It's official. If you didn't know it already, J.J. Watt is the most feared and respected defensive player in the NFL. His latest Defensive Player of the Year honor makes it two in the last three years.
No player has racked up 20 or more sacks in multiple seasons. He's done it twice. In four years. Plus, he's a defensive end in a 3-4 alignment. What he is doing is unheard of.
It's already been an amazing ride with Watt in a Texans uniform and it's just getting started. From the moment he was drafted he's created headlines. To think some actually booed the Watt selection at the Verizon West Club back in 2011. He was taken 11th overall and the prevailing thinking was that the Texans needed a pass rusher. How was a defensive end from Wisconsin going to help get after the quarterback in a 3-4 defense?
Very well.
My favorite Watt story is still about him hearing about the Berry kids, who saw their parents killed in a car crash which left two of them paralyzed. Watt purchased Texans gear and went to visit them in the hospital. This was no PR move. It was the lockout. It was Watt being Watt.
During his rookie season, I did a show with Connor Barwin and Shaun Cody. They affectionately joked how Watt has "a life plan," The respected his commitment. They knew he could be special. He had five and a half sacks his rookie year. At the end of that season he would say he began to "figure some things out" about the league.
Apparently.
The next three years he would put up 51.5 sacks and three Pro Bowl bids. Now that he's been named Defensive Player of the Year there's only one seasonal individual award that's next.
Houston, savor this. Athletes like this only come once in a generation. We're lucky to have him and it'll be exciting to watch he and the Texans continue to grow.
Defensive end J.J. Watt's 2014 was one to remember. Game-by-game, a Texans' opponent shared his thoughts on the Defensive Player of the Year.
1 sack, 5 QB hits, 2 TFL, 1 FR, 1 blocked extra point "Of course J.J. Watt is going to make some plays. He's going to do that."- Washington OT Trent Williams
1 QB hit that caused an INT, 1 TD reception on offense "We knew we wanted to try to make sure we knew where he was on every play."- Oakland head coach Dennis Allen
7 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL and 1 batted pass"Every time I got an interview last week it was, 'What's J.J. Watt going to do?' I was overthinking it the first play I went out there, so obviously I wish I could get that back."-New York OT Jordan Pugh
9 QB hits, 1 INT returned 80 yards for a TD"When you see something like that happen, you just have to sit back and tip your hat to a guy like that. They didn't pay him all that money for no reason."- Buffalo RB Fred Jackson
4 tackles"He's the best player in the NFL. I believe that."-Dallas Owner Jerry Jones
2 sacks, 3 TFL, 1 FR for a TD. "He'll go down as one of the best defensive players probably when it is all said and done to play the game."- Colts HC Chuck Pagano:
1 sack, 1 FR, 2 QB hits "He's a good player. You all know that. It's a dog fight in there."- Pittsburgh C Maurkice Pouncey
2 sacks, 1 FF, 1 batted pass "You got 99 over there, you got to get the ball in your hand quick." -Tennessee QB Zac Mettenberger
1.5 sacks, 7 tackles, 5 QB hits "Watt and Mercilus and those guys we talked about earlier in the week, they're the real deal."
1 sack, 3 TFL, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 TD catch on offense "He's a great player and he's the type of player that makes the players around him better, too."- Cleveland QB Brian Hoyer
7 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit "He's a great player. He makes you honest every play, every snap in the first, second, third and fourth quarter."-Cincinnati offensive tackle Marshall Newhouse
2 sacks, 6 QB hits, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 TD catch on offense "He's putting a good case for himself to be MVP this year."- Tennessee QB Zac Mettenberger
3 sacks, 4 TFL, 5 QB hits "Great football player and is one of those guys that have the ability to just to make plays, create turnovers, create havoc."- Jacksonville OT Luke Joeckel
2 sacks, 6 tackles and 1 batted pass "He's a heck of a player. He's going to make plays, we knew that."- Indianapolis QB Andrew Luck
1 sack, 3 TFL, 8 total tackles, 4 QB hits"I respect the heck out of him. He's very savvy and smart."- Baltimore receiver Steve Smith, Sr.
3 sacks (1 for a safety), 4 TFL, 1 FF "He's got what, 20 sacks? He is a very, very dominant player and he is going to get some opportunities."- Jacksonville head coach Gus Bradley
