I was addressing everyone that has concerns about Watt as a player, not you individually. There are people in this thread and in other threads leading up to the draft that didn't believe Watt is a good enough player to take in the first round. I was just addressing that. I don't think what I said is negative in any way towards anybody. It's simply my opinion of a player.
I can't validate my evaluation of Jarvis Jones years ago. If Steelers Fever still existed, I would be able to link my posts. Steelers Fever doesn't exist anymore. I can't really prove that I didn't think Jones would be a good pro. I don't know if there are any fellow SF posters that remember my stance on Jones. I guess that would be the only way to verify that I broke him down in my evaluation as a player that the Steelers should not take.
As for your assessment on the here and now, I believe TJ Watt is a better player than Jarvis Jones right now. I believe if he's on the field next year or getting significant playing time that Watt will probably have more sacks in his rookie season than Jones did in his first few years with the Steelers. You looked at the tape of both players and saw someone equivalent to Jarvis Jones. I looked at the tape of both players and see a player that is already ahead of Jarvis Jones at this stage of his career, is a superior athlete to Jones, is quicker off the ball than Jones, is better with his hands than Jones, has better speed and is able to chase quarterbacks down faster than Jones or get to quarterbacks and running backs that Jones never could. That is just from the tape, but the combine numbers and drills back up what I see with my eyes. I'm not just a combine guy that looks at 40 times, vertical jumps, and bench press reps and comes up with an opinion of a player. You use the combine to validate what you see, not to create an impression of the player.
I watch players live in games to get my first impressions of the player. I then watch game tape to try to break down their game.
What are their strengths?
What are their weaknesses?
How well do they use their hands?
What pass rush moves do they have in the arsenal?
How quick are they off the snap?
Do they rely on guessing the snap count?
Do they maintain their discipline and take care of their responsibilities on plays, or do they freelance?
Do they have the ability to lean and bend the corner?
Do they combine moves?
Do they know how to set up counter moves?
Can they read and react to where the quarterback is and adjust while engaged to make plays?
Do they appear to have a feel for the game?
What kind of a motor do they have?
And any other observations you can pick up watching an edge player.
After that you use the combine and pro day numbers and try to watch as much as you can of the drills that nobody watches or cares about. Then you try to determine a players character. Since I don't have direct contact with players, I rely on whatever you pick up from all the insiders, scouts, media stories, etc... Then do internet searches to see if any stories come up that don't make the national media that are of any consequence.
Now, you say you watched tape. I watched tape. We are just seeing things differently.
It just sounds to me like you are being a little overly critical of what you see as negative plays. He played on a dominant defense last year. There aren't any games where that defense got pushed around, and Watt was a large part of that defense. The only game they got gouged was in the Big Ten Championship game against Penn St, and in that game they only gave up 51 yards rushing. Other than that, you would have a hard time finding him "get blocked out of position on runs".
They also had a pedestrian offense that put a lot of pressure on the defense. Wisconsin's defense only gave up 15.5 points per game and 303 yards per game.
https://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/footba...m?cat1=defense
There couldn't be that many breakdowns. They only gave up 98.8 yards per game and 3.3 yards per rush. If he could easily be moved, I think teams would have run at him more and had more success.
Look...this happens all the time in football. Two people look at the same player and the same tape and see two different things. I just hope I'm right and you're wrong!
One last thing. I love Buddha Baker. I have been talking him up around here and think he's an excellent player. Most don't think he's a first round pick, and he wasn't. If you watched NFL Network's coverage yesterday, just before the draft started they asked everyone at the desk for a final thought on a player. As his final thought, Mike Mayock said that Buddha Baker's tape is fantastic and is as good as any player's tape in this draft........anyone's. That tells you what a discrepancy their is on opinions of players, and how much size, speed, and a million other factors are taken into consideration when evaluating a player. A player like Baker probably wasn't drafted in the first round because he wasn't an inch and a half taller and 10 pounds heavier.....even though everything you see on tape tells you he is as good as anybody.
The point is that this is not an exact science, and everyone has a different opinion of the same player while looking at the exact same things.
I believe TJ Watt is a better player than fourth year Jarvis Jones the second his big toe hits the field in Pittsburgh, and I think he has a huge upside. You also think he has a big upside, but just don't see enough in his game yet.
Such is life evaluating players.
Originally Posted by Craic
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