JJ Watt Explains Why There Isn't 'Huge Advantage' to Seeing Opponents' Play Call Sheet

Former NFL star JJ Watt says there isn't really a point to coaches hiding their call sheets from television broadcasts.

Watt commented on the tactic when resharing a video of Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay using a clearly visible play card to hide his mouth while speaking into his headset during a Thursday night football matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.

"There's really not a huge advantage to having the opponents call sheet," Watt wrote Friday on X. "The plays they run, the situations they run them in, the variations, etc. it's all on film, documented and translated into the language of your own team."

Watt noted that having the opponent's own language for plays "is only beneficial if you can clearly hear the QB calling the play in their huddle from behind the line of scrimmage, which is very rare."

"Signals, code words and tendencies, are much more important and beneficial," Watt wrote.

Watt concluded, "At the end of the day, there remains the age old phrase… 'Go ahead and tell 'em what we're running. They still have to stop it.'"

McVay has been known for years for the complicated play calls he's made through his nine seasons with the Rams.

On Thursday, however, McVay and the Rams ultimately gave up 16 points in the fourth quarter as the Seahawks mounted a comeback and won in overtime to take over as the NFC's No. 1 seed and the top team in the NFC West.

▶️ Full Rams-Seahawks Recap

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At least according to Watt, that glimpse of McVay's Week 16 play sheet won't help the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17 when they try to upset the Rams on Monday, Dec. 29 matchup at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.