Trotter Learned From A Master, Now Drills Others

[PhillyPhreak54]

Trotter learned from a master, now drills others

Sunday, January 07, 2007
BY KIMBERLY JONES
For the Star-Ledger

PHILADELPHIA -- Jeremiah Trotter was a struggling rookie in 1998 when Ray Rhodes, then the Eagles head coach, told him there was someone he should meet. Someone from whom he could learn a lot. Someone to whom he bore an on-field resemblance.

That someone was Harry Carson.

Rhodes, a former Giants teammate of Carson's, saw the similarities: the humble beginnings, the body type, the attitude, the willingness to work.

The middle linebacker mentality.

When it came to the introduction, Trotter was eager, even if he wasn't exactly a historian on Carson's Hall of Fame career.

"I didn't see many of their games" as a kid, Trotter said. "I lived in Texas and we had three (television) channels."

Not that it mattered.

"At the time," a laughing Trotter said the other day, while sitting at his locker, "I would take any help I could get."

Carson offered plenty.

"We just chatted," Carson said, recalling their first conversation. "Some guys will blow off guys who played the game. Jeremiah respected me. He was like a sponge. He (wanted to learn) not only about the position but about playing the game the way it's supposed to be played."

When Carson was a young player, he sought advice from Sam Huff, the Hall of Fame linebacker. This was a way of giving back.

"If you want to know something, especially about the position you're playing, you ask someone who's been there," Carson said.

Carson and Trotter would dissect the intricacies of being the quarterback of the defense. But, Trotter said, "I think one of the most important things that we've talked about is just enjoying the game and taking advantage of every opportunity."

Carson considers himself a mentor. Trotter, currently one of the game's finest -- and most physical -- middle linebackers, considers himself "old-school."

No wonder the relationship works. The two men speak regularly and occasionally have dinner together.

Last year Trotter attended Carson's charity golf tournament in South Carolina where they discovered more common ground: "I think as linebackers we both have our challenges" on the golf course, Carson said with a chuckle.

And last August, when the Eagles played in the Hall of Fame Game, Trotter and some teammates were in the audience as Carson joined the late Reggie White, a former Eagle, among the inductees.

Trotter almost missed the Eagles' team bus after the induction. He had gone to see Carson at a post-ceremony gathering.

"As a middle linebacker, we identify with each other," Carson said. "He reminds me of me, and I would have loved to have had the opportunity to play with him, and I'm sure Lawrence (Taylor) and Carl Banks would (feel) the same way. Because he's one of the guys who brings it week in and week out."

That might seem blasphemous from a Giant of Carson's stature, particularly in advance of today's playoff game. Not so, Carson says.

"I'm rooting for the Giants," Carson said. "But I have a personal relationship with Jeremiah. Jeremiah, to me, is sort of like a younger brother. I say emphatically, I want the Giants to win. But I want him to do well."

Trotter has already left his mark this season. Tiki Barber, after his impending retirement became public in October, pointed to the Sept. 17 game in Philadelphia as a reason to walk away.

"Jeremiah Trotter hit me, like, 20 times," Barber said. "I was tired. I was beat up. I didn't recover from that game until probably the next Saturday."

Barber ran for 1,662 yards, fourth-best in the league, on 327 carries this season. Only 126 of those yards, on 40 rushes, came in two games against the Eagles.

"Those guys are physical guys who try to impose their will as a defensive unit," Carson said. "They blitz a lot, they keep the pressure on, and when they get a chance to hit you, they hit you. That's the way they are and I respect that, I admire that. That's the way you play defense."

Asked if he wishes the Giants played similarly, Carson did not hesitate.

"I wish the Giants played better team defense and I wish the tackling was better and I wish they just got after it -- not verbally but physically got after people," Carson said. "I can tell the Eagles have been coached very well from a defensive standpoint, but they also take a lot of pride in what they do as a defense. And I don't think that pride necessarily comes from the coaches. I think that pride comes from those players who are the leaders on that team."

Carson said he is "not into comparing" the Eagles and Giants defenses.

"But I can very well look and see who plays inspired and who doesn't play inspired," he said. "I mean, I think it's very obvious for everybody to see."

Leadership on the Eagles, especially with quarterback Donovan McNabb injured, begins with safety Brian Dawkins and Trotter. Their lockers at the practice facility are diagonally set at opposite ends of the room, Dawkins' at the entrance, Trotter's in the back corner. They are, in effect, bookends.

"We took a lot of criticism when things were going bad; that's what leaders do," Trotter said. The Eagles were 5-6 before sweeping their final five games to win the NFC East. "I don't mind. I've got big shoulders. I can take all the heat, and I don't need any of the glory."

Trotter never has shied away from responsibility. One of eight children, he left Stephen F. Austin State University after his junior season to help support his family. He was drafted in the third round, then soon after his father Myra died just before his first rookie minicamp.

Myra Trotter's business was wood chopping and a young Jeremiah often worked alongside his father. His work ethic honed early, Trotter said his childhood provided lessons that "translate to the football field."

Trotter relied on every bit of his strong constitution in 2004 when, as a two-time Pro Bowler, he was suddenly looking for work. The taterskins had lured him two years earlier in free agency only to unceremoniously release him.

Trotter tried out for the Giants, and Carson was "hopeful" that he would be signed. Instead, Trotter failed the team's physical because of his knees, each of which has been surgically repaired.

Only after re-establishing a strained relationship with Eagles coach Andy Reid did Trotter re-sign in Philadelphia. In three seasons since, he hasn't missed a game -- and says he hasn't skipped even a practice -- because of injury. He also has been selected to two more Pro Bowls, though not this year's, and started on a Super Bowl team.

"I failed the physical here (too), but the Eagles knew me," Trotter said. "They knew."

By the Eagles' count, Trotter has recorded at least 100 tackles in seven of his nine seasons, with a team-leading 161 this year.

"You can't blame the Giants, you can't blame them," Trotter said. "The doctors, they're looking out for themselves and they see what they see on paper. And what's on paper doesn't look good. But I know one thing: Every Sunday, God gets me ready to play."

Upon their initial meeting, Carson was struck by Trotter's "humility." He feels the same way these days, after watching Trotter rise and fall, only to rise again.

"I'm very proud of him as an athlete, as a player," Carson said. "There are times I wish he was a Giant, but he's not. But he's still my friend. He's my guy. When I watch him, I'm very proud of the way he plays the game."

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Every Sunday, God gets me ready to play.

Good thing the Eagles didn't draw a Saturday matchup for the wild-card game!

[Eaglez]

Yeah, it is pretty amazing if you think about him practically having bone-on-bone in his knees and not missing a start in 2 seasons. Trotter definitely is a great leader in the locker room and he deserves credit for helping turn this season around and inspiring everyone else.