There's a news conference scheduled for later on this today because the Eagles have decided to release middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. It's an astonishing development but something that does not totally surprised me.
I've said for awhile now that Jeremiah can't change directions any more. He's still a force when he gets the chance to attack a play head on but he has trouble in space. Jim Johnson asks his middle linebacker to do a lot of things in coverage so I could see their thinking. I've seen defensive coordinators tailor coverages for players like Jeremiah who are strong against the run but have trouble in space. On the goalline Jim ask his middle linebacker to read run or pass then pick up a speeding wide receiver coming inside. It's a tough coverage and surely not one Trotter can do anymore.
The Eagles feel very good about Stewart Bradley and the way he has mastered both the Sam linebacker postion and the middle linebacker position. The success of Bradley at the middle linebacker position was really the factor that pushed Jeremiah overboard. Omar Gaither will be the starter and he has had a great camp. Gaither is only about 230 pounds but he's got great football instincts. They feel comfortable that he'll be able to do the job inside but they also feel comfortable about Bradley playing in there.
Cutting Trotter is going to allow them to hang onto a young player in Tank Daniels who has got a big upside. Daniels may wind up being their best special teams player because he runs a 4.5 and he weighs about 250 pounds. Tank looked awful and raw at the outside linebacker spot during his plays in the preseason. Despite that the kid has got that upside.
Trot was having a lot of trouble covering the tight ends and running backs during the training camp. As I said, I thought Jim was going to put the team in a coverage which would take the pressure off of Trot but he refuses to do that.
I have been suspicious all training camp long because they rarely gave Trot practices off like they have done for some of the other older players who have had leg trouble in camp. They pushed him and I could see his legs were really hurting.
