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Trotter Ready To Get On Field

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 29, 2007

Updated: 12/29/2007 12:18 am

TAMPA - Jeremiah Trotter is on the other side of the issue now. With the Bucs' playoff berth secured, he is one of the many reserves who will benefit from the plan to rest the regulars for much of their game Sunday against Carolina.

Even when he was a regular, though, Trotter always welcomed the opportunity to play a little less in the weeks leading up to the playoffs, especially when his team had no off week to rest up before its first postseason game.

"When I was in that situation it was lovely for me," said Trotter, a former Eagles linebacker who has been to the playoffs four times since the 2000 season. "It's a long season, man, and you take a pounding and you work hard to get that bye week so you can get that break and get the homefield advantage, so if you get an opportunity to rest your studs you got to try to take advantage of it."

Bucs coach Jon Gruden will take advantage of that opportunity this week. Just as he did last week, he will rest most of his regulars and leave the game to the backups.

It's a chance to evaluate a lot of young players after a year of working in meetings with them and on the field, where Trotter says he sometimes feels like a coach.

"I try to lead by example, by working hard," Trotter said. "And sometimes guys will come off the field and ask, 'Hey Trot, did you see me?' I'm like, 'Listen, man, I've only got two eyes. I can't see everybody.' But I do try to help."

Trotter is out to help his own cause this week. He believes he still has a couple of good years left in him and he wants to prove that to the Bucs. According to Gruden, he already has.

"I can't say enough about Trot," Gruden said. "He's a consummate pro and he cares as much about the success of the guy next to him as he does the success for himself and he wants to win. Guys like that, you just can't have enough of them around you."

MISSING MILESTONE: Talk to RB Earnest Graham and you kind of get the feeling he's resigned to the fact he won't reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark this season. Though he needs just 102 yards to get there, Graham is not expected to play enough Sunday to close in on the milestone.

"It's a benchmark and it would be really nice to get to a thousand yards, and I want the chance to do it, but we've made the playoffs so I really can't complain," Graham said. "Being healthy for the playoffs is a lot more important than getting 1,000 yards."

Part of the good news is that Graham won't lose any money as a result of falling short of the 1,000-yard mark. His contract, which calls for him to earn a flat salary of $510,000 this year, does not include any bonus clauses for things such as rushing for 1,000 yards.

By the way, if Graham does falls just short of the 1,000-yard mark, it will mark the second time in the last three years that a Bucs back has fallen short of that plateau because he saw limited action in the team's final regular-season game.

The last Bucs back to fall just short of the 1,000-yard benchmark was Michael Pittman in 2004. Though he missed the first three games of the season that year, Pittman ran for 835 yards through Week 14. In his last two games, Pittman ran a total of 26 times for 91 yards.

LOOKING AHEAD: They haven't been on their game very often this year but when they have been, the Carolina Panthers have featured a potentially devastating pass rush and a strong rushing attack.

That's why Gruden believes they are a very good team to be playing one week before taking on the Giants.

The Giants lead the NFL in sacks with 52 and are fourth in the league in rushing with a 138.1-yards-per-game average that is largely the result of RB Brandon Jacobs powering his way between the tackles.

The Panthers will attack the Bucs in much the same way Sunday, and with a few other likenesses to the Giants they figure to provide the Bucs with a good primer for the playoffs.

"They're both massive football teams with deep backfields and explosive skill on the outside, and both teams have good corner coverage," Gruden said.

BUCS BITS: There was a Jake Plummer sighting at the Holiday Bowl on Thursday night. Plummer introduced Arizona State's lineup. ... WR Joey Galloway (team decision) has been listed as out for Sunday's game. RBs Graham (ankle), B.J. Askew (ankle) and Michael Pittman (ankle), CB Brian Kelly (knee), DE Patrick Chukwurah (hamstring), WR Ike Hilliard (knee) and LB Ryan Nece (groin) all are listed as questionable.

Roy Cummings

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