New Orleans tight end Benjamin Watson was a force in the Saints’ 31-21 win over the Falcons on Oct. 15.
He caught 10 passes for a then career-high 127 yards and a touchdown. Watson, a former Georgia standout, had 147 yards receiving two weeks later against the New York Giants.
The Falcons, with safety Charles Godfrey, have improved their play against tight ends. They held Carolina’s Greg Olsen, a Pro Bowler, to four catches and 40 yards on Sunday.
“The last time that we played, there were a few blown coverages and missed assignments,” linebacker O’Brien Schofield said. “I think we’ve grown so much more as a team since then. This week it’s going to be what we’ve been doing the last two weeks, attention to detail, understanding the game plan, making sure that we all communicate and that we are not giving Drew (Brees) a lot of time to make those passes.”
The Falcons will use a combination of zone and man-to-man defense against Watson. They also want to hit him off the line of scrimmage. That plan worked against Olsen.
“Charles Godfrey did a really good job when he had him man-to-man,” Schofield said.
Godfrey plans to be ready.
“We knew going in that he was one of their main targets and that was something that we’ve had to take care of,” he said. “I think we did a good job of it. We’ve grown over time.”
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