November 3 came and went without a roster transaction involving defensive tackle Derek Landri.
Surely, this came as a relief to the 6-2 lineman, who has bounced on and off the Eagles roster since signing with the team on August 3.
It was exactly one month after that, on September 3, that Landri would become a cut-day casualty, one of the 22 Eagles released in order to trim the roster from 75 down to 53 before the start of the 2011 regular season. The five-year veteran spent the next week, waiting for a phone call from an interested team. No such call came.
It was on October 3, when defensive tackle Antonio Dixon was placed on injured reserve with a triceps injury, that Landri received a call from the team asking him to return. Since then, the Notre Dame-alum has made his presence felt.
"Everybody has to play some type of role if they want to get on the field," he said. "I've been fortunate to get to come in right away and get playing time and make some plays."
Last Sunday against the New York Giants, the 290-pound tackle was involved in the play that sealed the win for the Eagles. Trailing by seven with 1:25 remaining in the game, Eli Manning and the Giants offense had driven the ball from their own 9-yard line to the Eagles' 21. Manning took a shotgun snap and rolled to his right to avoid interior pressure from Landri. As the Pro Bowl quarterback searched downfield for an open receiver, defensive end Jason Babin closed in from behind and stripped the ball loose. Landri, in the right place at the right time, recovered the ball, giving Philadelphia the opportunity to ice the game.
"Babin made a great play," Landri said with humility. "I was fortunate to be there and be able to make another play to finish the game out for us."
This week, like every week that he's on the field, number 94 will be doing everything in his power to get to the quarterback. It is only added motivation that the man in the backfield this time will be future Hall of Famer Tom Brady.
"Playing against a top quarterback always adds a little something extra," said Landri. "He's an athletic quarterback and he knows his way around the pocket. He gets rid of the ball so quickly and that makes it really tough to get to him and bring him down. You just have to keep working and fighting to try to get to him.
"I've played him twice; both games were losses. I've never sacked him, but I have gotten hits on him. I was actually fined for hitting him once and I definitely didn't like that."
Since the bye week, Landri has been the Eagles' most impactful defender, according to Pro Football Focus. While he might not have the size of the man he replaced, Dixon, or the athleticism of sack-artist Cullen Jenkins, Landri has been able to get by in the NFL through hard work and solid technique. He quietly creates interior pressure on passing downs and clogs his assigned gaps in the run game.
It is safe to say that fans should not expect a December 3 roster move involving this sparkplug defensive lineman.
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