Watkins Responds To Roseman’s ‘Toughness’ Comments


Danny Watkins signed a new deal with the Dolphins and met with the Miami-area media today.

He was asked to respond to comments made by Howie Roseman about how Watkins’ toughness never translated from college to the NFL.

“I got to Philadelphia and it was just a rough go from the get-go,” Watkins said, per the Miami Herald. “I felt like it just got broken down to bones and never got built back. It was more a mental thing. I was very disappointing to myself that it never panned out the way it could. Because I know I can play physical and tough football but it just never … I think it was more a mental aspect than anything.”

Here are Roseman’s initial comments:

“When you watched Danny play, the toughness, the hockey-playing aspect of him never translated to Philadelphia. And that’s one of the things I told him today, was that when you watched him at Baylor and when you watched him at the Senior Bowl and when you met him, he had this innate toughness about him. You felt like you were getting an enforcer. And he never let himself go here on that. And I don’t know why that was. I told him that was part of the thing that I was the most confused by because that was something that everyone at Baylor told you about and you saw in his play on the field. And I think it all goes back to the pressure he put on himself here.”

I would agree with Watkins that his issues were more mental than anything else. Even though he was 26 when he came out of Baylor, he only had two full years of D-1 experience under his belt. Watkins started camp late as a rookie and never seemed to click with Howard Mudd.

When he got on the field, there were way too many missed assignments, specifically in pass protection.

The physical aspect shouldn’t be overlooked either. Watkins turns 29 in November and will be 30 during the 2014 regular season.

He has more hurdles ahead, but will try to bank on a fresh start now in Miami.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
Become a fan of Birds 24/7 on Facebook.