HOUSTON -- In a lot of ways, J.J. Watt is loud.
His play is loud and flashy and demands the attention of two, maybe three offensive linemen. He elicits loud cheers from Houston Texans fans -- they chant his name, sometimes "M-V-P" -- and sometimes he yells back.
There are times, though, when the NFL's best defensive player goes quiet. At those times, he becomes like a wide-eyed kid, listening but not speaking, in awe of what he hears in this mysterious place.
"I have no idea what they’re saying in the huddle on offense," Watt said. "I swear to God. I have no clue what the play calls are or anything. I know my little gambit of plays. I know what I’m supposed to do on those."
Watt checks with the quarterback to make sure he has it right -- sometimes he checks with the sideline to make sure he's supposed to be out there -- and then he completes his assignment. Watt has caught all three touchdown passes thrown to him this season. He's been the target on three of the seven snaps he's played offensively.
"I don't think he has enough experience, so he just comes in and kind of listens to the play," Texans left tackle Duane Brown said.
Watt has been working on his offensive skills for a while. He started in college as a tight end but switched after he transferred from Central Michigan to walk on at Wisconsin. The Badgers needed an extra body on the scout team and figured Watt would do. There, he quickly earned his scholarship and then became one of the best defensive players in the country.
It didn't take long, after being drafted into the NFL, for Watt to win defensive player of the year. He did so in just his second NFL season, and his defensive exploits this year -- two defensive touchdowns, 11.5 sacks, 36 quarterback hits, 16 tackles for loss and eight batted passes -- should earn him another such award in his fourth NFL season.
All the while, Watt never let his hands go to waste. Catching one-handed passes before games and after practices just became a ritual in an effort to turn himself into the best and most well-rounded football player he could. During the summers, Watt would kneel next to the Texans' young receivers, waiting his turn on sweltering Houston afternoons, sometimes challenging them to try using just one hand against the Jugs machine.
"I just thought he was doing something having a little fun," Texans receiver Keshawn Martin said. "But as you can see, he's getting more incorporated into the goal-line offense. He's got a couple touchdown passes, so I guess it's something he can really do. He's made some tough catches, too."
They aren't "circus" plays, Texans coach Bill O'Brien made clear this week. He uses Watt when the situation calls for a play designed for him, but some of what Watt does is as entertaining as a car full of clowns.
The catch on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans provided one of those moments, when he reached down to grab the football with the fingers he tapes up to play defense, falling to complete the catch. Texans linebackers coach Mike Vrabel always tells Watt to spike the ball after his catches; that's what Vrabel did back in his day when the former NFL linebacker caught 10 passes for 10 touchdowns. On Sunday, though, Watt got too excited and forgot to hang on to the ball as his teammates enveloped him.
"Those are plays that we’ve executed in practice and we’ve worked really hard at," quarterbacks coach George Godsey said. "We’ve spent a lot of time on them. It’s good to see that they work on game day. There are some plays that really don’t look good in practice that we haven’t thrown out there."
They don't always look perfect on the field, either. On Sunday, Watt initially lined up at fullback, but moved before the snap.
"Some things got a little bit off," Watt said. "We made it work. We made it work."
That's what has mattered for Watt and the Texans. Even if he needs a little guidance out there sometimes, the Texans win every time Watt catches a touchdown pass.
