The addition of Jeremiah Trotter to the middle of the Eagles' defense is a true source of intrigue. How do the Eagles plan to use the 32-year old veteran? How much can they expect him to contribute? How long of an adjustment period will he need to get back into football shape?
Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott says that Trotter was brought in to contribute as a physical, run-stopping presence, but he shouldn't try to do too much too soon.
"What is important with Jeremiah's situation is that he comes in and handles things one step at a time he doesn't look to try to do too much," McDermott said. "He just does what his role calls for. That's what we expect from every single player on that defense.
"What I've seen from Jeremiah is (that) he has kept himself in great shape over the last year and a half. With that, (he) has given himself a chance to come in and contribute, or else we wouldn't have made the move that we did at this point. What we look for going forward is, as I've mentioned before, a middle linebacker that will come in and add value to this defense like we expect a middle linebacker to do in terms of a physical presence and a nastiness inside.
Safety Quintin Mikell, who played with Trotter in the linebacker's last stint as an Eagle, thinks the time away from the game may have helped.
"I think having a couple years off from this game sometimes is a good thing," Mikell said. "You can get the body healed up and actually add years to your career. I've trained with Trot for the last couple years, I've seen him move around, I've seen him do some good things so I know he's still got it. So far on the field I see a guy who's been excited to get back with us. He's talkative, being the leader type and doing everything it takes to help us win. I think he's done a great job so far."
Having worked out with Trotter during the off-season, Mikell had a feeling that he'd be seeing Trotter on the field again sometime soon. He just wasn't sure if Trotter would be a teammate or an opposing player.
"It was funny, early in the offseason I remember him telling me, 'I feel like I'm going to be back in the league. I feel going to be playing with you guys,'" Mikell said. "It's funny how it worked out that way. I knew it was going to happen, not necessarily here, I knew he was going to be able to play. You're talking about a guy that can get it done. He moves around a lot better than he did when he left so I knew he could still do it."
The bottom line, according to McDermott, is that Trotter adds a dimension to the defense that was missing.
"Regardless of who we added and regardless of who we add moving into the future you're always looking to improve your football team," said McDermott. "It wasn't necessarily to fill a void, yet to add value to the equation in terms of who we are as an organization and a football team and a defensive football team more specifically. Anytime we can improve in that area, we are going to look to do that."
-- Posted by Bo Wulf, 5:05 p.m., October 8
