LaRon Landry practices for first time with NYJETS

Legitimate question. Pool got soft (too many head shots?) and was last seen getting steamrolled by NYG Bradshaw and Eric Smith (recovering from Cruz/Tebow windburn) is a special teamer 'n substitute safety. Imo, Bell/Landry are an improvement. But, looking at your location (Yonkers: "the city of hills where nothing is on the level"), here's a question: how the heck did you decide to become a Buffalo Bills fan? Did ya lose a bet or somethin'? :wink:

 

Can someone please answer something for me?

Where is everyone coming up with this "Landry is poor in coverage" garbage? Seriously. What alludes people to draw this conclusion, I need someone to explain it to me. Are you basing his coverage against a HOF rating scale or the other starting SS currently in the NFL? His coverage is good, yes.. I said good, that is not a typo. When healthy his coverage is good, it's not Ed Reed good but who's is?

I guess it's because he's a big dude that lays the wood, so everyone just assumes he's poor in coverage like most hard hitting big safeties. I keep reading on here people talking about him like he's a liability in coverage! That's just insane. I guess we all are just some complacent having Revis that if you cant just close someone out of a game your coverage must suck.

 

Probably because he has been mediocre at best, and terrible at worst after his rookie season in coverage?

 

It's the misconception of the safety position. People don't understand the differences between a Free Safety and a Strong Safety. Landry's physique and play allows us to use him as another "linebacker" on defense. He's not an Ed Reed, Kerry Rhodes Free Safety player who roams the field and can be that guy you can rely on in coverage. This is what scares me the most about the safety position. We have only one true Free Safety on the roster and that's Josh Bush. Bell, Smith, Landry these guys are Strong Safeties that will also have the responsibility of covering the field and being that last line of defense. I get nervous in that aspect. If Landry can knock these dudes off the LOS and disrupt the timing on the offense (as well as lay some wood), I think we'll be in good shape.

 

According to Pro Football Focus, this is opposing QBs QB rating was over the last three years when throwing at him.

109.0
106.1
139.8

Yowza! That strikes me as a guy who isn't very good at coverage.

 

^+1

Allen was an excellent draft pick - very talented, versatile and can deliver the hit. I can see him creating havoc on a Rex Safety Blitz.

 

Speaking as someone who has seen Landry play quite a bit over the years, I don't know if Landry is going to do much to help in that area. The Redskins didn't put him in man much because his change of direction abilities are kind of lacking (he has great straight line speed). They usually used him in zone where, to his credit, he had his moments but was largely unimpressive.

Granted I think Rex is going to get more out of him than Washington, but I wouldn't expect him to be the answer for covering TEs and backs. I think his real contributions are going to be in adding a physical intimidation to this defense. I know Bart Scott is usually the bannerman for that, but with the decline in his play I don't think he's quite the front-man for intimidation that he used to be.

 

I think you'll see Bell playing deep center often and Landry will play up. I honestly think you're going to see Landry used the way Jim Johnson used Brian Dawkins. He would blitz an LB and have Dawkins fly downhill to cover in the zone vacated by the LB. He would do this in pass & running situations as he loved to dial up run-blitzes as well. As the game went on he woud just straight up blitz Dawkins while the LB feinting.

I think you'll see Landry in that roll, shallow zone coverage akin to LB coverage (limited range) and playing downhill. That's what he does best. If you play him deep he bites on fakes and gets caught flat-footed. He can run with lots of guys in man, but his susceptibility to feints leads to unnecessary steps and lesser athletes getting separation (and to Landry's credit, most guys he's matched up with are lesser athletes).

He showed potential when paired up with Sean Taylor, but that's more or less the highpoint of his career. Yeremiah Bell isn't Sean Taylor.

This is what I've seen from him during his time with the Redskins. Rex is a better defensive mind than anything the Redskins have had in the past 15 years, but I don't think he can make chicken shit from chicken salad. I expect him to have Landry play downhill, cover in shallow zones, and bring some hitting to the running game. He may improve the coverage in the secondary because he's more athletic than Smith & Leonhard, but I wouldn't expect him to make the safety position in to an area of strength on the defense.

 

I've seen the Giants play him twice a year for several seasons I've seen a number of Redskins' games as well (know your enemy!), and he's earned the criticism of his coverage techniques. There are only about a dozen plays in a game where the safety in deep coverage actually has a legitimate chance to impact a play in anything more than a reactionary role, but he hasn't shown consistent talent in coverage heretofore in his career. The Redskins moved him from FS to SS in an attempt to hide his poor coverage techniques. He's a VERY good in the box safety, but is piss-poor in coverage.

 

I actually would love to see Landry and the Gronk go head to head, that should be a pretty good matchup.

 

Thanks for the insight. Have to admit, I know very little about Landry outside of his injuries and what I could pull from google. Think a lot of the optimism Jets fans have with his acquisition stems more on who he's replacing.

 

I'm not a Laron Landry expert, but I'm willing to bet I've seen him play more than most posters here.

The optimism in regards to who he is replacing is well-founded and totally justified. The optimism relating to Landry himself should probably be tempered. I know he was a top 5 pick once upon a time, but if the Redskins aren't willing to throw money at a player I think I would hesitate to get excited about said player.

 

^Well put. What has me optimistic is that he thrived in Gregg Williams' D which is similar schematically to RR/Pettine's. If he's used in the role he was in 2007, and stays healthy, then we got a player.

 

Id be more concerned with any player that the Redskins ARE willing to throw money at.

Their track record hasnt exactly worked out that well

 

Touché. But the fact that they decided to blow up their safety unit (on an otherwise pretty good defense), doesn't indicate great things coming from Landry.

Is he an upgrade? Absolutely.

Is safety still an area of concern? Probably.

 

The Jets have been 1st, 3rd and 5th in total defense in the league since Ryan got here. If he wanted these guys I don't know why anybody would question it.

 

He also felt comfortable going into last season with Leonhard, Pool, and Smith.

I love Rex to death, but that doesnt mean he doesnt make mistakes.

 

Cowboys fans are optimistic about getting Brodney Pool, I think we are all laughing at them. I think its fair to say we are overhyping Landry, and others are laughing at us.