More Watt-age for the NFL Leafs ‘set up in a perfect spot’: Babcock
ARNIE STAPLETON
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
INDIANAPOLIS — Most prospects at the NFL combine are hoping to make a name for themselves.
Not. T.J. Watt, who is set to join brothers J.J., the Texans superstar defensive end returning from back surgery, and Derek, a Chargers fullback coming off a solid rookie season.
Although T.J., 22, is closer to Derek, 24, the former Wisconsin Badgers outside linebacker wants to be just like his biggest brother, who is five years older.
“Early on when J.J. first started blowing up, I didn’t know how to handle it, but now definitely I love it,” T.J. said. “My brother is the best defensive player to ever play the game, in my opinion. When you play the sport of football and you have the person as your role model a phone call, a text away, it’s special. And he does it so well and so right. I’m just trying to replicate what he does.”
J.J. loaded up T.J. with advice heading into the combine , where Watt showed off his skills Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“The biggest piece of advice I got from J.J. is just to be yourself, don’t overthink things,” T.J. said. “Just be yourself, relax and you show people who you really are.”
At 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, T.J. gives away an inch and 51 pounds to J.J., but he is bigger than Derek, who is 6-2, 234.
Like his brothers, grinder.
“What I bring is just my work ethic,” T.J. said. “I know it’s a cliche, but I do have a motor that’s nonstop. I’m just always going after the ball. I’m always going to give a team everything that I have.”
T.J. was a tight end up until 2015, when he converted to linebacker.
“Playing offence most of my life, reacting to different plays and dropping into coverage was new to me,” T.J. said. “But at this point in my game I’m pretty good at everything I do.”
In his only season as a starter last year, he parlayed a big game against LSU in the opener into an excellent junior year that included 11 1/2 sacks, 15 1/2 tackles for loss, four pass breakups and two fumble recoveries.
That was enough to convince him he was he ready to join his brothers in the NFL, so he put his education on hold.
“I’ve always wanted to play in the NFL, but obviously it wasn’t a realistic option until I played at a high level in college,” T.J. said. “Once that opportunity came, I couldn’t say no.”
Scouts project him as a potential first-round pick, maybe not as high as J.J., the 11th overall pick in 2011, but far ahead of Derek, who was the 198th player drafted last year.
“To be honest with you, it doesn’t matter where I’m drafted or who I’m drafted to,” T.J. insisted. “Obviously it would be great to be a first-round draft choice, but second, third, fourth, it really doesn’t matter. Wherever I go, I’m going to keep my mouth shut and just work as hard as I can and play ball.”
With his size, it would help for him to go to a team that plays a 3-4 scheme because he’s a good edge rusher and he can set the edge in the ground game.
“I’m only scratching the surface,” T.J. said. “I’ve only played defence for 18 or 20 months. If I can do all the things I did this last year, what can I do when I’m under the tutelage of an NFL coach?”
Citing his work ethic and bloodlines, he said his relative inexperience shouldn’t be problematic in the pros.
He said he certainly held his own against his older brothers growing up in Pewaukee, Wisconsin.
“Have I ever beat (J.J.) in any competition? He’ll admit it, too,” T.J. said. “We compete all the time growing up. I beat both my brothers in many things. They beat me in many things, as well. You’re not always going to win; you’re not always going to lose in that house. Pickup basketball growing up, flag football, anything, eating, it doesn’t matter.”
T.J.’s real sibling rivalry growing up was with Derek, who also played at Wisconsin.
“We were two years apart in age. We fought over a lot,” T.J. said. “We didn’t really see how much we cared about each other until we grew up, and now I love my brother to death.”
Derek, however, didn’t attend the combine last year, so T.J. leaned on J.J. for advice this week.
NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock compared the youngest Watt brother to Packers linebacker Clay Matthews.
“Any time you get compared to a great player like that it’s a great comparison,” T.J. said. “But I personally don’t shape my game after anyone else.” Except J.J., of course. “He kind of gave me the blueprint of how to do it,” T.J. said. “I’m going to try to follow in his footsteps and blaze my own trail at the same time.”
LANCE HORNBY
POSTMEDIA NETWORK
On Sunday Mike Babcock was in sermon mode.
Any fire and brimstone was likely delivered to his players behind closed doors since Friday’s loss in Anaheim extended the Maple Leafs’ losing streak to five games. But, after a long plane ride, back in their own rink and looking at 10 home games in their final 18, he used the pulpit for redemption and reconciliation .
“You have lulls during the year, that’s the way it is,” Babcock said. “You want to feel sorry for yourself? Then the lull will continue. You want to dig in a little deeper and bear down (then do it). Isn’t that life? Life mirrors sport, sport mirrors life. You want to feel bad for yourself, go home and mope? You’re not getting any better.
“You want to get on to the next thing you can. That’s our opportunity right now and I’m confident we’ll do that.”
The warts in Toronto’s game of late — defensive breakdowns, lategame lapses, another shootout loss — dogged them on the West Coast, dropping all three games (0-2-1) while the New York Islanders bumped them from the last playoff spot. All those games in hand they had on Boston? They’re down to one and the Bruins are up four points in the division. The good news is Toronto still plays three teams it’s ahead of, Florida, Tampa Bay and Detroit, both home and away, starting Tuesday at the ACC against the Wings.
“We are set up in a perfect spot,” Babcock insisted. “If we’d have known this at the start of the year, we’d have been pumped. I don’t think we’ve played terribly. Last game we gave up three goals that were defensive mistakes for no reason. So we have to tune ‘er up and get on a push again. We have most hands on deck so we’ll have an opportunity that way.”
Only defenceman Connor Carrick is injured at this juncture and he was seen in workout gear on Sunday. Babcock is confident that new centre Brian Boyle will keep acclimatizing. He lost some draws in his first game after joining the Leafs from Tampa Bay, but picked it up in Anaheim. Babcock knows puck possession gets even more vital, especially for his kids, as the stretch run begins.
“There was a great article early in the year, an interview with Shane Doan,” Bacock recalled. “He said (players) have their skating coach, stick handling coach, shooting coach, but the guys who get the puck back to them, they don’t have one of those coaches. In this league, you never have the puck, so when you do, you want to make good plays. You want to figure a way to get it back and that means learning how to play without the puck.”
His plan is to keep Boyle between Matt Martin and Nikita Soshnikov on the fourth line, with the presence of Martin and Boyle also serving as a physical deterrent to foes who would target the rookies.
“(Martin) doesn’t let anyone get smacked,” Babcock said. “We have a bunch of kids and I don’t want them to get cross checked and abused. We haven’t had any of that. Now with Boyle here, suddenly that’s two big men. I thought their line was really good for us (in Anaheim).”
Keeping the speedy Soshnikov in the mix ahead of the more powerful Josh Leivo is part of what the coach agreed were “tough decisions ... but Soshnikov is really important to us. He’s on our penalty kill, plays really fast. That’s where he’s got the nod. I talked to Leivo today, he just has to keep humming. Just one of those situations where that’s what we’ve decided.
“Eric Fehr hasn’t got in the lineup yet, I’m sure he’ll find a way. We brought him here to be a really good pro, a really good man and help our team. He’s doing that already.”
What the Leafs need more of at this time of year, as mentioned before by the coach, are the holdovers from the Ron Wilson - Randy Carlyle era who’ve gone the longest without playoffs, other than a brief run in 2013. James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov and defenceman Jake Gardiner have been as inconsistent as the rookies as scoring dries up.