FanHouse LaronLandry

The Redskins defeated the Steelers in their Week 2 preseason matchup Saturday, but despite the meaningless victory, there are still concerns about Washington's inert offense. It starts with quarterback Jason Campbell, of course, although fans now have a new favorite backup quarterback should things get to that point.

The defense is a different story, however. Free-agent acquisition Albert Haynesworth and first-round pick Brian Orakpo have suddenly given Washington a pass rush, and as Pittsburgh and Baltimore (the 'Skins opponent last week) can attest, a suffocating defense can mask a lot of offensive shortcomings.

The '09 Redskins defense isn't yet on par with some of the league's best units, but it wouldn't come as a complete surprise if that changed in the coming months. Because in addition to Haynesworth and Orakpo, there's also free safety LaRon Landry who, according to safeties coach Steve Jackson is, well, just keep reading (via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette):

ASHBURN, Va. -- Just a week ago, Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn expressed his disappointment over LaRon Landry's absence from OTAs (organized team activities). Zorn admitted he had been trying to get in touch with Landry, but the third-year safety had not returned any of his calls or texts.

On Thursday, after Washington's last team workout before training camp, we found out why.

Landry gave Zorn the ol' fake-number sliparoo.

"Several texts came back to me, and I thought, 'You know, I don't really have the right number,' " Zorn said.

Thank God. LaRon Landry has returned to the Redskins' loving bosom. Search and rescue teams have been called off because Landry, who missed voluntary workouts last week and didn't return calls or texts from head coach Jim Zorn, showed up for work today. Disaster averted.

Last Thursday, Zorn told reporters that Landry's absence was "disappointing to his teammates as well" although "I fully expect him to be ready in training camp and go hard and have a great year."

Totally agree with that last bit, but I'm pretty sure Landry's teammates aren't losing sleep over him skipping organized team activities. You know, because unlike most of us who write about this stuff, the guys who actually play football for a living seem to understand that veteran starters familiar with the scheme aren't really missing much during the shorts and t-shirts portion of the summer schedule.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

The Redskins stormed out of the gate in Jim Zorn's first season as head coach, running their record to 6-2 at the halfway point. The second half of the season, unfortunately, was perfectly symmetrical -- they went 2-6 to finish 8-8.

They could have won three of those games in best-case scenarios, but the best teams come through instead of talking about what could have been. The reality is that the Redskins only played a half-season in '08.

There is no way I can stat up this game -- it was a stinker. Neither offense could really get anything going, both defenses were all over the field and there were enough bad plays to fill Daniel Snyder's mansion.

Still, it was a gripping game that went down to the final play of the game. It also came down to the final inches of the field.

Down 10-3, the Eagles made a last second drive to tie the game. With :12 left on the clock, Donovan McNabb completed a pass to Reggie Brown on the two, maybe three, inch line. The Redskins LaRon Landry and Fred Smoot stopped him there and with Philly out of timeouts, the clock ran out. Yes, that is the play pictured above.

This is a huge blow to the Eagles playoff chances. Coming into the game, Philly actually held its own destiny. With a win over the Redskins and next week against the Cowboys, the Eagles would have been in the playoffs. Now Philly needs to win and hope Tampa Bay loses to Oakland and Chicago loses tomorrow against Green Bay or in Houston next week. While possible, it's hard to pin your hopes on Oakland winning in Tampa against Jon Gruden.

If there was one highlight play in a very lackluster game last night, it was Brandon Jacobs bowling over LaRon Landry.

In the first quarter of the Giants 16-7 win over the Redskins, Jacobs got lose a bit and just blew up Landry -- who is known as somewhat of a big hitter himself. Well, Landry isn't going to live this one down for a while.

Of course none of the Skins' secondary will be giving him the business. Jacobs also jacked up Fred Smoot and Reed Doughty.

The Redskins had two extra sandwiches at their defensive back picnic today when Shawn Springs and LaRon Landry failed to attend the first day of the latest round of OTAs.

According to the Washington Post's Jason La Canfora, coach Jim Zorn said that neither player was excused from the workouts. As always, they're voluntary but Zorn nor defensive coordinator Greg Blache had spoken to them. Zorn didn't make a big deal about the absnece.

"I'm going to try to get a feel for why they didn't want to come ... It's not something that I'm going to make a huge spectacle of. We'll just see what happens."

Per La Canfora, Springs has been working out in Arizona and skipped last season's workouts as well. Landry, however, "has not been around the facility much and some are concerned about his attitude." La Canfora doesn't elaborate on those concerns but I'll guess he has a habit of making off-color jokes about other players' mothers.

The Washington Times has a milder explanation. Teammates said each player missed his flight and, presumably, would be along as soon as they could find another.

Whenever they do arrive, they'll have to teach the Redskin secondary handshake to ex-Raider Stuart Schweigert. The four-year veteran signed with the team today. He's a much needed addition to the thin safety corps and could challenge for a starting role if all broke right for him.

Okay. You just knew that the Washington Redskins couldn't resist dipping in the free agent pool. After being eerily quiet, there is finally a name out there of someone the Skins are targeting. It is ... Will Demps?

Safety Will Demps likely will be the first free agent to meet with the Washington Redskins this year when he visits Redskin Park later this week.

Demps, 28, played his first four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before moving to the New York Giants in 2006 and the Houston Texans last season when he was a Pro Bowl alternate.

One of the Redskins holes is at the safety position. They need to find a guy to fill in the spot once owned by the late Sean Taylor. The 2007 first round draft pick LaRon Landry will most likely fill that role, but the team will need someone to take over next to him. Demps certainly could be that guy.

Washington used Reed Doughty last year and he played well. However, the depth at that position will most likely bolt via free agency.

Last year, the Redskins had five draft picks, but just one first-day selection. Conventional wisdom suggested the team needed to bolster the defensive line and that they might use their sixth-overall pick to just that. Given Washington's sometimes quirky draft strategies, it wasn't all that surprising that they ended up taking LSU safety LaRon Landry.

The defense was much improved in 2007 -- and Landry had a role in that -- but beefing up the defense, particularly the line, is still a priority. Unlike last year, though, the Redskins don't pick until 21st, which means many of the top prospects could be long gone. But the draft is still two months off, so there will be plenty of time to worry about such things.

First up, the NFL Combine, which starts today.

This is Jim Zorn's first combine as a head coach, and Vinny Cerrato's first as Washington's executive vice president, and the team will seek to accomplish much more than merely draft preparations. Also on the to-do list are meetings with player representatives as free agency approaches. More salary cap relief still is needed from a handful of contracts.

And while there are plenty of concerns that come with a new head coach, the bigger worry is how Cerrato will manage to bungle the draft with a full complement of picks.

Washington has a history of being impatient when it comes to acquiring players, whether it's overpaying through free agency or giving up picks to move up in the draft. It'll be interesting to see if the 'Skins front office falls in love with a player over the coming weeks, and then finds a way to grab him before the 21st pick.

As we get ready for the Patriots-Giants Super Bowl, the FanHouse is looking back at each team's 2007 first-round pick. Here's a look at the 6th pick in the draft, safety LaRon Landry.


Who They Took: LaRon Landry, S, LSU

Who Else They Were Rumored To Consider: Amobi Okoye, DT; Jamaal Anderson, DE.

What We Said At The Time: "Normally, having a guy named Landry in Redskins' burgundy and gold isn't good news. But in the 2007 draft, it is. Landry fills a need of a safety to pair up with Sean Taylor [yeah, that Adam Archuleta thing didn't work out too well]."