With all the focus on the changes for the linebackers, they aren't the only players who will have to do a lot more this season. As the Washington Post's Jason Reid writes, safeties will have to do a whole lot more too.
Safeties coach Steve Jackson said that unlike past years, when the group was playing a specific coverage on certain plays, this year they will be mixing and matching those coverages. The players are expected to do more than they ever have.
The free and strong safety positions are "interchangeable" Jackson said. On one play, the "strong" safety may be close to the line and on the next he may be playing deep coverage.
"Safeties have got to do everything, just like the corners have to do everything," defensive backs coach Bob Slowik said. "They'll do every kind of coverage technique probably they've ever experienced before. They'll be deep, they'll be in the box, they'll blitz, they'll not blitz, so it's just a multitude of things that they have to be proficient at."
This is a pretty big change for LaRon Landry, who last year was deployed primarily as a free safety. This year, he'll switch between free safety and strong safety, which means he'll become much more important in the Skins' efforts to stop the run. The switch also creates more competition for the other spot between Reed Doughty, Chris Horton and Kareem Moore.