Will Ben Watson be a Star for us?

[carolinatony]

I was really expecting a Big year from him this year and was a little disapointed. He was that raw ability but can he be a Top TE- Pro Bowl?

 

[The Predator]

The first thing Ben needs to do is get his butt in front of a JUGs machine every day in the off season and catch 50 balls a day. David Givens had a tough time holding onto catches at the beginning of his career and the JUGs fixed him. The same for Reche. One thing we need to understand as well is that Brady does not throw a soft ball. Some doubted his armstrength in the beginning, but now the guy is throwing lasers. The JUGs can simulate that kind of speed.

 

[carolinatony]

I never knew about the JUGs machine ...sounds like it could help him.
He has so much potential; I hope he turns into the player that he can be.

 

[BelichickFan]

Right now I'd say no. OTOH, it's certainly possible - it's easy to forget this was only his 2nd year playing as he missed his rookie year with a knee injury. All you have to do is look at Asante Samuel to realize that "the jump" can happen quickly and unexpectedly.

 

[The Predator]

I never knew about the JUGs machine ...sounds like it could help him.
He has so much potential; I hope he turns into the player that he can be.

http://www.msblsports.com/footballmachine.html

The new ones throw 80 yards. Short range is blazing speed.

 

[maverick4]

Ben has stone hands and also runs poor routes.
At this point I'd re-sign Graham, train Thomas hard in the off-season, and trade Ben.

 

[Mack Herron]

Ben is a good player who can do a lot of things. Hopefully, he will continue to improve. He is a good but not great receiver and it is unrealistic to expect him to turn into one (Gates or Gonzalez). 50 or so catches a year and solid if not spectacular blocking is a very nice contribution.

 

[The Predator]

Ben has stone hands and also runs poor routes.
At this point I'd re-sign Graham, train Thomas hard in the off-season, and trade Ben.

He gets a pass this for this season in my book. This is the first time that he was able to learn the offense for a whole season and contribute. The hands can be improved. I am not sure why you are claiming he runs poor routes. He is not the best route runner, but he is not poor. If you have personal feeling against him thats one thing, but other than that all of the problems he had can be coached for the 2nd year player.

 

[carolinatony]

He is a good but not great receiver and it is unrealistic to expect him to turn into one (Gates or Gonzalez).

My thoughts were that he would be like these two. We took him so high in the draft.

 

[The Predator]

He is a good but not great receiver and it is unrealistic to expect him to turn into one (Gates or Gonzalez).

My thoughts were that he would be like these two. We took him so high in the draft.

He is a second year player who was injured for much of his first season. How can we know what he will turn into?

 

[maverick4]

Watson has one of the lowest 'catches per thrown to' number among ALL tight ends in the league.

This is either due to poor hands, bad routes, or a combination of the two. I also think Brady throws a higher rate of interceptions because the guy is out of position more often than not.

 

[ayjackson]

I like Ben, but I wouldn't be opposed to resigning Daniel and exploring a trade of Ben. I really like the hands of Thomas and Graham as well as their blocking skills. If we traded Ben though, I'd want an impact receiver acquired. This is just an idea and not worth getting in a huff over, btw.

 

[AzPatsFan]

In the Belichick system there is a tendency to minimize star making. At alls positions offense or defense , Bill wants to spread the snaps around and emphasize fundamentals. This tend to prevent gaudy statistics for any single player.

Watson will NEVER catch the number of passes that a Gates or Gonzalez do. Other Pats will get their reps and their catches. If Watson were on the Colts it might be different. Harrison and Wayne split all but ten of the catches at WR, Clark had all but about 25 that were split with Fletcher and Utecht. They got theirs only when he was hurt for a few games.

 

[carolinatony]

In the Belichick system there is a tendency to minimize star making. At alls positions offense or defense , Bill wants to spread the snaps around and emphasize fundamentals. This tend to prevent gaudy statistics for any single player.


I understand all this But; it seems like Brady does not have that #1 go to guy that he really needs.....

 

[maverick4]

In the Belichick system there is a tendency to minimize star making. At alls positions offense or defense , Bill wants to spread the snaps around and emphasize fundamentals. This tend to prevent gaudy statistics for any single player.

Watson will NEVER catch the number of passes that a Gates or Gonzalez do. Other Pats will get their reps and their catches. If Watson were on the Colts it might be different. Harrison and Wayne split all but ten of the catches at WR, Clark had all but about 25 that were split with Fletcher and Utecht. They got theirs only when he was hurt for a few games.

Of course. However, that doesn't change the fact that percentage wise, Watson catches among the fewest 'balls per passes thrown to' percentage of all tight ends.

 

[The Predator]

Watson has one of the lowest 'catches per thrown to' number among ALL tight ends in the league.

This is either due to poor hands, bad routes, or a combination of the two. I also think Brady throws a higher rate of interceptions because the guy is out of position more often than not.

I am not sure why you are insisting that that the two categories you list are the only possible explanation for the stats you list. I understand that it supports you argument this way, but it is very misleading. There are more vairables and it is not black & white as you suggest.

First, you ignore the fact that for much of the season, Watson was Brady's main target. When Reche started clicking and the addition of Jabar changed this. Ben missed three games at the end of the season with the knee injury so we tend to forget that, at first, he was who Brady relied on. That reliance brought defences Qing in on him. Of course that would cause a stat problem.

Second, Watson was near the top of the league in AVG YPC. Naturally, the longer the pass the more risk of not completing the catch. This is displayed by the fact he had 2 40+ yard catches.

 

[maverick4]

First, you ignore the fact that for much of the season, Watson was Brady's main target. When Reche started clicking and the addition of Jabar changed this. Ben missed three games at the end of the season with the knee injury so we tend to forget that, at first, he was who Brady relied on. That reliance brought defences Qing in on him. Of course that would cause a stat problem.

Why?? That only causes a stat problem if the guy being thrown to has a problem catching the ball or running routes. Plenty of tight ends are thrown to on a regular basis, and they ALL catch the ball at a higher percentage than Watson does.

By the way, I am not and have never talked about total receiving yards. I am talking about the percentage of 'catces per balls thrown to', which is detailed on coldhardfootballfacts.com in their ranking of tight ends.