Watson and TE

[JoeShmoe]

Having seen Watson drop 2 catchable balls yesterday and looking at his recieving production this year is it viable we cut him next season?

Granted he's been blocking OK but you got to catch those balls and with the recievers we have, then a decent TE would add so much more of a threat in the passing game. I dont think Cassel has any confidence throwing him the ball whatsoever

Do we TE in FA or the draft?

 

[reflexblue]

Having seen Watson drop 2 catchable balls yesterday and looking at his recieving production this year is it viable we cut him next season?

Granted he's been blocking OK but you got to catch those balls and with the recievers we have, then a decent TE would add so much more of a threat in the passing game. I dont think Cassel has any confidence throwing him the ball whatsoever

Do we TE in FA or the draft?

I agree, Watson's been around long enough to be able to say he didn't pan out, hes a liability at TE. We should have kept Grahm and let Watson go,at least Grahm could really block and chatch a pass once in awhile.

 

[wdkantro2]

I agree, Watson's been around long enough to be able to say he didn't pan out, hes a liability at TE. We should have kept Grahm and let Watson go,at least Grahm could really block and chatch a pass once in awhile.

Come on, these are all the same complaints we had at the tail end of Graham's career here. "He's not much more of a blocker at this point, give the young guy a chance."

 

[reflexblue]

Come on, these are all the same complaints we had at the tail end of Graham's career here. "He's not much more of a blocker at this point, give the young guy a chance."

The young guy? Watson's been around since '05 thats 4 years in the NFL and he still hasn't shown anything consistant as far as catching the ball. He's a physical freak who's an adequate blocker nothing more. At least Grahm could REALLY block he was like another lineman,and he also managed to hang onto the ball more often than not. He wasn't great but he was better than Watson.

 

[alamo]

The young guy? Watson's been around since '05 thats 4 years in the NFL and he still hasn't shown anything consistant as far as catching the ball.

wdkantro2's point was that peope were saying these things about Graham when *Watson* was the young guy. In other words, a "the grass is always greener on the newer side of the roster" phenomenon.

Watson's going nowhere, his salary for next season (his last under the 5-year rookie contract the Patriots fought for) is only 180K over vet minimum. You don't cut cheap vets unless they have really declined, even if they never fully lived up to your hopes.

 

[Joker]

exactly how were the Pats going to keep Graham at the figure he signed with Denver for? and at the same time cut Watson? huh?????

the Pats pick up a free agent veteran TE this offseason

 

[Mack Herron]

Watson will be here and will play unless they find someone better. Will they be looking for something better? Of course.

 

[JoeShmoe]

To give him his due he's been doing a decent blocking job but wth the offense we have you would think a decent TE would pick up a lot of yards

Any TE's around in FA next year?

 

[DarrylS]

He has a friendly cap number, and will be around next year.. check out Miguel's cap pages, he is not flashy.. but is adequate, doubt if they will spend big money on another FA in this area, right now with our receiving corps another receiver does not seem to be a huge priority..

Can seen drafting a TE again next year, but may not be until later rounds.. would suspect Defense will get a lot of attention this year..

 

[CrazyDave]

I have an ongoing thread regarding this same subject.
The TE position is a big weakness on this team.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves.
Every time I see Cassell throw Watson's way, I cringe.

 

[nepatz11]

I dont think Watson is a bad tight end. I think he is a disappointment for a first round pick and an average player who is not a terrible receiver but really has shaky hands. I think he is a good blocker. I think we need to address the TE position in the off season.

 

[satz]

Watson has been our blocking TE and for a good or half decent running game you need blocking TE. unless you are arguing that his blocking is so bad that our running game is horrible i do not agree to this.
This year he is healthy and plays alot of snaps as the blocking TE. I think resis did a piece on us being the least negative yard running team which means someone blocking on the perimeter is doing a tremendous job of keeping OLB and DE when we pull a gaurd i wonder who this guys his as he is not watson from your post. can you name the unknown player who is doing this?. even when graham was here we never had this production in the running game.

you make it sound like he is a top 10 pick or something was he?.what we need is another TE. when we go no huddle with him and thomas the OLB has be ready to cover them or block them with graham you just told them do not worry about coverage.we had issues as people never played pass on TE when he was in....

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Maybe Jason Witten will be looking for a new home after the TO contingent gets done blaming him for Dallas' woes...

Ben is doing a better job of blocking, he and Tommy are more in-sync than he and Mattyice. We've known for some time that Ben is not a natural receiver, he struggles, we scream and pull our hair. Life's a beach, all that blasted sand to irritate tender skin and such - Ben is going nowhere while he's under contract...and he's more likely to be re-signed than Graham.

 

[MassPats38]

Well, with all the props thrown out I figured some player needed some wrath.

His numbers look very much like Graham's stats. He drops passes because, unlike many TEs, he can actually get open on a route. His blocking is good. He makes plenty of mistakes but does not quit on plays. And most importantly, unlike the other Brady of last year who was supposed to be a run blocking monster, he is still on the team.

Don't get me wrong, I was as ticked as anybody that he did not catch the pass yesterday. I got a really good seat in the 2006 Chicago game to watch him fumble the ball twice on a single play (how many player's hold that distinction?). But I also saw him run the length of the field on two occasions doing damage control on turnovers that did not belong to him. I try not to have selective memory of players limited to today, looking at the good and the bad.

The fact is there are few good receiving TEs out there, and fewer still good receiving and blocking TEs. Graham could block, so can Watson (although I suspect Graham is better in a pure blocking role - he also signed a $5 million a year deal). For those hoping Jason Witten, Tony Gonzalez, or the minority of other all-pro TEs will be taking a pay cut to come to the Pats, put Steven Jackson, Frank Gore, Champ Bailey, Troy Polamalu, and Shawn Merriman on your list as well. They are just as likely to be added (I would put Gonzalez as a remote chance, given KC's dealings last season for draft picks, but not much as he is the only icon on that team and a good locker room influence). Watson is serviceable in his role, and given the emphasis on great wide-outs serviceable should be good enough for the Pats.

 

[PatsFan2]

Some Poster on here called Watson the perfect name...Ben Dropalotson.

 

[Sicilian]

In most offenses, when a TE catches a pass it's in the short to intermediate range. Unless you have Gonzalez, Gates, or Witten (less so), your TE isn't a deep threat, they're there to take advantage of seams and give you a threat underneath.

In the Pats offense, that area of the field is dominated by Welker and the running backs. There just aren't that many balls that need to go to the TE at this point.

I'm NOT saying that this is the reason for Watson's low production, or that we couldn't use an upgrade, because lord knows he's been dropping half the balls thrown his way. I'm just saying, if he can block, there are bigger needs to fill on this team (defense) than a cheap TE who can block and isn't a necessary focal point of the offense.

 

[JSn]

I think Ben's mistakes this season are on par with mistakes by Moss and Gaffney. Take away Watson's TD catch last week and we lose. TE's are a good threat on short/medium passes/run blocking in the red zone and I don't think Watson has failed there at all.

I'm not down on Watson and value vs. cost, he's the #1 TE on this team next year.

 

[edgeofepic]

I don't see "Gentle" Ben Watson going anywhere. Sure he sucks for the most part and yes he has been a disappointment. That said, BB has bigger fish to fry on the defensive side of the ball. Watson does contribute, but more along the lines of an unheralded Free Agent signing instead of a #1 draft pick. He probably should be a #2 or #3 TE instead of our starter.

Since we are talking about disappointments, it's not like Dave Thomas has really asserted himself during his opportunities. It doesn't seem like Thomas can get or stay on the field for whatever reason. If Thomas or someone else on the team was pushing Watson perhaps there would be a chance that Watson would be released next season. With only Dave Thomas and Russ Hochstein playing TE I think Watson is safe 1 more year. I do think B-ioli will either sign a FA TE or draft one in the 3rd or lower rounds.

Speaking of a guy who is on the bubble, after yesterdays game in Oakland I think Laurence Maroney is somebody who needs to really establish himself early in training camp '09 or he'll be on the bricks. The combo of BJGE, Jordan and Morris (along with Faulk) really looks strong. I'm one of the guys who thinks at this point it might be worth grooming Maroney to be a Faulk successor - work on this pass catching and perhaps get him returning punts. See if you can get some value out of what is arguably our worst first round pick in the BB regime.

Oh yeah, and I'd love to see Delta O'Neal in Jets green next season...

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

I feel the pats totally misuse him on passing routes. they don't use his speed on go routes or slants.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Watson hurts the team more than he helps. The drops are bad enough, but the fumble against the Jets was completely pathetic. I wouldn't say cut him, as you can never have enough depth, but definately sign a cheap FA TE that can play a role similar to what Wiggins/Fauria did for us. Shouldn't be too hard to find that. This offense is good enough that we don't really need a gamebreaker at TE, just a guy who won't put the ball up for grabs everytime it's thrown at him.