Post: Gibbs admits releasing Trotter was a mistake

[bosshog001]

From today's Post Redskins email. I thought so at the time, but good to see Gibbs isn't afraid to admit a mistake. Watching Barrow stand around and grab a paycheck doesn't help any wither.

Redskins to Face Trotter

Philadelphia Eagles middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter faces the Redskins on Sunday for the first time since being released in the off-season. Trotter had played his first five seasons in Philadelphia before signing with the Redskins in 2002.

"Jeremiah hasn't changed as a football player," Eagles Coach Andy Reid said yesterday. "He was a good player when he was here, and he was a good player when he was there. For whatever reason, things didn't work out for him, and we're glad to have him back."

Trotter has contributed to a Philadelphia Eagles team that, at 8-1, is off to its best start since 1980. Trotter returned to Philadelphia as a reserve contributing on special teams but moved into the starting lineup last week and played well in a blowout victory over the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles have been vulnerable against the run, so Trotter faces a challenge against Redskins tailback Clinton Portis, who is the NFC's third-leading rusher.

Although Trotter played two years against the Redskins and was cut by Washington, he said this week that he has no special feelings for Sunday's game.

"For me, from here on out, they are all special," Trotter said. "When you went through what I went through the last two years, you cherish every game."

Trotter, a two-time Pro Bowler, was alluding a season-ending knee injury suffered in a Thanksgiving Day game against the Dallas Cowboys in 2002. Although Trotter recuperated enough to play in 2003 and lead the Redskins in tackles, the injury normally is viewed as taking two years before a player is fully healthy.

Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs indicated to the Philadelphia media this week that he underestimated Trotter's value.

"Certainly he's impressive right now," Gibbs said. "He's pounding people around. He's very physical. I don't know any other way of putting it other than sometimes you make evaluations based off what you see on film and what you think free agency is going to look like, and everything. And sometimes you make a bad one. And I'd say we made a bad one in this case.

"Right now, just watching him play, he'd fit into anybody's plans."

Analysis: Spurrier's Tenure Doesn't Look So Bad Now
Steve Spurrier joined the Washington Redskins before the 2002 season as the Albert Einstein of offense, bringing his style of play from the University or Florida to the NFL. But after a 12-20 record, Spurrier suddenly turned into a dunce -- in the media's eyes.

Spurrier left because his pass-happy system -- the Fun 'n' Gun -- didn't work. And the coach wasn't willing to change.

When Joe Gibbs announced his return to the Redskins in January, he was viewed as a savior. But nine games into the 2004 season, Spurrier's two-year tenure merits reexamination. [Read Full Analysis]

-- Nunyo Demasio.

[smokey]

I agree with the "Trotter mistake", but not with Spurrier's second look. Spurrier underestimated the speed of the NFL and he thought he could run the score up in every game like he did in Florida. As a matter of fact, I think he failed bad enough to bruise his confidence. Why else would he refuse to go back to a school and organization that he had success with and that loves him so much? He's afraid of further failure. See, if he loses in SC (or wherever he goes), he can blame it on the players (without blaming them, you know). Spurrier in DC just didn't make sense and I have COMPLETE faith that Gibbs WILL turn us around the second half of the season and have a phenomenal second season. Remember his first couple of years with us?!?!? :devil2:

[Spence]

Trotter's salary was far too high. In retrospect, you don't cut Trotter because Barrow's missed the entire season. But who knew that would happen when Trotter was cut?

[smoot]

yeah, i didnt understand why he was cut

[IMALILTEAPOT]

i dont mind that he was cut. he got a lot of personal fouls and he didnt follow the system a lot. im fine with pierce

[NCskinfan]

Trotter was, I believe, the most expensive, or one of the most expensive guys on the roster. Barrow was cheaper than Trotter and in my opinion playing better football than Trotter last year. Barrow for Trotter was an upgrade. The injury could not be foreseen.

And besides, when asked about someone, Gibbs always says nice things about them. Has he ever not? Even when it is appropriate to be critical, he says positive things about players. I wouldn't read too much into this.

[BIGSEF3]

I agree with the "Trotter mistake", but not with Spurrier's second look. Spurrier underestimated the speed of the NFL and he thought he could run the score up in every game like he did in Florida. As a matter of fact, I think he failed bad enough to bruise his confidence. Why else would he refuse to go back to a school and organization that he had success with and that loves him so much? He's afraid of further failure. See, if he loses in SC (or wherever he goes), he can blame it on the players (without blaming them, you know). Spurrier in DC just didn't make sense and I have COMPLETE faith that Gibbs WILL turn us around the second half of the season and have a phenomenal second season. Remember his first couple of years with us?!?!? :devil2:

i dont think there is a person alive who would take spurrier over gibbs, any day of the week. however, i feel that if snyder couldnt get gibbs, we should have given spurrier one more year to see if he had learned from his mistakes. but i dont think anyone in their right mind could argue we were better off with spurrier than gibbs.

[Skinz4lyfe]

Cutting Trotter wasn't a mistake. Who knew Barrow was gonna get hurt? Who knew Pierce was gonna step up like this? Unfortunately, those are the kind of things that happen sometimes.

I still say it is not fair to judge Gibbs on the first 9 games of his 2nd go round. While the offense may be bad, the TEAM is better than it was last year. We'll keep fighting and he'll turn this thing around.

[BIGSEF3]

exactly. not to make excuses, but think of what our record would be right now if the refs hadnt made so many terrible calls against us early in the season. or if we had better clock management and saved timed timeouts in the cowboys games. and think about how many injuries we've had this year. none of that was ever a real problem i can remember under spurrier.

lets be honest. gibbs and and the other coaching staff made alot of stupid and sloppy mistakes those first few games. but have they made them since? no.

i think with ramsey at qb, and gibbs getting back into the swing of things, we will look like an entirely different team by the end of the season.

[tommahawk]

If Trotter plays this week maby we should through in a bootleg or two. :rolleyes:

[PennSkinsFan]

Again it is the same damn argument I am so angry at. How can we judge the return of Joe Gibbs or Gibbs II after only 9 games! How????? I just dont get it! We have Steve Spurrier two years, but we are already judging Gibbs and comparing Gibbs to Spurrier after nine games?????? Ridiculous!

[CarMike]

i dont think there is a person alive who would take spurrier over gibbs, any day of the week. however, i feel that if snyder couldnt get gibbs, we should have given spurrier one more year to see if he had learned from his mistakes. but i dont think anyone in their right mind could argue we were better off with spurrier than gibbs.

Spurrier quit on us. Snyder didn't fire him. We got Gibbs AFTER Spurrier called in from the beach to tell Snyder that he wouldn't return. Not the other way around.
Again it is the same damn argument I am so angry at. How can we judge the return of Joe Gibbs or Gibbs II after only 9 games! How????? I just dont get it! We have Steve Spurrier two years, but we are already judging Gibbs and comparing Gibbs to Spurrier after nine games?????? Ridiculous!
Exactly! I'm so tired of coach Gibbs getting ridiculed after 9 games.

[ConradCountry]

It would've been a mistake if Pierce wasn't playing so well but Pierce is more then making up for the loss of Trotter and we pay him 10 times less then we did Trotter.

[AshlynSkins]

"Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs indicated to the Philadelphia media this week that he underestimated Trotter's value"
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this is a case where the Filthadelphia Press went looking for bait for the game on Sunday and as another poster stated, when have we ever heard Gibbs say anything bad about a player? they asked him about Jeremiah hoping to get something for JT to get even more up for this game.

Pierce has stepped in well imo, and other then for $$$$$$ reasons I could handle seeing him at MLB over Barrow.

[Beast56Redskin]

Trotter's salary was far too high. In retrospect, you don't cut Trotter because Barrow's missed the entire season. But who knew that would happen when Trotter was cut?

game st match, thats exactly what i was thinking

[Skins57]

I don't think the mistake was made when we cut Trotter but when we signed him. I don't know for sure but how much but I am sure he is getting a good hunk of our cap room this and next year. Pierce is playing well enough that he should be hte starter next year hands down. I think we need to invest in the DE position but we will be handicapped by Trotter's cap hit along with Brunell's if and when he gets cut. Samuel's cap number will also be huge so this offseason will be interesting but we need to get some pressure from the outside

[mexskins]

I agree with S57.

He never performed as a STAR player and he was making a lot of $$$$$

Hail from Mexico

[whitskins]

How can anyone say after nine games that Spurrier might have been better than Gibbs when with Spurrier we were losing games 31-7 last year and with Gibbs we've been in every single game and just come up short? This is another case of so called sports "writers" only looking at our record and not our games.

[NamVet4]

I'm a little taken aback by Nunyo Demasio's comments in regard to the Gibbs vs Spurrier evaluation. PSF and CarMike and everyone who expressed outrage at the idea of trying to compare 2 Yearsof the "Ole Ball Coach" to 9 games of the Joe Gibbs Era II hit the nail on the head. If any of you out there had grandiose, Burgundy & Gold dreams of going to the Super Bowl this year . . Bless You!
Reality is that down to earth fans anticipated a rebuilding and developing year. Yeah, more wins up to now would have been a lot easier on the emotions, but Gibbs has adjusted, a skill he is very good at! And he did it knowing his Team would have to face the power of the NFC !

just my 2 cents . . .

[Skins57]

Even at the end of this year we will see how mucch better Gibbs is than Spurrier. Joe will turn this around. Steve turned around and ran away

[akhhorus]

anyone think this might be reverse blackboard material?

[rskinsfan10]

anyone think this might be reverse blackboard material?
Maybe. It would make more sense if this is the case.

[LadyNRedskinsfan]

IMO, we made the right decision. we have a much cheaper MLB in pierce who is playing extremely well. plus, if barrow were playing, this wouldnt even be an issue.

[bgforever]

Originally Posted by NamVetI'm a little taken aback by Nunyo Demasio's comments in regard to the Gibbs vs Spurrier evaluation. PSF and CarMike and everyone who expressed outrage at the idea of trying to compare 2 Yearsof the "Ole Ball Coach" to 9 games of the Joe Gibbs Era II hit the nail on the head. If any of you out there had grandiose, Burgundy & Gold dreams of going to the Super Bowl this year . . Bless You! just my 2 Cents....

Well NamVet, that 2 cents won't cost you. :)

Said it the way it is. SS was a different cookie cutter trying to adjust to "Gibbs" domain. Notice that any person out of anything in Sports has to adjust to returning, Michael Jordan, Joe Louis, Muhammed Ali, Deion Sanders, even John Riggins had to dust off rust for one season, after returning, from a year layoff, even the coaches.

[CarMike]

anyone think this might be reverse blackboard material?

thats how I took it akhhorus. Gibbs isn't going to give the Eagles more to play for. Its already going to be hard enough to beat them as it is.

[IowaSkinsFan]

Trotter's salary was far too high. In retrospect, you don't cut Trotter because Barrow's missed the entire season. But who knew that would happen when Trotter was cut?

Hindsight is 20/20 Tom!

[GolfFreak]

I would be nice to have Trotter on the team in retrospect, but as Spurrier would say hindsight is always 50-50 ...

[Patrick]

"Certainly he's impressive right now," Gibbs said. "He's pounding people around. He's very physical. I don't know any other way of putting it other than sometimes you make evaluations based off what you see on film and what you think free agency is going to look like, and everything. And sometimes you make a bad one. And I'd say we made a bad one in this case.

Here's the fact folks - Coach Gibbs is telling you straight. They made a bad decision. AND I agree 100% with him (now AND when the Skins made their intention clear that they were going to cut him). AND what really makes me angry is that, there's a good chance (as each week goes by) that we will not see Barrows on the field this year - at least not a full game.
BUT on the flip side of it - I'll chaulk it up to Gibbs being out of the NFL life for a while and he was a little rusty when evaluating players.

[joethefan]

First of all the Skins didn't play him agressively like philly has and is. He would have worked out in gregg williams system but we didn't know Barrow was gonna get hurt. also if Barrow was healthy, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[PennSkinsFan]

I like the move because it allowed Antonio Pierce the opportunity to play, which we are seeing how that turned out. Trotter was aggressive and often got slack on this forum when he should not have. he was often criticized despite leading the team in tackles right off serious knee surgery. The only weakness he had was his tendency to make bonehead penalties at very inopportune times.

[Spence]

Hindsight is 20/20 Tom!My point precisely.

[IowaSkinsFan]

Releasing Trotter for Barrow was a bad idea.

Releasing Trotter for Pierce was a good idea.

I don't see how anyone can complain with the way Pierce has played. And if I was Barrow, I would return all the money the team has payed him this year. It is tantamount to theft. His contract was heavily frontloaded the first two years. It is a travesty. If George Allen was still here, Barrow would be working for free.

Why they haven't IR'd him a long time ago is beyond me.

[RoanokeSkin]

The ultimate question here is have we missed him .... NO!

If we had cut a quality quarterback then I would be pissed, but getting rid of Trotter was no mistake. I think he wanted to be in Philly anyway.

[IowaSkinsFan]

It's somewhat ironic, but I think Trotter would have fit best in this system that GW is running, or at the very least, better than he fit with George Edwards scheme.

I have no qualms with Pierce over Trotter. But the Barrow signing just sticks in my crawl.

[skinswin'emALL]

"Certainly he's impressive right now," Gibbs said. "He's pounding people around. He's very physical. I don't know any other way of putting it other than sometimes you make evaluations based off what you see on film and what you think free agency is going to look like, and everything. And sometimes you make a bad one. And I'd say we made a bad one in this case.

Here's the fact folks - Coach Gibbs is telling you straight. They made a bad decision. AND I agree 100% with him (now AND when the Skins made their intention clear that they were going to cut him). AND what really makes me angry is that, there's a good chance (as each week goes by) that we will not see Barrows on the field this year - at least not a full game.
BUT on the flip side of it - I'll chaulk it up to Gibbs being out of the NFL life for a while and he was a little rusty when evaluating players.


Listen up, Gibbs is a PC guy if there ever was one. I think he ounce said something bad about buddy ryan, but that's it, that's the list.

Trotter was cut by Gregg Williams and no one else. Gregg did not believe Trotter was SMART enough to play the MIKE in his complicated shemes and they signed Barrow because he knew the Defense.

Gibbs is not going to say "Trotter was the dumbest LB we ever met...."

You must be very smart to play the MIKE is Willaims Defense and that's one thing no one ever accused Trotter of being.

[Jimreaper007]

Trotter has bad knees and Pierce would be on the bench...

Bye Trotter...

[Patrick]

It's somewhat ironic, but I think Trotter would have fit best in this system that GW is running, or at the very least, better than he fit with George Edwards scheme.

I have no qualms with Pierce over Trotter. But the Barrow signing just sticks in my crawl.

After what I saw this afternoon - No Doubt!!!!!! ......... not a bad game for someone who isn't SMART enough to play in Coach Williams system and also has bad knees. ......... Yeah - bye Trotter ....(as he goes running off with his playoff bound team.................)

[whitskins]

Why is it that Trotter played like a total clown whenever we went up against Philly, but now that he's back with them he has a good game against us?? Bummer...