Watt leaves ‘our realm’ after a sack
PITTSBURGH 无毛视频� Want to know where the Steelers无毛视频� sacks leader goes during his in-game celebrations?
The guy playing next to T.J. Watt does.
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know what world T.J. goes to after he makes a play,无毛视频� said Stephon Tuitt. 无毛视频淚 always wait until he comes back into our realm, but he does a great job generating excitement as he makes plays.无毛视频�
The guy on the other end of the line has noticed, too.
无毛视频淭.J., man, he gets really animated when he makes a play,无毛视频� said Bud Dupree. 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 just part of the game, part of the tradition of the Watt family.无毛视频�
So is leading the NFL in sacks. Watt brothers J.J. and T.J. are tied at the top of the NFL sacks leaderboard with Geno Atkins of the Cincinnati Bengals. The three have six sacks apiece.
T.J. got three the first week and three last Sunday and was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week both times. He was asked if he无毛视频檚 competing against his brother.
无毛视频淣o, no competition. Just trying to make each other better,无毛视频� said T.J., who has 13 sacks in his first 20 games. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 healthy competition and I无毛视频檓 just really happy to see both of my brothers out there playing on Sundays. It无毛视频檚 something I无毛视频檒l never take for granted. To be able to sit on the couch and watch them play is pretty special.无毛视频�
On Sunday, J.J. will be in Houston at the same time Atkins will be trying to add to his sack total against David DeCastro and Ben Roethlisberger. T.J. will be chasing Andy Dalton to take the lead himself. And if he does, don无毛视频檛 mind that he leaves 无毛视频渙ur realm无毛视频� for a bit.
无毛视频淚 kind of just black out,无毛视频� explained T.J. 无毛视频淵ou work so hard and you put in so much effort, and it无毛视频檚 so hard to make big plays in the NFL. When you do, you just kind of spazz out and just go crazy and just celebrate because it无毛视频檚 worth celebrating when you make a play.
无毛视频淥bviously, you go back and celebrate with the team, but I always have that moment to myself that无毛视频檚 like, 无毛视频楧amn! This feels so dang good!无毛视频� And the body just does whatever the heck it wants. That无毛视频檚 why I can无毛视频檛 stick to one celebration. I just can无毛视频檛 figure it out.无毛视频�
Watt has time. In only his second season he无毛视频檚 become the leader of a pass rush that sacked Matt Ryan six times Sunday and is on pace for a team-record 61 sacks.
无毛视频淚 just think we无毛视频檙e doing a great job of pressing the pocket and collapsing the pocket as a whole,无毛视频� Watt said. 无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 think anyone in this scheme is meant to eat up blocks. We all have great opportunities. It无毛视频檚 awesome when those guys push the pocket. It allows the quarterback to step back and allows us to get a little wider rushes and also get the quarterback in our hands. It无毛视频檚 been working out really well.无毛视频�
Watt was also flagged 15 yards for a low hit on Ryan that was clearly a missed call by the official. Mike Tomlin was critical of NFL officiating after the game and has been reportedly fined $25,000.
无毛视频淚 pulled my hands off. You can see it in the film,无毛视频� Watt said. 无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know what is a penalty and what isn无毛视频檛 anymore, so I just play my game and if a flag is thrown, a flag is thrown. It sucks that it无毛视频檚 a 15-yarder.无毛视频�
Was he happy when Tomlin criticized the officiating?
无毛视频淎h, he无毛视频檚 doing his job,无毛视频� Watt said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 not my job to complain about the refs because my opinion means absolutely nothing. I无毛视频檓 just going to go out and play football and control what I can control.无毛视频�
HAUNTING SCENE
The Steelers on Sunday will return to the scene of last year无毛视频檚 comeback win at Cincinnati, where they trailed 17-0 in the second quarter and were playing with the realization that Ryan Shazier had been taken to the hospital after a tackle left him on the field without feeling in his legs.
n 无毛视频淚 hate even going back to think about it,无毛视频� said Ben Roethlisberger. 无毛视频淲e didn无毛视频檛 know what was going on. We knew that a guy went to the hospital, but you didn无毛视频檛 really know the severity of it at the time. In the midst of the football game you just keep playing.无毛视频�
n 无毛视频淚t was tough at that point, kind of knowing what happened,无毛视频� said Maurkice Pouncey. 无毛视频淲e didn无毛视频檛 know the whole severity of it until after the game. We celebrated the win, but at the same time we had a lot of concerns for our brother Ryan.无毛视频�
n 无毛视频淥ne thing I can say about this team is we always rally back to each other,无毛视频� said Tuitt. 无毛视频淲e always defend each other. We always have each other无毛视频檚 backs. Knowing that game was already a physical game, and having something like that happen to one of our brothers, we just did what we do best and that无毛视频檚 have each other无毛视频檚 back and continue to push till the end.无毛视频�
LE无毛视频橵EON OR JAMES?
If Roethlisberger were the coach, how would he he use James Conner and Le无毛视频橵eon Bell when Bell comes back, reportedly next week.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 a good thing that I am not the coach,无毛视频� said Roethlisberger. 无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know. I think James has done some amazing things and deserves to be on the football field. We also know what Le无毛视频橵eon is and what he brings to the table, so I guess we无毛视频檒l cross that bridge if and when it happens.无毛视频�
Conner无毛视频檚 coming off a 110-yard rushing performance against the Falcons, which followed a 19-yard performance the previous week. But Roethlisberger won无毛视频檛 call Conner inconsistent.
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know that there has been much down,无毛视频� Roethlisberger said. 无毛视频淚 guess if you are saying in terms of rushing yards, but if you look at the overall picture of what we ask him to do every week, I think it无毛视频檚 been going up every week. I think that无毛视频檚 what gets lost in what a running back has to do: pass blocking, picking up the blitz, catching the ball out of the backfield. I don无毛视频檛 want to jinx it, but he无毛视频檚 caught almost everything I无毛视频檝e thrown to him and he无毛视频檚 in the right spot every time quickly.无毛视频�
INJURY REPORT
SS Terrell Edmunds (calf) and ILB Vince Williams (hamstring) were full participants Wednesday, but the other injured players 无毛视频� WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (ankle), Morgan Burnett (groin) and L.J. Fort (ankle) 无毛视频� didn无毛视频檛 work at all.
Fort is coming off an outstanding game that was played almost entirely with a sprained ankle. The injury occurred on his first play in the game. Fort didn无毛视频檛 say whether he thinks he can play Sunday, but his expression and an outburst of laughter from his neighbors in the locker room say that it无毛视频檚 unlikely.
It无毛视频檚 also expected that Burnett will once again sit out Sunday无毛视频檚 game and take the bye week to attempt a recovery.
Roethlisberger, Pouncey and Joe Haden were given a veteran无毛视频檚 day off by Tomlin.
The Bengals无毛视频� injury report: RB Giovani Bernard (knee), G Clint Boling (hip), TE Tyler Kroft (foot) and C Billy Price (foot) did not practice; LB Preston Brown (ankle), CB William Jackson (knee), DE Michael Johnson (knee), DE Carl Lawson (ankle) and WR John Ross (groin) were limited.