Steelers' T.J. Watt inadvertently names his secret to success following revealing statement
Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt is seemingly behind the eight ball when analyzing his sack numbers. He ranks 17th in the league at 4.5 through seven games. But if you go beyond the box score, it's clear to many that Watt is probably playing his best snap-for-snap season yet, despite receiving more attention than […]
Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt is seemingly behind the eight ball when analyzing his sack numbers.
He ranks 17th in the league at 4.5 through seven games.
But if you go beyond the box score, it's clear to many that Watt is probably playing his best snap-for-snap season yet, despite receiving more attention than ever.
How does he do it?
A dedication to routine and consistency that he had yet to speak on before this week:
Watt's Dedication Comes to Light
“I’m just very like, specific on what time," Watt told ESPN on how he gets prepared every week. "I get in the facility at 7:10 every day. I eat breakfast, I’m out of the breakfast by 7:30. I’m in the cold tub by 7:30 to 7:40. And then I go up and watch film at eight and then 8:30 is meetings till whenever we have lunch. And then right after we have walkthrough, I have to get my lunch at a certain time. But it’s not like if I don’t do these things, I’m gonna go crazy…
"…It’s all about consistency. It’s about having months, years, and seasons of great success and doing it over time when people are trying to game plan against you. And when the lights come on, I know that I did everything that I possibly could so that I’m ready to for battle. And I know that the guy across from me most likely didn’t do the things that I did throughout the week because I just want everything to fall in line because I’ve worked so hard. You put everything into this one day.”
The truth is, there is no secret as to why Watt is arguably the best defensive player in the National Football League. He's actually undersized for the position and has very good but not elite athletic traits, like bend, burst and close.
But no one is as technical as Watt with his hands and body control, and no one plays the position with the attention to detail that Watt displays on a down-in and down-out basis.
Double team him, chip him, slide the line towards him, you name it, he's seen it, and more impressively, he's beaten it.
So it doesn't come across as a surprise that Watt is an expert in time management.
Expect a riled-up Watt as the Steelers look to go 2-0 in the NFL's version of the Subway Series, after beating the New York Jets and facing the New York Giants.
