Watt and Conner

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

What's with Conner and Watt?

Both of them have been monsters in games 1 and 5, but silent in games 2-4.

Watt

Games 1,5 - 18 tackles, 6 sacks, 1FF
Games 2-4 - 8 tackles, 0 sacks

Conner

Games 1,5 - 52 rushes, 245 yards, 4.7 YPA, 4 TDs, 9 catches, 132 yards, 14.7 YPC, 1 FUM
Games 2-4 - 32 rushes, 97 yards, 3.0 YPA, 1 TD, 13 catches, 107 yards, 8.2 YPC

Whatever these two guys ate before those games we gotta get them more of that.

[NorthCoast]

There's been some analysis out there. On Watt, something about the defensive scheme change to a 4-3 with Watt on the edge rather than dropping in pass defense. On Conner, again scheme, getting away from between the tackle runs with more outside runs and getting him the ball in space so he could use his strength and balance against lighter defenders.

[D Rock]

Against KC and Baltimore the Steelers got down early, good chance they had to abandon the run and blitzing

Not sure about the Tampa game, but maybe injuries or scheme to keep Watt more in coverage for some reason?

I imagine some website somewhere has blitzing and coverage stats per game that could be analyzed

[Steel Maniac]

Watt was just named AFC defensive player of the week. Nice

[RuthlessBurgher]

J.J. Watt, T.J. Watt reflect on sharing league lead in sacks

Posted by Michael David Smith on October 11, 2018, 4:57 AM EDT

Houston’s J.J. Watt and his little brother, Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt, each have six sacks this season. No one else in the NFL has more.

The Watt brothers (who are in a three-way tie for the sack lead with Cincinnati’s Geno Atkins) reflected this week on how special it is that they’re each at the top of the league.

“It’s pretty wild when you go and you look at the sack sheet, and you see our names next to each other,” J.J. told ESPN. “We used to beat up on each other in backyard, and now we get to see our names at the top of the NFL sack charts. So it’s incredible, and I’m lucky. I have two incredible brothers [T.J. and Chargers fullback Derek Watt], and I’m very fortunate.”

T.J. is a big fan of both of his brothers.

“That’s something I’ll never take for granted is to be able to sit on the couch and watch them play. It’s pretty special,” T.J. said.

J.J. may have the upper hand in taking the sack lead from his brother this weekend. His Texans take on the Bills, whose quarterback, Josh Allen, has been sacked an NFL-high 19 times this season. T.J. and the Steelers will take on the Bengals, whose quarterback, Andy Dalton, has been sacked only nine times this season.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/10/11/j-j-watt-t-j-watt-reflect-on-sharing-league-lead-in-sacks/

[RuthlessBurgher]

T.J. Watt calls sack race with brother J.J. 'healthy competition'

8:48 AM ET

Sarah Barshop
ESPN Staff Writer

HOUSTON -- Before the Houston Texans' game on Sunday night, defensive end J.J. Watt had the chance to watch his younger brother T.J., an outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, deliver another impressive three-sack performance.

J.J. also knew that with those three sacks, T.J. took the lead in the family, with six on the season, and that he was tied with Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins for the NFL lead.

"I knew he had six sacks, so I knew I had to get at least one. Otherwise, I couldn't go back to my phone after that," J.J. said. "Then, I missed the one, so I was really pissed off."

J.J.'s only sack came late in the fourth quarter and ensured that there would be a tie atop the family and NFL sack leaderboard for at least one more week.

T.J. also had a three-sack performance in Week 1 against the Browns, and J.J. had three sacks in Week 3 against the Giants.

According to T.J., the back-and-forth is just "healthy competition." J.J. said he and his brother are "each other's biggest fans."

"It's always been competitive," J.J. said. "It's always been like that. This is just the first time in the league we've gotten a chance to both be healthy and do it the same time. But, no, we're each other's biggest fans. We each root for each other as much as we can, whenever we can. I want to see him get as many sacks as he can possibly get, just the same way he wants to see me. We compete, and there's definitely a little bit of underlying competition there, but at the end of the day, if he gets 500 sacks, I'd be happy as hell."

The fact that the brothers share the lead is also cool for their mom, Connie.

"I'm sure my mom thinks it's a lot cooler than I do," T.J. said. "She'll take a picture of it, and our names will be next to each other, and it will be cool for her."

J.J. said he has always known what his brother is capable of, "and it's fun for the rest of the league to be able to see it."

"It's pretty wild when you go and you look at the sack sheet, and you see our names next to each other," J.J. said. "We used to beat up on each other in backyard, and now we get to see our names at the top of the NFL sack charts. So it's incredible, and I'm lucky. I have two incredible brothers [T.J. and Chargers fullback Derek Watt], and I'm very fortunate."

Added T.J.: "That's something I'll never take for granted is to be able to sit on the couch and watch them play. It's pretty special."

But although J.J. and T.J. are tied for the lead in sacks, the older brother pointed out on Wednesday that he is ahead in another category.

"Today he got his second AFC Player of the Week or whatever, but, I mean, I got the Player of the Month last month," J.J. said. "So I think that's a little cooler."

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/24952035/pretty-wild

[RuthlessBurgher]

T.J. Watt's 'blackout' sack celebration a sign defense is working

8:00 AM ET

Jeremy Fowler
ESPN Staff Writer

PITTSBURGH -- T.J. Watt works nearly as hard celebrating a sack as he does actually getting one. Fixed somewhere between rage and serenity, Watt leaps out of the backfield, breaks into a 20-yard sprint, flexes his arms toward the sky and pauses to savor the takedown.

Apparently he can't help himself, calling the aftermath a "blackout" moment in which emotions overtake him at the expense of a potential hamstring pull.

“I always have that moment to myself where I’m like, 'Damn, this feels so dang good,'" Watt said after Wednesday's practice in preparation for Sunday's matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. "The body does whatever the heck it wants. That’s why I can’t stick to one celebration.”

A spazzed-out Watt signals a defense that's working. With eight tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble Sunday against Atlanta, Watt earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors and tied brother J.J. Watt for the league-sack lead with six. Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins is part of the three-way tie at the top.

But a disjointed Steelers defense finally looked organized during the 41-17 win. Defensive ends Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt were handling the interior and pass coverage had buttoned up the coverage breakdowns that plagued them for a month, allowing outside linebackers Watt and Bud Dupree to work one on one against the tackles.

If sustained, this recipe for success should only strengthen Watt's position as a building block for the Steelers' defense.

But Watt knows it's not that simple, which is why he spent most of his explanation for his breakout day deflecting attention and praising teammates.

"Everything we do is a team stat," Watt said. "We realize that as a team, if we want to be great, we all have to do our job and accept whoever gets the play and be happy for everybody. ... I think it will be a great boost for us.”

Watt recognizes his individual play -- namely, his pass-rush savvy -- will help. That's largely about getting a mental edge. After consistently beating veteran Falcons tackle Ryan Schraeder on Sunday, Watt cited his inside move as the catalyst. Once that started working, he says, "it kind of gets in his head," allowing him to utilize the full arsenal of moves.

Watt is showing once he figures out a tackle, he gets hot.

"The stat line says it all -- very [disruptive]," coach Mike Tomlin said.

This process isn't as evident every week. Watt was relatively quiet with 10 tackles and zero splash plays in Weeks 2-4. But the defense was hemorrhaging big plays on the back end, which minimized the rush. Tomlin called Sunday's performance a "collective rush."

That helps Watt prioritize a do-your-job mentality over individual accolades in October. Asked about what it's like to share the sack lead with his brother, Watt said, "I'm sure my mom thinks it's a lot cooler than I do," citing his allergy to "statistical things."

But teammates want to see more signature Watt moves, before and after the sack.

"That's just part of the tradition -- the Watt family," Dupree said.

The tradition Watt seems to care about is Pittsburgh's pedigree as a top-ranked defense. Right now, the Steelers rank 30th in total defense. But the Atlanta game was a springboard that Watt hopes pays off, starting in Cincinnati.

“I think it’s just awesome to have the film to show we’re capable of this," Watt said. "[That] we can do this week in and week out.”

http://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/post/_/id/28930/will-t-j-watts-big-game-ignite-steelers-defense