Thoughts on Stallworth from a New Orleans native

[coltsfan]

Just wanted to give you guys my thoughts on Stallworth as someone who's seen him up close for much of his career. I saw him play some at Tennessee and even went to the Saints minicamp after they drafted him. Watching him in person, I thought the guy was going to be a great player in the NFL because he's pretty strong for a guy with that type of speed. But in his time with the Saints, he was an underachiever and a guy who just put up some numbers on a bad team. There are a lot of guys that can do that. Not only did he get injured a lot, but he didn't really get a lot of separation from corners and he reportedly was fined a lot for missing meetings and such. But truthfully, the Saints were such an undisciplined, underachieving team as a whole, that you can't put all the blame on him. Jim Haslett was known for being very lax with his players, so Stallworth wasn't exactly the only player that underachieved. Sean Payton takes over last year and dumps Stallworth after reportedly not being impressed with his work ethic.

He goes to a good system in Philadelphia, and truthfully, I thought he looked a lot better on the field and showed signs of turning it around. I saw him becoming a legitimate big play threat and I hear of no off the field issues, but he once again gets hurt and misses some games for the Eagles. But he still seems to be happy playing for a more disciplined team in the Eagles, and professes that he wants to come back there for another year. Now, he signs with a top organization in the Pats and reportedly passes up more money from the Titans.

These are all good signs to me that he could be ready to reach his potential. Stallworth is not a bad guy. He very well could have just been in a bad situation with the Saints that brought out the worst in him. He is a quiet guy and the type you could see easily influenced by others. In New England, he will have much more positive influences than in New Orleans, where the only focus is on winning. So I can see him reaching his potential and becoming a top 15-top 20 receiver in the league.

Either way, I think it's a good signing for the Pats considering that it's basically a one year deal. There is some risk involved with him, but the contract basically limits all of that.

 

[PatsFan37]

Nice post, Coltsfan, and thanks for the insight on a player most of us don't know that much about.

Congrats on your SB win. You'll get heckled here, for sure, the Colts aren't our favorite team, but I'm glad you posted.

 

[Ghost of Ben Dreith]

This does seem to point to good things for Stallworth....all signs of maturity perhaps. He surely couldn't ask for a better situation to be in.

I guess the first indicators of his new-found maturity will be his level of participation in the offseason conditioning program.

I hope better coaching will improve his separation, if not, Tom won't be throwing many balls his way. And wasn't Horn the #1 WR and Stallworth was the #2? If so, I wonder just how much we can expect from Stallworth. His biggest contribution might be to let Caldwell/Gaffney work against the #2 CB.

 

[Oswlek]

Your post is appreciated. You seem like a well mannered, thoughtful poster so please feel free to discuss other topics as well.

Since you have helped me by not having to start another Stalworth thread, here are my thoughts:

I have seen and heard more misconceptions about the Stalworth deal than just about any other recently. Some chastise NE to signing the guy for too much money, some chastise them for only getting him to sign whta is essentially a one year deal.

But neither is being totally accurate.

What NE and Donte essentially agreed to is a 5 year, $27mm deal, that is deferred for one year. In order to determine whether it is fair, NE has the benefit of a trial year.

If Stalworth catches 70 passes for 1,200 yards with 7 TDs as well as being a good citizen, he will most likely get the bonuses of the second year. Why? Because $11mm is a reasonable signing bonus for a contract of that size.

NE gets
A year of service at a very good rate of $3.6mm and first right of refusal on a long term deal the following year.

Donte gets
A year to audition with a high profile team that likes to pass the ball, as well as assurance that he either receives a fair offer from NE or he becomes a FA.

Can someone please explain how this is a bad move in any way?

 

[ClevTrev]

Well written post, and it's nice you provided negatives and positives. You confirmed some thoughts many of us have had about Stallworth. It's always better to hear from one who has watched him closely for awhile. We're looking forward to having him in the mix.

 

[coltsfan]

This does seem to point to good things for Stallworth....all signs of maturity perhaps. He surely couldn't ask for a better situation to be in.

I guess the first indicators of his new-found maturity will be his level of participation in the offseason conditioning program.

I hope better coaching will improve his separation, if not, Tom won't be throwing many balls his way. And wasn't Horn the #1 WR and Stallworth was the #2? If so, I wonder just how much we can expect from Stallworth. His biggest contribution might be to let Caldwell/Gaffney work against the #2 CB.

Yeah, things like missing meetings and training sessions and such can't help you become a better player on the field. And when Haslett was the coach, I always heard on the radio how the locker room was filled with guys playing PlayStation in the locker room. I just can't see how that type of atmosphere in conducive to winning and getting the most out of players. Reports were that he was more mature the older he got with the Saints. I think he is a kid who realizes the mistakes that he made (Joe Horn was quoted when the Saints traded him that he had noone to blame but himself), and is going to do the best he can to rectify it. Maybe he won't, but it's a good gamble considering the contract and his talent.

Horn was the #1 WR there. I think Stallworth at his best can be a #1 WR. I don't think he'll ever be a top 5 receiver or anything like that, but he can still be very good.