Back With Patriots, Stallworth Eyes A Championship
BOSTON (CBS) - For Donte' Stallworth, a return to the New England Patriots means another shot at a Super Bowl Ring.
"I just wanting to have an opportunity to put a championship at the end of my name," Stallworth said from Gillette Stadium on Tuesday. "I think we're one of many teams that has an opportunity to do that this year."
Stallworth was with the 2007 Patriots team that went 18-0, only to fall to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
Five years later, a lot has changed for the receiver. He had stops in Cleveland, Baltimore, Washington, but it's what happened between that has really changed the 31-year-old. In 2009, Stallworth was convicted of DUI manslaughter, which led to a season-long suspension and jail time.
Stallworth On Return To Pats:
But all of that is in the past for the nine-year veteran.
"I'm a lot more mature now than I was then," said Stallworth. "I feel like I'm playing better. I'm in a better place mentally, physically and I just felt like at that time I was still trying to mature and grow into a professional athlete."
"I think, back then, I was really more relying on my talent. Now that I'm going into my tenth year, I think I run better routes now and understand different coverages and what teams are trying to do," he said. "That's a big thing because you always hear people say this game is 90-percent mental and 10-percent physical."
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Stallworth comes in to a very crowded field of receivers on the Patriots, including Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, Brandon Lloyd, Anthony Gonzalez, Deion Branch, Chad Ochocinco, and Julian Edelman, just to name a few.
"It's going to be good competition; we're all friends, we all have known each other for a while and respected each other's games, so we're going to make each other better," said Stallworth. "We've been doing that now, with the workouts and really having fun, and the real fun gets to start on Monday when we start practicing. Who knows how it will play out, but I'm feeling good; I'm feeling healthy and ready to go."
