Quick bit o' news for Eagles' fans...
Posted on Tue, Aug. 21, 2007
'A tough pill to swallow' for Trotter
By Ashley Fox
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Takeo Spikes answered his cell phone Monday night. He always takes Jeremiah Trotter's calls.
"Well, Spikes," Trotter said, "you know all the dreams we talked about playing with each other, getting the crowd hyped, doing the ax, doing the T-K-O? We're going to have to put it on hold."
The ax had fallen on the Axman. (sp?) The Eagles cut the 30-year-old, four-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker today. Trotter's career in Philadelphia is over. He spent seven years here and nine overall in the National Football League.
In a classy move, Trotter pulled into the NovaCare Complex as practice was ending today on the indoor field. He got out of the passenger side of a black BMW 750 with the license plate GR8WASH, and quietly walked inside.
Trotter addressed the team, telling his former teammates to savor each opportunity on the field, each moment with the team, then essentially passed the middle linebacker torch to the young Omar Gaither and hugged each of his former teammates. There was Brian Dawkins, who had seen every minute of Trotter's career here. There was Spikes, who had joined the Eagles in March and been outspoken about his desire to play with Trotter. And there were coaches.
When the linebackers huddled, as they usually do after practice, Trotter was in the middle. He broke the huddle for the last time, walked to the auditorium with Dawkins and Spikes at his side, then fought back tears as he talked about the green blood coursing through his veins.
When Reid summoned Trotter to his office after Monday's practice, Trotter had no idea what was about to happen. He said he was stunned by the news, but sounded neither bitter nor remorseful.
"It was pretty emotional," Trotter said of his meeting with Reid. "At the end, we were like two old ladies up there. Obviously, I know he didn't want to make the decision. But as a head coach, you have to make tough decisions for the organization, and I respected it. I just told him I really appreciated everything he did for me, the organization, and the city.
"It's a tough pill to swallow, but everyone gets to this point in their career at some point or another, and now is my time. I'm just thankful that I spent this many years here in Philadelphia. I truly believe that if you were to cut me, I'd bleed green. Even when I went away for two years [to Washington], I was always an Eagle at heart, and I'll always remain an Eagle."
Reid would not explain his reasons today, but an Eagles source said that, in the team's estimation, Trotter simply could no longer run effectively.
Trotter had a relatively uneventful training camp, until Monday, when Reid substituted Gaither in with the first-team defense. No one thought much of it because Gaither had taken snaps with the first unit before. Trotter didn't stand out one way or another; he wasn't dominant, he wasn't horrible. He was part of the first-team defense that gave up just one first down, and no points, in the most recent preseason game - against the Carolina Panthers.
The Eagles asked Trotter to lose weight in the off-season, which he did, and talked about having Trotter and Gaither rotate throughout the season, with Trotter playing on first and second downs and Gaither coming in on third downs.
Apparently, they didn't think that plan would be effective, and so they cut Trotter with enough time left in the preseason for him to try to continue his career elsewhere, if he chooses. By making the cut today, it also left time for the remaining Eagles to come to grips with the decision, like it or not.
"This one hit me like a ton of bricks," Dawkins said. "No matter how many years you play, it's always hard when you lose someone like that, that you've come in contact and gotten so close with. I'm going to make it as far as I can in this press conference."
It's interest that Trotter said he agreed with Reid's decision, although he said he thinks he has a couple of good years left and would like to sign with another franchise.
"Obviously, I want to be here," Trotter said, "but he's making a decision that he feels is best for the team. That's what this league is about. The turnover ratio is big every year. They're always bringing in someone to try to better the team. Who knows what the future holds, but, like I said, now is my time. I understand why he did it - I know he didn't want to do it - and that means a lot to me."
It had been quite a dance with the Eagles, and Trotter leaves a stellar legacy. He is beloved by teammates and fans alike, because of his fearless, gambling style, his quickness for a 260-pound man, his instincts and his nose for the football.
Twice in his career, Trotter came to the Eagles with high expectations and much to prove, and twice he succeeded. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection, and an undeniable leader not only of the Eagles defense but of the entire team.
The Eagles selected Trotter in the third round of the 1998 draft (72d overall) out of Stephen F. Austin. The Texarkana, Texas, native played sparingly as a rookie, then broke into the starting lineup the next year and played 48 consecutive regular-season games. When Trotter was set to become a free agent after the 2001 season, the Eagles slapped the franchise tag on him, then rescinded it and let Trotter walk away.
He played for two seasons in Washington, one of which was interrupted by another knee injury, before asking Reid to bring him back.
Playing on a veteran minimum contract, Trotter earned his way back into the starting lineup in 2004, and remained there until today.
"Jeremiah Trotter will go down as one of the all-time greats in Philadelphia Eagles history," Reid said. "He's a top-notch person and guy."
Still, questions will always loom over Trotter. What if his knees didn't betray him? What if he'd stayed in Philadelphia his entire career? Would he have helped in that 2002 NFC title game against Tampa Bay? Could he have brought the Lombardi Trophy here?
"I always knew he was a great player," Spikes said, "but . . . I've learned to know he was a great man, also. He was a guy that everybody respected. He was the type of guy that could sit around and meet anybody for the first five minutes, and after you walk away you feel like, 'Man, I've been knowing him for a long time.' "
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I'm thinking of doing it with ESPN just cause it's ESPN basically. Any reason I shouldn't?
Cause every week there's the gnashing of teeth and dick measuring of the normal games that matter in either the quest for the Lombardi Trophy or the oft-jokingly-coveted 1st pick of the draft (the Oakland Raiders are now on the clock!) aaand the fantasy results. It's a win win -- unless you are a Raiders fan, in which case your only hope is to shoot for fantasy success and break even. (As is Right and Proper for the hordes or armor-clad, silver and black freaks)
Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know, the piper's calling you to join him