The value Saints coach Sean Payton sees in Benjamin Watson has little to do with the career-best receiving numbers the veteran tight end
put up the last time he played for New Orleans in 2015.
Watson wasn’t a featured receiver then
http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/markus-wheaton-jersey , and won’t likely be this season, either.
Payton figures he can count on Watson being an exemplary leader in the locker room, a willing role player who’ll rarely blow an assignment – and someone who
remains skilled enough at age 37 to help Drew Brees punish defenses that pay too
much attention to star play-makers such as receiver Michael Thomas and running
back Alvin Kamara.
Recalling a 2015 game in which Watson caught 10 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown against Atlanta, Payton said, ”I don’t know that the game plan called
for that. It’s kind of just how it unfolded.”
”With Ben, you know he’s someone that has versatility and he’s a super teammate,” Payton said. ”He’s been a real dependable player. … You know exactly
what you’re getting and there’s a value in that.”
Similarly, Watson said it would be too simplistic to view his 2015 receiving numbers – 74 catches for 825 yards and six touchdowns – as a main reason for his
return to New Orleans after two years with Baltimore.
”I don’t know what to expect. Every year is different,” Watson said after a voluntary offseason practice on Thursday. ”Even when I was here the last time …
I was here three years and my role was different every single year.
”You contribute in different ways. You’re healthy or not healthy. Another guy’s healthy or not healthy. You may be strong in one position and weaker in
other positions,” Watson said. ”There’s just this mix that happens every single
year and you really don’t know what it is
http://www.buffalobillsteamonline.com/micah-hyde-jersey , really, until the end of the year.”
While Watson joined the Ravens in 2016, he missed that season because of a right Achilles tear. He came back last season, playing in all 16 games and
catching 61 passes for 522 yards and four TDs.
”I proved last year that I can be dependable, that I can play the game and that I can contribute in a number of different ways,” said Watson, who signed a
one-year, $2 million free agent contract with the Saints in late March. ”That’s
why you sign guys to your team.”
Watson has attended two of three voluntary practices open to media so far this offseason and doesn’t seem to have lost the chemistry he’d developed with
quarterback Drew Brees, whom Watson calls ”No. 9.”
Watson does not describe himself as the type of dynamic play-maker who’ll be Brees’ No. 1 option on a lot of plays called, but added
Nick Kwiatkoski Jersey , ”When you got a guy like No. 9 who can identify mismatches and knows what the coverage is going to do before it does it, then
you get the ball.”
Watson began his career with New England, which made him a late-first-round draft choice out of Georgia in 2004. He was a Super Bowl champion as a
seldom-used rookie, but hasn’t won a ring since establishing himself as an NFL
regular.
Watson views his return to New Orleans as a chance to join a contender, something the Saints weren’t when he last played for them in 2015.
Last season, boosted by a core of rookies and second-year players in prominent roles, the Saints came one play away from advancing to the NFC
championship game.
”It’s about going places where not only do you have some familiarity – you enjoyed being there – but also giving yourself an opportunity to win,” Watson
said. ”Winning is a big deal. It doesn’t happen for a lot of players over the
course of their career.”
With the Saints, Watson said, ”You have the coaching staff
Josh Ferguson Jersey , you have the front office, you have the fan base, you have the quarterback. … That’s definitely made coming to New Orleans very
attractive.”
—
Gerald McCoy has proven to be one of the most consistent and productive defensive tackles in the NFL since being selected in the first round of the 2010
NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
McCoy has posted at least five sacks in each of the last six seasons for the Buccaneers, including at least seven sacks a year from 2013-16.
Now that McCoy is 30 years old, new Buccaneers defensive line coach Brenton Buckner wants to ensure McCoy can remain capable of producing at a high level
for many years to come. Getting McCoy to take his mental understanding of the
game to an even higher level is the achievement Buckner is chasing.
“You get to the point of being 30 years old — it’s not about your ability now, it’s about playing the game up here,” Buckner said pointing to his head,
via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com.
“I sat down and watched film with him and I told him, ‘The way you’re going to improve your game is to mentally evolve your game even more.’ And he wants
it. He’s hungry for it, because for nine years Josh Doctson Jersey , eight years, he’s done the same thing and been successful but it hasn’t shown up for the team. So now I’m challenging him
personally to go to that next level. Not get stronger, not get faster — play the
game up here. Know what they’re going to do to you before it happens. Be smarter
about it.”
McCoy’s six sacks accounted for over a quarter of Tampa Bay’s entire sack output last season. He’s been named to the Pro Bowl six times in eight seasons
with the Buccaneers and is a three-time first-team All-Pro. He has a chance to
remain highly productive due to the additional talent surrounding him up front
this season. The additions of Vinny Curry, Beau Allen, Mitch Unrein and
first-round pick Vita Vea make Tampa Bay’s defensive front much more
imposing.
If McCoy can still raise his game on top of the additions made around him, Buckner and the Buccaneers will likely be quite pleased with the
result.
Adidas Nicklas Backstrom Jersey
