Can Mark Clayton Emerge As A Great Reciever

[McBoller]

[quote name='ravensfan160' date='02 December 2009 - 12:50 PM' timestamp='1259776232' post='300685']
Joe isn't as accurate as everyone seems to think he is even before his ankle injury. He throws high a lot on shorter routes and the long pass to Clayton would have been picked off if Polamalu was playing because he woefully underthrew it. He also overthrew Mason for a sure TD as well. The media seems to consider Joe an accurate passer especially with the deep ball but I think they just think that because of his strong arm. I do think he thorows the out pattern as good as anyone. So certainly some of Clayton's inconsistencies can be explained by Joe's inconsistencies.
[/quote]
I agree...Watching perfection in passing, aka Drew Brees, first hand made some of Joe's inconsistencies more obvious. The TD he threw to Colston was ridiculous. The LBs were all screaming PASS PASS PASS and waving hand signals, Colston was double covered and Brees still fit it in. I still dont think Joe can make those kinds of throws, and i dont think the coaching staff has that kind of confidence in him quite yet.

[McBoller]

[quote name='catty112' date='02 December 2009 - 02:48 PM' timestamp='1259783315' post='300757']
Its seems to me that Clayton is poised to take over Masons spot if Mason retires after this year. In my opinion Clayton and Mason are almost identical receivers based on tangibles. Mason obviously has an edge over him with the intangibles he possesses but that stems mostly from experience.

slightly off-topic but still relevent:
I think that our offense would benefit from rotating our receivers around, usually we just see the same formation

2 wide w/ Clayton and Mason
3 Wide w/ clayton and Mason outside, Washington slot

why not switch it up a bit? like people have said put clayton in the slot, or mason

when we come out with 2 wide why not have kelley washington in w/ clayton or mason?

Maybe see a little more DWill out there?

We need to utilize our receivers to the best of their ability and the requires us to rotate them to keep the matchups in our favor and the defense offbalanced.

but back to the OP, I can see scenarios where after Mason retires Clayton is able to pick up the slack and match his prodcution, but like others have mentioned and as been extremely overstated he needs to be more consistent. Consistency is what you know you will get from Mason week in week out. If clayton ever wants to take over the reins he needs to do the same
[/quote]
I still dont think Clayton can ever replace Mason...I just dont see him being as consistent and reliable. Hes a different kind of receiver though he may be nearly the same size.
As far as switching up the formations I totally agree. It gives them a different look and gets different receivers matched up with different corners/safeties. A corner will get used to what a certain WR is trying to do during the game and adjust...gotta mix it up sometimes.

[Mahatma_Sloth]

[quote name='flynismo' date='02 December 2009 - 12:23 PM' timestamp='1259781808' post='300742']
Oh, forgot, the same night his fumble nearly cost us another game.

But wait, since when does one good week (against Randall Gay haha) make you a good route runner? I always thought you look at the entire body of work, not just focus on the rare occassions that he performs decently.
[/quote]
1st fumble in a 5 years... go on give em hell

[flynismo]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' date='02 December 2009 - 02:13 PM' timestamp='1259777582' post='300697']
Very true.

I don't think Clayton will ever become a [i]great[/i] receiver but I'll be surprised if 2006 goes down as the best year of his career when his career is over. That isn't a great answer but it's just too tough to tell. Clayton could turn into the next Derrick Mason or he could continue to be the slightly above-average player we see now.
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If he spends his entire career here, I wouldn't be surprised if his starting role is given to someone else, maybe as soon as next season. This was his make or break year; if this is what he does in his contract year, then well, that speaks for itself....I don't question his effort or heart or desire,just his ability. So I honestly wouldn't be surprised if 939 yards and 5 TDs is his ceiling.

[Ravens_Fan13]

Im gonna say yes i dont think were using him right imagine him playing in as a wes welker type i think we would eat it up underneath with his small size and speed

[Mahatma_Sloth]

[quote name='flynismo' date='03 December 2009 - 10:47 AM' timestamp='1259862439' post='301350']
If he spends his entire career here, I wouldn't be surprised if his starting role is given to someone else, maybe as soon as next season.[b] This was his make or break year; if this is what he does in his contract year, then well, that speaks for itself[/b]....I don't question his effort or heart or desire,just his ability. So I honestly wouldn't be surprised if 939 yards and 5 TDs is his ceiling.
[/quote]
just meens well be able to retain a solid WR for under a mil

[flynismo]

[quote name='Mahatma_Sloth' date='04 December 2009 - 11:28 AM' timestamp='1259944095' post='301829']
just meens well be able to retain a solid WR for under a mil
[/quote]


true. We can do a lot worse than Clayton at his salary level.