he is basically an unknown as far as his health.

 

We had 2 free safeties last year in Pool and Leonhard. Smith was our strong safety. We upgraded smith with Landry, then drafted another SS in Allen and signed another SS in Bell and apparently are going to go with two SS's starting and no FS. Our only FS right now is sixth round rookie Josh Bush.

I think we'd have been better off sticking with Pool or Leonhard at FS than letting both walk and stocking up on 4 SS's and a 6th round rookie FS. But what do I know? Just another day of the 2012 offseason I guess.

 

I wouldn't be to worried about the whole SS and FS difference. Though I know it is a difference in play. Hawk vs. In the box but I believe Bell will be able to as well as Landry be a serviceable Safety regardless which pos they play. I don't think we will be exploited as much as last year no doubt

 

I'll believe that when I see it. Neither Landry nor Bell strike me as good coverage safeties. I know everything can sound rosey in the offseason but this situation sounds troubling to me. Maybe I'm just worried for no reason.

Are they both better than Smith in coverage - sure Landry is a little better but Bell is probably about the same tbh. Neither are as good as either Leonhard or Pool in coverage - not even close.

 

This is a badass Safety tandem along with the much improved DL this defense could be nearing greatness.

 

It's solid for this system but TEs will still murder us.

Rex is looking like he wants to be the #1 run defense in the league. We have all run stoppers in the front 7 and safety position.

 

TEs will try to murder us. These guys are going to lay the wood no doubt. Gronkowski is a beat and I dont think theres a Safety in the league who can handle him.

 

That strikes me as a terrible idea -- neither Landry nor Bell can be trusted in man coverage.

And, for what it's worth, I don't think that this closes the door on Leonhard. We'll still need a free safety for passing downs, and with Landry's obvious injury problems we should be accumulating all of the depth that we can.

 

I am fully aware the Landry has bulked up a ton and had injuries, etc. But I'm still always surprised that people forget that he was drafted as an ultra athletic free safety and the concerns when he was drafted were exactly the opposite of what we have today. See his rookie scouting report at draft time below for reference. I'm not trying to be a total homer but assuming no injuries that safety tandem actually has some very high upside for this year. Yeremiah is a tough verteran and great run defender and Landry does have the potential to be an excellent all around defender. Sprinkle in some of the young sub defenders we have on 3rd down and we may have several different looks we can throw as teams and in particular at explosive 2 tight end sets like the Patriots run.

In no way do I think Landry will be "shutting down" Gronkowksi any day here (don't know if there is a safety or linebacker who has done so - other than due to injury) but I have to say I am very excited about the tools we have to throw at teams on defense versus last year.

http://seventhmillenniumsportsgear.com/dc2007draft/2007_laron_landry.php

LaRon Landry
Washington Redskins FS 6 LSU

Stength: LaRon Landry has been one of the most feared safeties by wide receivers in major college football since his freshman season at LSU. LaRon Landry has superior tackling skills for a safety. He has excellent coverage skills, dominating most college receivers when put in coverage situations. LaRon Landry has consistently made big plays against top college offenses. LaRon Landry has shown good hands for a defensive back. LaRon Landry has better speed than most cornerbacks in the NFL. LaRon Landry has a reputation for working hard breaking down films and studying his opponents. LaRon Landry is known for making very quick, accurate decisions on the football field. LaRon Landry has unusual quickness and burst for a safety. He easily evades or defeats most blockers. LaRon Landry seldom missed any time during football games for fatigue or injury.
Weakness: Though he is very well built, LaRon Landry is a little smaller than the ideal for a safety.

Development: Though it wasn't a major surprise for LaRon Landry to go at the 6th pick, it was about 5 to 10 picks earlier than most people were expecting. The more surprising thing seemed to be that the Washington Redskins drafted LaRon Landry, already having a lot of proven depth at the safety position. LaRon Landry is probably more ready to step into the starting lineup now than Sean Taylor was as a rookie, but Washington has the luxury of breaking him in over the course of the season. It is not clear which safety position LaRon Landry will play. He and Sean Taylor have similar skills sets, though Sean Taylor is bigger and not quite as enthusiastic about coverage. This would seem to put LaRon Landry at free safety, but the Redskins will most likely resist that idea because Sean Taylor has been playing free safety in this defense so long. Also, Sean Taylor was a better free safety when he was focused more on the passing game and less on stopping the run. LaRon Landry is perfectly capable of playing strong safety in the likely event the Redskins feel it would be easier to break in one player to a new position than two. Barring injury, LaRon Landry will definitely see his share of playing time during the 2007 season. Because of his intelligence and his superior work ethic in the filmroom and playbooks, do not be surprised if Laron Landry is one of the few rookies in coach Gibbs' history to start the opening game of the season as a rookie. The Redskins are actually secretly hoping he'll help mentor and inspire Sean Taylor to reach the greatness his athleticism warrants.

Fantasy Football Rating: LaRon Landry does everything pretty well and his stats should all be slightly above average from the moment he becomes a starter.

Typecast Outlook Opinion: Athletic rarity. Ready to play. 95% chance of NFL success. 85% chance of Pro Bowl.

 

Where gonna start two aggressive hard hitting safeties with average at best coverage skills ? I don't know about this. Either way i have faith in Rex so well see.

 

In terms of hard hitting bad asses then yeah but neither are good coverage guys, especially Bell. Landry if 100% can be a solid cover guy at best.

Gonna be interesting to see how this works.

 

This seems really strange. With Kerry Rhodes completely "failing" at the job, and the troubles we've had after Leonhard's injuries the last few years... we've been sold a story of the complexity the Jets have built into the safety position. And now two brand new guys are just gonna come in and succeed?! Two SSs to boot?

 

This might be an oversimplification, but it may be that Rex is expecting a better pass rush from the D-line translating into less need for blitzing D-backs, and less time for quarterbacks to make decisions, which should ease some of the deep middle coverage pressure on the safeties.

 

This is Rexs system plain and simple.

Like I said in my previous post, it seems as though Rex's Outlook on this season is to stop the run.

I mean look at the players we have acquired, Bryan Thomas, Coples, Antonio Allen, Demario Davis, Bell, and Landry. All great run stoppers. Clearly he has a plan.

 

I dont know how anyone can be disappointed with the moves they made at safety. They added the most talented safety on the market when healthy, a solid vet who’s a great leader and is going to start, two developmental safeties- one who was a very highly rated SS and the other FS that can play over the top in subpackages. Considering this year for the safeties in both the draft and FA, we picked up 4 quality players. None are the great center fielder, but there wasnt anyone available that fit that- not even Barron who was the 6th pick.

Everybody is upset that they didnt add that traditional FS, but there just wasnt any available...

Looking at this defense, you have to be excited. Landry is better than Leonhard and Bell is better than Smith, we added a top 5 talent in Coples, Maybin bulked up, we added a great prospect at ILB that can cover TE’s, we retained Pouha, Bart Scott lost weight, and quietly signed one of the better DL coaches in the league. I fully expect this defense to be top 3, baring huge injuries...