Bad Sign for Trotter

I don't have any idea who the Eagles starting middle linebacker is actually going to be next season.  The current plan seems to be that Jeremiah Trotter starts while Omar Gaither replaces him in passing situations:

"I think everyone wants to be a starter here, but if you really think about it, if you break down a game, nickel, dime, regular - I think they all play just about the same amount of snaps," Gaither said. "Whenever the first 'D' goes out there and gets a stop, [setting up] second and long, I'm going on the field."

This squares with something Reid said a few months ago:

[Redid] also said he would like Trotter to play only about 60 percent of the defensive snaps, rather than the 75 that he played last season.

Which is all fine and good.  But what happens when the other team decides not to play fair and starts attacking your run-stopping linebacker with its passing game?

Well, this.

Gaither continues to say all the things a young player should:

"Trot's Trot, and he's the man," Gaither said. "I respect him, and I respect that to the fullest. I don't think there's any kind of competition between me and him. I think they just want to get guys on the field, get guys a breather. It's tough to play all 16 games, all three downs."

But here's the part that makes me a little nervous about Trot. We know he's not that old, but he's at the age where the weight just doesn't melt away like it used to.  So the Eagles season ended back in January.  And the coaching staff has made it clear they want to see him try to play at a lower weight this year to keep the pressure off his knees.  And he's got a young guy breathing down his neck for playing time.  And even Trot thinks he probably needs to weigh a bit less this season.

So how come we're already into June and he's still saying things like this:

[Trotter] said he would like to get down to about 250 pounds by training camp, a weight he said he hasn't made since his second season, the year he became a starter. Trotter, 6-1, said he weighed about 265 toward the end of last season.

"No. 1, I'm going to have more strength toward the end of the year" playing at a lighter weight, Trotter said. "No. 2, I'll be more explosive, quicker . . . a couple pounds, and I'll be right there."

Trotter said he has come to like the elliptical trainer, but still isn't a fan of the StairMaster, as he tries to build conditioning without further damaging his knees.

"I've never been a big fan of cardio, but I had to find new ways to get a great workout without just pounding all the time," he said. "I knew midway through the season that I had to really buckle down, as soon as the season was over, focus on conditioning, getting my body fat down, things that I'm supposed to do anyway."

Maybe I'm reading that wrong, but does that sound like a guy who's really, totally committed to this whole "get in shape" thing?  He's had four months to do nothing but conditioning and he's still not there yet?  To be honest, he sounds like my lazy butt every time I vow to lose a couple of pounds.

In fact, compare Trotter's position to that of the other overweight underachiever from last year's defense:

Bunkley, a defensive tackle, is going into his second season. A first-round draft choice, he missed a chunk of training camp while negotiating his contract. He reported to Lehigh at about 330 pounds, he said, and without the slightest idea how different the NFL would be from college.

After a minicamp practice yesterday, Bunkley weighed in at 296. He feels lighter and quicker.

(That's probably because he is lighter and quicker.)

I don't know.  I like Trotter a lot.  I'd love to see him get back to his former dominating self, but I'm not sure how encouraging these signs are.