Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter said that he "felt like (he) had died three times" last week. It may have been the bye week for the Eagles, but Trotter was at the NovaCare Complex working out in full pads Monday through Friday. Trotter said that he thought he was in "pretty good shape" before the practices, but realized that there is a difference between being in shape and in football shape.
Trotter wasn't alone on Monday as the entire team returned from the week off for a 10-10-10 practice to begin preparations for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Trotter was happy to be back out on the football field with his teammates new and old. More importantly, Trotter was happy "to be wanted" again.
"It's great to be out there with the teammates and a lot of new guys I'm still getting to know," Trotter said. ""It was fun just getting out there, getting some reps. It was kind of working off the rust. I just tried to hit the ground running. It's going to take some time for me to pick up everything. But I thought today went pretty good.
"Sometimes you don't miss how good the game is until you're out of it for a year, year-and-a-half. We're really fortunate to be able to play in the NFL."
Trotter said that he and Omar Gaither split the first-team reps at middle linebacker about "50-50." Trotter reiterated that he's going to be primarily used in rushing situations. Since it's been almost two years since he last played in the NFL, coincidentally with this week's opponent, Trotter knows that he has to play smarter.
"I'm going to be different. I'm going to focus more on playing my position instead of trying to do too much," Trotter said. "I'm smarter now. I'm still going to be downhill, hitting people in the mouth. That's not going to change."
With how quickly everything has happened for Trotter, he has kept himself from imagining what it will be like to run out of the tunnel on Sunday or make the big stop that calls for him to hammer down the big axe.
"I'm trying not to think about that to get too emotional before the game," Trotter said. "Right now, I'm just trying to work hard and pick the defense up."
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 4:03 p.m., October 5
