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Cop-Out
The Ravens signed WR Donte' Stallworth on Wednesday in what might be a "cop-out" regarding the wideout position. Stallworth joins the Ravens after spending time with the Saints, Patriots, Eagles, and Browns. The wideout, who was sentenced to 24 days in jail after killing a man while driving drunk, was released by the Browns earlier in the offseason. Stallworth was reinstated to the NFL after serving a season-long suspension in 2009. I smell something fishy. Unfortunately, after looking closely at Stallworth's numbers, one will realize he is no better than Mark Clayton. Therefore, if he is inserted into the Ravens' offensive system, his production should be little or none. Here's what I'm afraid of: Stallworth as a "Cop-Out" Last offseason, the Ravens harped on the fact that Demetrius Williams was going to develop to be a huge downfield weapon for Joe Flacco. That was "Cop-Out 2009". Let's hope Stallworth is not "Cop-Out 2010". If the Ravens do not draft or sign a wideout to compliment Stallworth and Derrick Mason (if Mason is re-signed), this team will be in serious trouble. The NFL Network's Jason La Canfora agreed in an article earlier this week on NFL.com: "The Ravens have to address the receiver situation and general manager Ozzie Newsome will. If quarterback Joe Flacco can improve decision-making in the red zone and fourth quarter just a bit, this could be Super Bowl team." Stallworth is certainly not a move to "address" the receiver situation. This move will only look good if the Ravens choose to actually sign/trade for a big-play wideout. Then, Stallworth will be a worthy third receiver. In addition, who else finds it puzzling that the Ravens are willing to sign someone who killed a person rather than trading for Brandon Marshall, who has had just about all the charges against him dropped? Don't get me wrong--Marshall's not a good guy. However, Stallworth? Really? General Manager Ozzie Newsome on Stallworth: “We’ve given a lot of thought to this and we’ve done extensive research into Donte’ beyond football. He made a huge mistake. There’s no doubt about that. He has paid a significant price for that and, as he has said, he carries a heavy weight. As Steve (Bisciotti) has said, we believe in second chances, and Donte’ does deserve that. “But, we’ve signed him because we want to get better, and we think he has a chance to help us. We worked him out and it’s obvious he is working hard to be effective. We thought it was important to sign him now, because other teams were pursuing him and we want him in our offseason program, which starts next month.”
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