Can Watt get better?

[RetailPhenom]

Thought I would make my 1st thread about an all around good dude.

So, can he do even more?

I think so and here's why:
He has Willfork to draw attention and open lanes for more pressure.

He has another year in this D.

The backfield on the D has improved which allows more time for pressure.

Cushing looks healthy for the first time in a while.

Clowney will also draw more attention and provide better penetration than Mercilus.

Nix and Crick have improved.

As a result I see Watt's sacks to stay about the same but his opportunities to make turnovers will increase and he will take advantage. I see him being used in more advantageous situations and wreaking even more havoc on offenses.

[chitownbears22]

I don't know if he can get better, but he can now start to show longevity.

[TheBurg]

I don't know if he can get better because I can't even conceive what being better than he is now would look like.

[RetailPhenom]

I don't know if he can get better because I can't even conceive what being better than he is now would look like.

If I knew how to post GIFs I would post a pic of The Hulk.

Maybe I meant can his stats improve not necessarily his talent.

[Bostonsports1]

I don't think he will be better, just may have more room/opportunities since there is other talent around him

[RetailPhenom]

I don't think he will be better, just may have more room/opportunities since there is other talent around him

This is my line of thought. As a result I think his overall stats will get better.

[MFaulkCollector]

The thought that he could get 25-26 sacks is not totally absurd.... if Clowney is able to get 8-10 and Wilfork occupies two guys every play...... Watt will have that opportunity. His overall stats will be based a lot on the play of his teammates. Either way his ability will still be similar as long as he stays healthy

[RetailPhenom]

The thought that he could get 25-26 sacks is not totally absurd.... if Clowney is able to get 8-10 and Wilfork occupies two guys every play...... Watt will have that opportunity. His overall stats will be based a lot on the play of his teammates. Either way his ability will still be similar as long as he stays healthy

I like your jib. I see Wilfork adding 1-2 sacks to Watt's total.

[kairi-2008]

100% he will get better.
As you've played a guy before you know his weak spots, things he cant match. He's only played 4 seasons and some guys he hasn't met yet.

[panther252]

Statistically? Oh fug yes! Byron Bell is now in the divison and looks to have shored up that stating RT spot. They will line JJ up against him and he will steal his jock and swing it around over his head before the whistle even blows. He got 14 of his 20.5 sacks from the South, 6 of which from the Jaguars. I'm fully expecting two 11 sack games vs the Titans. Anything less will surely be a disappointment lol.

[DalliLlama11]

Maybe a little, but I don't think his stats will jump of compared to the past. Maybe add a sack or two. But the notion that Wilfork and Clowney will take up 2 people leaving Watt in more 1v1 situations I think is absurd. If a team still isn't doubling Watt leaving a slower/older Wilork or coming off injury Clowney to track the ball down, then something is wrong. No way in hell do I double Wilfork or Clowney over Watt any play. I will double Watt every single time before I even think about doing it to Wilfork or Clowney. I would think they have more opportunity from Watt, vs the other way around.

[MFaulkCollector]

Maybe a little, but I don't think his stats will jump of compared to the past. Maybe add a sack or two. But the notion that Wilfork and Clowney will take up 2 people leaving Watt in more 1v1 situations I think is absurd. If a team still isn't doubling Watt leaving a slower/older Wilork or coming off injury Clowney to track the ball down, then something is wrong. No way in hell do I double Wilfork or Clowney over Watt any play. I will double Watt every single time before I even think about doing it to Wilfork or Clowney. I would think they have more opportunity from Watt, vs the other way around.

If Wilfork plays well and is the true space eater that he usually is......... then you will need to occupy him with two guys. If he pushes the middle back on every single play then the entire offense will suffer. Obviously Clowney will not get much attention to begin with. That is where the "if" comes in. If he plays like a number one overall pick and starts to rack up some sacks then he will get extra attention.

If both guys suck then Watt will see two and maybe three guys... however, if they play well and the defense is really solid around Watt, there will not be quite as much attention on him. That is the point I was trying to convey. Not that those guys will be doubled no matter what and Watt will be running free. It just depends on how the unit plays as a whole

[sjim8660]

Watt could break the single season sack record this season, that would be an improvement over last year. He could be the first person to break 25 sacks in a season. The funny thing is that he didnt even lead the league last year in sacks. There is also the single game sack record (Derrick Thomas 7), so can Watt improve? Yep.

[RetailPhenom]

Statistically? Oh fug yes! Byron Bell is now in the divison and looks to have shored up that stating RT spot. They will line JJ up against him and he will steal his jock and swing it around over his head before the whistle even blows. He got 14 of his 20.5 sacks from the South, 6 of which from the Jaguars. I'm fully expecting two 11 sack games vs the Titans. Anything less will surely be a disappointment lol.

haha I like you already even though you're a Panthers fan.

If Wilfork plays well and is the true space eater that he usually is......... then you will need to occupy him with two guys. If he pushes the middle back on every single play then the entire offense will suffer. Obviously Clowney will not get much attention to begin with. That is where the "if" comes in. If he plays like a number one overall pick and starts to rack up some sacks then he will get extra attention.

If both guys suck then Watt will see two and maybe three guys... however, if they play well and the defense is really solid around Watt, there will not be quite as much attention on him. That is the point I was trying to convey. Not that those guys will be doubled no matter what and Watt will be running free. It just depends on how the unit plays as a whole

This is exactly my thoughts.

[chris_ac]

He needs to be better to compensate for the QB situation. If we don't run well without Foster, more pressure is on Hoyer and/or Mallett to exceed expectations and that won't work. We need a top 3 defense all season from Watt and company.

[trixstar]

Of course he can, no one is ever at "perfection"

[DalliLlama11]

If Wilfork plays well and is the true space eater that he usually is......... then you will need to occupy him with two guys. If he pushes the middle back on every single play then the entire offense will suffer. Obviously Clowney will not get much attention to begin with. That is where the "if" comes in. If he plays like a number one overall pick and starts to rack up some sacks then he will get extra attention.

If both guys suck then Watt will see two and maybe three guys... however, if they play well and the defense is really solid around Watt, there will not be quite as much attention on him. That is the point I was trying to convey. Not that those guys will be doubled no matter what and Watt will be running free. It just depends on how the unit plays as a whole

I would rather let Wilfork go in 1v1 situations than Watt, same with Clowney, regardless of how productive he is. That is what I am saying. He can statistically get better. But I am making Wilfork (lower motive, and mobility) beat me in 1v1 situations compared to Watt. I'll take my chance. Wilfork can blow up the entire middle of the offense. Then I am going outside towards Clowney, away from Watt. No way do I let Watt get a 1v1 with his speed, strength and conditioning, when that is questionable on the other 2 options to go at.

[MFaulkCollector]

I would rather let Wilfork go in 1v1 situations than Watt, same with Clowney, regardless of how productive he is. That is what I am saying. He can statistically get better. But I am making Wilfork (lower motive, and mobility) beat me in 1v1 situations compared to Watt. I'll take my chance. Wilfork can blow up the entire middle of the offense. Then I am going outside towards Clowney, away from Watt. No way do I let Watt get a 1v1 with his speed, strength and conditioning, when that is questionable on the other 2 options to go at.

If Wilfork pushes up the middle every play and is single teamed...... the offense will double him before anyone else. You really can't go "away" from the middle. A strong push up the middle will ruin everything. However, you are still right in your premise I think. Watt will still get the extra RB attention and extra guard help even if they double team Wilfork. Clowney will be the odd man out. If he dominates 1v1 match ups I don't think an adjustment would be made off Watt or Wilfork for more than a play or two at a time. If the unit plays up to potential it's a scary thought

[DalliLlama11]

If Wilfork pushes up the middle every play and is single teamed...... the offense will double him before anyone else. You really can't go "away" from the middle. A strong push up the middle will ruin everything. However, you are still right in your premise I think. Watt will still get the extra RB attention and extra guard help even if they double team Wilfork. Clowney will be the odd man out. If he dominates 1v1 match ups I don't think an adjustment would be made off Watt or Wilfork for more than a play or two at a time. If the unit plays up to potential it's a scary thought

You can go away from the middle with tosses, stretch, roll outs etc. Again though, Wilfork's stamina isn't going to be the greatest. So he will obviously be in less than Watt will be, which means the middle isn't as "closed off" as you seem to think it is. That said, I think we are basically agreeing, just in different ways. We both think he can get better stats, and so forth, but that he is already amazing individually and he can "improve" but the amount may not be huge considering.

[VikingsAllDay]

30 sacks this year…….. lol

[ninjacookies]

I personally think his stats will decline a bit, especially if Clowney and Willfork stay healthy.

That defense looks really good on paper. Then again, so did the early to mid 2000's Redskins.

[RetailPhenom]

You can go away from the middle with tosses, stretch, roll outs etc. Again though, Wilfork's stamina isn't going to be the greatest. So he will obviously be in less than Watt will be, which means the middle isn't as "closed off" as you seem to think it is. That said, I think we are basically agreeing, just in different ways. We both think he can get better stats, and so forth, but that he is already amazing individually and he can "improve" but the amount may not be huge considering.

This is the type of sets I believe Watt may be used more like a LB. With his athleticism he can cut off and create turnovers from those screens/tosses/etc.

[RetailPhenom]

30 sacks this year…….. lol

Between Watt/Clowney? Sure I see that.

[briscogun]

I don't know if Watt can be any better, or even put up better numbers, just because I think offenses will always double him or keep a back in to chip him until someone steps up to make them play him honest. If Clowney steps up and starts terrorizing QB's, then yes, I think Watt will have more opportunities.

But is there a better guy in the league or what? As awesome of a player as he is, he's an even better person. His work ethic is unbelievable and his off the field work with kids is so inspiring. I love this guy. I wish I could afford to PC him, he is THAT good! And I'm not a Texans fan at all!

[meandsharon11]

he can't get "better" by definition. He can absolutely increase his stats, but the thing with watt is his intangibles. That's what makes him so good. He is already considered one of the best to ever play, but for stat driven individuals the best he can do now is continue what he has done. If he does he will continue to do what no defensive player has ever done before. As another member said earlier consistency/longevity is the only thing he can show now.

[HBMC]

He could be the first person to break 25 sacks in a season.

Deacon Jones already beat him there, even though it wasn't a stat, he had 26 in 1967 and 24 in 1968. Deacon did it in a 14 game season, in fact, he had 129 sacks in 7 seasons (which is an average of 18.4 a season).

Harvey Martin had 23 sacks in 1979, again, not an NFL stat at the time.

[RetailPhenom]

Lots of likely scenarios have been mentioned.

After some thoughts brought up here, I think Clowney could be the key to Watt's statistical improvement. Imagine a healthy Clowney and Watt lined up on the same side.