Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Signing Donte' Stallworth Is a Good Move for the Ravens



There's probably going to be a lot of backlash in Baltimore about the Ravens' most recent signing, but it makes a lot of sense for them and should work out on the field.

They needed a receiver. There were really no opinions to the contrary. Stallworth is certainly not a No. 1 guy, and they still could use a top-flight guy, but he should be very good in helping this offense take the next step in turning this team into a legitimate contender.

The offense was scoring points and moving the ball well in '09, but lacked that downfield presence -- or any way of stretching the field, for that matter. Stallworth has done that everywhere he's gone, and I expect him to do the same for the Ravens.

He's averaging almost 15 yards per reception for his career, and averaged just over 19 yards per reception during his season in Philadelphia.

Not only that, but Stallworth is a man on a mission at this point. He's been smeared in the public and has had to sit and watch football from home for the past year, so he's going to be aching to get back out there and prove that he's worthy of this second chance.

Now I'm in no way excusing driving under the influence, but I do believe Stallworth has taken a bit more heat than he deserved. The man ran out in front of him and, drunk or not, he would have struck him. I don't believe, and neither did any witnesses or the police, that the accident was a result of the alcohol in his system.

He should have been smarter than that and deserved his suspension, but now that it's behind him I look for Stallworth to come out and have a fine season with the Ravens.



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