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.
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.