Aside from Budda Baker, I don’t think there was anyone more impactful and devastating to opposing offenses than J.J. Watt. What he accomplished last year was something that should be celebrated, it was a pleasure watching him wreak havoc in the trenches this year. I’m gonna cut to the chase, we’re gonna dive in to see what makes him so dangerous.
This was a combination of bad technique by the right tackle and uncanny quickness by an almost 300 lb man.
Almost timed perfectly you can see the right tackle has his hands down and shoulders up. He’s not leaning forward as if not to give up balance due to the fact that J.J. has a quick backdoor swim move that would completely give away the protection by the right tackle.
The right tackle leans forward legs close together, hands no hands on the defender with his shoulders leaning forward, J.J. takes full advantage and swats him aside for the first sack of the season (yes first). I don’t understand whether the tackle was trying to anchor expecting a bull rush, but as you will see that threat is how J.J. sets up that swim move.
J.J. finished the year strong for a player who was going into the end of his career when he announced in the last home game of the season that he is retiring. He went on a tear in a 4 game stretch where he racked up 13 total pressures, 6 sacks, and an overall PFF defensive average of 69.7.
Let’s go through that 4 game stretch.
He had 3 sacks against Denver, this one was impressive to me because it shows how he can maneuver around offensive linemen, looping around multiple gaps as he does here against the center while lining up against the tackle.
So on this stunt, J.J. is in a 2-point stance lined up in the 4-4i tech and takes an angle all the way to the opposite side A gap, and literally takes a sideways bend, anything more and he might as well be parallel to the ground. There are pass rushers right now, definitely very very very few DTs in the league that can pull off a maneuver like this. You can’t even tell the ground he covered from the sideline angle.
There was another dominant snap, this time against the run.
After the tight end motions across the formation, J.J. shifts because he knows in his head after the motion the snap will follow soon.
He sells the juke fast and fluid, he wastes no motion. He lunges forward and angles himself as if trying to maneuver to the right side of the guard. He completely sells it, making the linemen whiff. At that point, there is nothing a lineman can do, the tackle tries to divert the rush but it’s too late, can’t block a man from the side, only divert. Great move for the tackle for loss. Here’s the sideline angle.
Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, J.J. had impressive snaps against All-Pro right tackle Tristen Wirfs. As a tackle that Cardinals fans are very familiar with as they had the chance to draft him in 2020 (still stand by Simmons) J.J. did the equivalent of old Michael Jordan schooling defenders when Mike played for the Wizards.
Here, he is lined up at 4 tech against the left tackle this time. Usually, when he’s lined up head up on offensive linemen the pass protector to the outside shoulder is tasked to help. Obviously, he’s not facing Donavon Smith, he’s facing a backup, so there is more emphasis on sending more protection to the strong side of the formation. You notice the tight end shifts to help the left tackle, and for extra measure, they put a fullback in the pistol to the strong side to handle Simmons. It didn’t matter at the end because J.J. gets control off the snap, weaved to attack the tackle’s left shoulder, uses the tackle’s own momentum against him, and breaks through the line of scrimmage.
He has all this success using these techniques because offensive linemen respect the strength of Watt. It’s a catch-22 when he can bull rush or out maneuver a linemen, you can’t drop the anchor cause he’ll back door swim move, but you also can’t kick step one of your feet away because he’ll bull rush you.
Case in point: watch J.J. walk this guard (#63) back in the pocket, pressuring the quarterback to make the throw.
Here J.J. is lined up in the B gap and these pass rushes do not show up on the box score or highlight reels, but this is one of a quarterback’s pet peeves. Pressure in the face leads to inaccuracy whether by making the throw prematurely or having his vision partially impaired. It leads to a loss of down and that’s an impact offenses have to account for. He’s a pain in the you know what.
We are down to the final 3 clips against the 49ers in the season closer. This snap below demonstrates hand control.
Hand control is very crucial in winning 1 on 1’s. In this clip, the right guard and right tackle both engage with J.J., but the right guard passes Watt to McGlinchy. McGlinchy was unsuccessful landing his punch as you see Watt shoving it aside with his left arm and quickly transitioning into another back door swim move. This was one of 2 sacks he had in the game, but I think what he did to All-Pro tackle Trent Williams is vastly impressive.
I love this rep against All-Pro Tackle Trent Williams, showing a best on best at the LOS. Using his own physical prowess and momentum to shed the block, he uses that amazing balance he has and stopping Christian McCaffrey for no gain. After the play he shows it cause he knows it, he got the better out of the All-Pro.
I’m not done with the embarrassment of the All-Pro Tackle, on this snap, he quickly wins the hand control battle. He doesn’t allow Trent to punch the left shoulder, instead using that same hand to pull him forward, outsmarting the left tackle once again. Even though the run went in a different direction, J.J. is showing he can win against the best.
I truly believe J.J. is still a Pro Bowl-caliber player and maybe even as good as All-Pro status had he played with another organization. Be thankful he had this crazy good of a season with the Cardinals.
One last clip for the road, Farewell and good luck to the Watt family.
If you haven’t already, here’s the article of J.J. Watt’s retirement announcement by Andrew “the Mann” Heidemann.
Retirement Announced: Looking Back on JJ Watt’s Time as a Cardinal
