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According to New Orleans TImes-Picayune staff writer Jeff Duncan, three days before the Saints' opening game at Seattle, head coach Jim Haslett offered some good-natured advice to Donte' Stallworth.

"Donte', don't let the ball beat you up on Sunday," Haslett said with a smile, referring to the football slang term for a dropped pass. "Don't fight it. Catch it."

Apparently the second-year receiver wasn't listening. ...

Stallworth caught eight passes for 101 yards, but also dropped a career-high five passes in the Saints' 27-10 loss to the Seahawks.

It could have been the best game of Stallworth's career -- the eight receptions are a career high, and the 101 yards are his second-highest total.

Instead, it was one of his worst.

"I just had a bad day," Stallworth said. "You have those sometimes, and I'll be the first to acknowledge it. I won't have any more of those."

Stallworth took the performance so hard he immediately asked the video staff to supply him a copy of the game for postgame evaluation and motivation.

Stallworth's performance was one of several lowlights in the Saints' opener. It also drew the ire of quarterback Aaron Brooks, who chided Stallworth on the sideline to focus on his catches and implored him to come back for the ball after the initial play breaks down.

"I did yell at him a couple times and tell him that I don't care how many balls you drop, I'm going to keep coming to you," Brooks said. "That's how much trust I've got in him. I believe that he can get it done. I never stopped going to him. Every day's not going to be perfect, but the good thing is that he learned from it."

Offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy emphasized that Stallworth must maintain his confidence because he figures to see a lot of passes with defenses rolling their coverages toward Pro Bowler Joe Horn's side.

As a rookie in 2002, the No. 1 draft pick out of Tennessee caught 42 passes for 594 yards and eight touchdowns. The touchdown total led all NFL rookies, set a Saints club record and included a streak of six consecutive games with a scoring reception.

But like most rookies, Stallworth's first season was plagued by inconsistency. He missed three games because of a lingering hamstring injury and was among the team leaders in dropped passes and missed assignments.

After the dismal end to the season, Stallworth dedicated himself to improvement. He caught hundreds of passes from the Juggs machine during the offseason and worked to improve his conditioning by visiting a stretching specialist in Florida to help with his tight hamstrings.

Nonetheless, Stallworth still missed a couple of preseason games and several practices because of a tight hamstring. He finished the preseason with three receptions for 24 yards.

"When Donte' practices, he catches balls and is a viable threat," Haslett said. "He can score a touchdown every time he catches the ball. When he doesn't practice, he struggles catching the ball. He is the kind of guy who needs to be out here taking care of his body. He caught eight balls last week, which is phenomenal, but no one knows that because he dropped five balls."

To that end, Stallworth spent several minutes after Thursday's practice catching passes from the Juggs machine with his fellow receivers. He didn't drop a pass and was one of the first allowed to leave the field.

Also of interest. ...

Horn missed another practice Thursday due to a painful bone contusion on his left knee, but the veteran hasn't changed his tune: He intends to play this weekend.

In fact, Horn will enter Sunday's game with a consecutive games receiving streak of 63 contests, including seven grabs for 83 yards and a TD last week at Seattle. Horn has at least one catch in every regular season game he has played with New Orleans, a total now at 49 contests, and he joined the Saints in 2000 after having caught at least one pass over the final 14 games of 1999 with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Horn moved into a tied for fourth last week in the Saints receiving touchdown charts. He now has 25 scoring grabs, pulling even with receiver Quinn Early (1991-95). Tight end Henry Childs (1074-80) ranks third with 27 TD receptions.