The New England Patriots have put together one of the most incredible runs in professional sports, and most of the credit goes to their culture — along with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
Similar to any winning franchise, there is also an abundance of things that change throughout the years. One of the biggest things that changed in the past two decades for New England, is the playbook and it’s terminology.
Ben Watson is a testament to that. The newest tight end for the Patriots was drafted by the team in 2004 and spent six seasons in Foxborough. Since then, he has spent time with the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens.
Watson spoke about the similarities and differences of the team on Thursday after the team’s organized team activities session.
“It’s quite different, as to be expected,” Watson said. “Josh has been here, he’s left, he’s come back. There have been different offensive coaches, different players that have been here, and sometimes you cater to your personnel. So, things might change. The terminology has to change because obviously after time, defenses aren’t dumb. And they pick up on what the quarterback’s saying, so they change. So, offensively, we have to change terms and stuff like that. There are a lot of different terms. There are a lot of different formations, terminology. There’s some carryover, a little bit, but so far it has been a process of learning a lot of new stuff, which is good.”
Although the playbook and rotation of players have changed dramatically, the some things remained the same.
“That’s something that is familiar,” Watson said. “That’s something that hasn’t changed. A lot of things have changed, obviously offensive terminology, players, some coaches have changed. But the culture is the same. It’s highly competitive. There’s high accountability. There’s very high expectations.”
Although Watson didn’t have the most productive year in 2018, he did record 35 receptions, 400 yards and two touchdowns. He is by far the most experienced tight end on the roster and joins a crew that features Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Matt LaCosse.
