After bit of delay, Clowney as good as advertised
Health makes world of difference for No. 1 unit’s foremost disruptor
Doctor Clowney. That was a frustrated Bill O’Brien’s less-than-affectionate term for the Texans’ No. 1 pick of 2014, who entered a make-orbreak 2016 season as a near bust.
“Dr. Clowney. I’ll reconvene with him and see how he’s doing,” O’Brien sarcastically said in November 2014, when Jadeveon Clowney was known much more for his endless injury updates than anything he had actually accomplished in the NFL.
Fast forward two long years.
Clowney suddenly rises in 2016 as J.J. Watt disappears. Fourteen starts, six sacks, 52 tackles, No. 1 defense in the league,
Pro Bowl. And when the Texans capture their third playoff victory in franchise history, No. 90 is the biggest star on national TV and completely changes the game in just one play.
“He’s had a great year,” New England coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday. “He’s been healthy. He’s a major force: run and pass, long, athletic, very disruptive, hard to block. Really a good player.”
No one on the Texans is as hot and in demand as Clowney right now. No one is having as much fun. And if O’Brien’s team has any chance of knocking off Tom Brady and Belichick on Saturday in an AFC divisional-round game at New England, Clowney will probably have to have the game of his life.
“He’s playing at a high level, and he’s having fun,” O’Brien said. “You see his personality. He’s a fun guy, he’s a great teammate, and he plays the game very, very hard.”
Tough love
The growth in O’Brien’s relationship with Clowney has paralleled a career year from a young man who’s still only 23 and theoretically years away from his prime.
Two seasons removed from becoming a hobbled question mark, Clowney acknowledged that O’Brien and his staff instilled the “structure” the former South Carolina star clearly needed.
“Bill’s rough. He’s probably the most different head coach I’ve ever had,” Clowney said. “The way he shows love is different from how other coaches show love. He’s a more tough on you, hard guy — wants you to do every step the right way.”
Clowney’s lighthearted, silly and goofy by nature. Asked to describe himself, “fun” was mentioned multiple times. As Clowney has revitalized his career, his humor has returned to center stage.
When his team made the playoffs for the second consecutive year, Clowney spent Christmas Eve proclaiming, “Hats off to the Texans, baby,” and gave a joking shoutout to all the “haters.” After Clowney’s incredibly athletic first-quarter interception of Connor Cook set up a wild-card win over Oakland last Saturday, the third-year defensive end walked into the Texans’ auditorium, loudly repeating, “I told y’all,” before again soaking up the spotlight.
“Mentally and off the field, he’s really matured a lot,” left tackle Duane Brown said. “Just having more fun. And he’s always had a good head on his shoulders — he has his stuff together, I think. But the frustrations of the injuries kind of just did whatever to him mentally. But now he’s able to be out there. He’s a great guy to have in the locker room. Everyone on the team loves him.”
Now that Clowney is finally backing up his lofty draft status.
NFL education
He didn’t understand his new world at first. The daily intensity and constant dedication. The physical and mental toughness required of a potential once-in-a-generation athlete who was dealing with massive criticism for the first time.
“He was one of the ones where, when I came here, they were like, ‘Hey, make sure you that you are leaning on him, talking to him, teaching him,’ ” said veteran nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who has served as a mentor for Clowney, along with cornerback Johnathan Joseph. “From day one, before I even signed, I walked into the training room, and he was in there doing rehab, and I said, ‘I’m not coming here unless you are committed to being the best.’ He said, ‘I am.’ I said, ‘OK.’ And then I signed here.”
Still, the outside world was hard on Clowney. So were the Texans, who always publicly supported their No. 1 pick but privately grew frustrated with his initial limitations.
“It was rough around here when I was hurting,” Clowney said. “Missing treatments and rehabs, (O’Brien) just wanted me to do the right thing — step up and try to lead this team. I wasn’t doing that right at first. I was frustrated with the injuries and everything. But as I get older and I come along this year, I’m starting to figure it out a lot better than I have in the past.”
Clowney regained his swagger when his body healed. But all the Texans’ tough love didn’t hurt.
“Personally, I’ve been hard on JD at times when he was a younger player in his first and second year, only for the reason that I just knew what he could be,” O’Brien said. “Look, I think that I have respect for him and he has respect for me, but it hasn’t always been a bed of roses. I’m sure several players would tell you the same thing about me.”
Now that No. 90 is himself again — altering games, smiling wide, lighting up rooms and fields — he occasionally receives the ultimate acknowledgment from the fiery O’Brien: praise.
“He’s starting to let me know a little bit more, ‘Hey, you’re coming along all right. So just stay on the right task,’ ” Clowney said. “He don’t want to give me too much praise so I step out of line. But he do it enough, so I’m happy with it.”
Healthy, happy and joking. A Pro Bowler in the playoffs.
No more waiting for Dr. Clowney to arrive.