From the ESPN piece on projected starting lineups that came out today: Defensive end (J.J. Watt): He won NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors after a season in which he played with a broken hand, five torn core muscles, a herniated disc in his back, and (for one game) a flu-like illness. Imagine how he'll do healthy.
I'm hopeful he beats/meets his projected recovery window. There's some players who are just that physically superior that even at 90-95% physical health, they're still levels above the playing field. AP and Jamaal Charles both showed that coming back from their ACL injuries. Watt's already shown that by winning dpoy in an injury riddled season.
First time we're seeing the defense without him for an extended period. The worse they do, the better it makes Watt look. And vice versa. Recover as long as you need, JJ.
without hoyett, we won't give the opposition great field position. The defense can hold down the fort for those first 4 games. Not sure about more than that. Clowney and the merciless one will have to play at a high level and they can.
Complete best case scenario... Watt misses first 4 weeks... Texans defense is still good enough to win games... JJ returns and elevates defense to elite... Watt still leads the league in sacks... then wins a record 3 consecutive DPOYS despite only playing 12. History gets made and any notion of Watt's overratedness is squashed by the difference in defense's effectiveness. Panthers defense didn't miss much without Kuechly.
Back in Feb http://www.scout.com/nfl/texans/story/1640165-j-j-watt-wants-to-give-his-body-a-rest Watt played in over 1,001 defensive snaps (96.2% of total defensive snaps) for the Texans, which was tops for the defense. Watt was 1 of 49 defensive players to play over 1,000 snaps in 2015 and of those 49, only two were defensive lineman. Watt’s injuries and his high snap count almost got the better of him this past year. “This season it finally caught up to me and probably shouldn’t played through some of the stuff I did,” explained Watt. “This year, all the different things I had to deal with this year, it was definitely the most strenuous year by far on my body.” “Honestly, I do think this is kinda my body telling me to take a break here,” said Watt. “So my body is getting more rest than it gets normally gets in the offseason and I think that is good for the longevity of my career. I think it is going to give me some fresh legs headed into this season.”
Apparently its his second back surgery this off season. Sounds like either the first one didn't solve the problem or JJ needs to lay off rolling the monster truck tires...
It would make everyone feel better if he had the surgery 6 weeks ago instead of now but if it repairs it then I believe it is for the best. Don't think he needs training camp at this point anyway.
There are only so many snaps the body can take before it starts to break down. If JJ is hurt or doesn't play as well I hope they don't turn on him like Texans fans do so much.