For Ravens, Success Comes With a Catch
Young Wideouts Are Finding Their Niche

By Camille Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 13, 2007; E03

WESTMINSTER, Md., Aug. 12 -- Mark Clayton is crying.

Actually, the Baltimore Ravens wide receiver is pretending to cry, because he is pretending to be deeply touched by comments made by his teammate Demetrius Williams. As Clayton feigns wiping tears from his face, Williams pretends to console him, saying with mock gravity, "This is an emotional Oprah/Dr. Phil moment!"

Maybe not, but it is a moment that illustrates the friendship between the two young, talented wideouts, who will be on the field at M&T Bank Stadium on Monday night as the Ravens open the preseason against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Wide receiver was once a trouble spot for the Ravens, who spent nine draft picks on wideouts before taking Clayton with the 22nd overall selection in the 2005 draft and Williams in the fourth round of the 2006 draft. Travis Taylor, the 10th overall pick in 2000, left Baltimore after five undistinguished seasons, and fourth-year receivers Devard Darling (third round, 2004) and Clarence Moore (sixth round) are fighting just to hold on to roster spots.

Williams (6 feet 2, 197 pounds) has long arms, smooth hands and excellent speed and jumping ability; his nickname is "Spiderman" because of the way he can reach out and snag passes. Clayton (5-10, 195) is quick, has sure hands and explosive speed; he's a good enough basketball player that he occasionally plays in pick-up games that include the Memphis Grizzlies' Rudy Gay and Georgetown's DaJuan Summers.

"A lot of young guys figure they don't have to work out as hard now because they're young, and their physical abilities are going to take over," said Derrick Mason, who is entering his 11th season in the NFL. "This is the time to fine-tune some of those little things, because as you start to get older, those physical abilities aren't going to win you those matchups. It's that savvy, it's that know-how, it's that understanding of the game that puts you over the hump and gives you that longevity. . . . [Clayton and Williams] work hard and are willing to learn, and that's what's going to separate them from the guys that came in their class."

Clayton, in his third season, already ranks ninth in franchise history in career yardage (1,410 yards), and needs four catches to move into 10th place for career receptions (he currently has 111). Last season, he led the Ravens with 939 receiving yards on 67 catches, and he had five touchdowns -- including one of 87 yards (the second-longest completion in franchise history).

"There's times where [Clayton] catches the ball and he'll make the catch look so easy," Williams said. "If he does have a drop, people will be like, 'He should've made that catch.' But they don't understand how difficult the catch that he's making all the time -- and making it look easy -- is. He has the speed to go deep. He's an all-around receiver."

Williams developed into a reliable deep threat over the course of his rookie season. He made 22 catches and averaged 18 yards per catch, which not only led the Ravens but was also tops among AFC receivers who made at least 10 receptions. In Brian Billick's eight-year tenure as coach, only four players have finished a season with a higher per-catch average, and only one of those -- Patrick Johnson in 1999 (29 catches, 18.1-yard average) -- caught more than six passes.

"He's a guy that never played like a rookie," receivers coach Mike Johnson said of Williams. "We didn't play him on every down -- he only played in our third-down package last year -- and when he had to go in there he did a great job for us. He gets a good matchup because he plays on the back side of [tight end] Todd Heap, Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton, and he did a good job of defeating that one-on-one."

The Ravens plan to use Mason, who caught 68 passes for 750 yards in 2006, in the slot more often this season, which will give Baltimore more versatility on offense, and give Mason a chance to exploit different matchups.

And it will also allow Clayton and Williams to be on the field together more often. They spend enough time together away from it, discussing video games (Clayton vows to enter and win the annual Madden tournament that takes place at the Super Bowl) or Mason's dancing ability and style ("He looks like he's the type of guy who, back in the day, was wearing the Adidas without the laces and a big gold chain at the club," Williams said.)

They claim that they are making a CD called "Camp Jams;" one of the songs will be titled "Get Your Sign On," an ode to the daily ritual of signing autographs for fans at McDaniel College.

And Clayton has one more promise: "Lots more running, a lot more catches, a lot more touchdowns [from the wideouts]. We're looking forward to it. It's going to be an exciting year for us as an offense."

Ravens Notes: Tight end Daniel Wilcox (ankle) and nose tackle Kelly Gregg (knee) are not expected to play against the Eagles. Left tackle Jonathan Ogden (toe) and linebackers Mike Smith (shoulder) and Dan Cody (knee) are still on the physically unable to perform list and will not play.