Mark Clayton was alone on the field at the Ravens facility in Owings Mills, working on his short routes and catching skills following a team workout.
The second-year receiver was kept out of the workouts last week because of a nagging hamstring injury, so he stayed 20 minutes afterward, determined to find a way to improve on his rookie season.
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Clayton started 10 games, catching 44 passes for 471 yards and two touchdowns, and realized much of his promise as a 2005 first-round pick out of Oklahoma.
“For me, it?s just kind of being more consistent, just catching more balls,” Clayton said. “The only way to improve catching the ball is through catching the ball. So I sit out here and just catch balls in all different kinds of ways, over the shoulder, under the legs, however, just to feel the ball.”
Head coach Brian Billick said the team needs Clayton.
“It?s just that pesky hamstring,” Billick said. “We?re going to make him start renting his uniform if he?s not out here more. We need to be real prudent with it.”
Clayton is his harshest critic, saying he gave a “C” performance during 2005.
“I think I did, but not what I expected, not what I wanted,” he said, chalking the personal report card up to anxiousness and over-eagerness.
In just one year, Clayton and Derrick Mason, signed before last season, helped turn a team weakness into a strength. The once-maligned receiving core of the Ravens became a genuine threat when the duo joined the team.
The Ravens are suddenly viewed in NFL circles as a passing offense with the team trading for quarterback Steve McNair two weeks ago.
Clayton knows this is his opportunity to shine.
“When you?re mentally focused and you have toughness and you fail? What do we do next? It?s all about what you?re going to do next,” Clayton said. “From there, it?s just I know I?m going to make a play. I know I?m going to make a play.”
THE CLAYTON FILE
Hometown: Arlington, TX
High School: Sam Houston
College: Oklahoma
Did You Know? Clayton was a nominee for the Football Writers of America?s Most Courageous Award for helping pull victims out of cars in an accident on an Oklahoma highway in 2003.
