» The return
THREE GAMES INTO THE SEASON, HE WAS SHUT DOWN BY SURGERY. NOW, J.J. WATT IS READY TO RETURN TO HIS DOMINATING WAYS.
J.J. Watt could make the NFL’s best defense even better if his back is healed.
After being healthy for only two games last season, Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is planning to return with a vengeance. The Texans started 2-0 when Watt was healthy last year. They recorded nine sacks and forced three fumbles. When Watt wasn’t healthy, the Texans finished 7-7. Now Watt is back. In the offseason program and preseason, the coaches took it easy on him because they had a plan that prepared him to be 100 percent by the time they begin the regular season Sept. 10 against Jacksonville at NRG Stadium.
“It’s good to be back on the field, playing football with my teammates,” Watt said. “It feels like where I belong. It’s been a long time coming.
“I’m enjoying playing the game. Obviously, I went through some tough times last year. I really enjoy playing football. I really enjoy the fans.”
Watt’s coaches and teammates welcomed him back the first time he stepped on the practice field for the offseason program.
“It’s great to have him back,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “He’s a great player, one of the top players in our league and the top defensive player in our league, so to have him back means a lot to our team.”
No one knows how good Watt will be after recovering from two operations on his back. He works as hard as ever. He’s a smarter player at 28 than he was at 24. He’s blessed with a lot of talent on a defense that ranked first in yards allowed with him being an expensive cheerleader for almost all of last season.
Handling adversity
To get to where he is today, physically as well as mentally, Watt had to negotiate some difficult times because of injuries. This time, he listened carefully to his doctors, trainers and rehab specialists.
“They’ve put a real good plan in place, and I’ve done a better job of listening to them,” he said. “I’m just following the plan, and the biggest thing for me is getting ready for that first game of the season.”
Watt would like to get off to another impressive start like last season when the Texans won their first two games. They won the AFC South for the second consecutive season and the fourth time in six years before being eliminated in the divisional round at New England.
Entering his seventh season, Watt understands what it’s going to take to win enough to secure a third consecutive division title. And he wants to become the first player to be voted NFL Defensive Player of the Year four times. He current shares the league record of three with Lawrence Taylor.
“I think I’ve probably grown more as a person than I have as a player,” he said. “I think I’ve learned a lot about myself, learned a lot about life in general. But then you grow as a player as well.
“You learn from watching things. You learn from how you treat your body to how you treat each game. You learn how to be a better leader and learn how to be a better teammate.”
Sharing wisdom
Watt has enough experience to give good advice to younger players who look up to him. He’s becoming a mentor to some of his younger teammates on defense, a role he relishes.
They see Watt and the awards he’s won and the money he’s made, and they can’t believe how much he takes an interest in them.
“There’s a lot of young guys itching to learn, itching to hear what you have to say,” he said. “It’s fun to be able to see these young guys so eager to play and be able to coach them up and take that raw ability and that raw emotion and funnel it into a really good player.
“I don’t like to consider myself too old yet, but it’s fun when you see these guys come into the league asking questions and wanting to learn. To be able to share that knowledge and to be able to share what you’ve seen is exciting.
“When you can see it go from the meeting room to the walkthrough to the field, I guess that’s probably what coaching feels like. It’s a cool feeling when you watch those guys put it into place, and then you see them smile after they make a big play.”
If Watt stays healthy, he’ll make a lot of big plays again. He can’t wait for the start of regular season because he knows the Texans can have a great defense.
“It’s just a really physical chess game,” he said. “People say football’s just a bunch of guys ramming their heads into each other, but there’s a lot of thought that goes into it. There’s a whole bunch of mind games going on. It’s a fun game. It’s a blast, and I love it.”