J.J. Watt continues to dominate the AFC

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is the best defensive lineman in the AFC in only his second year in the league in 2012. In only 11 weeks of action, Watt has recorded 14.5 sacks and is 1st  in total sacks in the AFC. That is an enormous accomplishment for any defensive player, but for a defensive end in the 3-4 defense, that type of impact is amazing. 3-4 defensive ends typically are used in run support and to set up the linebackers to make all the plays. However Watt is the most productive 3-4 defensive end in football and defensive lineman in general with not only leading the AFC in sacks, but also 11 stuffs, 13 passes defended and two fumble recoverys.

However, what makes Watt so great? The first area to look at with Watt is his tenacity and motor. Watt has possibly the best motor in football and is just as strong at the beginning of games as he is at the end of games. Watt never stops and never gets discouraged. That type of mentality for a defensive lineman is the key to being successful at the position. You are never going to sack the quarterback on every play and you may not even get him for most of the game, but eventually you will get there if you keep fighting for 4 quarters.

The Texans are quickly becoming a team that is drafting defensive players that match their names. J.J. Watt is electric on the field and he never runs out of energy. Now if Whitney Merciless can start to prove his name correct, the Texans might start to become the most dominant defensive unit in all of the NFL. Not that aren’t already by the way, but J.J. Watt is the best defensive lineman in the NFL now. This Texans team has had the necessary talent to take them to the Super Bowl over the last couple seasons and now Watt is the spark on defense that should put them over the top.

James Cobern is a Featured Journalist for TPF and can be contacted at JCobern@ThePenaltyFlagBlog.com.