Jeremiah Trotter, Philadelphia Eagle (Take Three)

[Eagaholic]

Phreak, you're gonna have to delete your RIP Five Fo

[LBIggle]

let him play a game first.  anything could happen.  dudes old in football years, shrapnel from his knee might shoot out and hit him in something vital.

[ice grillin you]

good to know the owner and the accountant are acquiring new talent at season ticket holder functions

[SunMo]

Good to know that the head coach uses "LOL"

Hi, I'm Todd.

[Zanshin]

I'm not sure I'm on board with the furor or excitement. It's really pretty meaningless. Maybe they just need a little veteran leadership to help with the young D. Maybe Trotter has a play or two left, or maybe he's flat-out done. Either way, there's a slight chance that he'll contribute more than a fourth QB would. I'm not expecting much from him. I think it's more an acknowledgment that they miss Dawk more than they thought they would. The difference is, now that Trotter has been out of football for awhile, the expectations will be low across the board...and he won't feel the need to start.

[phattymatty]

has anyone seen pictures pf him recently?  i would assume that he's fat as shtein.

[General_Failure]

When Trotter returned home that night, he said he couldn't wait to get up the next morning to work out.  After awaking the next day, he started running at 9:30 AM until 9:38 AM when he "nearly passed out."

[BobbyT]

When Trotter returned home that night, he said he couldn't wait to get up the next morning to work out.  After awaking the next day, he started running at 9:30 AM until 9:38 AM when he "nearly passed out."

Luckily plays don't last 8 minutes.

Looking forward to the first chop!

[PhillyPhreak54]

has anyone seen pictures pf him recently?  i would assume that he's fat as shtein.

He said he weighed in at 257

[PhillyPhreak54]

Trotter says return to Eagles is dream come true

By LES BOWEN
Philadelphia Daily News

bowenl@phillynews.com

IT ISN'T UNCOMMON for an athlete to believe he can still play, long after his final game is in the books.

It is uncommon for an athlete to hold onto that notion so fiercely that he eventually gets someone to reconsider, to give him a chance to write a different final chapter.

Jeremiah Trotter was always stubborn, strong-willed. That was one of the reasons the Eagles and their fans liked him so much. And it's one of the reasons Trotter will be wearing his familiar No. 54 jersey for an amazing third tour of duty with the team, when practice resumes next Monday after the bye week.

"At some points, like last year, when I was sitting at home . . . I was like, 'Should I give it up and start doing something else?' Something just kept telling me to work out," Trotter told reporters in a conference call yesterday, after the Eagles announced they have signed him to a 1-year contract, apparently for the veteran minimum. Quarterback Jeff Garcia was released, an expected move, given that Donovan McNabb apparently will return to practice Monday. (And maybe a welcome move, given that the Dolphins suddenly would seem to need a QB. Garcia's agent, Steve Baker, did not respond to a request for comment.)

Trotter, who has obtained Tracy White's permission to reclaim his familiar number, underwent a right-knee cleanout early in 2008. He had it done on his own, in hopes he could interest a team in signing him; the Eagles had released Trotter on Aug. 21, 2007 - "One of the toughest things I've ever had to deal with," he said yesterday - and he'd spent the season with Tampa Bay, mostly watching other linebackers play. It was apparent to Trotter and to everyone else that even though he was only 30, he could no longer move well enough to play in the NFL. He said yesterday that part of the problem was bone chips floating around in his right knee.

That didn't mean The Ax Man was giving up, though. He had the surgery, worked out right after that for San Francisco, didn't get signed, kept working out, watched the 2008 season slip past, kept working out, lost some weight, took a physical for former Eagles assistant Steve Spagnuolo after Spagnuolo took over the St. Louis Rams, didn't get signed, kept working out, talked to Eagles coaches at Jim Johnson's funeral, kept working out, texted Andy Reid when Stewart Bradley went down early last month, didn't hear back, kept working out, and finally last week he got the first of two chances to show his old team what he could do. The day after the second workout, in which Trotter was asked to show his battle-scarred knee could function in pass coverage, Trotter was back with the Eagles, at long last.

"I just trained, the whole [time] I was out," he said. "I was able to get my body rest . . . I rehabbed and just stayed in shape. I changed my workout regimen, lost some weight, and did a lot of praying."

He said he was told after his physical Monday that his knees looked better than they had 2 years earlier; Trotter said he feels he has "at least 3 years left."

"[The surgery] really helped me get my explosion back," he said. "I feel better now than when I came to Washington," in 2002.

Trotter remembered yesterday that a few months after being released, he'd had some dreams in which he was playing for the Eagles again.

"I woke up, I was thinking I was crazy," he said. "I actually told a couple people . . . it sounded crazy then. It sounds crazy now . . . I'm just happy to be back in that green. I was raised in this system, in those colors, in this city, and I feel like I'm just as much a part of this city as anyone who ever played here."

Fans probably wouldn't argue. Trotter, listed at 6-2, 262 when he played here, currently at 257, he said, played in four Pro Bowls as an Eagle. He arrived in 1998 as a third-round draftee out of Stephen F. Austin, left early in 2002 for Washington in a contract dispute, returned in 2004 and helped push the Birds to the Super Bowl. When he left in 2007, the team held an emotional farewell press conference.

"This is just kind of overwhelming right now," said Trotter, who presumably is here to shore up the defense against the run, and to provide leadership to a unit that is missing both middle linebacker Bradley and free safety Brian Dawkins, who signed as a free agent with Denver. Asked what he'd been told about his role, Trotter said, "Come in and be a leader, work hard, and obviously, make some plays," normally on first and second down.

Though this is the same system Trotter played in during his previous tours - with a new coordinator, Sean McDermott - Trotter said he has some bye-week brushing up to do. He said he expects to be able to contribute right away - presumably that means against the Bucs. "How much, that's hard to say. It's going to take some time to run around in those full pads and get in game shape," he said.

"Jeremiah Trotter has always been one of my favorite players," Reid said in a statement. "He has worked very hard to keep himself in shape and we are pleased with where he is physically. We are excited to give him an opportunity to contribute to our football team."

Trotter said he spoke to current starting middle linebacker Omar Gaither on Monday, and does not believe they will have any problems working together. Gaither's development was one of the reasons the Eagles released Trotter 2 years ago.

"Omar and I, we'll help each other out," he said.

Gaither did not respond to a request for comment last night.

Trotter said walking back onto the field in an Eagles uniform will be exciting.

"It's going to be even more exciting when I can make that first big play and drop the ax," he said

[Drunkmasterflex]

Good to know that the head coach uses "LOL"

Hi, I'm Todd.

I thought that was funny as hell. 

[PhillyGirl]

I actually liked Reid for like 6 seconds there.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Paul Domowitch: Eagles need to stop run, but is aging Trotter the answer?

By Paul Domowitch
Philadelphia Daily News

Daily News Sports Columnist

JIM JOHNSON loved Jeremiah Trotter. Loved the unique blend of athleticism and physicality he brought to the middle linebacker position. Loved his fearless downhill style, even if he occasionally went down the wrong hill. Loved his Ax Man work ethic. Loved the intensity and passion he brought to the game.

Trotter was the kind of player Johnson wished he could have coached forever. But the Eagles' late defensive coordinator saw 2 years ago that forever was knocking on the door.

"Trot can't play too many plays anymore," he said outside the visitors' locker room at the Louisiana Superdome following the Eagles' 27-24 playoff loss to the Saints. "He's getting up there in age and you've gotta watch that.

"He's a great person. He plays hard and he's a competitor. But ...

His degenerative knees had robbed him of his quickness, mobility and explosion. He had become a liability in coverage and his range as a run defender was limited. He was 30 going on 50.

The Saints gashed Johnson's defense for 435 yards that day, including 208 on the ground. They were the eighth team in the last 11 games that season to rush for 140-plus yards against the Eagles. Trotter certainly wasn't the only reason for that, but having a middle linebacker whose bad wheels chained him to the "A" gap didn't help.

The Eagles released him the following summer, convinced he was near the end. But in a strange twist, they brought him back for an encore yesterday, signing him to a 1-year, veteran-minimum deal.

Trotter's return to the Eagles raises a couple of fairly significant questions: 1) Why did they feel compelled to bring him back? And 2) Can a guy who was running on empty at age 30 be any more productive at 32?

The obvious answer to the first question is that the Eagles aren't particularly happy with their middle linebacker situation. After Stewart Bradley tore his right anterior cruciate ligament in training camp, the tentative plan was to split the MIKE job between second-year man Joe Mays and Omar Gaither. The 5-11, 246-pound Mays essentially would play on first and second down, and Gaither would replace him in the Eagles' two-linebacker nickel package.

But the Eagles soured on Mays in the preseason and made Gaither their every-down middle linebacker. Gaither is a smart, fundamentally sound player who almost always is where he's supposed to be. But he weighs only a shade over 230 pounds and isn't a physical, downhill run stopper like Bradley or Trotter.

Still, the Eagles have done a pretty good job against the run in their first three games. They are ninth in the league in yards allowed per carry (3.6) and 15th in rushing yards allowed per game (106.0).

But alarms went off in Week 2 when they gave up 4.6 yards per carry to the Saints in an ugly, 48-22 loss. The Saints had four runs of 15 yards or more in the game. In the Eagles' first three games, 17 of 88 opponent rushing attempts have produced 7 or more yards.

Head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Sean McDermott undoubtedly are concerned about the six NFC East games that lie ahead, beginning with a Monday night visit to Washington on Oct. 26.

Last year, despite finishing fourth in the league against the run, the Eagles struggled against the ground games in their division. They gave up 120-plus rushing yards only six times in 19 games, but four of those six were against NFC East teams (see chart below).

Through the first 3 weeks of the season, the 2-1 Cowboys are first in the league in rushing, averaging 193.7 yards per game and an eye-popping 6.8 yards per carry. The 3-0 Giants are eighth (142.0, 4.0). The 0-3 taterskins are 24th, but Clinton Portis has averaged 105 rushing yards per game against the Eagles the last 2 years.

So that's the answer to the why question. But while I can understand why Reid and McDermott might feel a need to bolster their run defense, I'm not sure I see how signing a guy whose gas gauge was clearly on empty 2 years ago accomplishes that.

Modern medicine has enabled athletes to make almost-as-good-as-new recoveries from a plethora of serious injuries. But degenerative knees aren't one of them.

Trotter had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last year that he says has restored much of the mobility he lacked in '06. The Eagles, who worked him out twice and gave him a thorough physical before signing him, apparently agree.

"He has worked very hard to keep himself in shape, and we are pleased with where he is physically," Reid said in a statement. "We are excited to give him an opportunity to contribute to our football team."

Listen, I love a good comeback story as much as the next guy, especially when it involves a likable guy such as Trotter. But I have a hard time believing that one cleanout surgery and a year away from the game have erased the damage done to his knees by two torn ACLs and nine brutal seasons of NFL combat.

Trotter said the Eagles brought him in "to play physical, to play downhill and disrupt things," which sounds as if they plan eventually to plug him in at middle linebacker in their base package on first and second downs.

The problem there is that opposing offensive coordinators aren't stupid. Even if Trotter has regained enough mobility to be a functional run defender, you can bet teams will throw at him.

That's what happened in '06. When Johnson stopped putting him on the field on passing downs, teams started throwing at him on first and second down.

In Trotter's defense, the cast that surrounded him in '06 wasn't nearly as good as the one that will surround him now. Defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley was a clueless first-round rookie who couldn't get on the field that year. Trotter had to rely on oft-injured Darwin Walker and overworked Mike Patterson to keep blockers off him.

Walker is long gone, and Bunkley and Patterson, who play mainly on first and second down now, have developed into one of the league's top interior run-stopping tandems.

In '06, Trotter had undersized Dhani Jones lining up next to him at strongside linebacker. Now he has athletic, 260-pound Chris Gocong (HI HAVAS!), who, unlike Jones, is capable of forcing a lot of runs inside toward the middle linebacker.

As I said, I love a good comeback story. If Trotter is able to step in and make a positive contribution to an Eagles playoff run, good for him. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

But I keep remembering what I saw out there on the field in the Louisiana Superdome 2 years ago, and I keep remembering Jim Johnson's grim prognosis of his middle linebacker that day.

And this just seems like a shot in the dark.

Eagles ground defense

Despite finishing fourth in the NFL in run defense last season, the Eagles struggled against NFC East's ground games. They allowed 120-plus rushing yards only six times in 19 games, but four of those six came against division opponents. Here is the Eagles' rushing defense vs. the NFC East in 2008, plus how those opponents are doing this season:

9/15/08, at Cowboys, L: 37-41; 24 carries, 68 yards, 2.8 average

10/5/08, vs. taterskins, L: 17-23; 44 carries, 203 yards, 4.6 average

11/9/08, vs. Giants, L: 31-36, 45 carries, 219 yards, 4.9 average

12/7/08, at Giants, W: 20-14, 24 carries, 88 yards, 3.7

12/21/08, at taterskins, L: 3-10, 32 carries, 122 yards, 3.8 average

12/28/08, vs. Cowboys, W: 44-6, 19 carrries, 87 yards, 4.6 average

1/11/09, at Giants (playoffs), W: 23-11, 32 carries, 138 yards, 4.3 average

NFC EAST OPPONENTS' 2009 RUSHING

Cowboys: 1st in NFL, 193.7 yards per game, 6.8 yards per carry

Giants: 8th, 142.0 YPG, 4.0 YPC

taterskins: 24th, 91.7 YPG, 4.0 YPC

Domo raises valid points and they all could be true. But like I said yesterday, with the Eagles realizing they need help stopping the run, why not take a shot?

If he fails, or blows his knees up again, then you plug Gaither back in there and hope he can get the job done.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Ashley Fox: Trotter's return to Eagles feels right

By Ashley Fox

Inquirer NFL columnist
"I truly believe that if you were to cut me, I'd bleed green." - Jeremiah Trotter, Aug. 20, 2007

Some things never change.

Jeremiah Trotter is back. It's unbelievable yet seems so natural, amazing but feels so right. This love affair between the Eagles and Trotter continues. They're back together, yet again.

Say it with me. The Ax Man is back.

Trotter is ready to drop the ax. And this Eagles season just keeps getting weirder.

A day after a second workout persuaded Andy Reid to rehire him, Trotter was at the NovaCare Complex yesterday trying to shake out the cobwebs and come to grips with being a professional football player again. It's been two years, one knee surgery, and many doubts since he last pulled on the pads, and after absorbing a little contact on the practice field yesterday, Trotter was understandably bleary.

He's back in green for a third time, not as a charity case and not just to provide leadership to a defense that is young in spots. He's here to play, and not just special teams. He wants to resume his old-school role of essentially being a nose tackle in the middle linebacker's position. He wants to start. And he will be in No. 54. He took care of that little bit of housekeeping with Tracy White first thing yesterday.

It remains to be seen what the 32-year-old has left, but Trotter looked trim and cut yesterday, even in a white, collared shirt and blue pants. He said he's been working out for two years, hanging on to the hope that he might one day resume his career. He said he weighs 257 pounds, and has exchanged a little flab for muscle mass.

And those knees that prematurely forced him to the sideline after the 2007 season are better. He even passed a physical.

"I never thought I'd be back," Trotter said yesterday.

But it is true. The Ax Man is back.

Ever since Stewart Bradley went down in August, Trotter thought this day might come. After Bradley's season-ending knee injury, Trotter texted Reid.

I'm in great shape. I'm healthy.

Reid's response: LOL. You're funny. That's what I like about you. When you turn 60, you still are going to think you can play.

A couple of weeks later, Trotter texted Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott.

Bring me in for a workout. What do you have to lose?

And then Trotter ran into two-thirds of the triumvirate at an event at Lincoln Financial Field. Joe Banner asked Trotter if he was in shape.

"I said, 'Yeah, man, I'm ready,' " Trotter said.

"Stay in shape," Banner replied.

Then Trotter saw Jeffrey Lurie.

"He said, 'Trot, you in shape?' " Trotter said. "I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'All right. Stay in shape. You might get the call.' So then I was like, 'Whoa, this thing is serious.'

"I was already working out, but I couldn't wait to get back home. I was out there at 9:30 [at night] running in the yard. I was out there running until I almost passed out."

Now, he's an Eagle.

It seems like only yesterday that Trotter was leaving the NovaCare Complex, seemingly for good. In August 2007, Reid made the painful decision to release Trotter. He had called Trotter into his office, and the men cried "like two old ladies," Trotter said at the time.

The next day, as a steady drizzle fell, Trotter said goodbye to his teammates in the practice bubble, telling them to savor every moment on the field and take advantage of every opportunity to play. He passed the proverbial middle linebacker torch to a young Omar Gaither, hugged Brian Dawkins, then wept at the podium as he talked to the media about his love for the Eagles.

"That was a tough day," Trotter said yesterday. "I've always dreamed honestly of retiring as an Eagle, and I still hope and pray that one day I can do that, but to walk away from the game when I'm ready. . . ."

That day, "It hurt. I ain't going to lie. It was emotional. . . . I feel like I'm just as much a part of this city as anybody that's ever played here."

Trotter is right, of course. He bleeds green, there is no question. Does he really have anything to offer at 32? We're about to find out.

[mussa]

Is Trotter an Eagles by the end of the season?