SoCalBronco
08-18-2005, 12:23 AM
Flickering Watts seeks consistency
It has been hit and miss for second-year receiver
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News
August 18, 2005
ENGLEWOOD - Welcome to the rest of the story.
Welcome to the NFL, to the world of get it done.
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Welcome to where OK isn't really OK and sometimes doesn't get you a pat on the back.
Welcome to it all, Darius Watts.
"People keep asking me if it's hard and all that," the Denver Broncos receiver said Wednesday. "But it's not really that hard because you really can't think about that kind of stuff. You worry about one thing, then you have to worry about everything.
"I know what they want me to do and that's keep working. I'm working and I'll just keep on going."
Watts is the guy who was bumped down the depth chart at receiver Monday in favor of Jerry Rice. Watts is the guy who dropped a third-down pass against the Houston Texans on Saturday, the guy who was singled out after the game by Broncos coach Mike Shanahan.
Watts also is the guy the Broncos still believe has a big future if he can just forget a little piece of the past from time to time.
"You just forget about it and keep going," Watts said. "That's what I know and what they tell me. I tell people I was born with a short memory, so maybe it should come natural."
But forgetting the past and moving on is far easier said than done.
Watts consistently has drawn praise from Broncos coaches for his consistent ability to get open, to run away from, or around, opposing defensive backs. But during his rookie season in 2004, when he made 31 catches for 385 yards, and so far this year in training camp, he has had bouts of inconsistency.
With a drop here, a bobble there, Watts left a few big plays out there. And when the total hit the red-flag point, the Broncos moved up Rice.
"He's learning," said Broncos receivers coach Steve Watson, who wanted to speak generally about the struggles of young players instead of specifically about Watts. "And you take that into account on a young guy for a little while. But we're all men; it's time to move on, you've got to be tough.
"(Moving on after mistakes) is hard, but that's part of this game. That's why there are some that move on and some that don't.
"The ones that do become great; guys like Rod Smith. Rod had a real tough time early on catching the ball, and all of a sudden, boom, he's (No. 23) all time (in career receiving yards, with 9,772). But it has to do with determination, the want-to and the work ethic is really the bottom line."
Several NFL personnel executives who were polled in recent days say Watts has proved he has the quickness and speed to get open - the Broncos keep throwing him the ball, they say, because he's usually in the clear - but they also believe Watts often drops more than one pass.
Though it's usually difficult for receivers to make an immediate impact as rookies - 1,000-yard inaugural seasons such as Randy Moss' (1,313 in 1998) and Michael Clayton's (1,193 in 2004) are more the exception than the rule - the personnel evaluators say that is because a young receiver often is late getting his hands in position to frame the ball before it arrives.
That flaw is especially common in terms of passes they must reach for, ones that aren't square into their body.
"I think we're just looking for the consistency," Shanahan said. "You have to practice consistently and play consistently. And, for a wide receiver, that means catching the ball."
Though Shanahan said Watts has had a good week of work heading into the Broncos' preseason game Saturday against the San Francisco 49ers at Invesco Field at Mile High (7 p.m., CBS 4), Rice likely will line up as the third receiver in the game and in the near future.
Watts has spent extra time after practice this week catching footballs fired at close range from a Juggs machine. The past two days, he caught them all without so much as a bobble.
He also had a good enough off-season at the passing camps and minicamps that there was little question when training camp began he would be the third receiver.
He remained in the third spot until Monday afternoon, when Rice was asked to line up there.
"You put it in your past and keep on going . . . ," Watts said. "People ask me if it puts a fire under me or whatever, but I think I always got a fire under me. I always play like that. Sometimes maybe it has gasoline on it, but I always got a fire under me.
"I just have to keep on doing what I have to do. I can't worry about it. I have to make plays and do what I have to do. In the off-season, I worked on everything, and I think I'm doing everything a little bit better. I think I have stepped up in every aspect in the game, I do. I just have to do it in games, and, hopefully, they like what I'm doing."
It has been hit and miss for second-year receiver
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News
August 18, 2005
ENGLEWOOD - Welcome to the rest of the story.
Welcome to the NFL, to the world of get it done.
Advertisement
Welcome to where OK isn't really OK and sometimes doesn't get you a pat on the back.
Welcome to it all, Darius Watts.
"People keep asking me if it's hard and all that," the Denver Broncos receiver said Wednesday. "But it's not really that hard because you really can't think about that kind of stuff. You worry about one thing, then you have to worry about everything.
"I know what they want me to do and that's keep working. I'm working and I'll just keep on going."
Watts is the guy who was bumped down the depth chart at receiver Monday in favor of Jerry Rice. Watts is the guy who dropped a third-down pass against the Houston Texans on Saturday, the guy who was singled out after the game by Broncos coach Mike Shanahan.
Watts also is the guy the Broncos still believe has a big future if he can just forget a little piece of the past from time to time.
"You just forget about it and keep going," Watts said. "That's what I know and what they tell me. I tell people I was born with a short memory, so maybe it should come natural."
But forgetting the past and moving on is far easier said than done.
Watts consistently has drawn praise from Broncos coaches for his consistent ability to get open, to run away from, or around, opposing defensive backs. But during his rookie season in 2004, when he made 31 catches for 385 yards, and so far this year in training camp, he has had bouts of inconsistency.
With a drop here, a bobble there, Watts left a few big plays out there. And when the total hit the red-flag point, the Broncos moved up Rice.
"He's learning," said Broncos receivers coach Steve Watson, who wanted to speak generally about the struggles of young players instead of specifically about Watts. "And you take that into account on a young guy for a little while. But we're all men; it's time to move on, you've got to be tough.
"(Moving on after mistakes) is hard, but that's part of this game. That's why there are some that move on and some that don't.
"The ones that do become great; guys like Rod Smith. Rod had a real tough time early on catching the ball, and all of a sudden, boom, he's (No. 23) all time (in career receiving yards, with 9,772). But it has to do with determination, the want-to and the work ethic is really the bottom line."
Several NFL personnel executives who were polled in recent days say Watts has proved he has the quickness and speed to get open - the Broncos keep throwing him the ball, they say, because he's usually in the clear - but they also believe Watts often drops more than one pass.
Though it's usually difficult for receivers to make an immediate impact as rookies - 1,000-yard inaugural seasons such as Randy Moss' (1,313 in 1998) and Michael Clayton's (1,193 in 2004) are more the exception than the rule - the personnel evaluators say that is because a young receiver often is late getting his hands in position to frame the ball before it arrives.
That flaw is especially common in terms of passes they must reach for, ones that aren't square into their body.
"I think we're just looking for the consistency," Shanahan said. "You have to practice consistently and play consistently. And, for a wide receiver, that means catching the ball."
Though Shanahan said Watts has had a good week of work heading into the Broncos' preseason game Saturday against the San Francisco 49ers at Invesco Field at Mile High (7 p.m., CBS 4), Rice likely will line up as the third receiver in the game and in the near future.
Watts has spent extra time after practice this week catching footballs fired at close range from a Juggs machine. The past two days, he caught them all without so much as a bobble.
He also had a good enough off-season at the passing camps and minicamps that there was little question when training camp began he would be the third receiver.
He remained in the third spot until Monday afternoon, when Rice was asked to line up there.
"You put it in your past and keep on going . . . ," Watts said. "People ask me if it puts a fire under me or whatever, but I think I always got a fire under me. I always play like that. Sometimes maybe it has gasoline on it, but I always got a fire under me.
"I just have to keep on doing what I have to do. I can't worry about it. I have to make plays and do what I have to do. In the off-season, I worked on everything, and I think I'm doing everything a little bit better. I think I have stepped up in every aspect in the game, I do. I just have to do it in games, and, hopefully, they like what I'm doing."