Bill Belichick Compares Sammy Watkins To Larry Fitzgerald
BOSTON (CBS) -- The New England Patriots defense did their job on Sunday night, containing Bengals receiver A.J. Green for the majority of their 43-17 win over Cincinnati.
Green did haul in five receptions for 81 yards and a third quarter touchdown that cut New England's lead to 34-17 late in the third quarter, but he was also taken out of the equation throughout most of the night thanks to some stellar man-to-man defense by Darrelle Revis. And on one of those five receptions, Revis stripped the ball from Green, a fumble that led to three more points for the Patriots.
This weekend, should Revis go man-to-man again, he will have an impressive rookie to cover in Sammy Watkins.
Buffalo used the fourth overall pick in this year's NFL draft on Watkins, who made a name for himself with three solid years at Clemson. He's shown flashes in his first five NFL games, hauling in 24 catches for 284, and has been the favorite target of whoever is taking snaps for the Bills with a team-leading 44 targets.
With such a solid resume after just five NFL games, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick sang Watkins' praises on Wednesday, comparing the rookie to one of the best receivers in the business.
"He's been impressive. Big, fast, very athletic, excellent hands. The catch he had at the end of the game against Detroit was kind of Larry Fitzgerald-like," Belichick said, referring to a pass that Watkins tipped to himself in Sunday's win over the Lions. "He's a tough guy to miss throwing the ball. He's got a great catch radius and long arms, good hands, strong hands. He's big, he's fast. He looks pretty good."
That's an awfully nice thing for Bill to say about the rookie, comparing him to a sure-fire Hall of Fame pass-catcher like Fitzgerald.
While he may not be Larry Fitz yet, Watkins is certainly an impressive play-maker. He had seven catches for 87 yards on Sunday against the Detroit Lions -- who tout one of the best passing defenses in the NFL this season -- and his final reception of the game (the one Belichick referenced) set up Buffalo's game-winning 58-yard field goal. All of that came with a new quarterback throwing his way in Kyle Orton, who replaced a struggling E.J. Manuel.
Watkins may be a rookie just five games into his professional career, but he's a player the Patriots can't sleep on Sunday in Buffalo.
Tune in to Patriots-Bills Sunday afternoon on 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship station of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage begins on 98.5FM at 10am, with three hours of postgame coverage following the game. WBZ-TV kicks off their coverage at 11:30am with Patriots GameDay, and will bring you Bill Belichick and Tom Brady's postgame press conferences on Patriots 5th Quarter over on myTV38 following the game.
MORE PATRIOTS COVERAGE FROM CBS BOSTON
