Only greatness will do for J.J. Watt
— -- HOUSTON -- He walks in, the best defensive football player on the planet, and takes a seat in a small media workroom inside NRG Stadium.
J.J. Watt is wearing Houston Texans gear and white sneakers with "Mega Watt" scribbled in red on the back. He puts his iPhone, sans a case, in his lap, clasps his massive hands together, looks at the floor and then raises his head, his icy blue eyes ablaze, his chiseled face expressionless.
"I owe you a huge apology," I say, taking a seat an arm's length away from him. "I'm very sorry."
Watt didn't ask for an explanation.
"That's all right," he says.
No, it isn't.
Watt and I had never sat down for a one-on-one interview before last week. We spoke once by phone midway through his second year in the NFL, in 2012. By that time, Watt had convinced his defensive coordinator, Wade Phillips, that he could take calculated risks on the football field because he had the talent, the work ethic and the drive to make them work. And Phillips had figured out that not only did Watt see the field better than any defender he had ever coached, but Watt played the defensive end position better than anyone, too.
The end of the 2011 regular season had been Watt's coming-out party, and the playoffs were his confirmation. His 2012 season ranks among the greatest ever by a defensive player: 20.5 sacks, 16 passes defensed, a team-high 107 tackles, 39 tackles for loss, 42 quarterback hits, 4 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.
"He had the best year anybody's ever had," said Phillips, who during 37 seasons in the NFL coached Reggie White, Bruce Smith and DeMarcus Ware in their primes. "You put in tackles, assists, tackles for loss, hits on the quarterback, knockdowns and sacks, he had everything."
Only one of the 50 media members who voted for the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year award didn't vote for Watt.
Me.
It was a huge mistake. Several weeks before the votes were due, I'd written a column on Denver linebacker Von Miller and how he should win the award over Watt and San Francisco's Aldon Smith. Last week, I explained to Watt that in my attempt not to be a hypocrite, I'd made a regrettable decision that cost Watt becoming the unanimous choice for the award.
"I understand," Watt said.
"It's really bothered me," I said.
"No worries," Watt said. "I appreciate it. Thank you."
"It was a great season you had," I said.
"Thank you very much," Watt said, his shoulders and expression relaxing. "[Miller] had one, too."
Last Wednesday night, the 67-year-old former coach sat in the newsroom of Comcast SportsNet in downtown Houston, his white hair a striking contrast to the black sport coat he wore. Having been fired after the Texans went 2-14 last season, Phillips is filling the void of not coaching this season by talking football on local television and radio.
That Watt is dominating again comes as no surprise.
"And to top it off," Phillips said, "now he's scoring touchdowns."
Scoring a touchdown is a defensive player's dream. Texans nose tackle Ryan Pickett has started 175 games during his 14-year NFL career and not once sniffed the end zone. Watt has been there three times this season alone.
"It's crazy," Pickett said. "It's like he's always in the right spot at the right time."
Watt's first touchdown came on an offensive play new coach Bill O'Brien installed in training camp. Watt, who played tight end for one season at Central Michigan before transferring to Wisconsin, had unsuccessfully lobbied previous head coach Gary Kubiak to design an offensive play for him.
When O'Brien did, Watt thought he was joking. Then O'Brien called the play during the Texans' opening drive at Oakland in Week 2. Yes, I do. All too well.
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