More on Trot

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I mentioned the other day that I thought the initial workout of Jeremiah Trotter was very odd, almost a stab in the dark. ProFootballTalk was speculating that it was done as a favor to him. That made sense because of Trot's close relationship with Andy Reid. I questioned how serious the workout was because the Eagles did it on a Thursday, which isn't normal. Standard operating procedure for workouts is Monday or Tuesday.

The Eagles did work out Trot again this week, even bringing out an offensive player for him to cover. I was told by a source that the workout was great. Trot looked like the guy we remember from 2004-05 when he played at a Pro Bowl level.

I can't confirm why the initial workout in fact took place. Regardless, Trot got the Eagles attention. They took him more seriously the next time around and by his own admission he was even better ("2 or 3 times better") in that second workout.

All I can say is wow. This is some crazy stuff. I laughed at the notion of Trot coming back last week. Now I'm hearing that he looked great? How the heck did that happen? I guess getting rested and healthy did his legs a lot of good. Maybe Sean Payton quit sticking pins in the Trot voodoo doll he had made back in '06. Whatever, something worked. Trot weighed in at 257 pounds, which is solid for him. Trot's value lies in his power. You want him in the 260 range. He also has to be able to run well, which he apparently did.

Welcome back, Axeman.


AROUND THE LEAGUE

* I have no idea what to make of Dallas. They were shut out for a half by the Panthers? Then the Cowboys got hot and dominated the 2nd half. Still, they only had 14 points late in the game and CAR was right there to steal the game. Dallas could not shut down Byron Leftwich and the Bucs, but they put the clamps on Steve Smith, Deangelo Williams, and Jake the Snake? Weird, very weird.

* WAS lost to the Lions. I watched parts of the game and loved it. WAS struggled in that meeting last year before pulling away to win. The Skins have a real bad habit of playing to the competition. I don't know what to make of that team. Too talented to dismiss, but too dysfunctional to praise as a good team.

* The Giants just keep rolling along. They are good. They shut out Tampa. I'm so jealous. We haven't had a shutout since 1996. Bill Clinton was still in his first term as President. The internet was something only computer geeks had any understanding of. Brett Favre hadn't won the SB or retired. Jennifer Love Hewitt had a limitless future. Ahh, the good old days.

* I know I'm not the only Eagles fan to wonder what it would be like to have Rex Ryan as our coach. Buddy's hiring in 1986 is the reason I'm an Eagles fan (along with Spadaro's sexiness of course). Ryan has gone to the Jets and put them atop the AFC East. They're 3-0 and playing good football. Rex is a good coach, but he also walked into a great situation. The team fit him perfectly. They've got a good foundation on defense. They have a good set of RBs, a good OL, a solid possession receiver, and a playmaking TE. Give Rex a lot of credit for using his players well, but understand that he didn't have to rebuild the team like some coaches who are brought in to completely clean up a mess (see KC for example).

Darrelle Revis is an elite CB. He has great cover skills and his hips are so fluid that it'll blow you away at times. His presence is a key component of that whole defense. Bart Scott and David Harris are terrific ILBs. They make the middle of the D tough. The guy up front that is special is Shaun Ellis. He plays DE, DT, and goes to NT in the Nickel/Dime units. He split double teams a few times vs TEN to pressure Kerry Collins. His presence up front has a lot of impact.

The Jets are getting pressure right now, but that's it. They have 4 sacks and 4 INTs in 3 games. We topped both totals in the season opener. The pressure hasn't led to plays, but it has disrupted offenses. People are not moving the ball against them very well at all. They have the #3 defense in the league. I'm impressed by what I've seen, but they do need a big time pass rusher to emerge.

So how would Rex do in Philly? Hard to say. He'd like most of our defense. We don't have the kind of shutdown type corner that he loves, but I think he and Trent Cole would be a marriage made in heaven. The offense would have to be completely rebuilt. That would be both good and bad. I think the weird part would be re-adjusting to a coach that speaks his mind. I'm used to Reidspeak. I'd freak out the first time Rex told Tony Romo we're coming to get him.

* MIN might be 3-0, but I was not impressed on Sunday. Favre took an absolute beating. No way he lasts 16 weeks with that kind of punishment. The Vikings offense is still dysfunctional. They outplayed SF for much of the game, but had no points to show for it.

* I'm feeling better each week with my pick of Tampa as the league's worst team. Raheem Morris is the wrong guy for this team. Young coaches need to take over established teams. Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin were very young when they got the Steelers job. Both guys took over teams that had a lot of pieces in place. They didn't have to reinvent the wheel. They could go in and coach up the guys. Each man had great success. Immediate success.

Morris is a guy I've liked for several years. I saw him coaching at the Senior Bowl and he was great with the players. They responded to his coaching and him as a person. He was a teacher and a leader. That's what you want in a coach. The problem is that he's only been a positional coach to this point. Andy Reid got away with that kind of move, but he was 41 when the Eagles hired him. Andy had worked for 5 colleges and the Packers for almost 20 years prior to getting the gig in Philly. He might not have been a coordinator, but he'd been around enough teams and coaches to know what he was doing.

Morris learned under Monte Kiffin, but was only a full positional coach (DBs) for 2 years at the NFL level. Prior to that he was the assistant DBs coach. He was the DC for Kansas State for a year as well. This just isn't the kind of experience you want in a guy taking over a team in the middle of rebuilding. I guess the Bucs don't feel like they are rebuilding and that is probably why we see things differently.

I wish Morris well, but he and the Bucs need a few years to get that ship really headed in the right direction. Finding DBs that can tackle would be a great start.

* The NFC West is a real mess. The Cards are once again a Jekyll and Hyde team. One week they look good. The next week they look highly dysfunctional. Did you guys see Warner take the 28-yard sack on Sunday? What the heck was RT Levi Brown thinking? He saw some phantom blitzer and let the LDE come free and chase Kurt all over the field.

SEA has some good moments, but injuries are a problem for them. I also wonder about the character of that team. TJ Houshmandzadeh needs to just shut up and play.

The Rams are bad, but they know it and understand they are rebuilding. Coach Spags is using this year to teach his guys and find players for the future. Danny Amendola is their RS now. He had a 43-yard KOR on Sunday. Good for him.

San Fran is 2-1, but hardly a juggernaut. They have trouble moving the ball and scoring points. Seeing them block the FG before the half and run it back for a TD was eerie. They did the same thing to us last year and turned a potential 20-9 lead into a 17-16 game. Thankfully we won. Former Eagles Mike Lewis and Takeo Spikes are still starting for the SF defense (13th overall).

* The Saints look like the real deal. They played poorly vs the Bills and still won in a blowout. They still make STs an adventure too often, but the offense is great and the defense has gotten better. Be careful about the hype the Gregggg Williams is getting right now. The Bills offense was dreadful more than the Saints were good.

* I have yet to closely watch a Falcons game. They are 2-1. They do some good things, but I also think they are finding out that going from 1-year surprise team to outright good team is a tough task. The Falcons got everyone's attention last year. No more surprises.

* Don't give up on the Titans just yet. They are 0-3, but I still like a lot of what I see from that team. They played just well enough to lose close at PIT, to HOU, and at the Jets. It isn't like they are struggling to be competitive. Little things are killing them. We'll see if Jeff Fisher can correct those mistakes and get the team back on track.

* The Steelers do have me worried. They still play BAL twice. They have to play MIN, SD, and GB. And since they are the defending champs you can bet they'll get the best that scrub teams like DET, CLE, KC, and OAK have to offer. Starting 1-2 isn't the end of the world, but it does get your attention. They play the Chargers this week. A 1-3 start would start to put some heat on the team.

* What do we make of the 3-0 Broncos? I'm glad to see Kyle Orton and Coach Josh McDaniels off to a good start. McDaniels had to go in and get rid of the turd festival that Mike Shanahan had left in place. That may sound harsh, but Shanny is the guy who drafted Maurice Clarrett in the 3rd round, remember. Denver is winning ugly and isn't a good team, but they are doing the little things right. That puts them in a position to win. And you can bet the players will pay more attention to McDaniels with each W he puts up.
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