Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Michael Clayton takes the hits as they come

Bucs at Bills

4:05 p.m., Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y.

TV: Ch. 13; 620-AM, 103.5-FM

GAMEDAY

Sunday, September 20, 2009, Section C | ★★★★

TAMPA

It was the kind of collision that made you turn your head to look away.

Michael Clayton ran across the middle of the field, keeping his eyes locked like a skeet shooter on the football that whistled toward him.

Headed from the opposite direction was Cowboys safety Gerald Sensabaugh, who zeroed in on the Bucs receiver with deliberate speed.

The football, Clayton and Sensabaugh arrived at the same place at the precise same time.

"I knew he was there," Clayton said. "I didn't know how quickly he was going to get up on me. I was able to see the whole ball, and once I caught it, I knew I was going to get hit. I just didn't know how hard or when."

Normally in these demolitions, the receiver is separated from the ball and his mouthpiece. This time, it was Sensabaugh who folded to the turf.

"I've never met a tougher competitor than Michael Clayton," running back Derrick Ward said. "To get hit like that across the middle and still stay on his feet, catch the ball and hold onto the ball — I mean, I've never seen that before in my life."

But then Clayton, 26, has always been a guy who refused to be knocked down.

Not by a series of injuries that plagued him after his sensational rookie season. Not by the expectations of a first-round pick. And certainly not by a tyrannical head coach he fell out of favor with for the past four seasons.

Clayton led the Bucs with five catches for 93 yards in the 34-21 loss to the Cowboys last week. It was the most receiving yards the former LSU star has had in a game since Dec. 12, 2004, at San Diego, when he had nine catches for 145 yards.

It's also the kind of performance the Bucs were banking on when they agreed to re-sign Clayton to a five-year, $24 million contract, including $10 million guaranteed.

"I don't think the way that I play has ever changed in the five years that I've been here," Clayton said. "It may not have been highlighted as much as it was (against Dallas). Everything I did (last) week were things that I've done with the opportunities that I've been given the past five years. And that won't change.

"They brought me back to be this kind of player. They promised me they were going to utilize my talent, and that's all I can ask for, to be in a situation where a guy has confidence in you."

In fact, long before Raheem Morris became coach, he used to sit in the coaches' box on game day and say, "Throw it to 80."

But sometime after his rookie year, when a series of knee and ankle injuries began to limit his effectiveness, Clayton fell completely out of favor with coach Jon Gruden.

After leading all rookies in '04 with 80 catches for 1,193 yards and seven touchdowns, he averaged just more than 31 receptions over the next four seasons, with just two touchdowns.

"I would say, yeah. I definitely needed the (coaching) change because it just wasn't going in my favor," Clayton said. "I knew my ability as a wide receiver and what I can do in this game. I never lost my niche; I never lost my confidence. I continued to work hard and just knew if I ever got my opportunity again, I was going to make the best of it."

Shortly after being named coach, Morris thought about the type of players he wanted to rebuild with.

"The three words I kept repeatedly saying when I became a head coach was physical, violent and tough," Morris said. "I wanted guys to play hard. All those words, you think about Michael Clayton.

"You're talking about a guy that gives you maximum effort. He's got some Ronde Barber-like qualities where he's not as fast as everybody, he's not as quick as everybody, he's not as big as everybody. But he's tough, and the thing that beats between his chest is tough."

Not that Clayton is blameless for his four-year slide. "To be 20 years old, a first-round pick, you have to have a celebration phase," Morris said. "He did that.

"He hasn't had the production you'd like to see in the middle part of his career. Hopefully he gets that back and continues to do what he started last weekend."

It won't get easier.

Franchise player Antonio Bryant did not make the trip to Buffalo, and the Bills could roll their coverage toward Clayton. Another safety will patrol the middle of the field hoping to get a shot at the rejuvenated receiver.

"You put it all together and see if you can win," Clayton said. "Fortunately enough, I won that (last) one."