One of the big questions this offseason has been whether or not Gregg Williams will break from tradition and allow LaRon Landry to start from the get-go. Carlos Rogers and Sean Taylor, like Landry, were defensive backs taken in the first round by the Redskins, and they had to wait a few games before they earned a starting spot on the roster. However, as Gary Fitzgerald notes at the Official Site, Landry showed up at Tennessee starting opposite Sean Taylor. At the risk of over-analyzing what could very well be a meaningless gesture, was this a precursor of things to come? Do we see LaRon opposite Taylor in week 1? (I hope so.)
I guess a lot of that will depend on how he plays through the preseason; so far so good:
Redskins coaches want the Taylor-Landry combination to get plenty of work this preseason so that they can get acclimated to each other's style of play.
[Quick aside: I'm of the philosophy that durability is more a function of physical sacrifice than of age, at a minimum age isn't the exclusive factor. Does the fact that he joined the league so young mean we'll enjoy him playing at peak performance for longer or is the age irrelevant (or less relevant) than the amount of time he spends on the field? Something to consider.]
Anyways, Taylor has the confidence of the coaching staff and has established himself as the face of the defense. I would guess without knowing that the staff is much more likely to trust LaRon Landry, especially given his natural talent, opposite Sean Taylor than they would have, say, Sean Taylor opposite Matt Bowen or Andre Lott (or whoever was starting safety back in 2004). The point being, the team has a far more established player to bring Landry along from the start.
I vote yes, start him from the beginning. 2006's privation of turnovers was scary enough for me to want a player as talented as Landry, as capable of getting after opposing quarterbacks and laying fumblelicious hits in the secondary, from day one. We need those turnovers and can ill-afford a repeat of last year's turnover drought.