DPOY!
DPOY!
Well-deserved. Let's see 3 more dominant months
I'll say it again. This is the first of the many.
I know. I should have said "one of many". My response is playing off of my post in the other T. J. Watt thread for Defensive Player of the Week.
My point is that he's going to win lots of these awards. I said that I believe he is as good as James Harrison in his prime right now. Some disagree, but I contend he is on pace to be DPOY.
Maybe TJ is as good a player right now as James was in his prime. The one possible advantage James had was that he was attacking from the QB's blind side so the QBs could not always see him coming. TJ is attacking from the QBs strong side (right side) so they can see him coming easier from that side.
I guess the flip side to that though is that most left tackles are better than right tackles, so James might have faced more tougher lineman to beat. It's a fun thing to debate, and the fact that TJ in even being mentioned in the same breath as prime James Harrison is a good thing.
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On a personal note, last year in early 2019 when things imploded with Antonio Brown and he left the Steelers, I obviously decided I would never wear my AB jersey again. So, as I like to have a jersey for a current player, I was trying to decide between 3 different current players, and I went with TJ thinking he was the best bet to remain with the Steelers for a long time.......and I also figured he is not likely to do something stupid off the field to make me embarrassed to wear his jersey.
Harrison wasn't any good on the other side. He couldn't play the position well or be as effective. He wouldn't play there as a Steeler. He was tried there when he left to play elsewhere, but was ineffective.
Watt is the more versatile player. He was terrific at both spots.
As you mention, whoever rushes the quarterbacks' blind side plays against the most gifted OT's every single game.
Watt is capable of playing either side very well.
Last edited by pczach; 10-05-2020 at 01:04 PM.
Harrison had great leverage which helped him against LTs, but he could never play the other side as well as TJ because TJ is faster and better at quickly applying the correct technique based on what the offensive blockers are doing.
I’d have to say that TJ is the more valuable all around player. He’s also really good at helping everyone else get sacks BECAUSE the QB sees him coming and often has no choice but to move into the path of another defender.
And TJ is just getting better. That’s the truly scary part.
He sat out practice with a knee injury and I can’t find any report about how severe it is. That’s one player we just can’t replace.