sheldogg

Despite having #2 at QB throwing to his invisible friends at the feet of and often 3 yards infield from actual receivers, Donte produced very well last year in his first full injury-free season. No Joe being hurt excuses, come on; Joe's slow now. He's Keyshawn without the attitude. So why should a Saints fan not be pretty pissed off that they gave him away?

I don't know what the hell Sean and Mickey were thinking. Donte could very well have been the key ingredient to getting us over the hump and into a believable playoff run THIS VERY SEASON. Our D is not inspiring fear, the O line is still a little makeshift, and Drew will have his rough spots (evidence: for about 30 minutes we were facing a loss, once again, to pathetic Green Bay). Can Reggie and Deuce really carry that much of the load all season long?

I don't care what kind of house-cleaning Payton wanted to do. Sure, Colston has been impressive, but let's not fool ourselves; he's no deep threat. Devery, well, Devery. And with Joe winding down and there being NO TE (unless you think that great completion to Campbell will be the rule rather than the clear aberration it was), well, I'm worried.

Here's my summation: Aaron made Donte look bad. Or at least, not as good as he really is. And as for attitude, we can clearly see what kind of team-first guy he is and wants to be: HE'S THE ANTI-T.O.! We needed that...his presence, the deep threat. We certainly did not need 3rd-stringer special-teamer Simoneau and Philly's late-round pick.

Then again that's just my opinion...I could be right.

saintfan

Devry = Donte' plus a 3rd rounder.

nedly

While you are correct for thinking we should have gotten more for Stallworth, don't forget that this guy has suspect hands. When he goes on a dropping binge I won't be surprised. Although his positives probably outweigh his negatives. I think the Saints dumped him because this was his contract year, and they did not see a future with him in it. He is prone to nagging injuries at times, and besides, as good as he is he's not half as good as Reggie. Reggie seems to be functioning as a reciever right now and is doing it very well. Colston looks better than Stallworth ever did. Henderson looks to be at least as good a as Stallworth. His hands as well are a problem the Saints will have to contend with. He was much cheaper to keep.
A big reason Stallworth was let go was because of his attitude. He's a star in the making and he knows it, and probably felt he didn't have to give extra effort in camp, or felt he needed better treatment from the coaches. for this reason I am surprised he's gone and Horns not. At this stage he's much better than Joe Horn, and I read early on in camp that Horn was gettin into it with Payton! But I wasn't there so i'm not sure what really happened.
Maybe the coaching staff saw something in Stallworth we can't like his relationship with the other players on the team. who Knows?

TheDeuce

I do. They were thinking let's get rid of a bad-character guy, an unprofessional player, who has never developed to his full potential in exchange for a player and a pick. I'm sure Payton was thinking "I don't have to play favorites with any of these guys like Haslett did, because I didn't draft them. I'm going to keep the guys who will make this team better." Have you seen anything that's happened this season? We've beaten two less-than-average teams, but we've still won: WITHOUT DONTE STALLWORTH. Was he talented? Yes. Was he right for this team? I don't think so. I fully support the trade. We traded him for a guy who's now starting at LB for us, and a 3rd round pick. That's great value for a guy who's never had more than 1000 receiving yards, even when he was the #1 WR on the team (last year). We've asked Devery and Marques to step up in his absence, and they've done it. Not to mention, we've lost a guy in Donte who didn't mesh with the coaches and had suspect character issues. Am I angry we lost Donte? No. We got a good deal, and I think he's always been overrated. He's never been anything more than a #2 WR, and by the looks of this team, we've got two younger guys who are going to be better than he was. He's got mediocre hands at best, and you can rant and rave about his "blazing speed" all you want, but Devery is probably just as fast, or faster. Not to mention, Devery has shown very impressive catching ability this season. Donte's doing well in Philadelphia right now, big whoop. This preseason he was given every chance to stay with this team, but all he did was drop passes and look average. Sure Marques might not run a 4.35 or whatever Donte does, but he catches the ball when it's thrown to him. He also seems to be a good kid who is going to buy into Payton's system.


First of all, don't get ahead of yourself with the playoff talk. We've beaten Cleveland and Green Bay. We haven't played a quality team yet. But anyways, even if we were right on the edge of going to the playoffs, do you think that having Donte Stallworth would push us over the top? Has he ever pushed this team over the top? No. Have Marques and Devery pushed us over the top in the last two games? Yeah, something like three TD receptions for those kids. Don't forget Marques is a rookie. We haven't seen his best yet. We have, however, seen Donte's best, and guess what, I'm not too impressed. Four full years in the league, never having gone over 1000 yards receiving. Wow, that's awesome. Four full years in the league never having posted more than 8 TDs in a season. Wow, that's real impressive. For two seasons, hasn't posted a catch longer than 45 yards. Wow, real deep threat there. There were 3 or 4 TEs that had longer catches than that last season. If you expected him just to turn to magic with this team because we got a new QB, think again, Stallworth never impressed during mini camp or the preseason.

Oh brother, this is great. No facts, no insight, just whimsical bashing of players. How about a little support for your argument? Like Donte is comparable to Ashley Lelie.



See, now I think you're just f***ing with me. The guy isn't a clubhouse cancer, but he is the kind of guy you don't want if you want to reach that next level. For f***'s sake, Joe Horn called him unprofessional, and that's coming from a guy who pulled a cell phone out of the field goal post. Also, late-round pick? Try first day-pick. Dumb.

You're not.

LKelley67

I'm sure he is sorry he did not consult with you first. The whole character more than characters approach has been made very clear as a priority by the new regime. I personally prefer that over having a bunch of indicted thugs like in Cincy. Either way, what counts even more to me is winning. So far, so good. I have seen more in this camp and two games (even disregarding the W-L record) than I have seen in years.

I don't care what Simoneau was in Philly. Here he has certainly proved himself as an immediate upgrade in the porous run D that suddenly looks at least average. Even if Hammerhead eventually replaces him he is a good depth guy having played every LB spot. He is supposedly a great special team guy though I have not noted his work there. I think we will be in a sweet spot with an improved record and multiple draft picks next spring too. You certainly would think Stallworth's performance would end up being a #3 at this point. That is not late. I think a #3 plus a LB that has had positive impact is exactly the market value for him. Javon Walker was a 2nd, Lelie a 3rd alone (essentially), so that would put him between those.

I was and still am a Donte fan. I think I do have an idea about some of Payton's principles and approach also. His may not be yours or my way of choice. He doesn't have to do it my way as long as I see continued progress as exemplified thusfar- and that is more than the wins and losses. 2-0 with wins like I haven't seen in years here however, sure silences my own ***** and moan ideas.

thib82

I agree with TheDeuce. I can't believe sheldogg said that Donte could get us over the hump,haha. You do understand that, although no one likes to admit it, we are a rebuilding team. We aren't on the level of Contending for the Super Bowl yet. We have played two games and won them both, so I don't see the point you are trying to make about needing Donte on this team. Sorry.

saintswhodi

Man, even I am not ths upset over losing Donte, although I love seeing him do well. I will point out we have not gotten a 3rd round pick from the Eagles YET though. :P

saintfan

Not "yet", but they'll sign him, and probably soon, and about two weeks later he'll pull his hammy.

BoudinSandwich

He didn't produce - bottom line. The other receivers on the roster beat him out for his job.

hagan714

He is playing great SO FAR. maybe this was the wake up call he needed. Talent was not the issue.