Couple Thoughts on Trotter

Here's what G.Cobb has to say about Trotter today:

I don't know what Andy Reid, Jim Johnson and their staff are trying to prove but Trotter is leaving part of his season on the practice field...

If I were the coach, I would have asked Trotter to work one practice a day at the most.  He labors in the second practice and starts to really look old.  The guy's legs don't have a lot left in them and it doesn't make sense to have him go through every practice during these two weeks and use up the life he has left in his legs.  He's already done too much.  Practice is mainly for guys who are learning and trying to prove themselves.  Proven veterans don't need the same amount of work especially when they have legs as beat up as Trotter.

I wonder if they're just trying to run Trot out of here by working him so much.  During the off season, I was told that the Eagles were ready to move on from Trotter to Omar Gaither.  With the way they're working him during this training camp, that information must be correct.  Andy gave Westbrook and Kearse the day off but he hasn't told Trotter to sit down even though Trot has legs that can't pass a physical.  It makes me wonder.

First of all, I'm not sure about that "must" in the third paragraph.  That's jumping a bit.

Secondly, and I'm not at camp so I'll have to take his word for it, but if Trotter is already laboring during the afternoon sessions, doesn't that suggest he needs to get in better shape for the season?  And don't you improve your physical fitness more by working out than by sitting on the sidelines?  If Brodrick Bunkley were out there gasping for air between snaps, would writers be suggesting Andy should back off the youngster a bit?  Or would they be calling for a reintroduction of the George Hegamin Memorial Blocking Sled?

This is just one more sign that Trotter's claim of "being in the best shape of his life" may not mean very much.  Yes, Dawk is injured right now.  But you can be sure that if he weren't, no youngsters would be running him into the ground.

You do want to be careful with the legs of your veterans, but from this description it sounds like the problem is more with his lungs.  The lack of cartilage in his knees doesn't really come in to play there.  Nor should it be much of a factor in the regular season, since the team has already announced they want to cut back his snaps and get Gaither on the field in passing situations. 

Finally, I want to mention that I don't have anything against Trotter.  I've loved watching him play for years.  He always plays hard.  The TO situation and the "linemen are too small" incident notwithstanding, he seems like a great guy to have on your team.  And the better he plays, the better things are for the Eagles.  But he looked pretty close to washed up last year, he's not a guy who likes to work out much anyway, and he pretty clearly hasn't hit the target fitness level the Eagles were looking for.  With Gaither, Bradley and Spikes all able to play in the middle, I wonder how long Trotter has left. 

Comments

[BleedingGreenNation]

While I also would agree that we should err on the side of trusting what G sees... He's really had it out for Trotter. Maybe it was just his analysis and there's nothing else behind it, but G ripped Trotter every singe week last year. I mean ripped him bad.

If anything, I think the Eagles are testing him. They are going to give Trot every chance to win that job and they aren't going to send him out there if he's not fully fit and ready to go. Maybe by working him so hard they are trying to find out. Plus, let's be honest... we don't know what's going on behind the scenes. We don't know what's been said between Trotter and the coaches. Maybe he doesn't want off? Maybe he's got a day off coming up? I don't know, I just think it's possible G is reading too far into it.

[Jwill]

Just an FYI: NFC Rival related.

Looks like Sean Taylor hurt his knee today...linked.

www.PostGameHeroes.com

[thatkidinthecorner]

Speaking of GCobb, what about the little nugget in his posting from yesterday that suggested that Dawk isn't good to go and which characterized his achilles problems as an "old man's injury." Whoa. What was THAT all about?

I think Trot is most certainly fighting for his job, if not a spot on the roster. He'll probably start Week 1, but I wouldn't be shocked if a change was made midway through the season.

Good stuff here, keep it up.