Ben Watson

[SVN]

Does anything think brady tries to force the ball to him even if he is covered by 3 players .? i guess he expects watson to use his size and height as advantages but i have seen more INT's and dropped INT's happen when he throws to watson...i feel dave thomas should be on the field a bit more ..maybe split watson as a wideout ..
thoughts ?

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

I think that if the Pats had a true #1 WR on this team who forced opposing defenses to employ even a periodic double cover on we'd see Watson wide open all the time. As it is now when Watson goes out for a pass he is, as you say "covered by 3 players" when Brady throws him the ball.

Force the opposing defense to not be able to double/triple cover Watson and he's unstoppable.

 

[Oswlek]

It is to the point that passes to Watson - often through no fault of his own - have nothing good that comes out of them.

 

[cblesz]

He does seem to focus on Watson way too much. At times it seems he is staring right at him.

 

[SVN]

It is to the point that passes to Watson - often through no fault of his own - have nothing good that comes out of them.

i hate to draw this inference but when watson was out due to injury , brady was spreading the ball more thomas and all there were no INT's ..maybe its related maybe isnt....but i wasnt greatly excited when watson came back...he can help but we need to give thomas a chance too

 

[cblesz]

i hate to draw this inference but when watson was out due to injury , brady was spreading the ball more thomas and all there were no INT's ..maybe its related maybe isnt....but i wasnt greatly excited when watson came back...he can help but we need to give thomas a chance too

Makes a lot of sense SVN...hadn't thought about that. I, too would like to see Thomas utilized more.

 

[BelichickFan]

Unfortunately it shows up in Football Outsiders' stats, Ben has one of the lowest Catch% among TE :

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/te.php

It is what it is. We need him to come up big next week against the Cover Two.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

Makes a lot of sense SVN...hadn't thought about that. I, too would like to see Thomas utilized more.

It would only happen a couple or a few times that Brady and Thomas would connect. Then the defense would shift their coverage to doubling Thomas when he goes out for a pass as they now do to Watson.

 

[Oswlek]

i hate to draw this inference but when watson was out due to injury , brady was spreading the ball more thomas and all there were no INT's ..maybe its related maybe isnt....but i wasnt greatly excited when watson came back...he can help but we need to give thomas a chance too

5 passes that come immediately to mind from yesterday

1) Picked off when Brady doesn't see the LB

2) Almost picked off and it requires a great effort by Watson to break it up.

3) Low throw when Watson was open on the 5 yard line

4) Another low throw that would have gone for a first down. Catchable, but it would have been a great catch because Watson's momentum was taking him away from a dropping ball.

5) Good pitch and catch to the 2 yard line.

 

[SVN]

Unfortunately it shows up in Football Outsiders' stats, Ben has one of the lowest Catch% among TE :

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/te.php

It is what it is. We need him to come up big next week against the Cover Two.

i think brady's 2-3 tipped balls in the colts game were passes thrown to watson..he should be able to beat double teams against and undersized defense but he doesnt seem to...

 

[SVN]

It would only happen a couple or a few times that Brady and Thomas would connect. Then the defense would shift their coverage to doubling Thomas when he goes out for a pass as they now do to Watson.

sure but it gives them something to think about and i personally feel he has safer hands and a knack of being open than watson..watson has made big plays but not as much as advertised...hopefully teams will look for gaffeney now and it will help out

 

[rainmaker]

i hate to draw this inference but when watson was out due to injury , brady was spreading the ball more thomas and all there were no INT's ..maybe its related maybe isnt....but i wasnt greatly excited when watson came back...he can help but we need to give thomas a chance too

I think everyone is waiting for Watson to emerge as the stud TE, we expect him to be. Seems like he is getting doubled often, and hasn't flown under the radar. Thomas and Graham have made more big receiving plays than him recently. The strip of the ball to prevent the INT near the goal line was a big play though it doesn't show up on the stat sheet.

 

[cblesz]

i think brady's 2-3 tipped balls in the colts game were passes thrown to watson..he should be able to beat double teams against and undersized defense but he doesnt seem to...

He threw 4 picks, right? Can't remember...how many were tipped? Was it 3 or 2?

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

i think brady's 2-3 tipped balls in the colts game were passes thrown to watson..he should be able to beat double teams against and undersized defense but he doesnt seem to...

Watson "beats" double teams as much as most any other TE out there. The problem, with our crappy WR situation, is he's almost always facing double teams. Very few other TE's face this same dilemna. Most aren't the teams #1 TE and goto WR like Watson has been for much of the season.

Put a real starting caliber WR out on the field, who can draw coverage away from Watson, and Watson would be unstoppable.

 

[TruthSeeker]

5 passes that come immediately to mind from yesterday

1) Picked off when Brady doesn't see the LB

2) Almost picked off and it requires a great effort by Watson to break it up.

3) Low throw when Watson was open on the 5 yard line

4) Another low throw that would have gone for a first down. Catchable, but it would have been a great catch because Watson's momentum was taking him away from a dropping ball.

5) Good pitch and catch to the 2 yard line.

Good analysis, this is exactly how I see how it went as well. A lot of Brady's INT's this year were headed towards Watson, which makes you think that possibly Watson needs to work on his route running, because many times a QB is throwing to a spot where a receiver is supposed to be. But yesterday, Brady was hurried a lot, and most of his throws to Wtason were bad low throws. I think some offseason work on route running and pass catching should be mandatory for Watson.

 

[SVN]

Watson "beats" double teams as much as most any other TE out there. The problem, with our crappy WR situation, is he's almost always facing double teams. Very few other TE's face this same dilemna. Most aren't the teams #1 TE and goto WR like Watson has been for much of the season.

Put a real starting caliber WR out on the field, who can draw coverage away from Watson, and Watson would be unstoppable.

agree..the point is brady throws to him in triple coverage more than a few times...iam not questioning watson's abilities..

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

Does anything think brady tries to force the ball to him even if he is covered by 3 players .? i guess he expects watson to use his size and height as advantages but i have seen more INT's and dropped INT's happen when he throws to watson...i feel dave thomas should be on the field a bit more ..maybe split watson as a wideout ..
thoughts ?

I totally agree. I said this back after the Colts game. I think earlier in the season he felt the most comfortable with Watson.

I do think Thomas is more if a natural receiver than Watson with better hands, but Watson has more versaility and moroe linear speed but his routes need to be worked on.

I wonder why they never try an end around with him with his speed.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

watson has made big plays but not as much as advertised

I guess that depends on how you define big plays.

Of the top 15 TE's (in terms of receptions) this year

... Watson's 13.1 per catch average is 3rd trailing Crumpler and Clark.

....Watson's number of catches beyond 20 yards is tied for 5th.

.... Watson's number of catches beyond 40 yards is tied for 1st.

It should also be noted that Watson put up these numbers despite playing in 3 less games than all but 2 of the above noted TE's. Presumably his totals would be much better had he played in 3 additional games like most of these guys did.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

agree..the point is brady throws to him in triple coverage more than a few times...iam not questioning watson's abilities..

I thought you said Watson should be able to beat double coverage more?

 

[SVN]

I thought you said Watson should be able to beat double coverage more?

i meant brady probably thinks he should be able to beat double tripe coverage..sorry if i was interpreted