Ben Watson

[wilfork is beastin']

I think they need to move him or make him a backup. He's no dallas clark, jason witten, antonio gates or jermichael finley. No one is afraid of Benjamin Watson. no one.

except the Buffalo Bills

 

[SyN65]

He's... alright.

He's good enough for what we want him to do. As far as TE's go in the league he's middle of the pack/in the bottom half of the league.

 

[Adam Seward]

I love the guy. Good blocker and pass catcher, freakish athleticism. I think he had a very solid 2009 and answered all of the haters. Certainly the haters will disagree, but they have to admit that the Watson complaints were far fewer this year.

It's not fair to punish a guy for being a great athlete and a first round pick. If this guy was a second round pick and ran a 4.7 the complaints would be a lot less. This guy is a good Patriot and I really hope we see him back this year.

(I also like Maroney)

L'chaim to this post!

 

[pheenix11]

I love Watson and think he is a very solid player with still untapped potential. I only wish they threw to him more.

I will never forget his incredible hustle against the Donkeys in the 2005 playoffs.

 

[woolster22]

Great play against the Bronc's in 05... WHO CARES? Move him to safety then. He has terrible hands, seriously, select a board member at random, get their BAO above .2 we'll say for generosities sake, and they still probably end up catching a better % of passes out of 20 than Sir Drops A Lot. The guy would be better off trying to catch passes by having the damn thing get stuck in his facemask than using those frying pans he calls hands. Maybe he really would be better off at safety, after all, they're generally referred to as receivers with bad hands...

 

[Spiral]

BB dropped the ball on Watson.

Watson has every ability to be a pro-bowler, but has been so underused that he has never really had the chance to get consistent. When he gets into the groove he's a beast.

I hope he works to improve his catching in the offseason and returns to find a new OC who can use him properly and far more regularly.

As far as ball-dropping is concerned I think you got it backwards.

Like other posters and I said, he's been in the league for six years. If he hasn't been motivated enough so far in his career to improve his catching ability, then he never will. It's also possible that he's at the limit of his physical ability. Catching is not just about practice--he could probably stand in front of a JUGS machine for the next six months straight and never be able to catch a football like a Randy Moss or Chris Carter.

 

[RayClay]

According to PFW in Progress yesterday, there is a rumor that Watson has already put his house on the market.

A rumor? Is there a sign in the yard?

 

[pats1]

A rumor? Is there a sign in the yard?

I don't know, that's all they said about it.

 

[pats1]

A rumor? Is there a sign in the yard?

Is this enough? It says it has been on the market for 64 days.

7 Preston Square 7,7 Quincy, MA 02171 | HomeFinder.com | ID: 70996080

 

[RobertWeathers]

Is this enough? It says it has been on the market for 64 days.

7 Preston Square 7,7 Quincy, MA 02171 | HomeFinder.com | ID: 70996080

No. Its not enough. Players buy/sell property all the time. I believe he and his wife just had a child. Nothing against Quincy but maybe they just want to move out to the sticks. If he does land back with the Pats, maybe they want to live closer to Foxboro and if he does leave they will have been proactive in moving the property. Who knows.

 

[pats1]

No. Its not enough. Players buy/sell property all the time. I believe he and his wife just had a child. Nothing against Quincy but maybe they just want to move out to the sticks. If he does land back with the Pats, maybe they want to live closer to Foxboro and if he does leave they will have been proactive in moving the property. Who knows.

Again, I wasn't making anything of it. I was just attempting to confirm the rumor that he has put his house on the market.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Again, I wasn't making anything of it. I was just attempting to confirm the rumor that he has put his house on the market.

Ah sorry. Thats cool.

He was on D&C last Friday and he certainly did not sound confident that he would be back next season but who knows.

 

[Bonzo]

PJ, I agree with you 100% that he is a nice contributor to this team and has been undermined by his draft position and, even moreso in my opinion, that one play in Denver.

However, I disagree 100% that he will return a Patriot next season. I think that a lot of people remember that he chased down Champ, and somebody is going to give him a very nice payday.

 

[patriots pam]

Lately, I've had a really strong feeling that he'll be a very productive member of the offense next year...





the Chiefs or the Broncos offense, that is....



Hope you can stay and be one on ours instead, Ben!!!

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Great play against the Bronc's in 05... WHO CARES? Move him to safety then. He has terrible hands, seriously, select a board member at random, get their BAO above .2 we'll say for generosities sake, and they still probably end up catching a better % of passes out of 20 than Sir Drops A Lot. The guy would be better off trying to catch passes by having the damn thing get stuck in his facemask than using those frying pans he calls hands. Maybe he really would be better off at safety, after all, they're generally referred to as receivers with bad hands...

hahahaha...let's put him at CB or safety. after all, he's good at breaking up passes thrown his way.

 

[TapDancing39]

He did very well this year, I'd love to keep him around.. but it seems to me like this was a huge contract year for him. Let's hope he can maintain the same production.

 

[CrazyDave]

Watson has been a non-factor for quite a while now in my opinion.
Nice guy though.
I say he's gone.

 

[Fencer]

The Pats negotiated very hard with him when he was a rookie, tying him up for an extra year. Not sure it hurt him much in retrospect, but he probably isn't inclined to do them any negotiating favors.

I would like to see Watson kept, rather than opening up yet more lineup holes.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

His peak was a few years ago. He had a heroic 4th quarter in the opener this year, but that was really it for 2009. He's a limited receiver. The Pats don't have problems getting the ball to Welker or Faulk. If the Pats really wanted to get the ball to Watson, they would have called his number more just like they call plays for those guys. He wasn't underutilized as a receiver because they needed him to block instead. He stayed in to block because he was more reliable doing that than running routes and catching passes. It's a pity, too, because he's so damn fast.

Regards,
Chris

 

[VJCPatriot]

Watson was a good solider here but IMO he was an average pass-catching TE and a very average blocking TE both in the run game and the passing game. His athletic ability is well documented. Can't get much better than him.

Not sure who is on the market, but the Pats could upgrade at this position.

I'd say that Watson has undeniable athleticism but he never developed into the dominant pass catching TE that we thought he could be. He was never a Marv Cook or Ben Coates. The problem is that his hands are just unreliable.

He's not a guy that Brady can think of as a 'safety blanket' when the blitz is coming and you need to get rid of the ball quick, because it seems to be chances are 50/50 that he'll catch or let it ricochet off his hands and right into a defender. Now I know statistically, it's not quite that bad, but he doesn't inspire confidence in a QB.

IF Watson will accept a reasonable contract offer, then he'll back, otherwise he'll hit the road and try to score the big money which I think is probably going to be the case. Not a big deal. Baker is solid, and tight ends are really a dime a dozen these days. Good Tight ends can be found in the draft, and the NFL's pass catching rules tends to make them even better than they were in college. I mean just look at the production from NFL tight ends this year.

There were 20 tight ends that broke the 500 yard receiving mark in 2009. (Ben Watson was NOT one of them, he had 400 yards). In any case production from the TE position is plentiful and I have to think that the new rules contribute to that situation.

TE Stats from NFL.com:
NFL Stats: by Player Position