Clayton Named Ravens #1 Wr?

[WACKO4FLACC0]

on the home page of the website you will see that Clayton has been named #1 WR

[url="http://www.baltimoreravens.com/News/Articles/2009/07/Claytons_Now_No_1.aspx"]clayton now #1 article[/url]

But what ever happened to Mason...I know he has said he was going to retire but from what I've heard Harbs has said that he has felt optimistic about Mason returning for the 09-10 season and Mason hasnt "officially retired" so why are they naming Clayton the #1 WR?

Also I would like to point out the fact that why is Clayton are #1...he didnt show anything in the 08 season [url="http://www.nfl.com/players/markclayton/gamelogs?id=CLA796702"]Clayton game by game stats[/url]
Games he got over [b]50[/b] yards: 2nd CLE game, 2nd CIN game, PHI, JAX...
the only team that was any good last year was PHI and they were struggling when we played them and he only had 76 yards.

[WinnipegRaven]

Looks to me that article is written with the assumption that Mason actually retires.

[tweety]

Clayton is the best of our Receiving corps that's why he is number 1. As Mason gets closer to retirement the number 1 spot must be field. We have to make the transition sooner or later.

[funky141]

Not good news for the Ravens..

[lowrider]

Flacco improving is more important than Mason returning. His learning curve is different now, granted. But if he learns to throw to someone else then I'm not worried. I guess now he has to learn. The fate of our offense isn't decided by Mason. Last year it was decided by Mason. This year is different.

[tweety]

This year we will see how Clayton will handle the load and the pressure. I'm so excited pre-season can't come sooner.

[YABOY]

mark clayton is our #1 wr

[tweety]

[quote name='YABOY' date='24 July 2009 - 04:14 PM' timestamp='1248466492' post='209690']
mark clayton is our #1 wr
[/quote]
I hope that is a smile not a laugh

[Ravens52]

I'm really happy. I think that him and Joe can strive and become a good duo... as long as Joe doesn't throw it over his head for every deep ball.

[YABOY]

[quote name='tweety' date='24 July 2009 - 04:20 PM' timestamp='1248466827' post='209693']
I hope that is a smile not a laugh
[/quote]
it's a laugh but i hope he can be a good wr

[WACKO4FLACC0]

[quote name='tweety' date='24 July 2009 - 02:55 PM' timestamp='1248465356' post='209683']
Clayton is the best of our Receiving corps that's why he is number 1. As Mason gets closer to retirement the number 1 spot must be field. We have to make the transition sooner or later.
[/quote]
yes but clayton is not good enough to play the #1 spot

[tweety]

[quote name='WACKO4FLACC0' date='24 July 2009 - 04:56 PM' timestamp='1248468996' post='209729']
yes but clayton is not good enough to play the #1 spot
[/quote]
He may not be good enough to play number 1 on the Patriots, Colts, or Cardinals but we are the Ravens. Clayton is the best Receiver we have, until we get something better he is our number 1.

[WACKO4FLACC0]

I'm happy to see we sign Bennett..Clayton CAN NOT be the #1 WR he isnt good enough read my first post to see why and check out the link

[tweety]

[quote name='WACKO4FLACC0' date='24 July 2009 - 04:59 PM' timestamp='1248469143' post='209735']
I'm happy to see we sign Bennett..Clayton CAN NOT be the #1 WR he isnt good enough read my first post to see why and check out the link
[/quote]
Your happiness is vain because Bennett may not even beat off Marcus Smith if he makes the team.

The signing does nothing but forces us to cut another WR including Drew. But it isn't Drew's fault.

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='WACKO4FLACC0' date='24 July 2009 - 04:59 PM' timestamp='1248469143' post='209735']
I'm happy to see we sign Bennett..Clayton CAN NOT be the #1 WR he isnt good enough read my first post to see why and check out the link
[/quote]
Well, Clayton can still be the #1 WR by default; he knows the playbook better than Bennett, and he might actually out-perform Bennett.

Regardless, the signing of Drew Bennett can only help Clayton, assuming that Bennett can be serviceable (or even dare I say [i]productive[/i]) as the veteran decoy.

[SupaBwandin]

We need to stay away from the old people and let our young guys get into the game, its really frustrating. We could have the next big reciever on our roster, but we'll never know because he never saw the field and we released him.

And im tired of people saying clayton is trash. You seen what hes capable of, and with mason gone, we'll be seeing alot more.

Quit bashin.

[tweety]

Very questionable move, we didn't pick up anybody who makes our Receiver game more of a threat. I'm not sure if this rules us out of the market but I'm tired of hearing about receivers.

Go Clayton!!

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='SupaBwandin' date='24 July 2009 - 05:04 PM' timestamp='1248469479' post='209744']
We need to stay away from the old people and let our young guys get into the game
[/quote]
...how is Drew Bennett at 30 years of age considered old? So I guess Ed Reed is old, too?

[tweety]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' date='24 July 2009 - 05:12 PM' timestamp='1248469958' post='209755']
...how is Drew Bennett at 30 years of age considered old? So I guess Ed Reed is old, too?
[/quote]
Old isn't the right word. Untalented and Potential less are better adjectives.

[Ed_Reed20]

If Flacco continues to trust Clayton like he did towards the end of last year, I think Clayton could have his best season to date. Besides 2006, there has always been something out of his control that has hurt his season. In '05, he was a rookie and came on towards the end of the year. In '06, he was the team's best playmaker in the passing game. In '07, the QB situation was mess. This past season, Flacco wasn't looking his way early on but Clayton had his best performances of the season after week 8.

I don't think he will ever be a true #1 receiver but I think he can be a damn good #2.

[WACKO4FLACC0]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' date='24 July 2009 - 04:12 PM' timestamp='1248469958' post='209755']
...how is Drew Bennett at 30 years of age considered old? So I guess Ed Reed is old, too?
[/quote]
exactly and the only position the Ravens really need is WR...so we need to find veteran WR who can fill the spot..I have a strong feeling that Mason is coming back...I thought he would leave us but what I hear from reports and Harbs we should be fine...and I'm glad he is seriously considering coming back

[WACKO4FLACC0]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' date='24 July 2009 - 04:28 PM' timestamp='1248470924' post='209765']
If Flacco continues to trust Clayton like he did towards the end of last year, I think Clayton could have his best season to date. Besides 2006, there has always been something out of his control that has hurt his season. In '05, he was a rookie and came on towards the end of the year. In '06, he was the team's best playmaker in the passing game. In '07, the QB situation was mess. This past season, Flacco wasn't looking his way early on but Clayton had his best performances of the season after week 8.

I don't think he will ever be a true #1 receiver but I think he can be a damn good #2.
[/quote]
Yes but look at the teams he did good on... you cant seriously think this guy is going to be a great #2

[tweety]

[quote name='WACKO4FLACC0' date='24 July 2009 - 05:38 PM' timestamp='1248471534' post='209769']
Yes but look at the teams he did good on... you cant seriously think this guy is going to be a great #2
[/quote]
You a little mixed up Clayton has always been a Raven, and no Bennett won't be a great #2 either.

[neepo13]

[quote name='WACKO4FLACC0' date='24 July 2009 - 05:38 PM' timestamp='1248471534' post='209769']
Yes but look at the teams he did good on... you cant seriously think this guy is going to be a great #2
[/quote]

Clayton did what was asked of him. One player does not make a team and he cant do it all by himself. If our offense is struggling vs. whatever team, chances are he's not going to look so great either. When our offense played well vs. whatever team he had a very good day. Hell, even Chad Johnson looked like rubbish when the Bengals offense was not playing well. Surely, you dont think he couldnt be atleast a great #2. Stop trying to make it more then what it is. Football is a TEAM sport. He cant look good if Flacco is laying on his back most of the day, it just cant happen. Stats are nothing if you cant put them in context.

If a RB rushes for 40 yards on 19 carries and then he rips off a 60 yard td in garbage time, the stats will show he had a good day running the ball, when he was really lousy and did nothing to help the team win.

[tweety]

You can only say a WR isn't good if he either:

Doesn't get open

or

Drops balls

Throw it to him more he will catch more.

[Florida_Bird]

Hey guys, I have been lurking around these boards for a while, and this is the first time I really felt compelled to post.

It seems like most people are not convinced that Clayton can provide the same kind of production that we received from Mason last year. I'm not ready to say that Clayton will be a good #1, but I think his past performance indicates he has what it takes to be a first option in our passing game, and I think the numbers back me up.

Last year Mason was obviously the receiver Flacco was most comfortable with, especially early in the season. He caught 80 balls for 1,037 yards and 5 TD's.

Clayton only had 41 rec. for 695 yds and 3 TD's. However, his production definitely climbed along with Flacco's comfort. Over the last 8 games of the season, Clayton averaged 66.3 yards/game. Assuming that Flacco will at least be as good this year as he was the second half of last season, we can extrapolate the 66.3 yds/g to 16 games, and it comes to 1061 yards, more than Mason had last year.

Because of this, taken with the fact that in 2006 Clayton had 939 yards, I see no reason Clayton cannot provide us with 70 balls for 1000 yards, which is what we expected from Mason. By no means and I saying Clayton will perform at this level, but he has proven he can produce at that level in the past.

[FerrariFan87]

... by default

This IS a contract year for Clayton though, so he has plenty of incentive to finally break out.

[WACKO4FLACC0]

[quote name='tweety' date='24 July 2009 - 05:52 PM' timestamp='1248475968' post='209789']
You can only say a WR isn't good if he either:

Doesn't get open

or

Drops balls

Throw it to him more he will catch more.
[/quote]
if he doesnt get open, he doesnt get the ball

[Ed_Reed_Pick_Six]

[quote name='WinnipegRaven' date='25 July 2009 - 08:55 AM' timestamp='1248465323' post='209681']
Looks to me that article is written with the assumption that Mason actually retires.
[/quote]
A lot of the articles on the front page seem to be written presumptively, with regards to Mason at least.

[BloodRaven]

[quote name='tweety' date='24 July 2009 - 05:52 PM' timestamp='1248475968' post='209789']
You can only say a WR isn't good if he either:

Doesn't get open

or

Drops balls

Throw it to him more he will catch more.
[/quote]

Last season

Mark Clayton caught 54.7% of the passes thrown his way

Derrick Mason caught 68.4% of the passes thrown his way

Don't look for a breakout season because it won't happen. Flacco would have to throw to Clayton almost 200 times to get 100 receptions. 80 receptions? around 150 attempts, and we are a run first team, Clayton will never "break out".