As soon as J.J. Watt reported to camp, the parade of praise began for the Texans’ second-year defensive end. Watt made the All-Rookie team last season, but it was his extraordinary performance in the playoffs that captivated coaches and players around the NFL. In the 31-10 victory over Cincinnati in the wild-card game at Reliant Stadium and the 20-13 loss at Baltimore in the divisional round, Watt had 14 tackles, including four for loss, 3½ sacks and an interception return for a touchdown. “He’s going to be a bust — not a first-round bust but a bust in the Hall of Fame,” defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said after practice Monday. “The only players I’ve seen that can do what he can do with his intensity can be found in Canton.” Watt (6-5, 295), who plays end in the 3-4 and moves inside in passing situations, is an imposing physical specimen who is strong and athletic and never lets up until he hears the whistle. “He’s powerful, and he’s got a great feel for what it takes to play his position,” Phillips said. “Over the last half of last year, he was fantastic. “He dominated the line of scrimmage against two playoff teams. I think he’ll continue to go from there because he works so hard at it. He wants to be a great player.” Nice comparison Phillips compares Watt to Howie Long, the Raiders defensive linemen who’s enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “I’ve seen a lot of guys, and I compare him to Howie in that he has the same quickness to beat (offensive) linemen off the ball. He’s a smart guy who gets it.” When he arrived in camp, defensive end Antonio Smith, who plays next to Watt in passing situations, heaped praise on his teammate. “I expect J.J. to become a megastar,” Smith said. “I told him, ‘People are going to be looking for you this year (and), you’re not going to surprise them anymore. They’re going to get up to play because of your reputation.’ “He’s got a tremendous upside.” Outside linebacker Brooks Reed was the second-round pick last year, one round behind Watt. Reed also had 3½ sacks in the playoffs. “He’s stronger than I’ve ever seen him,” Reed said. “He’s abnormally fast for a man that size. He’s also strong at the point of attack. He has great eye-hand coordination. “I think he can be better than last year. He’s got unlimited ability.” It hasn’t taken long for Watt to earn the respect of his teammates off the field as well as on. “He’s a good character guy,” Reed said. “He’s become the spokesperson for the Texans. He is heavily involved in the community.” Watt walked on at Wisconsin and improved so much that the Texans selected him with the 11th pick in the first round. Naturally, Watt is a lot more comfortable in his second training camp because he knows the defense and what to expect. Far from satisfied “I expect greatness and nothing less,” Watt said. “I want to be the absolute best I can be. I know what it takes to win. I know what it takes to prepare my body week in and week out. I know how to handle a longer season. I can see the difference in guys that move on to greatness and guys that fall to the wayside. “I’m into this season bigger, faster and stronger. I work very hard on my body. It’s our tool. It’s what you go to work with every day, and I’m going to do everything I can to keep it this way.” Watt doesn’t try to hide his goals for the season. “I want to be the All-Pro defensive end,” he said. “I want to be in (the Pro Bowl). “Actually, scratch that. I don’t want to be there. It’s the week before the Super Bowl. I forgot about that. I want them to send me the (Pro Bowl) jersey and a nice (winners’) check, but I want to be preparing for the Super Bowl.” john.mcclain@chron.com twitter.com/McClain_on_NFL http://blog.chron.com/ultimatetexans/2012/07/texans-watt-drawing-rave-reviews-in-training-camp/
Watt fell into a good situation, new head coach, defense tailored for his type of game, and more help from a better overall defensive unit. Mario was the number 1 pick of a rebuilding team and was part of that process for 5+ years. I'm sure if "Wario" were still here this wouldn't have even been uttered. But hey if Watt falls flat on his face this year, he'll be the bust everyone here predicted he'd be cause we didn't pick Fairley or Amukamara.
Think Mario if he had the benefit of the great coaching defensively we had last season would have supreme production. That being said, they made the correct decision with Watt as he fits the system and actually seems to exceed expectations. Hopefully, he will continue to do so but I wouldn't compare him to Mario, just like I wouldn't compare Mercilus to Williams. I will wish Mario all the luck in the world except for one week during this upcoming regular season and maybe in the playoffs.
I don't recall anyone ever saying Watt would be a bust. Normally it was something like "I think he'll be a fine player but he's drafted at a position we don't need!" Or "He's good but not special" or something like that. Please recall that at the time everyone at Texans, Inc. was swearing that Mario was going to play end.
And these are just snippets of the reactions on CF, after the Texans announced they’d drafted… Watt????!!!! Actually Donny Most was the one and only that actually loved the pick and wanted the guy from jump. Props to him for not sh***ing on the franchise as most did.
Again, no one in those posts said Watt would be a bust like you said. Yes, the majority were unhappy with the pick. That was based largely on the fact that we had been told Mario would play end. Drafting Watt, based on the intelligence we had, was drafting a rotational player, not a starter. People wanted an impact player and if he was drafted to be a backup Watt wasn't looking to be that. Now, of course no one thought he'd be this good and he was obviously an awesome pick.
Ok, you're right, I'll give you that. No one directly said "OMG Watt is gonna be such a damn bust!" but by the reactions I'm sure you could tell everyone absolutely dreaded the pick and thought out of all those listed by Bogey that Watt was the least likely to succeed the way he did last season. I'm not too sure those reactions were stemming from "rotational guy" or Mario's backup thinking, they just honestly wanted one of the other guys left on the board. But of course in hindsight this was the best pick possible for the Texans, unless you want to make an argument for JPP. :grin:
The same JPP that was drafted a year earlier than Watt? Not sure how the Texans could have pulled that off.:grin:
I'm legitimately curious what I said after the Watt pick. I'm on my phone now or I'd look it up, but I loved his motor and character in college. I think I thought it was a luxury pick, whereas Prince was a need thing, but I think I was on board. He's payed off so far though.
My bad, I forget you can't make simple mistakes like putting a guy in the draft class he was selected before his. And now.... sorry to say but the world must end.
You also have to take into consideration that we were coming off one of the most frustrating seasons for any team in Houston sports history. At that time, a lot of us (myself included.....) were just LOOKING for something to be pissed off at. Thankfully, most of us have moved on. Most of us...
this is comical. He gave you examples of people not liking the pick, meaning that they didn't think he was going to be a good player, which would constitute a "bust" at the #11 pick.
