Browns’ Garrett has measuring stick in Watt
Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods wouldn't venture a guess on his star Myles Garrett's state of mind for Sunday's defensive end showdown against the Houston Texans' J.J. Watt.
But interim Texans coach Romeo Crennel didn't hesitate.
“Sure, a player across the field playing your position and trying to do the same thing that you do, there will be more juice,” Crennel said Wednesday in a Zoom conference call. “I think Myles will have more juice as a result of it because of what J.J. has been able to accomplish in his career.”
Watt, 31, is a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, a long-stated goal of Garrett, 24. Watt has totaled 100 career sacks in 120 games; Garrett has 39.5 in 45 games.
Going into the game at Firstenergy Stadium, Garrett seems on his way to the award he covets. Even with last week's bye, he is tied with Aaron Donald for the league lead with nine sacks. This is the fifth time in league history that a player has reached nine or more sacks in the first eight games, and Garrett is the first since Justin Houston in 2013. Garrett's four forced fumbles, all strip sacks, and two fumble recoveries are also tied for first in the league.
“He's obviously having a great year so far. Hopefully he doesn't have a good game on Sunday,” Watt told Houston reporters Wednesday. “That's the goal for us. The guy's a hell of a player. He's got
Kickoff: 1 p.m. today TV: Ch. 28 speed. He's got quickness and power. He's got all the tools you need, and he's obviously playing at an extremely high level.”
Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is well aware that Garrett signed a five-year, $125 million contract extension in July and has proved to be a game-wrecker since.
“He's a beast. He got paid what he deserved,” Watson told Houston media on Wednesday. “He's a guy that's going to come every play. He's a guy that you have to worry about each and every time. He's a special talent. Very athletic. Can run. Very powerful. Very strong. Can bend around the edge.
“He's a guy that we got to make sure that we can try to contain as much as possible and not let him take over the ballgame.”
Watt, back from a torn pectoral in 2019 that limited him to eight games, has only four sacks and eight quarterback hits in eight games. But that doesn't diminish the reputation of Watt, the first player in league history to reach 100 sacks with multiple 20-sack seasons (2012, 2014). He has 25 career forced fumbles. His 273 career quarterback hits and 163 tackles for loss are the most since both became official stats.
“He's a very, very unique player in that his combination of size, strength, athleticism, quickness and power is really unrivaled,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said of Watt. “He gets those long arms up, and he bats balls in the air. He's a very, very disruptive player. He lines up all over the formation, so you can't key in on where he is going to be. I have a huge amount of respect for what he has done in his career.”
The first overall pick in 2017, Garrett has taken on the Texans twice in Houston and totaled 2.5 sacks, one in his second career game, but is 0-2 against them.
Former Browns coach Crennel didn't go as far as Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden, who said he wished Garrett played for him. But Crennel, 73, who started his NFL career in 1981, delivered high praise.
“He's got that drive that some of the great pass rushers have,” Crennel said. “He has good length, he has good quickness off the ball, he has flexibility and he doggedly pursues the quarterback. Generally, that means sacks.”