DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Stallworth says we'll make some noise this year

Cal's original thread was hosed up, so I'm reposting it:

Slow time fluff, but what else you got to do?

Browns could be bears
Stallworth says they'll make noise

Donte' Stallworth is excited about the role he'll play in his first year with the Browns.
Globe Staff / July 13, 2008

Donte' Stallworth is a man of many pursuits. But when it came to being pursued in free agency, Stallworth wanted a suitor that could provide more than just the most cash; he wanted a team that had a wealth of talent as well.

Stallworth, who became a free agent when the Patriots elected not to pick up $8 million in roster bonuses, landed in the land of Lake Erie, LeBron James, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, catching on with the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns went 10-6 last season - their best record since being reincarnated in Cleveland in 1999 - and narrowly missed the playoffs. After adding Stallworth, who signed a seven-year, $35 million deal, and reinforcing the interior of its 3-4 defense by trading for space-eaters Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams, coach Romeo Crennel's crew appears ready to challenge for AFC North supremacy, and maybe more.

The NFL thinks so. Cleveland is slated to make five prime-time appearances this year.

"I've been kind of joking with Randy [Moss] and some of the guys that the road to the Super Bowl goes through Cleveland," said Stallworth, who said he turned down more money from a noncontender.

In his lone season as a Patriot, Stallworth started nine games and had 46 receptions for 697 yards and three touchdowns, but he didn't make the impact many expected when he signed as a free agent from Philadelphia. No hard feelings. He said the Patriots were upfront with him about not triggering the rest of his contract, and he was grateful for the opportunity to be part of the NFL's first 16-0 regular season.

However, the Browns, who open training camp July 23, are counting on Stallworth, 27, to return to the form he showed with the Eagles in 2006, when he averaged 19.1 yards per catch. With Joe Jurevicius recently having his fourth surgery on his right knee, Cleveland needs the free-spirited Stallworth to step in opposite Pro Bowl wideout Braylon Edwards, a friend of Stallworth's who campaigned for the Browns to sign him.

Cleveland's offense could be Patriot-esque. Edwards, tight end Kellen Winslow, quarterback Derek Anderson, and left tackle Joe Thomas all went to the Pro Bowl last season. The team re-signed running back Jamal Lewis (1,304 yards in 2007), and if Anderson falters, Brady Quinn is waiting in the wings.

"I'm really excited about this offense; personally, I'll do more things than I've done in the past," said Stallworth. "I'll run some downfield routes, kind of like what I was doing in Philly. Just the prospect of adding that back to my game is something interesting."

That's not to say that Stallworth felt misused in New England.

"Josh [McDaniels] is a very, very, very smart offensive coordinator, and he's going to be a really good head coach one day," said Stallworth. "I had no problems with the role I was put in. Would I have liked to run more downfield routes? Yeah. But if you have me and Randy, who are you going to pick? Randy is a freak of nature. He's a player who comes around every 50 years. I bought in. My only problem with last year is the last game - we didn't win."

Stallworth already has noticed similarities between the way Crennel, who won three Super Bowls as the Patriots' defensive coordinator before becoming Browns boss in 2005, conducts practices and Bill Belichick runs Patriots practices.

Long-suffering Browns fans are hoping the similarities don't stop there.

"I think everybody has got the belief that this could be a special season for us," said Stallworth. "But there are no guarantees. I learned that from last year."

SITUATION PITS BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER

The ownership intrigue swirling around the Pittsburgh Steelers could result in one of the NFL's flagship franchises no longer being controlled by one of its most storied families, the Rooneys, who have owned the team since its inception in 1933. At the heart of the matter, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is a family feud between the five Rooney brothers, each of whom owns a 16 percent share of the team (the other 20 percent belongs to the McGinley family).
Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, one of the NFL's most influential individuals, tried to buy out his brothers to comply with the NFL's rule that states a principal owner must own at least 30 percent of the team (20 percent, if the other 10 percent is owned by an immediate family member) and that no owner of an interest in an NFL club may own any interest in a gambling casino, which by NFL terms includes card rooms. The Steelers had been grandfathered in on both rules. Tim, Pat, and John Rooney are involved in the family's interest in horse racing and dog tracks that have poker tables.

Dan Rooney tried to buy out his brothers, but those involved in racing enterprises and the oldest brother, Art Jr., felt Dan Rooney undervalued their shares, and hired the investment firm Goldman Sachs, which valued the Steelers franchise at as much as $1.2 billion, to solicit offers. Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, whom Forbes valued at $3.5 billion, emerged as a potential buyer of the four Rooney brothers' shares, which would give him majority ownership.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an e-mail that the NFL's goal is "to produce an intrafamily transfer that will address three ownership issues," identified as succession planning, gambling policy, and the 30 percent rule, "and keep the team in the Rooney family."

SPEAK UP

"You can be the best team in the league and not win it. Nine times out of 10 we win that game, but it didn't matter. They won it on the only day it was played, the only day it mattered. I talk to some of those guys, and I'm not going to name names, but they knew we were the better team. We should have won, but they were on their way up and we had already peaked."

BY THE NUMBERS

15
As in July 15, the deadline for teams to reach long-term agreements with their franchise-tagged players. After the deadline, teams can't sign their franchise players to long-term deals until after the regular season.
12
Players who received the franchise tag this offseason, according to the NFL Players Association.
2
As of Friday, franchised players who had reached long-term deals with their teams (cornerback Marcus Trufant of the Seahawks and tight end Dallas Clark of the Colts). Defensive end Jared Allen (Chiefs to Vikings) and defensive tackle Corey Williams (Packers to Browns) reached deals after they were traded.
THE LIST: THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE...

As teams open training camp, starting with the Jets, who will welcome rookies on Wednesday, here is a list of franchises with the longest-running training camp sites:
Team Location Years
Packers St. Norbert College, De Pere, Wis. 51
Vikings Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minn. 42
Steelers Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa. 42
Jets Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y. 40
ETC.

Beware of watchdog: The NFL is serious about preventing teams from engaging in the kind of electronic espionage that spawned the "Spygate" saga. Last Tuesday, the league hired Pennsylvania State Police commissioner Jeffrey Miller for the newly created role of NFL director of strategic security. Among the duties for the 45-year-old Miller, who oversaw the investigation of a 2006 shooting rampage at an Amish schoolhouse, will be monitoring the use of electronic equipment by clubs (and the league) during games . . . New Patriots Hall of Fame inductee Ben Coates said he'd like to get back into the NFL as a coach. Coates was the Browns' tight ends coach from 2005-06 before he was fired in a coaching purge. Coates said he spent last fall coaching high school football in Greenville, S.C. "For right now, I like what I am doing, but ultimately I want to get back into the NFL," said Coates. "I would like to get back involved in helping guys out playing the position that I played, and try to get somebody to be better than me."
He's ready to carry on: Whoever ends up winning the Dolphins' quarterback derby will benefit from having running back Ronnie Brown in the backfield. Brown was coming off four straight 100-yard rushing performances and leading the NFL in total yards from scrimmage last season when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against the Patriots Oct. 21. He hopes to be cleared for contact when the Dolphins open camp July 26. "I feel good, feel no hesitation," Brown told the Miami Herald earlier this month . . . Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez made the biggest catch of his life July 3 at a Huntington Beach, Calif., restaurant. Gonzalez noticed that a fellow patron, Ken Hunter, was choking on a piece of meat and administered the Heimlich maneuver to save him.

Less size, more hope: Word out of Tennessee is that overweight wide receiver Mike Williams has dropped 30 pounds and is looking more like the player who was drafted 10th overall by the Lions in 2005. Williams was a monumental disappointment in his first three seasons and is already with his third team; the Titans signed him after he was cut by the Raiders last October. However, the former Southern Cal star is still just 24. He has time to live up to his potential and give quarterback Vince Young the No. 1 receiver he lacks . . . Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu pleaded guilty last Monday to driving under the influence and apologized for his conduct. He was sentenced to one day in jail and ordered to pay fines and court costs totaling $1,255. Tatupu, the son of former Patriots fullback Mosi Tatupu, was arrested May 10 by Kirkland (Wash.) police. Breathalyzer tests revealed his blood-alcohol content at 0.155 and 0.158, nearly double the legal limit in Washington. The Seahawks signed Tatupu, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, to a six-year, $42 million contract extension in March.

link

Thanks, Ref!