Ben Watson Owners (1 Viewer)

[cormanman]

I drank the kool-aid in 3 leagues and now I'm just plain drinkin'.

Seriously though, at first I could live with the 3-5 ppg, as none of the TEs distinguished themselves during the first month. However, the last three weeks or so TE numbers are coming back up. All of the sudden Gates is back, Shockey had a great weekend. LSmith has been solid all season. Getting 3-5 per week is going to really put you at a disadvantage to the other owners who have more productive TEs.

I personally love the number of targets Watson gets, but he's yet to convert those targets into significant yards or TDs. Given that the Pats offense does not consistently get the ball to one player, and given the fact that Gabriel seems to be settling in, learning the playbook, and increasing his production, what do you think happens to Ben Watson's output from here on out?

I want to think that he'll improve just based on converting targets, and I don't doubt that he could have a big game or two. I do however think that in my leagues with very small benches that I am going to cut him in favor of Alex Smith, V. Davis, E. Johnson, or a similar player. I drafted Watson hoping for a consistent 7-14 ppg and now I just don't think that is at all likely. I was hoping for a poor man's Gates, that is, I thought he could finish with 900 yards and 7-9TDs. I think he could still come close on the yardage, but no way on those TDs.

What about you other Watson owners. Do you think he gets hot, or are we going to continue to see a consistent 30-60 yards per game with few TDs?

 

[Phokus]

I'm a patriot fan (and watson owner) so i'll give my 2 cents:

1) I've counted 2 wide open targets to watson in the end zone so far that weren't converted so far. 12 points left on the field.

2) Pats are still using the 'spread the ball around' mentality, much to my chagrin. I guess the pats don't want to use watson as a crutch so the opposing teams don't key in on him. Hell, even Daniel Graham is getting catches in 2 TE sets.

3) Teams are stacking the box to stop the run because they know brady isn't fully on the same page as his receivers. This has the added affect of giving watson little room to operate. When caldwell/brown/gabriel get comfortable w/ brady, we may see watson making some plays.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

What TEs have been tearing it up? Gates and Shockey had big weeks this week, is that a surprise to anyone? Watson was around the top10-15 I think...most FBG staff was talking about Watson as a guy you could wait till everyone else had taken their TE and go in and pick him. I personally thought LJ Smith was a better option at about the 9th-11th TE off the board and went that route...I have not been overly disappointed so far for sure.

What was everyone expecting? 800 yds and 8 TDs? Gonzo numbers...Gates type numbers...just face it, the TE position is the most lop sided position you field on a weekly basis...you either have one of the few that can actually make a difference for you...or you have 1 of about 20 that catches 1-3 passes a week for about 30 yds...thank you and have a nice day.

 

[Nigel Tufnel]

McMichael might be getting the start for me for a while.

 

[cormanman]

What TEs have been tearing it up? Gates and Shockey had big weeks this week, is that a surprise to anyone? Watson was around the top10-15 I think...most FBG staff was talking about Watson as a guy you could wait till everyone else had taken their TE and go in and pick him. I personally thought LJ Smith was a better option at about the 9th-11th TE off the board and went that route...I have not been overly disappointed so far for sure.What was everyone expecting? 800 yds and 8 TDs? Gonzo numbers...Gates type numbers...just face it, the TE position is the most lop sided position you field on a weekly basis...you either have one of the few that can actually make a difference for you...or you have 1 of about 20 that catches 1-3 passes a week for about 30 yds...thank you and have a nice day.

While I appreciate your contribution I was really hoping to hear more from Watson owners concerning whether they were sticking with him or moving on, and more specifically, what do they see from here on out. Will his production increase, decrease, or hold steady?Clearly in large leagues Watson is not terrible. However, in smaller leagues Watson is falling to 9-10th. In a 10 team league most people who want to win are not satisfied with production in that range. It is a valid topic of discussion.No offense, just don't want to see the thread hijacked.

 

[jrastama]

I'm a Watson owner and I'm expecting things to get a little better. He get's the targets, so that's good. I think he and Brady are going to get their timing down as the season goes on. IMO that's definitely been an issue so far this year. Hopefully that will lead to 4 or 5 TDs down the stretch. He's definitely had his chances to score this year, I'm looking for him to start converting them.

I'm in a 14 team league and even though I did reach for him, I'm not too disappointed. Definitely a mistake I'll learn from.

That said, I did grab Jeremy Stevens and stashed him on my bench just incase he lights it up and Watson stays on the same path. Then again, I can see Watson lighting it up as soon as I bench him. So, most likely I'll just stick with Watson.

 

[Sleeperz]

Watson is right near the top of his position as far as targets go. And although that is nice, he has caught less than half of them. If his % was up around 70%, I doubt anyone would be concerned. Besides that though,with Brady getting used to his new crew around him, I think its a matter of time before he produces anyway. Just like before the season started, the Watson hype was crazy. When asked who would be the #1 WR on the Pats, almost every reply was "Watson". Well, it was pretty obvious defenses thought so too and that has limited him somewhat. Once everyone is comfortable over there and he is seeing less attention, the big numbers that we all hoped for may start to show up.....hopefully....

He has NOT been given all that much opportunity to score though as some think. Almost all of his targets have been outside the redzone.

I did grab Alex Smith to start for me until he picks up his game. I may "think" he will start producing soon, but that doesnt always pan out.

Sleeperz

 

[jrastama]

Yes, most of his targets have been outside the redzone. But, Brady has gone deep for him at least a few times in which he *could* have had a TD.

 

[my man otis]

With Watson's bye and smallish rosters I couldn't afford to waste a spot for him through the bye.

I've moved on to Cooley after he was dropped due to his bad start. I'm not sure Cooley is much better but at least it's something new.

 

[Da Beers]

I'm going to stick with Watson for a few more games also. I too had high expectations for him -- even proclaiming him as the SOD. Good thing my buddies don't remember me saying that!

He's currently 6th among TEs in yards receiving per game. On track for 675 yards receiving -- not great, but not that far off what I was expecting either.

It's really only the TDs that are keeping him from being a top 10 TE. Only Shockey, Heap, and Gates have more than 2 TDs. With a little luck, Watson could easily have had a couple as well. It's hard being patient, but really the only other TE that might be available on your waiver wire that's going to have better upside is Jerramy Stevens. I played that game last week and it bit me hard. I'm not going to carry 2 TEs so it's swink or swim with Watson for me.

Just to play Devil's advocate, the one thing that does worry me is that he's only had 2 redzone looks -- in fact Daniel Graham has had more redzone looks than Watson. I'm not sure why this is happening, but it certainly is worth monitoring.

 

[Mystery Achiever]

I drank the kool-aid in 3 leagues and now I'm just plain drinkin'.

Good line! I'm sticking with him, meaning I'm playing him this week, because he's backed up by Eric Johnson in both leagues, who's on bye. Trying to get Des Clark for Johnson in one league (which won't help this week since he's on bye, too) but if I got him might consider benching Watson. This, is likely moot, since the guy who droppped Clark has a higher waiver number and will probably try to retrieve him.

 

[aldelgreco]

With Watson's bye and smallish rosters I couldn't afford to waste a spot for him through the bye.I've moved on to Cooley after he was dropped due to his bad start. I'm not sure Cooley is much better but at least it's something new.

I had to grab Wrightster At least he's playing Houston this week, then I can go back to the cheap Colston at TE (Y! scam.)

 

[DolphinsPhan]

I have Watson in 2 leagues and one is a PPR. I dumped Heath Miller and will play Watson from here on out and hope for the best in my PPR league. In my non PPR league, I picked up Alex Smith to cover Watson's bye and I don't think I am going to drop either of them. I will try and package one of those TEs in a trade and I don't care which one. I would keep either of them. It's a good thing that there isn't much difference between most of the TEs this year.

 

[Gandalf]

I am sticking by Watson. Could be a decent buy low TE. He has been getting a lot of attention from other Ds, but has shown flashes of superior athletic ability.

 

[SickThing]

I targeted and got Winslow in every league I'm in. I also targeted Watson thinking one or both were probably going to be good value over ADP. I also acquired Watson in two leagues.

I ended up just cutting Watson in both of those leagues because other TE's popped up on the wire... Colston in the first week of a Yahoo!league (let's try not to get hijacked on that again), and Cooley in another. Not saying Cooley is better, but he didn't have a bye the same week as Winslow (the only problem with my draft plan, but I went with it anyway) and he got me a TD that week. In a third league McMichael got cut and I picked him up to work along Winslow.

So I first planned my draft for depth in case Watson didn't pan out in the notorious spread-it-around offense. Then I also got lucky with the wire, which happens more frequently with TEs than it does with more valued positions. In one of those leagues nobody even picked up Watson yet which amazes me, however I think I'd rather keep McMichael now than take him back.

I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have such good luck with the other TEs. I'm glad I didn't put all my faith in Watson to begin with.

 

[Bri]

he and Brady are not on the same page. That's how I feel more often than not.

I would like Graham(healthy) to get a dozen targets one week. I wanna see how the passing game produces. I'm tired of Ben right now. Graham's a FA and I've got some Qs I want answerred before we watch him walk/offer him enough $

 

[flooredyas]

It's hard to be optimistic, given what he has shown thus far this year. Picked up Vernon Davis last week in the only league where I have Watson. Hearing he isn't far from returning, he was an upgrade to Troupe anyways. When Davis is ready, if Watson has continued on the same path, to the bench he shall land.

 

[mojorizin]

Whats the deal specifically with Watson? We see targets, but few catches. Why not? Are the patterns poor, is he well covered, is he not able to get himself open against LBs and Safeties, are the throws off, are they in traffic? Why was Graham appearing to be the bigger target?

I wouldnt call this kool-aid - everything pointed to this guy having a very good season. Its all about opportunity and he appeared to be rich with them going in to the season. We were no more "wrong" about that than we would be "wrong" not thinking some shmuck would light the league on fire with zero indicators it was coming. This stuff just happens.

 

[beto]

His stats look a lot like last year. I'm going to sit on him. As some have said, when the WR start attracting more attention it will give him more room to operate.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

I paired him and Ben Troupe together in 3 different leagues and thought I was a genius.

 

[PatsWillWin]

FWIW, Watson was wide open going across the middle for a TD yesterday. Brady was under pressure and threw it at his feet.

Brady had a very good game but this just happened to be one of his off throws.

 

[Bri]

Whats the deal specifically with Watson? We see targets, but few catches. Why not? Are the patterns poor, is he well covered, is he not able to get himself open against LBs and Safeties, are the throws off, are they in traffic? Why was Graham appearing to be the bigger target?

like I said above, he and Brady are not on the same page. Even easy passes Brady throws to his left shoulder and he never hooks. Brady throws what looks like it's at his feet and really he's running a deeper route. IMO He also turns the speed on and off and that's gotta stink for a QB trying to get timing down. Ya gotta see it, you'd think these two never played with each other. Graham is predictable and at times that's simply more appealling to the QB.Now that's what I would have said last week. This past week's game, Brady and he did pretty well. Worth keeping an eye on

 

[freelander]

Whats the deal specifically with Watson? We see targets, but few catches. Why not? Are the patterns poor, is he well covered, is he not able to get himself open against LBs and Safeties, are the throws off, are they in traffic? Why was Graham appearing to be the bigger target?

like I said above, he and Brady are not on the same page. Even easy passes Brady throws to his left shoulder and he never hooks. Brady throws what looks like it's at his feet and really he's running a deeper route. IMO He also turns the speed on and off and that's gotta stink for a QB trying to get timing down. Ya gotta see it, you'd think these two never played with each other. Graham is predictable and at times that's simply more appealling to the QB.Now that's what I would have said last week. This past week's game, Brady and he did pretty well. Worth keeping an eye on

Yes, I tend to agree, and I think we was targeted by such throws at least twice in/near the endzone yesterday.

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

I'm not sure what other options are out there. Hoping Owen Daniels can catch a TE a week? Or Alex Smith?

He's getting the targets of a top 5 TE, he just hasn't broken a big one or gotten a good throw when he's open in the end zone. He's still a major part of his team's passing offense. He's still one of the 5 best talents at the position. Brady looked more comfortable running the offense yesterday than he did at the beginning of the season. The production will come.

 

[moleculo]

I don't get what the problem is. He hasn't caught TD's yet, but his yardage and reception totals are enough to keep me happy. He has had one game with less than three catches, and three games with > 50 yards. That's very comparable to most of the other TE's, he simply hasn't gotten the TD love that others have.

TD's are hit and miss, and tend to be streaky. Ben will get his, and everything will even out.

I'm not saying he will be a top 5 guy by the end of the year, but top 8 is within reach. hopefully, you didn't draft him before that - I got him at TE12 in the 10th round in a dynasty - I still think Watson presents value relative to that draft spot.

Also, I don't think there is anyone on the WW that I would rather have, so my plan is to keep on truckin.

 

[Limp Ditka]

I don't get what the problem is. He hasn't caught TD's yet, but his yardage and reception totals are enough to keep me happy. He has had one game with less than three catches, and three games with > 50 yards. That's very comparable to most of the other TE's, he simply hasn't gotten the TD love that others have.

TD's are hit and miss, and tend to be streaky. Ben will get his, and everything will even out.

I'm not saying he will be a top 5 guy by the end of the year, but top 8 is within reach. hopefully, you didn't draft him before that - I got him at TE12 in the 10th round in a dynasty - I still think Watson presents value relative to that draft spot.

Also, I don't think there is anyone on the WW that I would rather have, so my plan is to keep on truckin.

AgreedI also look at the TEs rated above him in my league and am not shocked to see any of the names on there except for the bolded.

Through week 6 by PPG in a PPR league

1. Winslow Not really shocked that he's rated above Watson, but am suprised he's #1. Will obvioulsy change after this week.

2. Gates

3. Heap

4. LJ Smith

5. Shockey

6. Desmond Clark The Bears never use their TE well. This is a total shock

7. Tony G

8. McMichael

9. Crumpler

10. Watson

 

[Bossman]

I'm a patriot fan (and watson owner) so i'll give my 2 cents:

1) I've counted 2 wide open targets to watson in the end zone so far that weren't converted so far. 12 points left on the field.

2) Pats are still using the 'spread the ball around' mentality, much to my chagrin. I guess the pats don't want to use watson as a crutch so the opposing teams don't key in on him. Hell, even Daniel Graham is getting catches in 2 TE sets.

3) Teams are stacking the box to stop the run because they know brady isn't fully on the same page as his receivers. This has the added affect of giving watson little room to operate. When caldwell/brown/gabriel get comfortable w/ brady, we may see watson making some plays.

yes.I am also a Patriots fan / Watson owner.

I distincly recall both of those wide open, end zone targets and he had another one yesterday that Brady threw at his feet.

I agree that when the Pats WR's start carrying their weight it will loosten things up for Watson.

 

[Bri]

6. Desmond Clark The Bears never use their TE well. This is a total shock

When's the last time they had a good QB? Kramer? McKnown's rookie or 2nd year? It's been a while

 

[Bri]

I agree that when the Pats WR's start carrying their weight it will loosen things up for Watson.

And Graham will be back by then.He hasn't completely beaten out Graham as the #1 TE as was expected. Graham's last game he had 4 catches and Ben had 1. There is still a tug of war there. For me, that's a prob for FF. As a Pats fan, it annoys me as they gift wrapped the job for him and he hasn't "run with it". FWIW I'd be more comfy with those two RBs and a two TE offense than these WRs. We have TE depth and college fans seem to like both our rooks. Lets bully the ball up the field. Yeah it may turn Brady more into a manager than a passer but the WRs really bug me. What I caught of the openning was alot of Reche. Reche????