Tag: J.J. Watt

J.J. Watt: Steelers players backing Mike Tomlin aren’t satisfied with the outcome

Mike Tomlin’s players have come out in full support of their head coach, but it doesn’t mean their satisfied with the results.

With what’s now known as made-up commentary about Mike Tomlin considering stepping down from the Pittsburgh Steelers, there’s been overwhelming support from players of their head coach sticking around.

Some, like T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, have said they won’t play for another. That’s huge, considering Watt is still in the prime of his career, and Heyward is heading into the final year of his contract.

“You look in the locker room, and you read the quotes of the guys in their exit interviews with the media, and every single guy has said that they only want to play for Tomlin,” J.J. Watt said on Wednesday’s Pat McAfee Show. “T.J. said it was a big part of his contract negotiation a couple years ago, he wants to play for Mike T., the only guy he wants to play for is Mike T. Everybody in that locker room loves him respects him wants to play for him.”

Just because they love their head coach doesn’t mean they love falling short of or losing in the first round of the playoffs every year.

“I also don’t think that that that means that they’re satisfied with the outcome. That means they’re satisfied with the way things have gone, and that means they’re satisfied with where they are currently.”

Watt sees both sides of the coin. He understands fans’ frustrations with Tomlin’s lack of playoff success and their desire for the team to move on from him — or at least weigh their options.

“I think there’s certainly things that they want to improve and get better on, but in today’s day and age, I also see the people on the other side. I do see the people’s side where they’re like, well, if Bill Belichick can be escorted out of his role as the head coach of a team that he won six championships with, why are we in this situation where we can’t maybe at least have a conversation about our coach.”

But, ultimately, for Watt, it comes down to there’s no quick fix that Tomlin walking away or getting jettisoned would solve.

“I am personally fully well aware of how difficult it is in this league to find a good football coach. I do think that people think that there’s these quick fixes and things somebody’s going to come in and make this thing miraculously better and figure it all. I really, really, really do not know if you’re going to find many better football coaches in the world than Mike Tomlin.”

While Watt, like several others, believes Tomlin is the only head coach for the Steelers, it doesn’t mean they do not need significant changes.

“I would say from an outsider standpoint, I think that Mike Tomlin is an unbelievable leader of men. He’s an unbelievable head coach. Obviously, this year, they had to change their offensive coordinator mid-year, and that offense was a bit of an issue. I do think that there are things that can certainly be improved. Mike Tomlin is still the best leader of men for this organization, so I think if you’re willing to go into the offseason and have realistic conversations about what needs to happen and how things need to change to make that next jump, you can also say we should still have Mike T. at the helm.”

Like it or not, Mike Tomlin will be head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers for the foreseeable future. Now it’s all about how the brass handles the rest going forward.

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J.J. Watt was so happy for the city of Houston after the Texans’ dominant playoff win

J.J. Watt is so proud of these young Texans.

The Houston Texans opened a lot of eyes on Saturday.

From long touchdown runs that necessitated oxygen after the fact to a resounding defensive performance over an “elite” quarterback, Houston played a complete game in its first playoff win since 2019. It certainly seems like DeMeco Ryans and CJ Stroud are building something special.

One of the only people who might have seen this coming is Texans legend J.J. Watt. The now-retired, future Hall of Fame defensive end still closely watches his old team. And after Saturday’s dominant team performance, Watt couldn’t help but be impressed.

More importantly, he was so happy that the city of Houston got to enjoy its NFL team playing this well:

It’s safe to say that if these ascending Texans have won Watt over, then they’re definitely something right. Congratulations, Houston. You’ve already got the best endorsement possible.

J.J. Watt got incredibly hyped to see his brother T.J. Watt’s historic 19th sack of season

J.J. Watt got very excited for his brother, T.J. Watt, after the latter earned his 19th sack of the season.

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt joined elite company as only the fourth-ever player to reach 19-plus sacks in their career multiple times.

As Watt earned his 19th sack of the season against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, he joined his brother, former defensive end J.J. Watt, as one of only four players to ever reach that many sacks more than once.

If T.J. Watt still has the most sacks of any active players by the end of this season, he’ll be the only NFL player to ever win the league’s sack title three times in their career. Talk about a monumental sack for the younger Watt brother.

J.J. Watt couldn’t help but hype up his sibling for his awesome achievement on social media.

However, T.J. Watt later went down in the game with a knee injury and was ruled out for the rest of the contest.

We hope Watt is able to play next week if the Steelers make the AFC playoffs so he can continue to add to his impressive career sack total.

Even if he doesn’t, he’s more than deserving of this year’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year honor for a phenomenal season.

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Will Anderson Jr. sets Texans record, makes late push for Defensive Rookie of the Year

Will Anderson Jr. is making a late push for Defensive Rookie of the Year after setting a Texans record on Sunday

The Houston Texans have missed Will Anderson Jr.

They decided the pass rusher from Alabama could be a future face of their franchise when they selected him third overall in the 2023 NFL draft. General manager Nick Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans’ faith was even further shown through the hefty trade price, including two first-round picks, they paid to move back into the top three after selecting quarterback C.J. Stroud.

By all accounts, his season to date had been a success. He had five sacks, 42 tackles and 56 quarterback pressures while playing a huge role in the Texans massive turnaround in run defense. Anderson had consistently shown the talent and explosiveness that captivated Houston’s coaching staff despite missing their Week 15 and 16 contests.

On Sunday, he added another feather in his cap.

Anderson had one of the best games of his young career against the Tennessee Titans. He gathered two sacks, both on the same drive, and six quarterback pressures while terrorizing both Will Levis and backup Ryan Tannehill. Per Next Gen Stats, Anderson had a pressure rate of 54.5%, affecting the quarterback on over half of his snaps played.

The performance was not only a huge boost for the Texans team hopes, as the win put them in position to clinch an AFC Wild Card spot if they can win their Week 18 finale in Indianapolis, but also gave him some personal accolades.

His seven sacks on the season passed Whitney Mercilus for the most by a Houston Texans rookie in franchise history. For comparison, franchise legend J.J. Watt had only 5.0 in his rookie campaign. It could have also helped him from a national perspective.

The Defensive Rookie of the Year award is far from a done contest, albeit Philadelphia defensive tackle Jalen Carter is a huge betting favorite. Anderson’s two-sack performance allowed him to pass Carter in the category and his narrative as a compelling factor in Houston’s turnaround, in a potential playoff season, may be enough to capture voters.

Certainly, there are bigger concerns for Anderson than personal awards or franchise records. Houston fans, however, have to feel quite good that their team has incredible building blocks on both sides on the football. They’ll see next week whether or not it’s enough to make the AFC playoffs .

J.J. Watt has harsh words for NFL GMs who didn’t pursue Lamar Jackson during the offseason

J.J. Watt reacts to NFL GM’s not pursuing Lamar Jackson during offseason

With Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson catapulting to the front of the race for league MVP after his performance against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16, many have pointed back to a time in the offseason when no teams expressed interest in trading for him.

With contract talks seemingly going nowhere, the Ravens opted to place the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, meaning that any team could submit an offer sheet that Baltimore could either match or receive two first-round picks for the former unanimous MVP instead.

Many teams desperately needed a franchise quarterback and were quick to relay their disinterest in pursuing Jackson.

Former Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt spoke on the topic while on the Pat McAfee show this week.

“Everybody in this offseason came out of their way to say we don’t want him,” Watt said. “If your GM said that, fire him.”

Many teams that declined to pursue Jackson will still enter this offseason with a glaring need at the quarterback position.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently revealed that no teams reached out to Baltimore after Jackson publicly announced his desire to be traded.

The Ravens now sit at the top of the league with a 12-3 record and the MVP favorite at quarterback. Meanwhile, several other teams are probably rethinking their decision to forgo an effort at acquiring one of the league’s best players at the most crucial position.

J.J. Watt ‘so sick’ of the conversation surrounding Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt

J.J. Watt is tired of the debate about who’s the best defensive player in the NFL.

Whether you like it or not, sacks are where it’s at for defensive players in the NFL. It’s the stat for which most are judged on their success. And though it’s a narrow margin, T.J. Watt is, once again, leading the league with 16.

Watt’s older brother, future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt, is tired of the debate about who’s the best defensive player in the NFL.

“He’s the best defensive player in football,” Watt said on the Dec. 20 Pat McAfee Show. “I’m so sick of the conversation.”

“He does it every single week. Teams double-team him, triple-team him, he gets held. I don’t know what more you’d want from an argument standpoint.”

Watt feels a certain way about fans who want to look outside of the stats.

“Some people want to say don’t look at the statistics. I’m like, ‘Hey, dumbass, that’s how you judge stuff in football.’ You judge teams by wins, you judge players by stats, that’s how this s–t works. Why do we keep track of anything? Oh, I don’t know… maybe it’s because that’s how you judge who’s good and who’s not.”

“Guys got the most sacks. He’s the best. What do you want?”

You call him biased, but you can’t call him wrong.

Whether that will hold up in the final three games remains to be seen. The only year over the past four that Watt hasn’t accomplished this feat of NFL sack leader was when he was sidelined for half of the 2022 season.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Watt ranks third in the Defensive Player of the Year race.

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J.J. Watt trolls the Titans after Texans fans were furious Tennessee wore Houston Oilers uniforms

A win for J.J. Watt and Texans fans everywhere.

It was the uniform choice that had a fanbase FURIOUS: The Tennessee Titans decided to wear their Houston Oilers uniforms against the Texans on Sunday, a troll job of the highest order.

That’s because the Titans were once the Oilers, and they left Houston for Nashville. Sure, the Texans were born out of that, but the history stings.

But the Texans got their revenge on Sunday with a 19-16 comeback win in overtime, which had Texans fans everywhere super thrilled.

That included ex-Texan legend J.J. Watt, who had this to say in response to all the uniform talk during the contest:

People loved it:

 

Patrick Mahomes and J.J. Watt were in awe over Shohei Ohtani’s monster $700 million Dodgers deal

But really, who isn’t?!

The Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes officially ended Saturday when the superstar pitcher and slugger announced on Instagram that he’ll be staying in southern California and will play for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Fans had so many emotions about Ohtani’s announcement, which surely crushed fan bases everywhere as the Dodgers’ World Series odds jumped to the top of the board. But people were also absolutely stunned by the 10-year, $700 million deal, which makes Ohtani the highest-paid athlete in North American sports history, as USA TODAY Sports‘ Bob Nightengale noted.

The monster deal ended a wild week in Major League Baseball in free agency, and it caught the attention of other star athletes, including Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and retired tight end J.J. Watt, who were wowed by the giant price tag.

But Mahomes and Watt weren’t the only athletes to take note of this record-breaking contract:

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NFL legend slams the league for ‘stealing money’ on Amon-Ra St. Brown’s fine

Watt made it clear the NFL “is stealing money” from St. Brown with the hefty fine

Amon-Ra St. Brown got an unlikely defender in the fight against the Lions’ wideout’s hefty fine for a block in Detroit’s Week 11 win over the Chicago Bears. Recently retired defensive legend J.J. Watt slammed the NFL for a fine that Watt claims violates a “general rule of thumb.”

The play in question saw St. Brown engage in a block in space. It’s difficult to ascertain what exactly St. Brown did wrong on the play, and it was not penalized during the game.

“If you have to watch the video multiple times to try figuring out which person did something wrong and you still can’t figure it out, we probably shouldn’t be taking $43,709 from someone,” Watt wrote on a social media post.

He then added,

“This. Is. Stealing. Money.”

Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt’s got an addiction problem

Can’t stop, won’t stop.

With each passing game, T.J. Watt‘s career gets more and more Hall of Fame-worthy, and Sunday against the Green Bay Packers was no different.

When Watt took down quarterback Jordan Love in the second quarter, he surpassed the sack total of a very well-known defensive end: J.J. Watt. Watt has 88 sacks in 96 games, four less than his older brother.

And he just can’t get enough.

“None of it registers, honestly,” he said Monday on the Green Light podcast. “I can’t even fathom all of the stuff that’s been accomplished… I’m sure one day we’ll sit down and watch a whole bunch of highlights and talk about everything. I can’t get through my mind what’s happening. I just know that I’m addicted to the process of continually trying to get better, and I’m just so hungry.”

But there’s no time to dwell on his outstanding accomplishments — one of Pittsburgh’s biggest games of the corner is mere days away with the Cleveland Browns on deck.

“It’s just a massive game this week, and there’s no time to sit back and pat myself on the back and get a big head. I just know how special this moment is. I know how short of a period that I have to play this game, and I’m trying to maximize the most of it, and I just want to keep going.”

Watt’s a humble dude who clearly doesn’t feel comfortable bragging about all he’s done in his seven-year career. There’s too much work to be done.

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