Wow. If there was one free agent acquisition that could have overshadowed the signing of Terrell Owens, this was it. Jeremiah Trotter isn't the playmaker #81 is---certainly not now coming off a torn ACL - but the return of the prodigal son and the pyschological ramifications it has for both Trotter and Reid will be a story worth talking about all season.
First off, it looks like the Eagles got a steal. They just got the leading tackler of a division rival for the veteran minimum hit to the salary cap and added some size if not some toughness to a LB corps that became considerably smaller after the departure of the 6'5" 255 lbs. Carlos Emmons. Trotter can still play. And odds are he will be that much better in Jim Johnson's defensive system that plays to Trotter's strengths. Best of all, this will be Trotter's second year after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his knee to repair the ACL he ripped up on Thanksgiving day 2002 vs. the Cowboys. Historically, most players take a full two years to recover from such an injury and even at that, Trotter played pretty well last year, leading the 'Skins with almost 130 tackles. (This timeline is also encouraging for Correll Buckhalter who is also now two years removed from tearing up his knee in an Eagles mini-camp that year. Here's hoping Bucky returns to the form he showed in the NFC championship game vs. the Rams).
While the media has focused on the large helpings of humble pie Trotter has been eating in returning to a team and a regime he very loudly and very publicly trashed on his way out of town, there is a fair amount of crow being eaten by one Andy Reid as well. The fact is, Reid never satisfactorily replaced Trotter. Kirkland was a mere stopgap measure, and Barry Gardner was, well, Barry Gardner. Simoneau has played well at MLB, but wore down over the season, especially with a decimated defensive line playing in front of him. Would DeShaun Foster run over Jeremiah Trotter...twice!...at the goal line? I think not.
Still, while fan attention and angst has been focused on Simoneau I will say again that among the coaches the weak link appears to be Nate Wayne. Note the line buried deep in one of Paul Domowitch's articles. "Bottom line is if Trotter is able to recapture his Pro Bowl form of three seasons ago, when he was named the Eagles' defensive MVP, he'll be on the field a lot. Johnson always has the option of sliding Simoneau over to the weak side, where Nate Wayne was often inconsistent last season."
The Inqy's Bob Bookover also adds, "Though the Eagles have insisted this off-season that they were happy with the play of Simoneau as their starting middle linebacker last season, the arrival of Trotter opens the door to speculation about who will be at middle linebacker when the season begins Sept. 12 against the New York Giants. Simoneau, however, is not the only linebacker who should be feeling the pressure. When the Eagles initially obtained Simoneau in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons last year, he was penciled in at weakside linebacker."
My money says that Trotter starts the season at middle LB and Simoneau starts at weakside.
It's worth asking if Andy Reid would have made this move if he had won at least one of the last three NFC championship games. It's also worth asking if he would have won at least one of the last two NFC championship games if Trotter had been playing middle linebacker. Forget the NFL's famed "window of opportunity." If And Reid can win the big game in 2004 then the team's inability to win the previous three doesn't look nearly as bad as if they lose again and become the Buffalo Bills of the NFC, albeit without the conference titles to provide a smidgen of solace.
The bottomline is it took two grown men to come to terms with their egos and their history and reach this rapproachment - and both are bigger for it, which is saying alot considering how big Trotter and Reid already are.
