Tight end looks pretty deep for the New England Patriots in 2008
The Patriots appear deep at tight end for the 2008 season and that has to make Tom Brady very happy. It all starts with 6’3″, 255 pound Ben Watson who is a good receiver that makes a lot of big catches near and in the end zone. He played in 12 games (8 starts) for the Patriots last season and he caught 36 passes for 389 yards (10.8 avg) with 6 TD grabs. Watson also carried the ball 1 time for 11 yards. Brady loves to throw to Watson when he has time to look around for him so look for him to catch more passes in 2008. Watson has now played in 41 games (31 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 116 passes for 1,489 yards (12.8 avg) with 13 TD grabs. He has also carried the football 1 time for 11 yards.
The Patriots still have high hopes for David Thomas who has had injury problems his first two seasons in the NFL. He only played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Patriots last season and he caught 1 pass for 9 yards. Look for him to be more involved in the offense this season if he can just stay healthy. Thomas has now played in 17 games (3 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 12 passes for 168 yards (14.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.
26-year old Stephen Spach will have a hard time making the team this season. He played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Patriots last season and he didn’t even catch a pass. He appears to have too many players in front of him to be anything more than a special teams player unless the Patriots suffer injuries at this position. Spach has now played in 16 games (1 start) in his NFL career and he has caught 7 passes for 42 yards (6.0 avg).
The Patriots brought in 36-year old veteran Marcus Pollard to compete for playing time. He will definately be a factor in the passing game for the Patriots as catching the football is his main strength. Pollard played in 14 games (10 starts) with the Seahawks last season and he caught 28 passes for 273 yards (9.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs. Look for Pollard to eclipse those numbers this season for the pass happy Patriots. Pollard has now played in 191 games (135 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 349 passes for 4,280 yards (12.3 avg) with 40 TD grabs.
PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B
Although the Pats have a bit of depth. Watson and Thomas have both struggled with injuries not played a full seasons in quite some time.
Pollard is good, but long in the tooth, while Spach is a good youngster that I hope turns into a good future value.
The Patriots are missing a decent blocking TE like Daniel Graham and Kyle Brady. Brady was injured as well last season and towards the end did not do well picking up his blocks.
I believe that is one of the reasons the Giants did so well v the Pats in the SB. Unless Belichick starts to use OL at blocking TEs Tom Brady could spend alot of time on his butt.
I like your writing and updates – keep up the great work!
IN BILL WE TRUST!!
First of all, thanks for the nice complement Brent as I try my best. As far as the tight end position goes for the Patriots….no team is perfect. You are right about the Super Bowl but the Giants were one of the few teams in the NFL that could exploit that weakness with all of the great pass rushers they had. It does seem that the Patriots must not be worried to much about the blocking of the tight end or they wouldn’t have signed a player like Pollard who is pretty much a receiver only.