James Walker Insinuating Ravens Should Keep Stallworth

[fistfullwales]

In his ESPN AFC North blog on February 24, James Walker reaffirmed that the Ravens need speed at receiver and says that Stallworth has the speed they are looking for. So what do you think the chances are that Stallworth remains a Raven and what kind of contract would he receive?

[BloodRaven]

Go Go Gadget Reverse!

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

I don't know whether we should keep him as it's obvious that we need an infusion of some home-grown youth at the position, which is why certain receivers in the draft are being highly touted.

If we were to re-sign him though, he would be on a one- or two-year deal of similar pay to last year. Looking at his contract history he's been given a number of big contracts before and never really lived up to them. Teams won't fall for it again, not now that he's 30 and coming off a [i]very[/i] quiet season.

[Ed_Reed20]

Mason is likely returning. If Stallworth was re-signed, that would mean less opportunities for Reed and the rookie the team drafts. He's got speed but I think the team should move on.

[Jamal]

I agree with him. I would much rather keep Stalls over Mason or Housh. But chances are Mason is coming back, and Stalls wont come back if thats the case.

[ryan23945]

if they r going to keep him USE HIM!

[gabefergy]

I think it will largely depend on what happens in the draft, if we end up drafting a WR in the early rounds keeping Stallworth seems very doubtful. If we miss on a WR then bringing back Stallworth would make sense. I think if brought back he would have a much larger role in the offense, missing 8 games really hindered his role last season.

[darklight1216]

Well, if McGahee and McClain both leave, [i]someone[/i] needs to back-up Rice.

[Bltravens]

We should have actually used him but I think we jumped the gun on signing Housh after Stallworth broke his foot. We could have got bye with Reed in the slot, or we could have utilized more Singleback, that way Cam wouldnt have to worry about feeding Housh the ball. We need to do something about the Derrick Mason situation, our starting WRs need to get 100x more athletic and Mason should be used in the slot more next year as the #3. But that likely won't happen.

[fistfullwales]

I mean you guys are gonna put all your marbles on the young wideouts that might come in this year. Even if we were to get a WR in the draft and Mason came back that would leave us with Boldin, Mason, Reed, Rookie.... that seems risky. What if Reed really is only a return man and cannot play wideout. What if the Rookie is a bust or isnt able to contribute at a high level right away? That leaves you with Boldin and Mason. I would sign Stallworth for a safety cushion, either way we cannot depend soley on Mason, Reed and Rookie (we can on Boldin cause hes the man). [Forgot about Hardy and the other vet we signed, but who knows if they will show up and play]

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='fiPlease be quiet.llwales' timestamp='1298659629' post='645415']
I mean you guys are gonna put all your marbles on the young wideouts that might come in this year. Even if we were to get a WR in the draft and Mason came back that would leave us with Boldin, Mason, Reed, Rookie.... that seems risky. What if Reed really is only a return man and cannot play wideout. What if the Rookie is a bust or isnt able to contribute at a high level right away? That leaves you with Boldin and Mason. I would sign Stallworth for a safety cushion, either way we cannot depend soley on Mason, Reed and Rookie (we can on Boldin cause hes the man).
[/quote]

If the team does their due diligence in scouting the WR, it wouldn't be a risk. I really don't see how Reed couldn't play WR. He's no Yamon Figurs and even though they were just exhibition games, he showed his receiving ability in pre-season last year.

The team also has Dickson and Pitta, who should be a bigger part of the offense next season.

[ed.s52]

No doubt in my mind we should keep Stalls. We need speed, he's got it. Besides, the worst case scenario is that he pushes Reed and the rookie for plays. Healthy competition only makes players better.

And if anyone on the team gets injured (whether it be that speedy reciever we draft, Reed, Mase, or Boldin) he is at least an insurance policy.

Not only do we get all this but we also get him at a very cheap price, probably the same or even cheaper than last year since he litterally did nothing besides a couple reverses and 2 catches.

[Militant X 1]

[quote name='fiPlease be quiet.llwales' timestamp='1298659629' post='645415']
I mean you guys are gonna put all your marbles on the young wideouts that might come in this year. Even if we were to get a WR in the draft and Mason came back that would leave us with Boldin, Mason, Reed, Rookie.... [b]that seems risky[/b]. What if Reed really is only a return man and cannot play wideout. [b]What if the Rookie is a bust or isnt able to contribute at a high level right away?[/b] That leaves you with Boldin and Mason. I would sign Stallworth for a safety cushion, either way we cannot depend soley on Mason, Reed and Rookie (we can on Boldin cause hes the man). [Forgot about Hardy and the other vet we signed, but who knows if they will show up and play]
[/quote]

no offense.....but this is the type of mentality that keeps the "Old Guys" around way to long. what if the Rookie is on point and gets a grasp of the offense quickly and jells with Flacco early in training camp and then becomes a beast on the field in live games? why not think like that?


the Ravens hesitancy to pull the trigger on youth and then not allowing them to contribute is what keeps the offensive gameplay stunted. look at the Steelers rookie WR that was just str8 beastin during the playoffs. that was due to the fact that that organization gave him a chance. the Ravens must do the same!

[EnVy_CaLiBeR]

[quote name='Jamal' timestamp='1298654324' post='645349']
I agree with him. I would much rather keep Stalls over Mason or Housh. But chances are Mason is coming back, and Stalls wont come back if thats the case.
[/quote]
Not saying I don't appreciate what Mason has done for us but I agree. All three would get in the way of the youth overhaul at WR but at least Stallworth has the speed we're looking for.

[BirdWatcher]

I think Stallworth and Mason would pair well since they have different strengths. Stallworth, Mason, Boldin, Reed, and a WR to be named, would be a great combination.

[Jillester]

Keep Stallworth because he does have the speed, he has the experience and his contract price will be easy on the wallet. There are a lot of other positions on the team that require more attention at this point in time....mainly the offensive line! Given enough time, Flacco can reach any one stretching the field.

[McBurks]

we need as many talented receivers we can get to get over the hump that is Pittsburgh.

[Corvus]

I still don't buy all of the bs we were fed about Donte being less involved last year because of the injury. He was with the team from the first OTAs, knew everything there was to know about the offense by the end of training camp, and we were told the injury "really set him back." For obvious reasons, no he couldn't play when he was injured but he was healthy by the time the team got Ed back and as someone else said, all we saw was "go go gadget reverse." I hate to keep beating the proverbial dead horse, but this is one of the best examples of Cam's inability to utilize his players properly last year...

If we are actually gonna use him, I say bring him back for another 1 year deal.

[RoflDogs]

I honestly don't want both Mason and Housh coming back. They are old and don't provide anything different from what Boldin gives us. I wouldn't mind Stallworth coming back, but I don't want him to be a starter. We should definitely go with the youth route

[ed.s52]

[quote name='RoflDogs' timestamp='1298778632' post='645987']
I honestly don't want both [b]Mason[/b] and Housh coming back. They are old and don't provide anything different from what Boldin gives us. I wouldn't mind Stallworth coming back, but I don't want him to be a starter. We should definitely go with the youth route
[/quote]


No loyalty at all man.

[RoflDogs]

[quote name='ed.s52' timestamp='1298780195' post='645998']
No loyalty at all man.
[/quote]

It's not all about loyalty. This team just needs to go a different direction.

[ed.s52]

[quote name='RoflDogs' timestamp='1298781874' post='646005']
It's not all about loyalty. This team just needs to go a different direction.
[/quote]


Yea I agree he shouldn't be our second reciever but more of a third. Unless he decides to retire we should let him finish his career here.

[Romo Ravens]

[quote name='ed.s52' timestamp='1298782201' post='646008']
Yea I agree he shouldn't be our second reciever but more of a third. Unless he decides to retire we should let him finish his career here.
[/quote]

If Mason stays, who honestly thinks the team will put him as the number three? It'll be 1a and 1b between him and Boldin once again, only impeding David Reed and whatever rookie WR we draft

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='Romo Ravens' timestamp='1298788233' post='646045']
If Mason stays, who honestly thinks the team will put him as the number two? It'll be 1a and 1b between him and Boldin once again, only impeding David Reed and whatever rookie WR we draft
[/quote]

I'll be really angry if Mason is still the starting split end midway through next season.

[Romo Ravens]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' timestamp='1298788619' post='646047']
I'll be really angry if Mason is still the starting split end midway through next season.
[/quote]

Ditto, that is why loyalty doesn't matter in this type of situation. Mason is the man, he'll forever be one of my favorite Ravens. But he doesn't have the burst or the quickness to beat a number one DB or even get separation. That's why he was shut down in the playoffs. Do any fans honestly think that Mason's ego won't get the best of him if the team reduces his role from the number one WR in one year, to the third in the next? I can't even imagine Mason as the third WR.

David Reed should be the number three, and if we draft a WR in the first two rounds, he should be the number two, along with Boldin at one. I don't care about inexperience. They have to be given a chance to sink or swim at some point in their careers.

[Ed_Reed20]

I couldn't agree more Romo.

If the team wants him back, they better be willing to tell him to put his ego aside and accept a lesser role. Harbaugh has said he wants the running game to return to what it was. That's fine and would make closing teams out much easier. But in today's league, your passing game has to have some element of explosiveness and two starting WRs over 30, one 37, obviously isn't conducive to that.

[DevilsLuck]

I don't think we should sign Stallworth again. He's too brittle. Always gettin injured.

[gabefergy]

[quote name='Corvus' timestamp='1298738416' post='645734']
I still don't buy all of the bs we were fed about Donte being less involved last year because of the injury. He was with the team from the first OTAs, knew everything there was to know about the offense by the end of training camp, and we were told the injury "really set him back." For obvious reasons, no he couldn't play when he was injured but he was healthy by the time the team got Ed back and as someone else said, all we saw was "go go gadget reverse." I hate to keep beating the proverbial dead horse, but this is one of the best examples of Cam's inability to utilize his players properly last year...

If we are actually gonna use him, I say bring him back for another 1 year deal.
[/quote]


I agree with some of what you are saying, its obvious that he was underutilized. I think the problem stemmed more from having Boldin, Mase, and TJ ahead of him on the depth chart, and their relative success during the first half of the season. There was a lot of ego involved too, TJ was very outspoken about how many balls were coming his way, and Mase wants the ball too. There really just werent many opportunities for Stalls to get involved. It's hard to break back into the rotation especially when there were so many O-line problems that 3 and 4 WR sets were hardly used.

[edreedfromtheu]

Now MASON is being blamed for the offense's struggles? This is just getting hilarious.

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='edreedfromtheu' timestamp='1298829705' post='646178']
Now MASON is being blamed for the offense's struggles? This is just getting hilarious.
[/quote]

What's hilarious is you misconstruing what's been said. No one is blaming Mason entirely for the offense's struggles but he was part of the problem. Catching one pass in the team's two biggest games of the season playing as many snaps as he did speaks for itself.