The Ravens' Will Demps watched nearly every defensive snap of Sunday's 37-25 loss to the New Orleans Saints from the sideline, yet left the game with his hopes intact.

Demps did have his moments of disappointment, because the undrafted rookie out of San Diego State had started the previous 10 games and was being benched in favor of third-year veteran Anthony Mitchell. But all in all, Demps, whom the Ravens still believe to be their free safety of the future, is taking his current state in stride.

"As a rookie free agent, you just want to make the team," Demps said. "I jumped into the starting role and contributed as much as I did, and now am going back to special teams, but I can't complain. If my number is called up again, I'm going to give my all and start making more plays."

Demps made so many plays early, he might have set the bar too high for himself. He intercepted a pass and returned it for a game-winning touchdown in the preseason opener and took off from there. After missing the first two regular-season games with an elbow injury, Demps recorded 31 tackles, five pass breakups, a game-saving interception, a sack and a forced fumble in the next four.

But over the previous two games before this past Sunday, Demps was late getting over in pass coverage and sometimes appeared hesitant in his assignments.

It looked as though Demps, who also plays a significant role on special teams, had hit the "rookie wall."

"I'm still high on Will Demps," secondary coach Donnie Henderson said. "He was a starter for 10 weeks. He's more than capable of getting it done. But sometimes you have to bring in a new guy to jump-start your defense."

Mitchell finished with five tackles but missed a key one on Jake Reed on a third-and-five in the fourth quarter that resulted in a 54-yard completion.

Demps, meanwhile, was relegated primarily to special teams.

"It was more of a learning experience, seeing a different side of the defense, getting the calls from the sideline, looking at what kind of defense we have out there, but not actually physically doing it," Demps said. "It was different, hard at first, but I'm a team player and want to do whatever to help the team win."

For now, that means supporting Mitchell, who was the preseason starter before losing out to Demps. Mitchell replaced Demps in the fourth quarter of the Ravens' win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 1 and had the inside track at keeping the position in practice last week. Demps, who had a talk with Ravens director of player development Earnest Byner, could sense as much.

"When I talked with him, I just wanted to hear from his perspective how he was feeling about it," Byner said. "I tried to give him some positive vibes about what he had done prior to the benching. I wanted him to look at the tape and see what he had done to contribute to this, but then to also feel good about the plays he had been able to make."

Byner also counseled Demps about preparing as though he would be the starter.

"I came a long way, so I can't complain," Demps said. "[Byner] was in a situation where he started and got benched, and he told me to keep my head in the game.

"I do care, but I know it's a business. You always have to stay positive and learn from every week. For me, it was my time to sit back and learn."

And rest. Demps has been in on 717 snaps between special teams and defense.

"He was [behind] only Peter Boulware, Gary Baxter, Ed Hartwell, Jonathan Ogden and Todd Heap, all veterans," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "It just caught up with him a bit. Last week, we gave Will a breather. Anthony Mitchell has been playing well, but that in no way reflects our disappointment in Will or think he still is not playing well.

"I'm not making excuses for Will. Will has played well for that many snaps and as a rookie. I just think he hit a bit of a wall."

NOTES: Linebacker Ray Lewis' surgery on his left shoulder in Denver yesterday was a success. He took a flight back to Baltimore last night and is expected to be at the Ravens' training facility later this week. His rehabilitation period should last four months, and he is expected to make a full recovery in time for the Ravens' first minicamp the weekend after April's draft. The surgery was similar to ones performed on fullback Alan Ricard and linebacker Shannon Taylor, both of whom recovered in time for the offseason program. ...

Adalius Thomas and Chris McAlister were celebrity coaches in Pam Shriver's Chevy Chase Bank Tennis Challenge last night. Ravens players also participated in a Big Brothers/ Big Sisters Little Holiday Party at Ravens Stadium last night.

Next for Ravens

Matchup:Ravens (6-7) vs. Houston Texans (4-9)

Site:Reliant Stadium, Houston

When:Sunday, 1 p.m.

TV/Radio:Ch. 13/WJFK (1300 AM), WQSR (102.7 FM)

Line:Ravens by 3

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