Redskins.com: AP: Ex-Redskin Trotter Signs In Philly

Jake · Post by **Jake** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 11:06 am

AP: Ex-Redskin Trotter Signs In Philly
By Rob Maaddi
AP Sportswriter
July 14, 2004

Former Pro Bowl middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday, agreeing to a one-year contract, according to the Associated Press.
Trotter's deal, believed to be worth less than $1 million, is contingent upon his passing a physical on Thursday.

Trotter, 27, spent the last two seasons with the Washington Redskins after playing four years for the Eagles and making the Pro Bowl twice. He left Philadelphia following a bitter contract dispute in 2002, but never lived up to the multi-year, multi-million contract he received from the Redskins.

Trotter led Washington with 129 tackles in 16 games last season. He had 104 tackles in 12 games in 2002, before going down with a knee injury.

Trotter has 774 tackles, 10 1/2 sacks and four forced fumbles in his six-year career.

A third-round draft choice from Stephen F. Austin in 1998, Trotter established himself as one of the premiere middle linebackers in the NFL during his time in Philadelphia, going to the Pro Bowl in 2000 and 2001.

He led the Eagles in tackles from 1999-2001, including a career-best 202 in his first season as a starter in 1999.

Trotter strongly protested being designated Philadelphia's franchise player after the 2001 season, and signed with the Redskins soon after the Eagles removed the tag, making him an unrestricted free agent.

http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=2201

I was a little surprised to see this on Redskins although I shouldn't have been. Well, here it is.

NikiH · Post by **NikiH** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 11:10 am

I like Trotter, he was on my fantasy football team last year and he got me quite a few points. I'm kind of sad to see him go.

Redskin Stouff · Post by **Redskin Stouff** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 11:10 am

I'm new to to the site, so please be gentle. You know what they say, you'll always remember your first time!

If Trotter's knees hold up, he will be an upgrade for Philly. However, Barrow is still an upgrade from Trotter.

DEHog · Post by **DEHog** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 11:15 am

Welcome aboard, your comments are very welcome. You may have a point, I do believe Johnson will make better use of Trotter then we did!!

FatPat · Post by **FatPat** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 11:22 am

202 tackles in 1999 thats sick...anyway hope he does well in Freakadelphia Im sure he will be better utilized in that system

MtSherwood7 · Post by **MtSherwood7** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 12:41 pm

I hope he does well too... except not against us... I cant wait to see him get run over by the Rock!

General Failure · Post by **General Failure** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 12:48 pm

I don't understand why Rock would run all the way across the field to hit a guy that's so far out of the play.

hailskins666 · Post by **hailskins666** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 12:55 pm

General Failure wrote:I don't understand why Rock would run all the way across the field to hit a guy that's so far out of the play.

ROTFALMAO

wonker · Post by **wonker** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 2:59 pm

[quote="Redskin Stouff"]I'm new to to the site, so please be gentle. You know what they say, you'll always remember your first time!

If Trotter's knees hold up, he will be an upgrade for Philly. However, Barrow is still an upgrade from Trotter.[/quote]

Welcome.

But, I disagree. Barrow is really ancient. He's helped by the fact that our OLBs have great speed, but Barrow will only be useful in up-the-gut runs, and will be a hinderance in our pass D.

HTTR

wonker

tcwest10 · Post by **tcwest10** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 5:38 pm

wonker wrote:Welcome.

But, I disagree. Barrow is really ancient. He's helped by the fact that our OLBs have great speed, but Barrow will only be useful in up-the-gut runs, and will be a hinderance in our pass D.

Better defensive minds than yours (Williams, et.al) feel differently.
Barrow may be ancient, but he's a fast learner and has the maturity to play/stay within his role on the field. He's not out to make the ESPN "Highlights" hit. He wants to stop the offense. There are some very big names on the NYG who will tell you that he is pretty good at doing just that. In that sense, if no other, he's a significant upgrade. Put away your nice little "up-the-gut" machismo. There's no need to bandy about such terms to show off your knowledge of the game. We can tell you know football simply by your team of choice !!

Trotter needed to be gone. He was a reported disruptive force only in the meetings. On the field, he was clearly without a clue. Believe me, if Barrow serves no purpose in an obvious passing situation, he will be substituted. I know it's hard, but trust in the new coaching.

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 6:04 pm

I believe that Barrow will make up in his declining physical abilities with maturity, knowledge, and technique. Even at his age Barrow is no slouch but he may be a step slower than he used to be. But I believe that if he wasn't any good Gregg wouldn't have snatched him up. He's going to bring all of his wisdom and will shine here in DC. Under M. Williams our guys excelled because of his iron fist of no BS! We lost that fist with spurrier and got a fist of jello. Gregg will instill a send of pride, order, and decency in this defense and it will make a difference.

General Failure · Post by **General Failure** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 6:21 pm

Chris Luva Luva wrote:I believe that Barrow will make up in his declining physical abilities with maturity, knowledge, and technique.

Three traits Trotter can't buy with his brand new minimum salary contract. Or his old I-can't-believe-you-guys-paid-so-much salary for that matter.

njskinsfan · Post by **njskinsfan** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 9:16 pm

Barrow is only a stop-gap and we all know that but between him and K-Mitch we will be just fine. Just don't expect any Wilbur Marshall bum-rushes up the middle lay'n the smack down.

Trotter has NO cartlidge in one knee and it was beginning to show. He was starting to look like Derek Smith when he was a Redskin.... thank god they are both gone.

McMVP · Post by **McMVP** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 7:31 am

DEHog wrote:Welcome aboard, your comments are very welcome. You may have a point, I do believe Johnson will make better use of Trotter then we did!!

The defensive systems Trot played in Washington is completely different than the one he was in (and will be again) in Philly.

In Washington it was more of a read-and-react system. That obviously didn't work well for Trotter. In Philly, JJ basically designs plays for the D...and Trot used to be the signal caller. He will have a set assignment on a given play....to fill a particular gap on the line, blitz, cover a TE, etc. He won't have to read and react and make the quick decision. This system plays to his strenghts....as everyone saw with 202 tackles in '02.

That said, he is now playing on a bad knee. But he still managed to play 16 games for Washington last year. Sometimes it takes 2 full years to rtecover from a knee injury.

Either way, at the veteran minimum salary...it was a no-brainer pickup for the Eagles....

Good luck with Gibbs.....glad he is back in the NFL!

BossHog · Post by **BossHog** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 7:49 am

The defensive systems Trot played in Washington is completely different than the one he was in (and will be again) in Philly.

True... but while johnson is most definitely one of the finest DC's in the league... so is Geregg Williams... and Williams didn't see anything in Trotter or they wouldn't have paid so dearly on this year and next year's cap to get rid of him.

In Washington it was more of a read-and-react system. That obviously didn't work well for Trotter. In Philly, JJ basically designs plays for the D...and Trot used to be the signal caller. He will have a set assignment on a given play....to fill a particular gap on the line, blitz, cover a TE, etc. He won't have to read and react and make the quick decision. This system plays to his strenghts....as everyone saw with 202 tackles in '02.

If filling the right gap is Trotter's best asset then you definitely ARE in trouble... his LACK of discipline both on the field and in the dressing room... has been alluded to as the main reason for letting him go.

That said, he is now playing on a bad knee. But he still managed to play 16 games for Washington last year. Sometimes it takes 2 full years to rtecover from a knee injury.

Some Redskin fans might argue that he was in 16 games, but did he play any of them well?

Either way, at the veteran minimum salary...it was a no-brainer pickup for the Eagles....

That depends... but on the outside I would agree... for league minimum, he's decent depth... but that's all. Honestly, the way he played in Washington, you can have him back... he's done. The Redskins were willing to dump a lot of cap space to NOT have him on the team... so not only were the Redskins not willing to keep him... they were willing to do just about anything to get rid of him.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Trotter cut before the season starts. Locker room poison may be acceptable from a pro bowl player, but not from a back-up.

But who knows... maybe JT will turn things around. I'm sure Eagles fans are hoping that he can, but I think the amount of time that Trotter was available tells you that not many teams think that he can.

McMVP · Post by **McMVP** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 7:59 am

I see what you are saying....he did not play well in Washington. But is the glass full or completely empty? Chances are the answer is somwhere in between.

A player doesn't go from 202 tackles in a season and a couple pro-bowls to clueless overnight. It just doesn't happen. The system HAS to be the main reason for the fall-off in production.

As for being a disruption, sure I can see that. Trotter himself said this has been a very humbling experience. Any time you have a player making that kind of coin (and not living up to it) for a team not winning games, there is going to be friction.

But even if he never plays a game it was worth a shot. He is only going to take the roster spot of a player who wasn't going to see any action anyway. A player who also was making the minimum. So Trotter is basically free for the Eagles this year.

General Failure · Post by **General Failure** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 9:46 am

McMVP wrote:I see what you are saying....he did not play well in Washington. But is the glass full or completely empty? Chances are the answer is somwhere in between.

A player doesn't go from 202 tackles in a season and a couple pro-bowls to clueless overnight. It just doesn't happen. The system HAS to be the main reason for the fall-off in production.

As for being a disruption, sure I can see that. Trotter himself said this has been a very humbling experience. Any time you have a player making that kind of coin (and not living up to it) for a team not winning games, there is going to be friction.

But even if he never plays a game it was worth a shot. He is only going to take the roster spot of a player who wasn't going to see any action anyway. A player who also was making the minimum. So Trotter is basically free for the Eagles this year.

So there's no confusion let me point out that I'm an Eagles fan. Now that that's out of the way I can tell you why I think this is a terrible, terrible move.

Trotter was clueless his first time in Philly. I stopped counting the number of times he got faked on misdirection, hit the wrong hole, and was just out of position. While he might have been adequate against the pass he was awful against the run. People constantly point to his tackles as some end-all sign that he was good. I cringe when I think of how many of those were assisted tackled where he jumped on the pile six yards down field because he let the back blow right by him.

That's how he played with a healthy line in front of him. Can you imagine the horror of Trotter at MLB with last year's patchwork defensive line? I may pass out from the sheer terror of it.

Now he's back. His knees are worse than before, and he hasn't improved as a player at all. The best I can hope for from him is mediocrity, and that simply isn't good enough. I would rather have mediocrity from a younger player who actually has a chance to improve.