ESPN: Potential Surprises

[TT_Red_Raider_1984]

:point2sky When I hire an employee I know that my best guide to future performance and behavior is past performance and behavior. This has in the past bite me in the ass. The Skins are no different. I would have hired an employee with LaRon Landry’s resume but I also sign off on a game alternating LB from Penn State. So experience tells me to sit quietly and wait, watch and hope. Can my new employee adapt to the constant changes in his new environment?

[Russell Shotgun]

I was all for Landy well before the Draft and loved the pick. Once he learns the ropes, I think we'll have the most physical and talented backfield in the NFL. He'll not only be an instant upgrade over AA, Troy Vincent, Vernon Fox or Pierson Prielou, but he'll make Taylor and the rest of the corners better, something you can'r really claim the other options as SS did (except for maybe Ryan Clark, but that's beside the point).

I especially like the signing because, at least to me, it shows that the coaches are recognizing the current trend of the NFL. I think having good safeties are more important in the game today than ever. Look at how Polamalu and Bob Sanders elevated their teams' play. Having a pass rush and being able to stop the run are, of course, the building blocks of your defense - but you need to have a secondary that can shut down the pass today more than ever. Even with a dominating pass rush and run stopping D, the top QBs in the league are still going to find the holes in coverage unless your backfield is locked up.

I like the way we approached our top pick this year, we knew we had only 1 spot for someone to make an immediate impact, and while a good DE or DT might have been a more pressing individual need, we took the best defensive player available in Landry which will hopefully help solidify our secondary - allowing the LBs to play the line more than having to drop back into coverage.

Taylor, Landry, Springs, Rogers and Smoot should be able to all go 1-on-1 at times, allowing the entire D-line and LB core to attack the QB or RB. Thats bad news for opposing teams.

[tone_dubbz]

As teams finish the OTA (organized team activity) and minicamp portion of the offseason, let's look at some potential surprises in the 2007 season.

LaRon Landry, S, Washington Redskins

Landry should be a playmaking machine in defensive coordinator Gregg Williams' system. He will be productive in coverage versus the run and when blitzing. In college, his forte was making big plays, and he will have more opportunities in Washington.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=reese_floyd&id=2901633

How is this a surprise? He was considered the best defensive player in the draft and he fills a need for us.

I think the surprise will be how fast he adapts to the spead of the game and G-dubbs defensive scheme. He probaly won't miss a beat in his transition from college to the pro level

[Flycoach]

at first i was disappointed in the pick but the more and more i researched him and watched film on him i couldn't be more excited about our D this year with the other pick ups we got in Fletcher and Smoot

Yea, I had the same feeling. When LL's name was called over the loudspeaker @ FedEx, I didn't boo, but I wasn't happy.

But like you, the more I read, the more highlights I see, the more excited I get. Getting a stud DL with the #6 pick would not have given us the best D-line in the league, but getting LL gives us, IMHO, the best safety tandem in the league.

[cphil006]

He has the right type of wrk ethic, too. he watches film. him and sean hopefully develop a good repore