JKool

Horn - Solid WR, some flash left
Stallworth - People are still drooling over the WR he could be
Henderson - Haz must justify the pick, if Henderson isn\'t playing, it\'ll look very bad
Also, he can return kicks.
Crowell - This is provisional on his recovery from earlier injuries. Regardless, this guy is a possesion receiver at worst.
Gardner - Up and comer. (Pathon will go here if Crowell is only able to play in a
possesion role.)
M. Lewis - This club is all too proud of finding this guy. He\'s gone after this season,
because he is now totally overrated and has become a pu--y.

I like Pathon, but he did not play that well last year, and I\'m still harboring a suspicion that there is a trade coming involving one of our WRs and our extra 2nd round pick for next year.


[Edited on 28/4/2004 by JKool]

[Edited on 28/4/2004 by JKool]

"... I was beating them with my eyes the whole game..." - Aaron Brooks

saintsfan200

Here is the way I look at it, Horn only has 2-3 years left of high-level play. Receivers rarely produce beyond what a typical #3 receiver does after 32. 32 seems to be the age where receivers \"hit the wall\". Horn is 32 right now.

If I was GM, I would look into trading Horn to a desperate team like the Ravens for draft picks either this year or next year. Our receiving core would still be good without Horn. You may laugh, but think about it. Henderson and Stallworth are two of the fastest receivers in the league. Pathon is a good possesion receiver.

SaintNik

On Fox 8 Sports Sunday last night they were wrapping up the second week of coaching sessions practices and featured Germaine Crowell. Haz and Co. have been high on him for several years now. They wanted to sign him as a free agent before he got hurt. They tried to after he first got hurt but he failed his physical. He was out of football last year recovering his knee. This is a guy that three years ago had over a 1000 yards and was an alternate to the pro bowl. He has a big body and has good hands. He said he is on a mission to prove he belongs. He has been aware that this staff has had interest in him for several years and believes in his ability. He and AB played together at Virginia. At the end of the segment they qouted Haslett as saying that he expects Crowell to be the #3 receiver this year.

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JKool

Good post SaintNik.

I think that Pathon is the odd man out; he would still be of good value in a trade for a CB...

Danno

I think the best plan for the long term, as well as 2004 would be to listen to every offer for Horn or Pathon. If we don\'t like any of the offers we keep both and have an incredible WR corps.

I\'d like to see us keep Gardner around a few years to see if he develops. He has the size strength and speed the NFL loves at the position. He\'d be picked up 5 seconds after we released him.

If anyone thinks we should cut this kid because of a few drops in his rookie year, they probably aren\'t on anyone\'s shortlist for a GM job.

Euphoria

Yeah people are underestimating Crowell... I think he is a stud and will be a factor this year.

Joe Horn 6\'1\" 206 32 9 Itawamba J.C.

Donte\' Stallworth 6\'0\" 197 23 3 Tennessee

Jerome Pathon 6\'0\" 182 28 7 Washington

Devery Henderson 5\'11\" 191 22 R L.S.U.

Talman Gardner 6\'1\" 205 24 2 Florida State

Derrick Lewis 6\'2\" 185 28 2 San Diego State

Germaine Crowell 6\'3\" 222 27 6 Virginia

SaintNik

Excerpts from Mike Detilliers 06/13/2004 collumn regarding the WR group:

On Talman Gardner
He has looked good in the mini-camp period, but again he hasn\'t been hit and to me the pre-season will be critical for him to make this club with Joe Horn, Donte\' Stallworth, Devery Henderson and Michael Lewis locks to make this club, if healthy.

No question he is the most physical WR. they have and he does have big-play ability. Like some of the other young players he has shown a tendency to not focus totally on his craft and he must show that he can do this consistently. He has developed into a better route runner and he seems more focused out on the field. Now with all that said, he must show he can catch the ball well in traffic in game situations. Gardner has excellent speed and because he is so strong he is tough to bring down in the openfield. He is also a very elusive openfield runner.

He will be in the battle with Jerome Pathon, Germane Crowell and Derrick Lewis for the final two spots since Jim Haslett has made it known that he will keep 6 WR\'s on the roster.
He has looked good in the mini-camp period, but again he hasn\'t been hit and to me the pre-season will be critical for him to make this club with Joe Horn, Donte\' Stallworth, Devery Henderson and Michael Lewis locks to make this club, if healthy.

He will be in the battle with Jerome Pathon, Germane Crowell and Derrick Lewis for the final two spots since Jim Haslett has made it known that he will keep 6 WR\'s on the roster.

He is still a work in progress, but Gardner has the skills you crave in a young wide-out. The pre-season will be critical for him if he is to make this 53-man squad or be possibly slated for developmental. Just a hunch, but I have a feeling he is going to be on the final 53-man squad.

On Devery Henderson
I do not see Devery Henderson as a possible starter this season. Devery has great speed and big-play ability, but he is a work in progress as a receiver. He is not a very sure-handed end, ( he likes to catch the ball up against his body) and he has to learn how to be a better route-runner. What I think you will see from Henderson is a tendency to drop some easy catches and then make a great grab and score from 80 yards.

Hopefully as the season goes along Henderson will grasp the NFL and develop more confidence in catching the ball clean. Late in the year he could really be a threat to make a big play or two for the Saints because of his great foot speed. Henderson is a talented project, but expect some rough times early on. He could push for a starting spot in Year 2, but not this season. In many respects he reminds me a lot of Laveranues Coles when he came out of Florida State.

On Donte\' Stallworth
believe the hype that Donte\' Stallworth is a huge key on offense. Teams have a lot of respect for his deep-play ability and when he is in the lineup they don\'t gang-up on the line of scrimmage as much to stop Deuce McAllister. Donte\' has the \"potential\" and that means he hasn\'t done it yet, but he has the talent to be a Pro-Bowl performer.

Stallworth has to prove to everyone on the field he can stay healthy. I have never been able to figure out that much about a player when he is running around in shorts. I hear some guys talk about what they see in mini-camp workouts, etc., etc., but they are not getting hit and there is no real pressure on them. It all counts out on the real field of play.
I really can\'t answer your question on if I am sold on Stallworth as being a top player on a full time basis, because he has not proved to anyone he can stay injury-free. My hope is that he can stay injury-free because he does being a heck of a lot to the table.

I will make this prediction. If Stallworth stays healthy for at least 12 games, Deuce McAllister has another injury-free season and the D-line comes together quickly and can improve their run-defense, the Saints will make the playoffs.

Link: http://www.saintsreport.com/cgi-bin/...&id=1087176263
________________________________________________________________________________

Mike has Joe Horn, Donte\' Stallworth, Devery Henderson, and MICHAEL LEWIS as locks. Many here on this board and others have not been so certain of M. Lewis even making the club much less being a lock to do so. Also of interest is him grouping Jerome Pathon as being in the hunt with Derek Lewis, Talman Gardner, and Germaine Crowell for one of the two remaining roster spots. Could it be that Pathon (and his salary) gets moved in a trade?

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no_cloning

Hendersons problems catching the ball may be more troublesome than I first believed. I had hoped he may take over as the primary return man, but if he is a risk factor, Michael Lewis may keep that job.
There are two things that really take the fun out of watching games if the team I support does them: Not being able to stop anyone from running over them in the fourth quarter and a returner who fumbles the ball with noone remotely near him.

ami2kind4words

Miceal Lewis is as good as gone. If Devery Henderson is not reliable for Kickoffs & Punt return they will hand the job to Aaron Stecker.

Jerome Pathon is as good as gone. The guy will be paid more than Deuce and other starters to return this year. I believe Germaine Crowell was sign in case we are not able to trade him, however w/the emergence of Derrick Lewis it will be a battle for #3

Black, Cook, & McGeoghan are unknown so they will have to be real impressive just to make practice squad.

1. Joe Horn
2.Donte Stallworth
3.Derrick Lewis
4.Devery Henderson
5.Germaine Crowell
6.Talman Gardner

WhoDat

My thoughts...

1. Horn
2. Stallworth
3. Crowell
4. Henderson
5. Gardner
6. D Lewis

Out - Pathon and M Lewis. Pathon is a victim of circumstance. I just don\'t see a reason to keep a guy who, as the third and sometimes first or second receiver on our team, can\'t record more than about 40 catches for 400 yards. We have guys who can do that now who have a LOT more potential than he does.