One of the more frustrating things for the Pittsburgh Steelers and OLB T.J. Watt is how often he’s held when trying to make a play in the backfield and there’s no flag thrown. Sometimes, it can seemingly be blatantly obvious, but the officials either don’t see it or don’t throw a flag, and T.J.’s brother, CBS analyst and former Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt understands that it can be frustrating.
“I know that some of these aren’t getting called,” J.J. said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “I know what it’s like. You watch the game and there’s ones I get mad about because I know they should be throwing the flag. And then there’s ones where I’m like that was a hold but they’ll never call it.”
The above play is the one that J.J. was referencing, and he said since Joe Flacco got the ball out quick enough, he knew they wouldn’t throw a flag. It resulted in a Colts touchdown to extend their lead to 14-0 in the first quarter.
One reason that can be explained for why Watt doesn’t draw a lot of holding calls is he often uses a rip move, and holding penalties aren’t called on rip moves. Former NFL referee Gene Steratore explained that often, even if it feels like Watt is being held, it doesn’t rise to the level of a foul. There’s also the simple fact that you can’t call a hold on every play.
It’s the best way, and maybe one of the only ways, to slow down or stop Watt. A lot of times offensive linemen can get away with holding, so if they have to, they will to stop Watt from making a play, one that sometimes could be even more costly than a 10-yard penalty. J.J. was an elite pass-rusher, one of the best in the league, and he dealt with a lot of the same issues as his brother when it came to not getting calls he probably should’ve.
Now removed from his time as a player but still an analyst, he can sit back and see what does and doesn’t get called and lean off what he experienced as a player and what he sees T.J. experiencing to understand what will and won’t get called from the officials on a weekly basis. It can be frustrating, but it’s just one of the things that elite pass rushers have to deal with.
