Watt was the 11th overall pick in 2011, but he thinks like an undrafted free agent. He has a tape of fans in Reliant Stadium booing when his name was called by the Texans on draft day. On that same tape, fans are interviewed ripping the pick, except for one guy who predicts Watt will lead them to the Super Bowl. "If my dream comes true and we win a Super Bowl here, I want to find that guy," Watt told the Houston Chronicle earlier this season. "And I want to shake that guy's hand [and] say, 'Thank you for believing in me, and you were right.' "
Between that and his presser today about being the best, it's like he has a chip on his shoulder despite being playing some dominant football. I love it.
Antonio Smith: J.J. Watt deserves NFL MVP honor By Marc Sessler Around the League Writer Published: Dec. 20, 2012 at 05:07 p.m. Updated: Dec. 20, 2012 at 09:11 p.m. It's hard to imagine where the Houston Texans would be this season without J.J. Watt's stellar play. Watt is tied with Aldon Smith for an NFL-leading 19.5 sacks -- three shy of Michael Strahan's league record of 22.5 -- and the Texans know his value extends far beyond takedowns. Watt's teammates are making a push for the pass rusher to be seen alongside the league's top-flight quarterbacks as legitimate MVP material. Watt clearly is the Defensive Player of the Year barring a stunner -- nobody is close -- but defenders rarely are players in the MVP race. "Frankly, I'm just tired of everybody thinking that only offensive players can be MVP," fellow pass rusher Antonio Smith told the Texans' official website. "Get out of the old, step into the new. Vote J.J. Watt." Not to toot our own horn here, but Gregg Rosenthal has talked up Watt as an MVP candidate all season long. He's not alone on that front, but Smith makes a strong point. There hasn't been a defensive MVP since Lawrence Taylor won the award in 1986. Offensive game plans are shaped around Watt and disrupted by Watt in a way that recalls the havoc wreaked by L.T. more than a quarter-century ago. It might time to rethink the MVP award and what it means here in 2012. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000114262/article/antonio-smith-jj-watt-deserves-nfl-mvp-honor
One of the things that also gets lost in all of this, is the fact that J.J. Watt is not only a DE, but he's a 3-4 Defensive End. 3-4 DE's have long been thought of as gap protectors, and big bodies used to keep linemen off of linebackers, but when your as good as JJ Swatt is, there's no point in wasting all that talent on "holding up linemen" And as far as 3-4 Defensive Ends go, he's not Bruce Smith (YET!), but he certainly is having a better season statistically than Bruce Smith ever had! http://www.footballperspective.com/j-j-watt-breaks-sack-record-for-3-4-defensive-linemen/
JJ Watt is doing something special this year. We haven't seen a season like this from a DE in a 3-4 EVER. Should he be the MVP? Yes...but will he? It's a glamour position award like the Heisman. It's going to be Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Adrian Peterson, sadly.
I think Watt and the Bulls end Peterson's candidacy this weekend. His is only predicated on getting to the record and I believe he won't get anywhere near the 150 yards he'll need this week.
Ballard was tearing up the Texans run defense last week. AP is going to throttle it this week. But the texans still win.
