Pro Bowl Ben?

Pro Bowl balloting is open to the public. Choose wisely.

This year New England fans will have a tough time rationalizing Patriot players worthy of being selected. The offense’s big three of QB Tom Brady and WRs Randy Moss and Wes Welker will get their share of votes. Beyond them…good luck.

As much as we like ILB Jerod Mayo, his injury set him back. He’s eighth on the team in tackles. No one from the front seven has a chance of getting voted in.

And even though safetys Brandon McGowan and Brandon Merriweather are playing well, the star power at the position in the AFC (Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu, Baltimore’s Ed Reed and Indianapolis’ Bob Sanders) might keep either out, as well as costing each other votes.

There is one Pat besides Brady, Moss and Welker that actually has a slight chance of getting voted in. He would be the first Patriots tight end to be selected for the Pro Bowl since Ben Coates.

OK, so there’s no mystery that I’m referring to Ben Watson. I have to work on my foreshadowing.

Back to the point. At mid-season, Watson has just 15 receptions and 222 yards. His yardage puts Watson ninth overall, but his receptions drops him into a tie with Denver’s blocking TE Daniel Graham for 12^th in the AFC. Not the kind of company a Pro Bowler is usually surrounded by.

Though Watson doesn’t get a lot of chances, he’s making the most of his opportunities. Of the tight ends with at least 10 receptions, only Oakland’s Zach Miller (15-yards per reception) has a better average than Watson’s 14.8. But like the Raiders, Miller isn’t going anywhere. Great players on bad teams typically don’t get little attention needed to draw votes.

Watson is getting more out of each reception than Indianapolis’ Dallas Clark (12.7), San Diego’s Antonio Gates (14.1), and Houston’s Owen Daniels (13.0). That’s a good credential for Watson’s campaign.

Even better is his four touchdowns. Watson is tied with Pittsburgh’s Heath Miller for second in the AFC. Only Daniels has more with five.

The previous two paragraphs sound like a who’s who in the AFC at the position. It would be nice that Watson could get voted in by his own merit, but that won’t happen with the name recognition. Watson will need a little bit of luck to steal some votes.

A bad break for one player is good fortune for another. Daniels tore his ACL against Buffalo and he will miss the rest of the season. You hate to see someone get ahead via injury, but Watson needs this kind of help. As long as Jeff Gillooly isn’t involved, then stuff happens.

Of course stats don’t tell the whole story. Watson did win the season opener for the Pats when he caught those two fourth quarter touchdowns. Would that be worth anything to voters outside of New England?

If Watson is to have a decent chance of getting voted, he has some catching up to do in the receptions and yards categories. If he keeps his TD pace going, he will finish with at least nine, which could keep him ahead of the competition.

It’s a long shot, but at least Waston has one.