The Roy Williams Horse Collar Claims Another Victim: Benjamin Watson

Patriots tight end Benjamin Watson had ankle surgery a few weeks ago. Shockingly, when asked about it, Watson went into great detail about the procedure and his prognosis going forward: "I can't talk about it. ... You'll have to ask Coach (Bill) Belichick."

The Boston Herald's Karen Guregian writes that "[a]ccording to one source, there is now some concern whether Watson will be ready for training camp in July." That's potentially news, but the perhaps more noteworthy is how Watson was hurt in the first place.

Watson injured the ankle during the second quarter of the Pats' 48-27 Week 6 win at Dallas on Oct. 14. He caught a pass and was dragged down from behind by Cowboys safety Roy Williams.

He missed the next two games before returning in Week 9 against Indianapolis. Watson was also inactive two of the last three games of the regular season after reaggravating the injury in the Pittsburgh game.

Ah, yes, Roy Williams, the guy who has made a good living out of ending other players' careers via the ol' horse-collar tackle.

Even though the rule has been on the books since before the 2005 season, Williams wasn't flagged until last year, and it wasn't against Watson. Desmond Clark was Williams' first victim (or at least the first victim the officials were willing to acknowledge), and then there was the memorable Donovan McNabb takedown that resulted in a one-game suspension.

For all of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's bravado when it comes to doling out punishment for off-field violations, this seems like a pretty big on-field problem. To be fair, Williams didn't recidivate after sitting out a game late in the season, but some Cowboys fans might argue that it made him less effective, which is a whole other issue.