Clayton, Clayton, Clayton!!!!

So many components came to the Ravens' loss to the Patriots yesterday. Chris Carr's fumble during opening kickoff. Flacco's INT on the Pats' 9 before halftime. VERY SHADY officiating by Ron Winters and his crew, on both sides. But the one that hurts the most is the dropped pass by Clayton.

First off. Let me start by saying this. I think Clayton is a decent #2 WR. I think he's durable, good to have, and even a nice guy off-the-field. But he's always been an enigma to me. The former Sooner hasn't been too consistent since being drafted in the 1st round by the Ravens in 2005. Sure, he'll have a really good game now and then. But then, some days, I wouldn't even know if he suited up.

During the final drive in the Ravens-Pats game yesterday, Flacco looked to Clayton often, moving the chains. He had a 12 yard catch. Then another for 9 yards. Then another pass to Clayton. Surely he is reliable enough when the game was on the line, right?!

And so here it is, 4th and 3. All or nothing. Go hard or go home, as they say. Flacco throws a perfect pass right to Clayton. Dropped. You could hear a pin drop at that very moment, where I was. Pure and utter disbelief. What just happened??? Why couldn't he catch that??

"It was a perfect ball. I dropped it. I just wasn't able to come up with it, and it cost us the game.

"It hurts tremendously because you want to win the game and you want the ball in a critical situation. To not be able to come up with it is tough."

Damn right it hurts. But prior to the 4th down play, it hurts just as much because the ball was placed right in your right arm in the end zone and you couldn't cradle it in. You couldn't hold on. If that ball is caught, then there is no 4th down. And that may have been the game.

Clayton will learn from his mistakes. In fact, the entire team will. No one expected to go undefeated. A part of growth in football comes from losses. You look at tape, see what you did wrong, and fix it. The Ravens will overcome the obstacles and be a better team. But if I'm hurting, I know they are really feeling the pain from a game that they so easily could have had, starting with that one catch.

Clayton is a good player. It happens, so he'll rebound. Will he ever get the opportunity to win the game again?? Maybe so, but yesterday wasn't his time.