Once again, former NFL All-Pro J.J. Watt used some of his time during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show to defend and support his brother, Pittsburgh Steelers OLB T.J. Watt. J.J. talked about how confused he is that T.J. doesn’t get a lot of love from the national media and how sick he is of T.J. getting overlooked.
“He literally is winning every single category you can possibly win,” J.J. Watt said. “He’s on one of the most storied franchises in NFL history with one of the largest fan bases. Every other person in the conversation has less. It’s just a fact. I’m so baffled and confused by it all, but it’s ok.”
Watt again reiterated that people get bored with greatness, something he’s said in the past about T.J., while adding how tired he is of T.J. not getting enough respect compared to his peers.
“I’m so sick of it because the guy’s dominating. He’s about to lead the NFL in sacks in three of the last four years, every single category,” J.J. Watt said. “Wanna go TFLs? Guess what, leading. Wanna go regular tackles? Guess what, leading. You wanna go sacks? Leading. You wanna go from his position, interceptions? Like, just miss me with all that man.”
While T.J. isn’t at the top of every single category (he doesn’t have the most tackles of a 3-4 outside linebacker or the most interceptions), he’s still near the top. And he does lead the entire league in sacks and has been one of the most dominant defensive players in football over the past few years. I agree with J.J.’s general idea that we can get bored with greatness, but there’s no new fresh face atop the defensive leaderboards this season that is getting a lot of shine. Guys like Micah Parsons and Myles Garrett are getting a lot of buzz, but that’s been the case for years.
In T.J.’s case, he just isn’t as flashy of a player. Garrett will make plays like jumping clean over an offensive lineman, while Parsons’ quickness and speed in getting to the quarterback can really stand out. T.J. is a beast, but the plays he makes don’t necessarily make you jump off the couch in awe. That’s one possible reason why T.J. sometimes can get lost in the shuffle in the conversation about Defensive Player of the Year candidates and the top players in the game.
The Steelers know how lucky they are to have T.J. Watt in their building and wearing the Black and Gold. Even if he isn’t getting the level of respect of other players who are doing less than he is on the field, it’s clear that he’s one of the best players in the game right now and a massive part of Pittsburgh’s success. The team owes it to him to win more around him, and we’ll see if the Steelers can win out over the next two weeks and have a shot at the playoffs.
