Through three games, T.J. Watt has played 159 snaps on the left side of the defense and six on the right. Don’t expect that to change much, Ray Fittipaldo says. Both Watt and DC Teryl Austin recently reiterated in no uncertain terms that he is more comfortable on the left. They wanted to move him around more this year, and they do talk about doing it.
So far, it hasn’t really made a difference, though, and probably wouldn’t. If teams want to defend Watt a certain way, they’ll shift the formation toward him. That’s another thing Austin talked about on Thursday. As Fittipaldo said, “We’ve known that for quite some time,” that Watt wants to be on the left.
“Clearly, it’s not something that he really has a comfort level with,” he added of Watt on 93.7 The Fan. “They’re just gonna have to work around it. Nick Herbig produced last week. If Herbig produces and Watt produces, it’s not an issue. The last piece is consistent interior pressure.”
Theoretically, the more offenses commit to T.J. Watt, the more opportunities there will be for others. Fittipaldo is right that Herbig did a good job of capitalizing on his opportunities. Still, there aren’t many players like Watt in the NFL, even if the Steelers like their pass rushers.
Of course, Alex Highsmith is the other starter opposite Watt when healthy. However, he has already been ruled out for the next game, and it’s not clear what his timeline is. He recorded a sack in the season opener before going down in Week 2. They didn’t put him on the Reserve/Injured List, though, so perhaps they expect him to return after the bye.
It does feel reasonable to assume at this point that we won’t see T.J. Watt a ton on the right side of the defense any time soon. But not every great pass rusher flips sides and plays all over the field, either. And the Steelers believe they have the personnel who can take advantage of the extra attention teams give Watt.
Fittipaldo pointed out that more pressure up the middle from the defensive line is necessary.
“They need better pass rush inside if T.J. [Watt]’s gonna continue to get double-teamed outside, and they just haven’t had that consistently enough through three games,” he said. “But the fact that [Derrick] Harmon is back, I do think you’ll see a bit of an uptick there.”
Last week, Watt recorded two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. It was his most impactful game in a while, nursing a five-game streak without a sack. Will that open the floodgates? And with Herbig and Harmon growing, will teams feel less able to overcommit to Watt’s side?
