Steelers DC Teryl Austin is prepared for life without T.J. Watt
No one who works for, roots for, or has any vested interest in Pittsburgh Steelers football wants to live in a world where T.J. Watt is not on the field. And before last season, that was never a reality, so hopefully, it was just a freak incident, with Watt getting back on his Hall of […]
No one who works for, roots for, or has any vested interest in Pittsburgh Steelers football wants to live in a world where T.J. Watt is not on the field.
And before last season, that was never a reality, so hopefully, it was just a freak incident, with Watt getting back on his Hall of Fame trajectory in 2023.
But Steelers DC Teryl Austin is preparing for a scenario that doesn't include T.J. Watt, even if those are words no one wants to hear:
DC Teryl Austin: "We want to be better if that Happens Again"
"Is there a way to work around not having him [T.J. Watt] ?" Asked Mike Pristua of iheartradio Pittsburgh. "Or is that just something that is going to be a deal breaker to a certain degree if he's not available?
"Well, we know what he is, but we want to be better if that scenario happens to us again and we lose him for any stretch of time," answered Austin. "I've got to do a better job of getting guys in position to make some plays and doing some different things. And I think that was a good learning experience for us last year."
Now, let's hope that it was a good learning experience, but one that won't test their knowledge in 2023. Failing to prepare may as well be preparing to fail, but let's be clear:
There is only one T.J. Watt. No matter how good the Steelers' depth is, he is unreplaceable in this league outside of Micah Parsons.
So, deep down Austin probably knows that, but he wants to be prepared just in case:
"I want him on the field all the time, but I also have to be aware that there's a chance because of how violent this game is…He may miss a game, he may miss a series, he may miss some time," added Austin…
"…We have got to adapt. I don't want to kind of give you the direction we may go but I think we've bolstered ourselves with the addition of Marcus [Golden], who's is really good and I think our young guys like Nick Herbig are going to help us. T.J. impacts so many areas but one area that he really impacts is getting after the passer. And when you lose that, you have to have somebody that can step up and I think we've added to that this year. Only time will tell but I think we'll be a little bit better in that regard if we were to lose him or if we have to go that route."
And I would have to agree with Austin. If Nick Herbig plays anything in the regular season like he has in camp, there will be hell to pay for offensive tackles across the league when they face a fresh Herbig in obvious passing situations.
But hopefully, Herbig is just that. A designated pass rusher that fills in when Watt needs a breather. Because as excited as I am for Herbig's rookie season, there's only one T.J. Watt.
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Featured image via: © Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
