Is it Laron or the scheme?

[Jimbo]

I was disappointed with the play of the Defense today but especially disappointed with Laron Landry. Aside from the great play to tip the ball to DeAngelo Hall, he missed tackles, committed a stupid penalty and was generally late to the party.

The 26-yard 3rd down pass to Steve Smith late in the game got me to thinking. Laron arrived very late on the play and I couldn't tell whether he got a poor jump or was simply playing way too deep. Is Blache to blame for this ultra-conservative approach or is it Laron's fault for reacting slowly?

The Giants really don't have any legitimate deep threats but were constantly able to complete passes underneath Laron. Why not challenge Eli to hit the deep ball and take away the medium routes. Very frustrating.

 

[Sarge]

Hey, when the corners play 10 yards off, someone is going to get loose. Often.

 

[The Burgundy Ghost]

Hey, when the corners play 10 yards off, someone is going to get loose. Often.

The pattened 10 yard cushion that seems to be a Redskins trademark. Sadly, it's the coaches that calls these distances and not the players.

Any team in their right mind has to think to add to their gameplan:
Bubble screens
Slants
little hook, curl routes

kills us everytime.

 

[Jimbo]

Laron playing deep would make sense if the corners were pressing. Why play him that deep if the corners are playing off. Could Blache really be THAT timid with THIS defense? And against a team that's not gonna beat ANYONE deep?

 

[DieselPwr44]

When you take OTA's off and believe that your athletic ability makes up for the lack of film study and classroom work....

You play like Laron Landry.

It's his ego/attitude, IMO.

 

[Sarge]

When you take OTA's off and believe that your athletic ability makes up for the lack of film study and classroom work....

You play like Laron Landry.

It's his ego/attitude, IMO.

I could see that. But he's also not getting any help from the corners. Smoot was getting eaten alive. The only one out there covering was Rogers

 

[riggins44]

laron is taking horrible angles and going for the kill shot instead of sure tackle. that call against jacobs was weak though because jacobs stepped out 2 seconds before he hit him and he barely hit him.

Laron does go for the kill shot too many times and misses. He needs to play more under control. The penalty...well I think he is getting a reputation as a dirty player.

 

[Neophyte]

At the risk of sounding cold, the worst thing that ever happened to Landry the player was the loss of Taylor as a running mate. Taylor was a better athlete than Landry and a better Safety. Landry had to work to keep up and he knew it. He had to put the ego on the shelf because he was not the big dog in the house.

I've heard people say he isn't a good FS but that isn't it. He is a fine FS. He isn't a good student and he reminds a lot of Taylor those first couple of years when Taylor relied on the athletic ability that had made him a rockstar in college. The difference is that Taylor was a freak even in a community where freakish is the norm. He made other freaks hold their breath and got away things that those other freaks couldn't. Landry is something of a freak but he is closer to being a normal freak than a freak among freaks like Taylor.

Unless he gets smart and grows up like Taylor did we will see these issues for the rest of his time here which might be shorter than anyone thought when he was drafted. Right now I am not so sure I would not rather have Horton and Doughty as my safeties.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Landry's problem is that he goes for the kill-shot way too often. Jacobs even said something along the lines of, "Landry was salty, and should have played smarter" or something like that. He was seeking revenge for getting trucked last year.

 

[WallyG3]

I think it's both scheme and players. The corners still play too far off the ball, we still don't get a good enough pass rush, and we still miss tackles. That's on the coaching. The talent is there on defense, but they are still not getting it done.

I completely agree with those above that Landry goes for the missile play way too much. But it wasn't just revenge, that's the way he plays. He needs to take a lesson from Fletcher and realize that you make bigger hits when your feet are on the ground. You need the leverage of the Earth under you to complete the tackle or else you bounce off, or miss completely. He did this a lot last year too.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new. The bonehead personal fouls and missed tackles are part of his game and it's hurting us big time.

Part of the problem personnel-wise is that Landry was drafted to play strong safety, but then had to play free because he was the only one on the team with the speed and strength to do so. He is out of position, and won't get right without a major wakeup call and then the necessary work.

Landry is our new "Mr Can't Get Right." Add free safety to the list of player needs. sigh.

My list of needs is now:

• Whole new defensive coaching staff.
• An offensive coordinator.
• A scout who can see who is a talented receiver and who is not. Or maybe a just a scout who factors in work ethic and character. (I'll save my Devin Thomas rant for another time)
• A free safety who can cover and tackle. Consistently.
• A fast defensive end.
• A real number one receiver.
• An accurate quarterback.
• Oh yeah, and a whole new offensive line. I honestly don't think any of them are high caliber players anymore.
• And by the time we fill all those needs, we'll be needing to replace agin vets like Portis and Fletcher.

Yeah, I'm pissed. It's Monday. But dangit, where is the improvement? Nobody gets a pass here. I EXPECT that if the Redskins have been willing to spend whatever it takes to field a world-class team that we have a world-class staff that gets world-class players.

Time to get real and recognize that we do not have a world-class staff or enough world-class players.

Good thing I'm not Mr. Snyder, cuz I'd be out for heads today.

 

[Sarge]

I submit that we already have a fast DE. Unfortunately, he's being used at LB

Good thing I'm not Mr. Snyder, cuz I'd be out for heads today.

Buges as Head Coach ?

 

[WallyG3]

I submit that we already have a fast DE. Unfortunately, he's being used at LB

Exactly. STILL a need.

...and you know what else? Laron is a dirty player. Yeah, I said it, and you know all it. He's a dirty player and I don't like it at all.

I hate Mondays like this. I usually don't get so pissed until late November. grrrr.

 

[SKF]

Lavar Arrington was just on the Mike Wise show talking about the cushion from the CB's. He was saying that the basis of the Tampa 2 defense we play is that the front get's pressure on the QB. That way the CB's can get jumps on the throws in front of them and make plays on the ball. He said when we are in any short yardage we don't play off the WR's.

So I can see how this would work, if there was pressure from our front 7. He made a good point...when Tampa won the SB, they had Simeon Rice, Some other dude with a weird name and Sapp, along with the outstanding LB core. So if your front 7 is getting pressure this defense is a very good defense. But we seem to have just one little problem with our version... .. NO PRESSURE! Manning was standing like a statue all afternoon outside of 2-3 plays. Thats why we are constantly getting beat on pass plays.

 

[Yusuf06]

At the risk of sounding cold, the worst thing that ever happened to Landry the player was the loss of Taylor as a running mate. Taylor was a better athlete than Landry and a better Safety. Landry had to work to keep up and he knew it. He had to put the ego on the shelf because he was not the big dog in the house.

I've heard people say he isn't a good FS but that isn't it. He is a fine FS. He isn't a good student and he reminds a lot of Taylor those first couple of years when Taylor relied on the athletic ability that had made him a rockstar in college.

I agree with this. However the primary issue to me, aside from Landry's work ethic, is that I just don't think his natural position is FS. To be sure, he's more or less adequate there, but it's not his natural spot. Taylor had the ability to cover so much ground that QBs quickly learned that even if they moved him off with their eyes or he took an errant step, that areas that would be open with other safeties were not open with Taylor on the field. People always think of Taylor's big hits, but this incredible range was the real source of his greatness IMHO.

OTOH Landry's primary talent in my mind isn't his speed, as with Taylor. Rather it's his quickness-getting from zero to 60 in an incredibly short period of time. That's why he's so great on blitzes. IMHO he'd be infinitely better in short areas (i.e. SS) rather than trying to cover more ground.

Landry's problem is that he goes for the kill-shot way too often. Jacobs even said something along the lines of, "Landry was salty, and should have played smarter" or something like that. He was seeking revenge for getting trucked last year.

Playing smart and under control is huge. My HS wrestling coach always used to tell us that he who loses control stops thinking and he who stops thinking is 90% defeated.

Lavar Arrington was just on the Mike Wise show talking about the cushion from the CB's. He was saying that the basis of the Tampa 2 defense we play is that the front get's pressure on the QB. That way the CB's can get jumps on the throws in front of them and make plays on the ball. He said when we are in any short yardage we don't play off the WR's.

True. But there's another component of the Tampa 2 we didn't have yesterday, consistent sure tackling. That scheme is predicated on pressuring the QB and sure tackling on the underneath throws that often result. If you give the opponent YAC, that defense is all but worthless.

 

[riggins44]

Not sure what it would take to turn Landry around. Early on he disappointed fans for not showing at autograph events. During games he tries for the Sports Center highlights with a big hit, but misses.

Can't remember where, but this past week heard someone talking about him. They basically said if he doesn't get under control he is going to seriously hurt someone or even himself.

It may take a scare or some respected veteran or former player having a long conversation with LaRon. Don't know...just wish someone or something would get through to him.