Oh, Boy: Donte Stallworth Downgraded to Doubtful

by Chris Pokorny on Sep 26, 2008 10:18 PM EDT in General News

So much for getting my hopes up about Donte Stallworth being able to provide Derek Anderson with a viable No. 2 wide receiver option for the first time this season.

According to the OBR, Stallworth was held out of practice Friday and has been downgraded from "questionable" to "doubtful" on the injury report. Although he has not been officially ruled "out", the downgrade in itself sounds like a nail in the coffin.

So, we'll be stuck with good ol' Syndric Steptoe as our second wide receiver again this week. After an uneventful three weeks, why in the world is Steve Sanders at least not playing over this guy? Heck, you don't even see Sanders on the field -- maybe we'll get lucky and see Joshua Cribbs receive some more offensive snaps.

Good times, right? Good times when you can't even believe the fact anymore that Braylon Edwards can handle the load himself, opening up room for the other receivers. Edwards was fully practicing on Friday again, so he should be fine for this Sunday.

In website-related news, if you've ever wanted to view Dawgs By Nature more conveniantly on your mobile phone, you can now do so at mobile.dawgsbynature.com.

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I received an email from an Eagles fan telling me to expect Stallworth to be the most expensive paperweight Phil Savage has ever had.

I laughed then, but I am sure he is laughing now.

by gahnki on Sep 26, 2008 10:43 PM EDT reply actions

I’m lad we paid him so much money. He appears to have a lot of medical bills.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

by BringBackKosar on Sep 27, 2008 11:01 AM EDT reply actions

I knew he would be hurt, but I figured he would at least wait till around game 6 AFTER taking some hits. Warmups?

I have pulled a quad, and a hamstring, and the other quad, and the first quad again. I played through all of that (not at the same time), and was somewhat effective. Unless this is actually a tear, he should be on the field. Sack up.

All top WRs can do is draw consistent double coverage and attention (and then make plays on top of that). Braylon can give Steptoe single coverage all day, but without being able to beat one guy, Steptoe won’t make any noise. I am really surprised Winslow and Edwards aren’t being used in ways such that they get each other single coverage right now. Then again, if the opposing D can rush the passer with 4 and cover WR2, RB, and FB all one on one, Braylon is looking at a CB and S, and Kellen is looking at a LB and S. This might be happening, but I haven’t actually seen a game in a while.

When teams start doing this, pieces like Vickers, Heiden/Rucker, and HARRISON become viable options. Harrison 1 on 1 vs a LB!?! That’s asking for 15+ yards after the catch. All the kid does is make plays.

by rufio on Sep 27, 2008 4:27 PM EDT reply actions

I don’t know this for a fact, but I doubt you are a professional athlete. A muscle pull or strain for someone in such superior condition is devestating. A weekend warrior, or even someone in great shape for the average person, can recuperate a muscle injury significantly more quickly because the force being placed on it is not as great.

I do really wish he would play though.

by Brad D on Sep 27, 2008 10:13 PM EDT up reply actions

I did not mean to imply I was a pro. I also play wussy sports with “no” contact.

“A weekend warrior, or even someone in great shape for the average person, can recuperate a muscle injury significantly more quickly because the force being placed on it is not as great.”

False. If true at all, this would only apply when pro athlete X tried to contract his/her pulled muscle with extreme/explosive force, not while recuperating (NOT using extreme force). Pro athletes heal faster because their bodies are more used to repair processes, especially in muscles. His injury would only be “devastating” in the sense that he would lose his ability more quickly than an average guy because he is (probably) so highly trained and because the talent gap between players at that level is so small. Regardless, you are expected to suit up and play in the NFL if you are hurt, especially with an injury as small as a pull. A tear, on the other hand, is another story.

Also, although I am not a huge guy, random internet guy X could EASILY squat more/have stronger quads than Stallworth. Easily. I have good friends who I bet have more forceful quads than Donte.

by rufio on Sep 28, 2008 1:58 AM EDT up reply actions

I am going to disagree with you here on a couple of things.

1. That loss of ability is what makes his injury so devestating. Donte at 60% can run circles around you or I, Donte at 60% is slow in the NFL.
2. His muscle will, absolutely, take longer to get back to full working order than say, mine. If I tweak a quad, I hobble for a few days and ease back in to my normal running/playing. When it happens to an NFL wide receiver he has to let the muscle completely heal, then he has to get back to his workout, then he has to get back to game speed. This is supposed to happen in a matter of days?
3. A quad pull can be a huge hurdle to overcome. A grade three strain would be expected to bench the average player from three to twelve weeks. A grade two strain can take up to three weeks for a professional calibre athlete. This is due to the fact that the quad is used for so much activity. That’s why an injury to it is so bad. It won’t take explosive force to make it become quite painful.

I don’t really want to get into a big argument here, because that really isn’t the point. I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because I have seen the effect it can have on these guys. You think he should play through because he is being paid tremendous money and, after all, it is football. I think we can both agree that Browns offense will be better with a healthy Stallworth in there.

by Brad D on Oct 1, 2008 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Just wanted to say that I think the new mobile feature is sweet. I’ll be watching today’s game, and several throughout the season, from a sports bar in Arlington, so I’m glad I’ll be able to keep up with updates with my (super cool and not at all elitist) iPhone.

A great addition. Thanks Chris.

by DisplacedBuckeye on Sep 28, 2008 10:58 AM EDT reply actions