Athletes - Benjamin Watson

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	Athletes - Benjamin Watson

Benjamin Watson (born December 18, 1980) is an American football player for the New England Patriots. He was the 32nd pick in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft from the University of Georgia. He is best known for excellent speed and athletic ability, for a tight end, but also for being prone to injury.

High school career

Ben Watson attended Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina. As a senior, he caught 31 passes for 515 yards (16.61 yards per rec. avg), was an All-Area pick, All-Region selection, an All-State honoree, selected to play in the Shrine Bowl, and voted Student of the Year. As a junior, he was an All-Area pick, an All-region selection, led his team to the state championship, and voted Student of the Year.

NFL career

He was on the injured list for almost his entire rookie season for the Patriots, playing in only one game.

His two biggest plays of the 2005 season came in the playoffs. In one, during the Patriots' first game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, on a third-down play that nearly forced the Patriots to punt, Watson broke free of one tackle to earn the first down; in all, Watson broke three tackles and outran five defenders, taking the ball 65 yards to score the touchdown.

Even more impressive, though, was his hit on Champ Bailey, another former Georgia Bulldog, during the Patriots' 2006 AFC Conference divisional game against Denver. Bailey intercepted a Tom Brady pass at the one-yard line, and ran it to the New England 1. Watson, running from the opposite corner of the field, forcefully tackled Bailey, who slowed down after running out of breath from Denver's high altitude. Bailey fumbled the ball (the hit was so hard that he was left dazed on the ground for several minutes), but the Broncos retained possession and scored on the next play. (Some analysts believe that the fumble should have been called a touchback, giving possession to New England, but the original call of a fumble out of bounds was not overturned.)

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