While Ravens receiver Ron Johnson is trying to recapture his old form, coaches might view staying an extra 20 minutes after practice on one of the coldest days of the season, like he did yesterday, as a good start.
"I just want to get back to how I played before when I was in college or when I first came here in camp," said Johnson, who is dealing with a case of the drops. "I've just got to get back to that mentality. I don't know how I'm going to get there, but that's my goal. I just want to have fun and not put too much pressure on myself."
The Ravens will need Johnson and fellow rookie receiver Javin Hunter to increase their production now that starter Brandon Stokley is lost for the rest of the season with a foot sprain.
Neither player has had more than 15 yards receiving in either of the past two games despite Stokley's absence in both.
"The good thing about both those guys is that they are in pretty good shape," receivers coach David Shaw said. "Most receivers get the dead legs right about now, and both of them still have some juice left. The bottom line is they are both rookies, but like I told them, it's time for them to not think of themselves as rookies and try and even out so we don't have the peaks and valleys."
The Ravens are 31st in the league in passing, ahead of only expansion Houston, and will rely largely upon one of the NFL's most unproven receiving corps to improve their stature.
Besides Johnson and Hunter, Travis Taylor is the only other receiver to play a significant role in the Ravens' passing game. After a sudden burst once Jeff Blake became quarterback, Taylor has five receptions for 50 yards the past two weeks.
Behind those three are Jeff Ogden, best known for his special teams play, recently promoted rookie Randy Hymes and recently signed Milton Wynn, a fourth-round pick in 2001 who is on his fifth team.
"That's probably the youngest group on the team right now," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "Travis Taylor, in his third year, is the sage veteran. Everybody else is just wide-eyed and trying to make some plays. We're going to find out a lot about that group the next few weeks."
The Ravens have not reached 200 passing yards in the past four games. Despite the statistics, the youth of the receivers and the recent dropped passes (at least two the past couple of games by Johnson alone), Blake was calm when discussing what is ahead and singled out Johnson as someone who could make a difference.
"Those guys are young, but they are athletes, and if they couldn't play, they wouldn't be here," Blake said. "All it takes is one of them to make a great play, and it's a domino effect. Just like in preseason, when Ron was catching all those balls one-handed and boxing people out and going up for it, he was feeling it. You couldn't stop him. All it takes for him is to get one or two balls like that and he is going to start feeling it again and nobody is going to be able to stop him.
"I saw it in the preseason. I think right now, with him, there is a lot of thinking going on, and he is not just balling. Once they get to the point where they start reacting and let it flow, plays will be made."
For Johnson, it starts with simply catching the ball, then making something happen.
"I don't think that is something you harp on," Shaw said of Johnson's drops. "It's technique and it's focus. If anybody on this team can't catch, they wouldn't be here. I'll pull out a tape while he was in college [Minnesota], and the reason why he was drafted was because he caught everything."
Said Johnson: "I'm just going to practice hard and try and get better every day. I made a couple of bad plays last week. I just have to build from that. I can't over-think stuff. When you are a receiver, you just have to play. And the main thing is catching the ball, and that is what I've got to get back to."
Next for Ravens
Matchup: Ravens (5-6) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (1-10)
Site: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati
When: Sunday, 1 p.m.
TV/Radio: Ch. 13/WJFK (1300 AM), WQSR (102.7 FM)
Line: Ravens by 3
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