The Detroit Lions were interested in free agent safety LaRon Landry, but will have to search elsewhere for help in its secondary.

Landry has signed a one-year deal with the New York Jets for $4 million, according to The Jets Stream writer Manesh Mehta. The Lions previously expressed their interest Landry, but the Jets won his services for 2012.

Detroit has also expressed interest in Washington Redskins free agent safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, who will visit the Lions’ facility this week. If Detroit is interested in improving its secondary, the Lions might make a strong run and Atogwe this week.

Atogwe played in 13 games (eight starts) for Washington last season. He had 60 tackles and three interceptions. Atogwe has 99 career starts since 2005, 373 tackles and 25 interceptions.

Landry, 27, spent five NFL seasons with the Redskins before today’s signing. The hard-hitting safety played in only 17 games the past two seasons due to a nagging Achilles tendon injury. He is currently rehabbing a season-ending Achilles injury that has not needed surgery.

Overall, Landry has 291 tackles and four interceptions in his career.

Detroit recently hosted cornerback Jacob Lacey, but he left Allen Park without a contract.

ASHBURN, Va. – When Willie Smith became the only undrafted rookie to make the Washington Redskins’ opening day roster, he celebrated by spiffing up his 2000 all-white Crown Victoria.

“I noticed that he had got his windows tinted and he had gotten rims on it,” running back Roy Helu said, “so I just joked around and said how he’s changed ever since he’s made it big-time.”

Helu has kept it up all season, making up stories about Smith getting accessories like subwoofers and satellite radio. When Helu told the story to reporters this week, Smith was beside himself.

“Oh, come on, Roy,” Smith bellowed across the locker room Wednesday. “You told them I got big-time? Got tinted windows?”

The truth is that Smith only got the rims — the car’s windows were already tinted — and that Helu does the shtick because he says Smith is actually the opposite of flashy. Besides, a newbie at the fringe of the roster doesn’t need to be spending big on his car.

For most of the season, there wasn’t much reason to tell such stories about Smith — that is, until Trent Williams was suspended two weeks ago for the rest of the year for violating the NFL’s substance policy. Now the left tackle from East Carolina is protecting Rex Grossman’s blindside, having made his NFL debut against the New England Patriots before getting his first start in Sunday in a victory over the New York Giants.

That means he’s already faced two monster pass-rushers, Andre Carter and Jason Pierre-Paul. Now he has an assignment that looks even more daunting: On Saturday, the Redskins host the Minnesota Vikings and Jared Allen, who needs 5 1/2 sacks over his last two games to break the NFL single-season record.

It has mismatch written all over it.

“I’m going to have to go out there and just be tight on everything and fundamentally sound, just to even have a chance to block this guy,” Smith said, “because he’s just that good.”

At least from a big-picture view, the results from Smith’s first two games are surprisingly good. The Redskins scored 27 against the Patriots and 23 against the Giants, their best two-game points output since September. Smith is playing next to another rookie — left guard Maurice Smith, who took over after Kory Lichtensteiger’s injury — while Tyler Polumbus has been subbing for injured right tackle Jammal Brown.

All those changes have forced offensive co-ordinator Kyle Shanahan to become more creative with formations and play designs to overcome the inevitable shortcomings. Smith might be 1-0 as a starter, but even his teammates acknowledge he has a ways to go.

“He knows he’s going to have to get better,” right guard Chris Chester said, “and he is getting better, in my opinion. And I think he’s doing a great job for us — all things considered.”

Smith said he’s working on his fundamentals, learning to better use his hands and feet to get maximum leverage and finish off blocks. Like many rookies before him, he’s finding the game is tougher than he thought it would be during all those weeks he watched from the sideline.

“You see the guys out there,” Smith said, “and you’re like, ‘Man I can do this. I can do what he’s doing.’ But then when you get out there, you see how hard it really is, and you see how hard you’ve got to go out there and practice.”

Meanwhile, Smith’s sudden burst of fame is drawing even more grief from Helu, who took notice of the reporters crowding around the lineman’s locker.

“Look at Willie Smith!” Helu called out. “Getting the shine over there.”

Notes: Shanahan said suspended players Williams and TE Fred Davis will begin conditioning workouts at Redskins Park this week, but will not take part in meetings. The team had to wait for a ruling from the NFL to find out whether the players would be allowed at the facility under the new collective bargaining agreement. … Brown (groin), Helu (toe, knee), TE Mike Sellers (elbow) and LB London Fletcher (ankle) were limited at practice Wednesday.

___

Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

ASHBURN, Va. (AP)—When Willie Smith became the only undrafted rookie to
make the Washington Redskins’ opening day roster, he celebrated by spiffing up
his 2000 all-white Crown Victoria.

“I noticed that he had got his windows tinted and he had gotten rims on
it,” running back Roy Helu said, “so I just joked around and said how he’s
changed ever since he’s made it big-time.”

Helu has kept it up all season, making up stories about Smith getting
accessories like subwoofers and satellite radio. When Helu told the story to
reporters this week, Smith was beside himself.

“Oh, come on, Roy,” Smith bellowed across the locker room Wednesday. “You
told them I got big-time? Got tinted windows?”

The truth is that Smith only got the rims—the car’s windows were already
tinted—and that Helu does the shtick because he says Smith is actually the
opposite of flashy. Besides, a newbie at the fringe of the roster doesn’t need
to be spending big on his car.

For most of the season, there wasn’t much reason to tell such stories about
Smith—that is, until Trent Williams was suspended two weeks ago for the rest
of the year for violating the NFL’s substance policy. Now the left tackle from
East Carolina is protecting Rex Grossman’s blindside, having made his NFL debut
against the New England Patriots before getting his first start in Sunday in a
victory over the New York Giants.

That means he’s already faced two monster pass-rushers, Andre Carter and
Jason Pierre-Paul. Now he has an assignment that looks even more daunting: On
Saturday, the Redskins host the Minnesota Vikings and Jared Allen, who needs 5
1/2 sacks over his last two games to break the NFL single-season record.

It has mismatch written all over it.

“I’m going to have to go out there and just be tight on everything and
fundamentally sound, just to even have a chance to block this guy,” Smith said,
“because he’s just that good.”

At least from a big-picture view, the results from Smith’s first two games
are surprisingly good. The Redskins scored 27 against the Patriots and 23
against the Giants, their best two-game points output since September. Smith is
playing next to another rookie—left guard Maurice Smith, who took over after
Kory Lichtensteiger’s injury—while Tyler Polumbus has been subbing for injured
right tackle Jammal Brown.

All those changes have forced offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to become
more creative with formations and play designs to overcome the inevitable
shortcomings. Smith might be 1-0 as a starter, but even his teammates
acknowledge he has a ways to go.

“He knows he’s going to have to get better,” right guard Chris Chester
said, “and he is getting better, in my opinion. And I think he’s doing a great
job for us—all things considered.”

Smith said he’s working on his fundamentals, learning to better use his
hands and feet to get maximum leverage and finish off blocks. Like many rookies
before him, he’s finding the game is tougher than he thought it would be during
all those weeks he watched from the sideline.

“You see the guys out there,” Smith said, “and you’re like, `Man I can do
this. I can do what he’s doing.’ But then when you get out there, you see how
hard it really is, and you see how hard you’ve got to go out there and
practice.”

Meanwhile, Smith’s sudden burst of fame is drawing even more grief from
Helu, who took notice of the reporters crowding around the lineman’s locker.

“Look at Willie Smith!” Helu called out. “Getting the shine over there.”

Notes: Shanahan said suspended players Williams and TE Fred Davis will begin
conditioning workouts at Redskins Park this week, but will not take part in
meetings. The team had to wait for a ruling from the NFL to find out whether the
players would be allowed at the facility under the new collective bargaining
agreement. … Brown (groin), Helu (toe, knee), TE Mike Sellers (elbow) and LB
London Fletcher (ankle) were limited at practice Wednesday.

———

Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

By Mike Prada

– Senior Editor

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Like SB Nation DC on Facebook.

Dec 20, 2011 – As well as the Washington Redskins have played recently, they still are near the bottom in our Week 16 NFL Power Rankings. This isn’t their fault, really. It’s just that there’s a large batch of teams in the middle, especially after a weekend where many underdogs took out top squads. The Redskins end up checking in at No. 25 in this week’s SB Nation D.C. NFL Power Rankings.

Elsewhere, the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts maintained their spots at the top and bottom, respectively, despite their chases for history ending. There was also a bit of separation at the top, followed by a jumbled mess of teams still vying for the postseason.

Here are SB Nation D.C.’s Week 16 Power Rankings.

Read More: Washington Redskins

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The Washington Redskins take on the New England Patriots this week, and it makes Santana Moss a must-start in fantasy football leagues. I wrote earlier this week that I feel Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman is going to have a big game, and I also think that his top receivers will benefit a lot. Some might view starting Grossman or Moss as a risk, but sometimes risks are necessary if you are a fantasy football owner trying to make it into the playoffs.

Moss is only owned in 64 percent of all Yahoo! fantasy leagues, and it’s hard to argue the point that he h as been a huge disappointment for the Redskins this year. He may have also burned a high number of fantasy owners that were counting on him to put up better statistics. Through 8 games this year, he has just 34 catches for 372 yards and 2 touchdowns. Those numbers are well below what he should have been able to achieve in 2011, and not even close to making him a dependable wide receiver in the world of fantasy football.

This week he goes up against the worst passing defense in the NFL though, possibly giving Moss a really good chance to get in the end zone. The Patriots will have to work hard at keeping Roy Helu under control, and that could give Grossman ample opportunities to find his receivers downfield. The Patriots give up an average of 310 yards per game in passing alone, showing that multiple 100-yard receivers could emerge from the Sunday game. I think that Moss is ready to reach that 100-yard plateau and that he will definitely put up nice numbers against the Patriots.

Moss is ready to have his best game of the season, and it would not surprise me at all if he got in the end zone twice. No, I don’t really think that the Redskins are going to win this game, but a 41-28 loss is still going to give fantasy owners a great weekend. Look for the tandem of Grossman and Moss to finally get together on the field on Dec. 11, and for Moss to have his best week of the fantasy football season when it counts the most.

More From YCN:

Start_Tim_Tebow_In_Week_14

Start_Rex_Grossman_Against_Patriots

Week 13 Top Defenses

2011 Best Fantasy Defenses

5 Best Fantasy Players of 2011

Sources:

Week 14 NFL Scores

Defensive Team Leaders

Yahoo! Fantasy Football

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Fred Davis won’t take the field for the Washington Redskins this week. Fantasy football owners that haven’t seen this news yet need to log in to their teams right now and cut Davis as quickly as possible. He is out for the rest of the regular season with a suspension, and won’t have the chance to take the field again for any fantasy football teams. Many owners have already seen this breaking news and made the course-correction, but those who haven’t may get placed in an extreme disadvantage heading into the fantasy football playoffs.

Scott Chandler is another tight end that is going to let d own fantasy owners this week as he got ruled out for the Buffalo Bills game. He is one of those tight ends that many owners have hung onto in the hopes that he would put up some big numbers, but he hasn’t done that in a few weeks. His last really good game was in Week 8 against the Washington Redskins when he posted 15.5 fantasy points. Too many owners held on to him after that point, and now he won’t even play in Week 14. Drop him and find someone else on the waiver wire.

I wrote earlier today about how Jermaine Gresham (Cincinnati Bengals) is a possibility on the waiver wire. Another option is Dustin Keller of the New York Jets, especially if you are heading into this week with a lot of desperation. Keller has 586 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns this year, but is still available in nearly 30 percent of Yahoo! leagues. Other tight ends available in at least 15 percent of leagues include Owen Daniels of the Houston Texans, Jake Ballard of the New York Giants and Kellen Winslow of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If you really want to go out on a limb , give tight end Zach Miller of the Seattle Seahawks a look, as he is going up against the weak St. Louis Rams this week. He might have to protect quarterback Tarvaris Jackson too often, but there is also the chance that he could get into the open for some nice yardage as well. With his struggles to find consistent yardage this year he is definitely a risk, but sometimes risks are necessary to win fantasy leagues that have 16 or more owners.

More From YCN:

Start_Tim_Tebow_In_Week_14

Start_Rex_Grossman_Against_Patriots

Week 13 Top Defenses

2011 Best Fantasy Defenses

5 Best Fantasy Players of 2011

Sources:

Week 14 NFL Scores

Defensive Team Leaders

Yahoo! Fantasy Football

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The Washington Redskins have free agent punter Ricky Schmitt in for a workout on Thursday to cover their bases.

Punter Sav Rocca has been hobbled by a sprained left ankle this week, an injury he suffered when a defender ran into him during Sunday’s game. He didn’t practice Wednesday, and Schmitt could be an insurance policy in case Rocca isn’t able to play.

The Redskins also are using Schmitt, who hails from Virginia Beach, to help their punt returners prepare for New England’s Zoltan Mesko, who , like Schmitt, is left-footed.

“The ball comes off differently, so it helps them get used to seeing it,” said Schmitt, who played for the San Francisco 49ers in 2009 and was with the San Diego Chargers this past preseason. He didn’t sound as if he expected Washington sign him.

Schmitt, who punted for Shepherd University, said that several other teams, including the Baltimore Ravens, have had him in for workouts the week before they played the Patriots.

“It helps them, and it helps me because it shows on the waiver reports that I worked out for a team. So it shows teams that I’m still out here working out,” Schmitt said. “Keeps my name out there.”

More Redskins news:

Williams, Davis apologize to teammates

Try a little randomness

Grossman aims to rebound

The Washington Redskins have free agent punter Ricky Schmitt in for a workout on Thursday to cover their bases.

Punter Sav Rocca has been hobbled by a sprained left ankle this week, an injury he suffered when a defender ran into him during Sunday’s game. He didn’t practice Wednesday, and Schmitt could be an insurance policy in case Rocca isn’t able to play.

The Redskins also are using Schmitt, who hails from Virginia Beach, to help their punt returners prepare for New England’s Zoltan Mesko, who , like Schmitt, is left-footed.

“The ball comes off differently, so it helps them get used to seeing it,” said Schmitt, who played for the San Francisco 49ers in 2009 and was with the San Diego Chargers this past preseason. He didn’t sound as if he expected Washington sign him.

Schmitt, who punted for Shepherd University, said that several other teams, including the Baltimore Ravens, have had him in for workouts the week before they played the Patriots.

“It helps them, and it helps me because it shows on the waiver reports that I worked out for a team. So it shows teams that I’m still out here working out,” Schmitt said. “Keeps my name out there.”

More Redskins news:

Williams, Davis apologize to teammates

Try a little randomness

Grossman aims to rebound

The Jets’ Matt Slauson watched Barry Cofield’s game against the Cowboys back in Week 11, taking note of the way the Washington Redskins defensive tackle systematically “destroyed” Dallas’ center.

Slauson saw Adam Carriker there, too. Another player who didn’t bring back fond memories.

“That guy haunted my dreams for three years,” Slauson said of his former Nebraska teammate, whom he faced in practice every day. “Carriker? You line him up at a 4-3 defensive end spot and me at the tackle, it was scary. He was a freak there.”

D’Brickashaw Ferguson saw his target on Washington’s defensive line — rush linebacker Brian Orakpo — on television commercials in which Orakpo plays Scrabble against the GEICO caveman. Orakpo substitutes his last name for the word “sack.”

“I’ve seen the GEICO commercials,” Ferguson said. “I’m very aware of Orakpo and I think he’s doing a good job as an actor, he’s got a future there. But, like I said, I respect his game.”

The daunting Washington front, it seems, has been nothing short of omnipresent for the Jets’ offensive line recently.

Despite a 4-7 record, the Redskins stand out with the league’s third-best sack total. Four players have at least 4 1/2 sacks and two — Ryan Kerrigan and Orakpo — are in the top 25. Rex Ryan called it the biggest challenge for his offensive line since a disastrous Week 4 performance against the Baltimore Ravens.

Hanging in the balance, Ryan believes, is the collective confidence of his once sure-handed offensive line. This year, amid injuries and spurts of inconsistency, the offensive line has surrendered 26 sacks (tied for 14th). But shutting down the Redskins’ defensive front Sunday at FedEx Field, Ryan says, is imperative.

“I think it’ll be huge, because that group right there is third in the league in sacks,” Ryan said. “So, I think if we can play well against them, that will bode well for us down the road.”

After the team’s loss to the Denver Broncos, with almost 10 business days before their next opponent, Ryan listed pass protection as a top priority, something he revisited schematically throughout the week.

The result, Slauson said, was an increased usage of blocking backs and tight ends as a second layer of protection between the defensive line and quarterback Mark Sanchez.

While Ferguson said it’s more game-plan specific, guard Brandon Moore said the tight ends and backs may “be keeping eyes out a little more,” quicker to offer a chip block — something he said the team has been doing well of late.

“That’s kind of helped a lot just in case something happened or someone got beat,” Slauson said. “Those guys could lend a hand.”

In preparation for this week, tight end Matt Mulligan said he watched the last four Redskins games start to finish and planned to watch at least two more last night, and he wasn’t alone.

On the practice field Friday, scout team players wore Kerrigan and Orakpo’s numbers, shifting into a bevy of different rush-first fronts and going all-out after the quarterback while Metallica blasted on the loudspeakers to simulate crowd noise.

As if they hadn’t seen their targets enough, on film, from memory and on TV commercials, it was yet another reminder of what they’re up against.

“It’s the strength of their team,” Moore said. “Across the board, they all stand out on film.”

Conor Orr: corr@starledger.com

The Washington Redskins take on the New York Jets Sunday and hope to pick up back-to-back victories for only the second time this season.

The vibe around Redskins Park this week has been one of overall encouragement. The offense has finally started to click and generate big plays. The defense got stops against Seattle and had a solid outing.

Now, can the Redskins build on last week’s win, which looks a bit more impressive considering the Seahawks have now won three out of four and whooped up on the Eagles Thursday night? Can Washington pull off another solid outing against a 6-5 Jets team that’s favored by three points, or was the display in Seattle simply a brief escape from the norm?

Here are five storylines to follow in this week’s game.

1.) Roy Helu’s encore – For the first time in six weeks, the Redskins had a potent rushing attack Sunday, and they will look to Helu to provide similar spark and balance. Helu rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown last week, and posted 54 receiving yards. The Jets likely will focus much of their attention on stopping Helu to force Rex Grossman to throw often. But if Helu can help in a variety of ways, it will help keep New York off-balance and pave the way for a more effective offensive attack.

2.) Pressure on Sanchez – The Redskins’ defense will have a similar mind-set: Stop running backs Shonn Greene, Joe McKnight and LaDainian Tomlinson so quarterback Mark Sanchez has to shoulder a heavier load. Washington’s defensive players believe if they can do this, they’ll have an easier time overwhelming the young quarterback and forcing him into mistakes.

3.) Ball security – Rex Grossman’s teammates say he is playing with more confidence this time around. The quarterback is determined to block out any negatives and remain in an aggressive mode. But he does need to recognize the need to do a better job of taking care of the ball, especially against a talented secondary that features ball-hawking cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie. The Redskins have turned the ball over at least once in 25 consecutive games. That’s not exactly the mark of a successful team.

4.) Field goal execution – This has been a problem all season. Last week featured the low-point, with both a field goal and extra point blocked. The Redskins have allowed five blocks this season (four field goals and one extra point). Graham Gano has had five other misses. Of all of the units on the team, this one needs to have a good game or some changes could be made.

5.) Struggling secondary – With New York boasting some talented pass-catchers in receivers Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes and tight end Dustin Keller, the pressure will be on Washington’s secondary to provide strong coverage. There could be opportunities for cornerbacks DeAngelo Hall and Josh Wilson to make plays, but the safety position is less-than-stable right now, with LaRon Landry (groin) and Oshiomogho Atogwe (knee, toe) banged up, so there’s also the potential for breakdowns in the secondary. Hall and Wilson are coming off solid games, and safeties Reed Doughty and DeJon Gomes could see a lot of action. The defensive backs must step up.

Washington Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman (8) throws a pass during the first half