Pittsburgh Steelers OLB T.J. Watt was flagged for a questionable offsides penalty in Week 1 after Watt seemingly timed his get-off perfectly, and the flag wiped out what would’ve been a strip-sack and takeaway. The official admitted to Watt he messed it up, but Watt said he’s wary of telling the officials too much when it comes to what he’s learned because there’s a chance they can tell the other team.
“It’s one of those things where sometimes you want to tell the officials, but sometimes you don’t know if you can trust the officials,” Watt said about his get-off said via the DVE Morning Show. “Not saying they’re not trustworthy guys, but you also don’t want to tell them all your tips and tricks because you don’t know if they’re gonna tell the other guys or not. I like to keep everything to myself and hopefully it sorts itself out. Sometimes it doesn’t, which is alright.”
It’s smart by Watt not to give away too much information, and if he does alert the ref to something, they might watch him even closer, which could make him more susceptible to penalties. Watt’s fear is that the officials will tell the opponents what he’s seeing, and they’ll adapt. In Week 1, his tell was the center bobbing his head, which allowed him to time the snap correctly and make a great that did not stand because of an play incorrect call.
It’s not an unreasonable thought by Watt, and it just makes more sense to keep any information to himself or to his teammates. Making it public beyond that could open up potential problems if the officials alert the other team, and Watt will take the good with the bad. The good happens a lot more than the bad, so it’s a wise decision on his part to avoid risk.
Watt doesn’t need any help to be the best pass rusher in the league, but it’s gotta be frustrating for him when he’s flagged incorrectly or there’s no call when he’s held. But even with him not getting some of the calls he should, Watt has still led the league in sacks three times and is one of the biggest game-wreckers across the league. At this point, what he’s doing has worked for him, so there’s no point in changing things for the chance of a penalty call when he can make plays without any help.
