Landry is putting fear in the hearts of receivers everywhere

NotSatoshiNakamoto · Sep 16, 2012

The biggest badass in the room has a .50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol tattooed on his right hip, a Bible verse etched behind his ear, a pet monkey named Gucci and a yellow bearded dragon staring back at him in a tank at home.
“I like unique sh--,” LaRon Landry says.

He is an action hero come to life, half-man, half-Mad Max. The football field is his Thunderdome.

The Jets safety lives by the motto “81 80,” New Orleans slang for his aggressive style of play.

“Head first, high velocity, no regrets,” Landry says.

Gang Green’s version of King Leonidas has added a new dimension to the defense: Intimidation.

“He is a wild man,” Rex Ryan says.

Landry gave a snapshot of his bone-crunching abilities in his Jets debut last week against the Bills: a team-high seven tackles, two quarterback hits, one forced fumble . . . and countless flinches from Buffalo wide receivers.

“It looks like they’re wearing one of those invisible fence collars when they start going across the middle of the field,” defensive coordinator Mike Pettine says with a laugh. “Guys cut a route short or hear footsteps or won’t compete for a ball like you would expect them to. I don’t know if any receiver will ever admit it. You’ll get that false bravado. But there’s evidence on tape.”

Landry lives for collisions, a chiseled 220-pound projectile eager to get in harm’s way. His aggressive style belies a high football IQ. Instincts supplement his knowledge. Mid-week preparation allows him the freedom to play a fast, loose and violent style on Sundays.

“I give my parents, my girlfriend, my daughter a hug and a kiss,” Landry, 27, says. “And hope I see y’all after the game and make it out safe.”

* * *

He was punching his locker and ripping off his clothes. When Landry was done, he stood alone in front of his shattered space in the Redskins’ locker room and grieved the death of two friends.

Landry and Sean Taylor had shared more than just playing safety. Taylor, a notorious hard-hitter, became an older brother and mentor to the then-Redskins rookie. When Taylor was murdered on Nov. 27, 2007, Landry was lost.

“Who am I going to talk to now?” he said in the locker room. A few days earlier, Landry’s childhood friend was shot in the head. He went to two funerals in the same week.

“He emulated Sean,” says LaRon’s older brother — and Jaguars safety — Dawan. “He patterned his game after Sean. Once they teamed up, he took everything Sean said to heart. I think those lessons still live in him.”

LaRon Landry was a star long before the Redskins made him the sixth pick of the 2007 NFL draft.

As an LSU freshman, Landry made an immediate impact, helping Nick Saban win the 2003 BCS title. “He was the key to us winning the national championship,” says former LSU defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who is now the University of Florida head coach.

Landry’s blend of 4.3 speed, power and range at free safety grabbed the Redskins’ attention.

“When you watched his college tape, he was a disruptive force,” former Redskins general manager Vinny Cerato says. “He was so fast and so explosive, and had the right type of mentality. He was a physical, nasty player.”

Landry and Taylor formed one of the hardest-hitting safety tandems in the league in 2007. After Taylor’s death, Landry moved from strong to free safety. He excelled for three years before a mysterious injury and coaching change altered his career path.

* * *

Animal lovers and teen-aged entrepreneurs bent on getting ahead, LaRon and Dawan Landry bred Japanese fighting dogs in the wide open spaces of Ama, La. LaRon’s life experiences are etched all over his body, reminders of happy and sad moments.

His first tattoo — two nails carved above his collarbones — was painful, but “I was laughing the whole time,” he insists. “I swear.”

The Bible passage on the bone behind his ear? “It tickled,” he says.
Landry stores images of future tattoos that he designed on his laptop. He hopes to add them before he turns 30. Some will document a surreal journey that pushed him to the NFL margin.

Landry suffered season-ending Achilles-related injuries in 2010 and 2011. He missed 15 games over two seasons and battled Redskins medical personnel over the proper treatments.

He eschewed team-recommended surgery for alternative medicine and stem-cell treatments. His disdain for the Redskins’ doctors and head coach Mike Shanahan, who was hired in 2010, hasn’t waned.

“That’s why they have great doctors and they have okay doctors, great trainers and okay trainers,” Landry said. “(The Redskins) had people who just had the job title, but not the passion for their job. . . . I don’t respect the training staff at all. I don’t respect the coaches over there. I don’t respect (Shanahan). I do respect Coach (Joe) Gibbs, who brought me there, and Coach Gregg Williams. I respect that 2007 organization. After 2007. . . . nonexistent.”

Landry’s problem was with a bone near his Achilles, not the tendon itself, he explained. He spent plenty of weeks unsure if he’d ever be the same player again. He rehabbed in Arizona, feeling good for two days only to have a setback. His foot inexplicably swelled. He woke up achy and unable to move.
“Going through the ups and downs was hard for me,” Landry says. “It was a whole bunch of trial and error. A lot of pain. Will I ever become normal again? Will I ever be 100% again? Will I ever be as explosive?”

When Landry became an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, it was time to move on from the Redskins.

A pair of AFC East rivals wanted him.

* * *

Landry knew right away that he wasn’t going to play for the Patriots. His first free-agent visit to Foxborough in March was a disaster. The man he wanted to talk to the most, Bill Belichick, was nowhere to be found.

“He wasn’t even there,” Landry says. “So that was a no-brainer. I should have never taken that visit. I was like, ‘Damn, if you’re going to visit, the head coach (should be) there.’ I felt, ‘Okay, that’s a slap in the face.’ ”
Dawan, who played three seasons for Ryan, Pettine and defensive backs coach Dennis Thurman in Baltimore, figured his younger brother needed to make only one visit to Florham Park the next day and he’d be sold. “Dawan was our biggest advocate,” Ryan says.

Ryan’s view was simple: Get the free-agent safety in the building and he’ll never want to leave. Ryan and Pettine’s scheme gives Landry the flexibility to maximize his skills in open spaces and near the line of scrimmage.

“I had tons of fun with Rex and that whole coaching staff,” Dawan says. “I had success with those guys and I’m pretty sure (LaRon) would do the same.”
Ryan was right. Landry signed a one-year deal, bent on debunking the perception that he was just a free-wheeling, in-the-box safety. Ryan loved Landry’s work ethic and attitude as much as the highlight-reel body blows. “He watches more tape than anyone on the team at home,” Ryan says.
Assistant defensive backs/safeties coach Jim O’Neil sends video cut-ups of upcoming opponents to Landry’s iPad on Tuesdays. By Sunday, Landry isn’t interested in any more analysis. He’s ready to drill somebody, a mind-set that “makes people notice in this league,” safety Yeremiah Bell says.

“Whenever he’s on the field, everybody wants to watch him,” O’Neil says. “Because they know he’s going to blow somebody up.”

Ryan likens his punishing style to Hall of Famer Dick (Night Train) Lane. Landry’s never heard of him. It doesn’t matter.

He strikes fear in grown men.

“People ask why do I play the way I do?” Landry says. “It’s been a long time coming for me, man. I’ve been dealing with this sh-- for two years. So it’s only right when I have the opportunity to play and give it all I got. . . . Why not?”

No matter what the biggest badass in the room tells you, he’s more calculating than crazy.

He’s smart.

“No,” he says with a coy smile, “I’m not.”
Click to expand...

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...rts-receivers-article-1.1160409#ixzz26dJK2eBw

ukjetsfan · Sep 16, 2012

I hope that chip on the shoulder regarding the visit to the Patriots pays dividends for us.

AbdulSalam · Sep 16, 2012

he plays like dick "night train" lane. He has the chance to be as good as Lane was.

Remarker · Sep 16, 2012

My kind of football player.

Drag 'em off the field and let's play ball!!!

Rock on LaRon!!!

papapump · Sep 16, 2012

I am estatic with his signing. Here's hoping the Pats TE's get a proper greeting.

Jetfan76 · Sep 16, 2012

Seriously whats better than a hard hitting bone crushing safety!

grayburn · Sep 16, 2012

He's going to be fun to watch this season. If he can stay healthy, I would love to see him in green for a long time.

KWJetsFan · Sep 16, 2012

Love having this type of player on the team. I really hope he can stay healthy. If he goes down, if would be very deflating.

RevisIsland18 · Sep 16, 2012

that article just got me pumped up for the steelers game! so glad we got him!

The 1985er · Sep 16, 2012

He brings an intimidation factor to an already good defense. I just hope he can stat healthy.

NYJFan10 · Sep 16, 2012

Well everyone still love Landry now? Now you're seeing the bad side of him this week, the stupid idiot fouls.

GQMartin · Sep 16, 2012

Landry putting flags on the fields of football stadiums everywhere

Cellar-door · Sep 16, 2012

Landry intimidating receivers with his shitty coverage and stupid penalties

RutgersJET · Sep 16, 2012

Landry diving for air in a home near you

abyzmul · Sep 16, 2012

The Steelers have done a far better job of intimidating the Jets than Landry's cheap shots have done against Pitt. After the helmet to helmet hits against Sanchez and Greene, the offense got pussified.

KWJetsFan · Sep 16, 2012

Hitting hard and accumulating dumb penalties.

SackExchange69 · Sep 16, 2012

Good safetys play aggressive, shitty ones play stupid. Landry is the latter.

Nilton · Sep 16, 2012

Along with free yardage

Endlessly Counting · Sep 16, 2012

abyzmul said: ↑

The Steelers have done a far better job of intimidating the Jets than Landry's cheap shots have done against Pitt. After the helmet to helmet hits against Sanchez and Greene, the offense got pussified.
Click to expand...

ABSOLUTELY!!! 100% Steelers knew what they had to do to grab control of the game

And... given the way he plays, Landry will either be suspended or injured
before long

truthbtold · Sep 16, 2012

SackExchange69 said: ↑

Good safetys play aggressive, shitty ones play stupid. Landry is the latter.
Click to expand...

100% dead on accurate. This guy needs to get his head out of his ass. He's more concerned with making a big hit for the highlight reel than making the damn tackle! Has this fool EVER attemted to wrap his arms around the ball carrier instead of tucking and launching??

Landry is putting fear in the hearts of receivers everywhere

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