Sometimes, what you don't see is exactly what you get.
That seems to be the case with the Browns' newest wide receiver, former New England Patriot Donte Stallworth.
When the speedy Stallworth was signed in free agency last Saturday, the reaction was predictable. The Browns had acquired another deep-ball threat to go along with Pro Bowler Braylon Edwards. They are perfectly suited to play in an offense with a big-arm quarterback such as Derek Anderson.
The Browns like to stretch the field. Now with Anderson throwing to these two, they can stretch it into the end zone.
But it also strengthens the depth at the wide receiever position. So simply from that standpoint, the signing of Stallworth was worth it to the Browns.
But there's more -- much more -- to it than that.
Stallworth also brings two other things, the first of which, according to Browns general manager Savage, is the addition of a quick underneath receiver, something else the Browns didn't have last season.
"I think last year we had Braylon, we had (tight end) Kellen (Winslow), we had Joe Jurevicius and we had (wide receiver) Tim Carter," Savage said. "I think the discussion at the end of the year was we felt like if we could upgrade the Tim Carter spot in particular, that it would help the entire group.
"Joe had come up at the end of the year and said he felt like being the No. 2 receiver had taken somewhat of a toll on him as the season developed, so he would appreciate if we could go find a legitimate number two.
"I think this really clearly defines what each of them will be doing. Donte' brings big speed, but he also has the underneath quickness that we didn't have last year. I think he'll make our whole group of skill players that much better."
Indeed.
"It's just something that I feel like I can bring to the team, whatever the coaches feel like they need me to do," Stallworth said of running the shorter routes during a conference call with the Cleveland media the other day. "It's something I didn't do last year in New England, but I did do in Philadelphia a couple of years ago and in my first few years in New Orleans.
"I'm used to running the intermediate routes and I'm excited to be doing whatever it is that I can help contribute to winning."
Football isn't only about throwing the ball 45 yards downfield on every play. Cover 2 defenses have seen to that, and with Anderson's penchant for going deep successfully, the Browns saw plenty of that scheme in 2007, especially in the latter half of the year.
How do you beat a Cover 2? By making defenses respect the underneath routes.
And how you get that respect from defenses? By having receivers who can dart to the open areas and catch the ball.
Those underneath routes are much more about quickness than speed, and Stallworth has the unique ability to be both quick and fast. When he comes off the line of scrimmage, teams will be wary of his speed in running past them in a 50-yard burst, but they also have to be mindful that he run past them in 15- to 18-yard bursts.
They may not be glitzy, but those shorter routes add up.
The Browns know all about that. So does Stallworth.
In what he said may have been his second-best game last season -- a 34-17 win over the Browns on Oct. 7 at Gillette Stadium -- he caught four passes for 65 yards, an average of 16.3 yards per catch. Included in that was a 34-yarder for a touchdown late in the first quarter that helped the Patriots build their lead to 10-0.
What Stallworth also brings to the Browns is the experience he had last season with the Patriots. A team can never have enough "winning" players, for their attitude permeates the locker room and seeps out on the field on game days.
When asked about that in the conference call, he eventually turned the focus of the conversation to his new team, the Browns, and said, "They experienced a little bit of success last year. They're hungry, and they want more."
And whether it's by running long routes, short routes or something in between, or if it's in bringing the persona of a championship-caliber team like the Patriots, Donte Stallworth will try to help the Browns satisfy their hunger and get more.
