DPOY Front-Runner J.J. Watt Reminds Us Why He's a Generational Talent
For the first time since Week 2 of the 2013 season, the Houston Texans and J.J. Watt won a regular-season game this weekend.
The Texans ran out 17-6 victors over a Washington offense that underwhelmed on the day. It was a game that was supposed to debut the Texans' new rookie outside linebacker, Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney and Watt were supposed to become a dominant duo, but Clowney suffered a knee injury and left the game.
In his absence, Watt was left to lead the Texans defense as it limited the opposing offense to just one score—a score that only resulted in six points because Watt deflected the extra-point attempt.
TOP NEWS
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Colts Release Kenny Moore
Projecting Every NFL Team's Starting Lineup 🔮
Rookie WRs Who Will Outplay Their Draft Value 📈
The 2012 Defensive Player of the Year recently signed a huge contract extension. That contract extension came with the expectation that he would continue to dominate opponents on a weekly basis.
If Week 1 is the first opportunity to take a step toward reclaiming the DPOY award, then Watt definitely took it.
The impact of individual defensive players can't come close to the impact of quarterbacks. The very best players who do most of their work without the ball in their hands can still turn momentum and limit what the offense can do, though.
On Thursday night, cornerback Richard Sherman had a huge impact on the Green Bay Packers' game plan when Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy made a concentrated effort to not throw the ball in his direction. For Jay Gruden and Robert Griffin III, it was much more difficult to work away from Watt.
When Griffin dropped back into the pocket for the very first time in the game, Washington left Watt in a one-on-one situation with the team's left guard. Watt immediately got his hands into his chest and began pushing him backward into the quarter.
Griffin had no time in the pocket to survey the field, so he was forced to quickly throw the ball to DeSean Jackson in the flat. The play resulted in no gain.
This is the kind of situation that Watt thrives in. Guards are typically significantly less athletic than he is, and on this occasion, he is given space to work in by the design of the play. Watt is the kind of player who should draw a double-team or a chip on every single play, but it's tough to do that because he moves around the formation on a regular basis.
On the very next play, a 3rd-and-1 situation, Watt was lined up at left defensive end.
Washington attempted to trap Watt with its right tackle. A trap requires Watt to move downfield before the blocker turns his momentum against him by pushing him away from the play. Watt initially drops his shoulder and appears to fall for the trap.
However, with exceptional quickness, Watt plants his right foot just past the line of scrimmage before shrugging the right tackle off of his shoulder. Watt is able to meet the running back in the backfield to tackle him for a loss.
To start its second drive of the game, Washington left Watt in another one-on-one situation.
Watt obliged to pressure Griffin and force him into another checkdown by simply arcing his way to the quarterback through the left guard. It was at that point that the opposition's coaching staff appeared to make a conscious effort to avoid Watt.
Even though the Shanahans are now elsewhere, Washington's personnel and Gruden's adaptability means that they are still likely to run play-action bootlegs.
That is what they did on this play. It may be a coincidence that they ran it away from Watt's side of the field, but it is unlikely that he naturally drew three blockers. Because Washington runs a lot of stretch plays that send the offensive line moving from sideline to sideline, Watt's natural reaction to this play was to move with the line.
With the line moving in the opposite direction to Griffin, and with Watt battling three blockers, Watt's ability to rush the passer is completely negated by the play call here.
Just like how the Packers completely avoided Sherman, Washington could have used this kind of play to negate Watt's pass rush on every snap. However, there are negatives of doing this also because it limits the routes a team's receivers can run and forces the quarterback to throw while on the move.
It's simply not a realistic way to run an effective offense.
This is the value of someone like Watt. His early dominance put the offense in a difficult situation. It clearly couldn't contain him without giving him extra attention, but by giving him extra attention, it would be limiting what it could do with its offense as a whole.
Washington didn't take the extreme approach to Watt that the Packers took to Sherman.
It did work around him somewhat, but there wasn't a concentrated effort to consistently avoid him throughout the four quarters of the game. That allowed him to consistently be disruptive both against the run and the pass.
After deflecting the extra-point attempt and recovering a fumble in the second and third quarters, Watt finally finished a pass rush to notch his first sack of the season in the fourth quarter.
Watt is a freak athlete with outstanding technique. He combines a burst off the line of scrimmage with good hand usage to quickly beat blockers early in plays. Yet, his most impressive attribute is his ability to carry bodies with him to the football.
On this play, Watt lines up on the edge outside of the right tackle. He attacks the tackle's outside shoulder at the snap and works his way around the outside to close on Griffin in the pocket for the sack. It's hard to tell exactly what Watt does on this play from the broadcast angle, but the replay image gives us a better idea.
When the replay angle zooms in on Watt, it focuses on his hand usage.
This image comes from the very start of Watt's rush. He has just come off the ball at the snap and is working his way onto the right tackle's outside shoulder. Because of his phenomenal strength and balance, Watt is able to drop his inside shoulder and let that arm go limp without being knocked down.
Meanwhile, he is using his left hand to grab the outside shoulder of the tackle to push it in.
After pushing the tackle's shoulder in with his left hand, Watt is able to slide his right shoulder underneath the tackle's upper body to get leverage. He brings his previously limp right arm up to hook underneath the tackle's right arm.
He is now underneath a lesser athlete, so it's almost impossible for the blocker to push him away from his quarterback.
Watt's fluidity and strength allowed him to get into this position, and that same fluidity and strength gives him the balance to drag the offensive lineman with him to the quarterback in the pocket. Watt essentially falls into the sack at the very end, but he had done the tough work to put himself in that position.
In spite of Watt's play, Washington still threw for 267 yards and ran for 131. That says more about the absence of Clowney and the quality of his supporting cast as a whole rather than his play as an individual.
Obviously Watt's impact is limited by his position, but there doesn't appear to be anything else limiting him. He has generational physical tools, great technique and the discipline to be a consistent performer. When it comes to potential DPOY winners, he must be a strong contender.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
