Landri back with Eagles, with something to prove

DEREK LANDRI believes he did all he could during training camp.

Now, he hopes to make the Eagles see they made a mistake cutting him.

The Birds lost run-stopping defensive tackle Antonio Dixon for the season on Sunday. On Monday, they re-signed Landri, who made it to the final cut after a strong 2011 training camp.

The Birds kept undrafted rookie Cedric Thornton over Landri, 28, who started all 16 games for the Panthers in 2010 and made three sacks. The Birds said they believed Landri would not crack their defensive line rotation. They said that they would rather routinely make a rookie like Thornton inactive than Landri.

Landri said the Eagles told him the same thing.

"He just made plays," said Eagles coach Andy Reid.

Not enough plays, apparently.

"It is what it is. All you can do is use it as fuel," Landri said, with no small measure of bile. "Whether you want to believe it or not. Choose your poison."

It didn't make him any happier that, the day after the Eagles cut Landri, they cut Thornton, to make room for guard Kyle DeVan, who had just been cut by Indianapolis.

Landri, listed as 6-2, 290 pounds (Dixon weighs at least 322), said he worked out twice for Atlanta and once for Cincinnati. Neither signed him, and, as he spent the last month in the gym, he seethed.

"Was I surprised not to be on a team? Yes. It [ticks] you off," Landri said. "If that doesn't eat at you, then you're not a competitor."

While he waited, Landri said, he went to the Buffalo area, where his wife's family lives. Coincidentally, the Eagles play there Sunday; and, yes, Landri has watched the Bills sprint out to a surprising 3-1 start.

He has not, he said, watched the Eagles.

Predictably, the Falcons' running back/tight end tandem of Michael Turner and Tony Gonzalez played a large role in beating the Eagles in Week 2. Then the Giants used Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs to gut the Birds. Last week, injured running back Frank Gore and stud tight end Vernon Davis helped the 49ers charge back from 20 points down to win.

This week, in Buffalo, the Eagles face running back Fred Jackson and tight end Scott Chandler.

Who?

Well, Jackson is seventh in the NFL in most yards from scrimmage, three spots ahead of LeSean McCoy; is a spectacular blocker; and is the offense's unquestioned leader.

As for Chandler, he entered this season with more cut notices (four) than catches (one). Now, as quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick's 6-7, 270-pound, red-zone security blanket, he has four touchdown catches in four games.

So, yes, the Bills can hurt the Eagles the same way everyone else has hurt them.

"They're a very versatile team," said linebacker Brian Rolle. "They're going to spread you out, three-receiver, four-receiver formations. We've got to get assignment-perfect."

The Bills will be playing angry, too.

They were 3-0 with a win over the Patriots before they blew a two-touchdown lead to the Bengals on Sunday. Maybe that's why they are three-point underdogs to the 1-3 Eagles.

Then again, this is an ungainly collection with little pedigree.

Chandler might not have had job security, but at least he was drafted, in the fourth round, by San Diego in 2007. Jackson was not drafted and didn't break into the league until he was 26. Fitzpatrick was a seventh-round pick, as was top receiver Steve Johnson. David Nelson, second on the team with 22 catches, wasn't drafted, either.

"I think guys want to prove themselves. They didn't get respect coming out," said coach Chan Gailey. "The only way to get any is to go earn it."