Ben Roethlisberger, my choice for NFL MVP through the first half
of the 2012 season. (my training-camp photo)

—

The bests and worsts of the NFL, through the first half of the season:

 

 

****** TEAMS ******

 

BEST TEAM

Atlanta Falcons

You might think this is a no-brainer, but until their complete domination of the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, I was dubious of the Falcons’ undefeated record. They could easily have been 4-2, or even 3-3, if it hadn’t been for great fortune. But, man, did they look solid in Philly. They’re 7-0, uber-talented – starting with QB Matt Ryan and his receivers – and confident.

Runnerup: Houston Texans

 

WORST TEAM

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs haven’t led one game at any moment in regulation; they took their only lead at the conclusion of their overtime win in New Orleans in Week 3. They have the league’s worst turnover ratio, at -18, and are as poorly coached (by Romeo Crennel) as any NFL team we’ve seen in some time.

Runnerup: Jacksonville Jaguars

 

FASTEST RISING TEAM

Green Bay Packers

The Pack’s victory at Houston on Oct. 14 probably is the most impressive win by anybody this season. QB Aaron Rodgers has fully bounced back from whatever mini-funk he’d sunk into late last season. And the Packers defence has been fabulous, just a year after being the leakiest in the league; it leads the league in sacks with 26, just three shy of its 2011 total.

Runnerup: Denver Broncos

 

FASTEST SINKING TEAM

New York Jets

Since crushing the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, the Jets are 2-5, have lost their best player on both sides of the ball (CB Darrelle Revis, WR Santonio Holmes) and their starting QB Mark Sanchez has completed just 51% of his passes – for just seven TDs against seven picks, 184 yards a game and a dismal passer rating of 67.2. Plenty more of all this to come.

Runnerup: Philadelphia Eagles

 

MOST ENIGMATIC TEAM

Dallas Cowboys

It’s crazy, but owner/GM Jerry Jones might actually be correct – the talent is there to win a Super Bowl. Problem is, the capacity is also there among too many key players to screw up too often for the club even to make the playoffs, probably. Again. Tony Romo, for instance, on the same drive (let alone in the same quarter or game) can make throws like both an all-pro and a bad college backup. A shame, because the Dallas D is for real.

Runnerup: Detroit Lions

 

BEST HEAD COACH

Joe Philbin, Miami Dolphins

Everyone laughed at the Dolphins in August, especially after the club had traded away its most talented offensive player (WR Brandon Marshall) and best defensive back (Vontae Davis). Yet coming off a 6-10 season, the Fins are 4-3. They’re the only AFC team on a three-game winning streak, and their two losses before that were both in OT. Every respected talent evaluator said rookie QB Ryan Tannehill wasn’t ready to start, but he has been a solid playmaker. The Dolphins D is vastly under-appreciated too – allowing the fewest points in the AFC, and third fewest in the league.

Runnerup: Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears

 

 

****** PLAYERS ******

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh

A controversial pick, yes. But by definition of this category, no NFL player has meant more to his team’s success so far. Big Ben’s elite quarterback play and leadership was the glue that held the 4-3 Steelers together through a shaky first 5-6 weeks. Through three games, for instance, the Steelers running game was inept (125 yards total), the offensive line awful (nine sacks allowed) and the defence was reeling from myriad injuries. Yet Roethlisberger has been elite from Game 1’s opening kickoff.

Runnerup: Peyton Manning, QB, Denver

 

BEST PLAYER, OFFENCE

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay

Yes, Aaron again. He’d be the first to admit both he and the rest of the Packers offence stumbled a bit out of the gate. But since the replacement officials jobbed Green Bay out of that win at Seattle in Week 3, he’s been better than ever. The numbers: 70% completions, 18 touchdown passes, two interceptions, 121.1 passer rating. And that’s after the Packers’ top running backs went down, and with WR Greg Jennings mostly sidelined.

Runnerup: Peyton Manning, QB, Denver

 

BEST PLAYER, DEFENCE

J.J. Watt, DE, Houston

The second-year man is redefining 3-4 interior defensive line play, not only with his league-leading 9.5 sacks but with his 10 pass knockdowns. The only person disappointed in his stats is him – that’s how high his goals are. He affects a game like no other defender in the NFL. Since the playoffs he’s been doing it each and every week.

Runnerup: Tim Jennings, CB, Chicago

 

COMEBACK PLAYER

Peyton Manning, QB, Denver

He’s Mr. Commercials for a reason. The elder Manning is playing as well as any offensive player in the league right now. In his past five games, he’s more prolific than any QB (324 yards per game) and his passer rating of 109.0 trails only Rodgers’. Most impressively, Manning has thrown only one interception since he obviously had arm issues in the Week 2 loss at Atlanta – and that was when a novice receiver ran the wrong route at San Diego. Neck, shmeck. He’s back.

Runnerup: Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota

 

BEST ROOKIE

Robert Griffin III, QB, Washington

RGIII has been as dynamic as promised. His passing numbers are not prolific but he’s top-shelf efficient. He has thrown only four touchdowns in the past five games, but he continues to make clutch plays – in the air and on the ground – that has veteran NFL coaches shaking their heads. And he’s just getting started.

Runnerup: Alfred Morris, RB, Washington (uh, good draft, Shanny)

 

BIGGEST BONEHEAD

Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas

He makes many a spectacular play both as a receiver and kick returner. But Mr. Off-field Rules gives as many back with stupidity, laziness, inattentiveness or craziness. At least three of Tony Romo’s interceptions are on Bryant. There’s no way his antics couldn’t be having a negative effect on team morale.

Runnerup: Tamba Hali, Kansas City Chiefs

 

BIGGEST BU$T

Mario Williams, DE, Buffalo

But it’s not his fault. Really. He has said he was ineffective in the opener because Jets’ Austin Howard (in first career start at RT) used illegal hands-to-the-face tactics. And a mysterious left-wrist injury has hampered him since. So ignore his general ineffectiveness and just keep the money coming.

Runnerup: Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit

 

 

MY ALL-PRO MID-SEASON TEAM

(2^nd-teamers in parentheses)

 

Offence

QB: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay (Peyton Manning, Denver)

RB: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota (Alfred Morris, Washington)

TE: Rob Gronkowski, New England (Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta)

WR: A.J. Green, Cincinnati (Roddy White, Atlanta)

WR: Victor Cruz, NY Giants (Steven Jackson, Tampa Bay)

SLOT: Percy Harvin, Minnesota (Wes Welker, New England)

OFFENSIVE LINE: Houston Texans (New York Giants)

 

Defence

DE: J.J. Watt, Houston (Jason Pierre-Paul, NY Giants)

DE: Jared Allen, Minnesota (Chris Clemons, Seattle)

DL: Haloti Ngata, Baltimore (Kyle Williams, Buffalo)

DL: Geno Atkins, Cincinnati (Ryan Pickett, Green Bay)

OLB: Clay Matthews, Green Bay (Daryl Washington, Arizona)

LB: NaVorro Bowman, San Francisco (James Laurinaitis, St. Louis)

LB: Patrick Willis, San Francisco (Jerod Mayo, New England)

CB: Tim Jennings, Chicago (Casey Hayward, Green Bay)

CB: Cortland Finnegan, St. Louis  (Antoine Winfield, Minnesota)

S:  Thomas DeCoud, Atlanta (Ed Reed, Baltimore)

S: Stevie Brown, NY Giants (Jairus Byrd, Buffalo)

 

Special Teams

PK: Phil Dawson, Cleveland (Greg Zuerlein, St. Louis)

P: Brandon Fields, Miami (Andy Lee, San Francisco)

PR: Leodis McKelvin, Buffalo (Marcus Thigpen, Miami)

KR:  Jacoby Jones, Baltimore (Percy Harvin, Minnesota)

—

THE SEASON’S TOP 10 STORYLINES, UPDATED:

These are the Top 10 storylines we figured would dominate this season, originally written Sept. 3 for our kickoff package.

On some predictions we were bang-on. On others, umm, not so much.

Herewith, at the NFL’s halfway point between Weeks 8 and 9, are updates:

 

1. PEYTON MANNING.

Twenty months, four neck surgeries and a change of scenery later, is Manning fully healed? Can he still make all the throws? Can his neck hold up to the hits? Can he be the Peyton of old, or just an old Peyton? Nobody’s sure. Probably not even him.

UPDATE: Um. Yeah. He can still play. Magnificently. Nnnnnext.

 

2. THE SAINTS.

No one knows how the bounty scandal will affect the Saints on the field. Will Payton’s absence hurt the offence more than many realize? Will the distractions prematurely exhaust the squad’s focus and mental energies?

UPDATE: Yes and yes – to degrees no one imagined possible. But worse than both of those factors has been the Saints’ league-worst defence. Even Drew Brees and the New Orleans offence can’t keep up on the scoreboard. The Saints deserve their 2-5 start.

 

3. REPLACEMENT REFS.

The season will start with replacement officials temping for the league’s full-time zebras, who are locked out … Can you imagine the stink that would follow a blown game-deciding call? The longer the lockout lingers, the bigger the mess the NFL will have on its hands.

UPDATE: Hooboy, did we nail this one. We’ll be watching slo-mo replays of the “Fail Mary” for decades to come. You remember, when Seattle beat Green Bay on a last-play bomb on Monday night that even nine-year-old girls (well, at least mine) could see was an interception – but which was ruled joint possession and, thus, a game-winning touchdown for the Seahawks?

 

4. NEWBIE QBs.

Five rookies will start on Sunday: Andrew Luck (Colts), Robert Griffin III (Redskins), Ryan Tannehill (Dolphins), Brandon Weeden (Browns) and Russell Wilson (Seahawks). Expect some low-scoring games to start the season.

UPDATE: Hooboy, did we ever blow this one. Scoring never has been higher in the NFL. And the rookies have shocked with their high level of play. Especially RGIII, Luck and Tannehill.

 

5. TEBOW-SAURUS REX.

If anyone believes the New York Jets quarterback situation this season is going to end up in anything other than disaster, raise your hand. Rex Ryan insists Tim Tebow can help the Jets win. And he might well be right, when they reveal precisely what second offensive package they’ve been cooking up for him. The disaster will come when starting QM Mark Sanchez inevitably screws up to the point where frustrated New Yorkers would rather see Tebow start.

UPDATE: We’re practically there. But we’re all puzzled as to why the Jets have barely used Tebow and his wildcat-ish sub-package. If they’re still holding parts of it back, then, like the titular Dr. Strangelove said to the Russian diplomat in that 1964 dark-humour classic: “Of course, zee whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost if you KEEP it a SECRET!”

 

6. CAN THE GIANTS REPEAT AGAINST THAT SCHEDULE?

Head coach Tom Coughlin knows what it takes to follow up a Giants Super Bowl win with a gangbuster start the following season, having led one in 2008. His defence is even better this time, and QB Eli Manning has more weapons at his disposal on offence. But that schedule.

UPDATE: After laying an egg in the opener against Dallas, and barely coming back to beat Tampa Bay to avoid an 0-2 start, the Giants have rolled. They’re 6-2. But no more Clevelands or Carolinas ahead.

 

7. AS THE NFC EAST TURNS.

Which team will implode first? The Eagles or the Cowboys?

UPDATE: Both teams are 3-4 and imploding about equally horrifically right now. Get a front-row seat if you can. Shield your eyes if you must.

 

8. TAKING TO THE AIR UP (NFC) NORTH.

The Detroit Lions might feature the game’s most scintillating passing combo in years, in QB Matthew Stafford and WR Calvin “Megatron” Johnson. Not far behind in aerial-circus wonderment is Green Bay’s QB Aaron Rodgers — with any of WR Greg Jennings, WR Jordy Nelson or TE Jermichael Finley. Don’t sleep on the Bears’ reunited duo of QB Jay Cutler and WR Brandon Marshall.

UPDATE: We’re all still waiting for the Stafford-to-Megatron thing to start happening again – what a head-scratcher. Rodgers now is as sharp as ever, even without the injured Jennings (groin). And Cutler-to-Marshall indeed has proven dangerous.

 

9. LATER START FOR LATE AFTERNOON GAMES.

UPDATE: I had this wrong last time. Only the 4:15 games moved to 4:25 p.m. EDT. Effect? Negligible.

 

10. IS EXCITEMENT ABOUT THE BILLS LEGIT?

Buffalo Bills GM Buddy Nix and head coach Chan Gailey have hitched their wagon to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, WR Stevie Johnson, RB Fred Jackson and, especially, to DE Mario Williams, the $100-million free-agent signee. Most observers remain unconvinced the Bills will contend with the Patriots for the AFC East title. Some remain skeptical the team will even remain long in the playoff hunt.

UPDATE: Bingo. Williams so far has been the bust of the year among free-agent signees, and Fitzpatrick’s ceiling seems to drop by the week. Playoffs? Not likely.

 

 

 Wade Phillips, defensive coordinator of the Houston Texans.

—

HOUSTON, Texas – He’s both the son and father of an NFL coach.

He himself has 36 years of pro coaching experience, renowned for turning crappy NFL defences into good ones.

He has the coolest Twitter handle ever – @sonofbum.

And he’s the last head coach to take the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs.

Wade Phillips is now 65, and he’s working wonders with the defence of the AFC’s best team, the 6-1 Houston Texans – who play host to the 3-4 Bills on Sunday afternoon.

After six turns as a defensive coordinator and three as a head coach in the NFL since 1981, Phillips a year ago joined the Texans under head coach Gary Kubiak.

He promptly installed his 3-4 attack defence and turned a unit that had ranked fourth worst in the NFL in points surrendered per game (26.7) to fourth best (17.4). Similarly, his 2011 defence allowed the second fewest total yards per game (286) after allowing the third most (377) the year before.

This season his Texans defence remains among the league’s best. It ranks third in fewest total yards allowed per game (283), sixth in fewest points (18.3), second in third-down conversion percentage (27.5%) and is stingiest in pass-completion percentage (52.8%).

Phillips might not be nearly the character his cowboy-hat-wearin’, crew-cut-sportin’, southern-sayings-drawalin’ father Bum Phillips was, when he was head coach of the Houston Oilers in the 1970s and New Orleans Saints in the 1980s.

But despite having experienced a few too many times an old adage his father once famously coined – “There ain’t but two kinds of coaches in the NFL: Them that’s been fired, and them that’s gonna be fired” – @sonofum has done dadgum good in his own right.

Twelve years later, Phillips’ turn at the helm of the Bills looks kind of impressive in comparison to the string of awful regimes that have followed his.

Check this out.

When Phillips was both head coach and vice-president of football operations in Buffalo from 1998 through 2000 – after a successful three-year turn as Marv Levy’s defensive coordinator – the Bills won 60% of their games and made the playoffs in two of three years.

What’s more, his Bills were 5-1 in prime-time games, and were 4-2 against New England and 3-3 against Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts.

His 1999 team is the franchise’s only one since Levy’s early-’90s Super Bowl powerhouses to post a winning record on the road (5-3). His teams averaged four Pro Bowl selections per year, whereas the Bills the past four years have had four Pro Bowl selections combined.

On and on we can go with this.

Indeed, Phillips’ defences as Buffalo’s head coach ranked sixth, first and third in the NFL, whereas since then only two Bills defences have been ranked higher than 14^th (the 2003 and 2004 units both were ranked second).

His 1999 defence was particularly strong, surrendering just 266 yards and 14 points per game. By pitiful contrast, this year’s sad-sack defence allowed more of both in one half against New England, San Francisco (both halves) and Tennessee.

Phillips, though, was far from perfect.

The way he managed his Bills coaching staff and, especially, his quarterbacks – Doug Flutie (a CFL import from the Toronto Argos, left) and Rob Johnson – exposed himself to ample and justified criticism.

Yet Phillips did not neglect the offensive side of the ball, as many defensive-minded head coaches do. His three offences ranked sixth, 11^th and 11^th in the NFL. Only two Bills offences since have ranked higher than 14^th – namely, the two that immediately followed his (13^th in 2001, 11^th in 2002).

“We had some great days in Buffalo,” Phillips told me before the Texans crunched the then one-loss Baltimore Ravens, 43-13.

“In fact we have friends coming in from Buffalo to our ball games now. There are great people there. I really enjoyed it there. We were 29-19, in the playoffs, and didn’t have a losing season. I’m proud of what we did there.”

The most memorable game in his regime, of course, was the heartbreaking playoff loss at Tennessee – the “Music City Miracle,” in which the Titans won on a kickoff return for touchdown with 16 seconds left, when tight end Frank Wycheck threw a cross-field lateral to Kevin Dyson, who darted 72 yards to paydirt.

The Bills haven’t been to the playoffs since.

Buffalo fans and many others (raises hand) always thought Wycheck’s pass was a forward lateral, thus the score should have been called back. Video replay upheld the on-field call.

Count Phillips among the disbelievers.

“Until they threw the forward lateral, we had the game won,” Phillips said, shaking his head.

“I think we had a heck of a team while we were there, and I was hoping it’d be longer. But it wasn’t.”

Ralph Wilson fired him in January 2001 – a month after the owner had whacked GM John Butler – because Phillips had refused to fire his assistant coach Ronnie Jones, whose special teams were the league’s worst.

“I felt we needed a change and that my request was reasonable,” Wilson said in a statement after firing Phillips. “I did not want to release Wade, but his refusal left me with no option.”

It should be said that Bills fans, spoiled by their team’s four consecutive trips to the Super Bowl after  the 1990-93 seasons, had much higher expectations then. Phillips’ job was to return the team back to that level of excellence. He didn’t.

Phillips went on to run defences in San Diego and Atlanta, before Jerry Jones hired him as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 2007. Phillips lasted four years in Jerry’s world.

Phillips’ son, Wes, remains with the Cowboys as assistant offensive line coach.

Now with the Texans, and sporting hair whiter than a Buffalo lawn in January, Phillips is coaching defence as effectively as ever.

And @sonofbum’s dad continues to offer him sage advice.

“He’s doing great. He’s 89 years old, and I still talk to him after every game,” Phillips said. “He’s always telling me what I should have done. And he knows – he’s right.”

—

 

THE WADE PHILLIPS FILE:

BORN: June 21, 1947 in Orange, Texas

COLLEGE: Linebacker at University of Houston

DAD: Bum Phillips, head coach of Houston Oilers (1975-80) and New Orleans Saints (1981-85)

SON: Wes Phillips, current assistant offensive line coach of Dallas Cowboys

—

COACHING CAREER:

1969: Graduate assistant, University of Houston

1970-72: Defensive coordinator, Orange H.S.

1973-74: Linebackers, Oklahoma State

1975: Defensive line, University of Kansas

1976: Linebackers, Houston Oilers

1977-80:Defensive line, Houston Oilers

1981-85: Defensive coordinator, New Orleans Saints

1986-88: Defensive coordinator, Philadelphia Eagles

1989-92: Defensive coordinator, Denver Broncos

1993-94:Head coach, Denver Broncos

1995-97: Defensive coordinator, Buffalo Bills

1998-00: Vice-president of football operations/ head Coach, Buffalo Bills

2002-03: Defensive coordinator, Atlanta Falcons

2004-06: Defensive coordinator, San Diego Chargers

2007-10: Head coach, Dallas Cowboys

Since 2011: Defensive coordinator, Houston Texans

—

BUFFALO BILLS UNDER WADE PHILLIPS:

1998: 10-6, made playoffs. Lost 24-17 at Miami in wildcard.

1999: 11-5, made playoffs. Lost 22-16 at Tennessee in wildcard.

** Wade Phillips regime: 29-19 (.604)

—

BUFFALO BILLS SINCE WADE PHILLIPS:

2001:  3-13, no playoffs. Gregg Williams head coach

2002:  8-8, no playoffs.  Gregg Williams

** Gregg Williams regime: 17-31 (.354)

2004:  9-7, no playoffs. Mike Mularkey

** Mike Mularkey regime: 14-18 (.438)

2006: 7-9, no playoffs. Dick Jauron

2007: 7-9, no playoffs. Dick Jauron

2008: 7-9, no playoffs. Dick Jauron

** Dick Jauron regime: 27-37 (.422)

2010: 4-12, no playoffs. Chan Gailey

2011: 6-10, no playoffs. Chan Gailey

** Chan  Gailey regime*: 13-26 (.333)

*-so far

 

We all know NFL offences, more and more, are going into hurry-up mode – especially to prevent the D from substituting out of a disadvantageous personnel mismatch.

In this week’s chalkboard session, we provide a classic example.

Here’s the situation.

With 1:37 left in last Sunday’s game in Foxboro, the visiting New York Jets have just taken a 26-23 lead on the New England Patriots.

The Patriots come out after the kickoff in an ‘11’ formation at their own 21-yard line – with one running back (speedy smurf Danny Woodhead), one tight end (Rob Gronkowski) and three wideouts – Brandon Lloyd, Wes Welker and Deion Branch.

The Jets counter with a hybrid nickel sub-package. That is, with cornerbacks on each of the three wideouts and two deep safeties, but with a sixth defensive back (strong safety Antonio Allen) lined up as a linebacker along with two actual linebackers, behind a three-man line.

The thinking of Jets head coach Rex Ryan and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, presumably, is that Allen matches up better than any linebacker would against either the tight end, Gronkowski, or the running back, Woodhead.

But it’s still a mismatch, and a bad mismatch at that. We suspect the Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady knew it.

On first down, Brady throws complete to Gronkowski on a slant for 15 yards; Allen is tardy on the coverage. Clock still runs, Patriots hurry up.

On second down, Allen is responsible for covering Gronk again, but is slow to diagnose the simple out route, even slower to catch up to Gronk and yet worse at trying to tackle him. Gronk drags tacklers for a 12-yard gain in all, up to the Patriots’ 48.

With the clock still ticking, and 45 seconds left at the snap, this is the diagrammed play in the above video – the one that puts the Patriots in field-goal range.

The Pats quickly come to the line, and realign – with Woodhead in the backfield staggered left, Lloyd flanked left, Welker in the slot left, Gronkowski slotted to the right and Branch flanked right.

The Jets cannot substitute, unless they choose to take a timeout, which they don’t. But this time the Jets have Allen swap sides in the linebacker trio-of-sorts, to Brady’s left.

It is probably not a coincidence that Brady intends to pick on Allen again, and thus will look for Woodhead this time, not Gronk.

Brady drops back, looks right, toward Gronk, but then comes back left and hits Woodhead on a route – a fake-right, dig-left. The fake to the right fools Allen, briefly freezes him, and Woodhead has two steps on him once he catches Brady’s pass.

Woodhead is faster than Allen and zips upfield for a 20-yard gain before the deep safety on that side, LaRon Landry, can haul him down.

The Jets had rushed only the three linemen (two outside backers and a tackle), which the Pats O-linemen easily handled.

So, in three hurry-up plays in which the playclock never stopped, the Patriots are at the Jets’ 32-yard line with 22 seconds to go. The Pats get off two more plays – an incomplete and a seven-yard completion to Woodhead – before Stephen Gostkowski nails a 43-yard field goal as time expires in regulation, tying the game 26-26.

In overtime, the Patriots would again drive methodically in the no-huddle, hurry-up shotgun – 54 yards in 12 plays – to get another Gostkowski field goal.

Mark Sanchez’s subsequent lost fumble would seal the Patriots’ victory.

LESSON: If you aren’t going to blitz Brady in the two-minute drill, as the Baltimore Ravens successfully did in Week 3 to get the ball back and win it late, you’d better have safeties and linebackers who are fast and able enough to cover Gronk, Woodhead and Welker.

Otherwise, forget it.

Chiefs OLB Tamba Hali merely made a tackle of C.J. Spiller on
this play in Buffalo on Sept. 16. (Reuters)

——

The Oakland Raiders are a dirty team – according to a Kansas City Chiefs player who, six weeks ago, allegedly attempted to wrench one Buffalo Bill’s head off, and twist another’s arm off.

So he’d know dirty. Evidently.

“It’s a tradition,” Chiefs outside linebacker Tamba Hali told the Kansas City Star’s Adam Teicher on Wednesday. “The Raiders, they come in, they cheap-shot, they hit you.”

The 2-4 Raiders visit the 1-5 Chiefs on Sunday afternoon in the 103rd matchup of those AFC West rivals.

“I’m not saying (any) names. It is what it is,” Hali continued. “We’ve got to be ready and keep our composure, stayed poised and be able to get this win.

“(The Raiders) play dirty. We’ve got to come out swinging. We’ve got to be ready for that. (If) you let them do it, they’re going to enjoy themselves doing it and they’ll run over you.”

You don’t say?

Hali threw that rock whilst standing amid the shards of his shattered glass house.

You might recall the story we wrote after the Bills slammed the Chiefs 35-17 on Sept. 16 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Late in the first half, a Chiefs defender took a couple of attempt-to-injure “cheap shots” at a pair of Bills, according to two Buffalo offensive linemen.

The Chiefs player? One Tamba Hali.

The Bills were on the Chiefs’ 2-yard line with 4:21 left in the first half, after another long gain by Buffalo’s C.J. Spiller.

K.C. stuffed Buffalo running back Dorin Dickerson for an eight-yard loss. That’s when Hali apparently lost his cool.

“I think I tripped or something and fell, so he thought I was trying to cut him,” Bills left guard Andy Levitre said after the game. “And he tried to twist my neck. He took both of his arms and pinched them around my helmet and (twisted), so that got me going a little bit. So I reacted to that.

“We were talking back and forth, and on the following play he tried to come inside, and I threw him on the ground.”

That play was a touchdown, a 10-yard pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Scott Chandler that put the Bills up 21-0. Hali, presumably miffed, instantly targeted rookie Buffalo left tackle Cordy Glenn, “trying to (twist his) arm out of the socket,” according to Bills centre Eric Wood.

“We’re not going to stand for that,” Wood said.

Within seconds, as we observed from the press box, three Bills linemen jump on Hali, as the rest of their teammates were celebrating the score. It was quite the scrum but, incredibly, no flags were thrown by the replacement officials.

Both Levitre and Wood said afterward that several disgruntled Chiefs later “started jawing off” like they did last year during the Bills’ 41-7 victory.

Wood said Hali went after “Andy and Cordy — guys that are performing. (The Chiefs) get ticked off. You get a team down, and like I said, they’re going to take some shots at you. That’s why we weren’t taking our foot off their throats at the end.

“It’s something I’m sure the league will review.”

An NFL spokesman on Thursday said Hali was not fined following the KC-Buffalo game.

Regardless, however dirty the Raiders might have been under previous head-coaching regimes in the Al Davis era, that has come to the end under new GM Reggie McKenzie and head coach Dennis Allen.

Allen is a no-nonsense disciplinarian who has said he won’t stand for any of that cross-the-line stuff. Mere false-start transgressions drive him crazy.

If anyone, then, is apt to lose his cool on Sunday and cross said line in Kansas City, he probably won’t be wearing white, silver and black.

 

The curious case of Mario Williams’ injured left wrist gets more curious by the day.

Less than 24 hours after the Buffalo News’ Tim Graham reported that the NFL’s highest-paid defender was considering having surgery on his sprained left wrist, Bills head coach Chan Gailey announced the following on Wednesday afternoon:

“The update on Mario is he had a procedure done to relieve some discomfort in his wrist, and we expect him back for practice next week. That’s all I know at this point.”

Williams (right, my photo at OTAs in June) signed a six-year, $100-million contract with the Bills in March. Yet he has not been a high-impact defender through seven games.

He has 3.5 sacks, tied for 32^nd in the league. The 6-foot-6, 292-pound pass-rush specialist tallied those sacks in two road games (1.5 at Cleveland, 2.0 at Arizona), meaning he has been held sackless in Buffalo’s five other games, including all three at home.

Can a defensive end be a high-impact player without notching a sack? Yes. Has Williams? In four of seven games (against the New York Jets, New England, San Francisco and Tennessee), no.

The 3-4 Bills have a bye this week, before playing back-to-back games at Houston and at New England.

Now to the curiosities.

Did Bills team doctors diagnose the need for surgery? Did they perform whatever the “procedure” was? Was it done in Buffalo, or in Houston? Was it done Tuesday or Wednesday? And what is the exact nature of the injury?

Gailey on Wednesday claimed he didn’t know answers to any of those questions. Curious indeed.

Now, this must be said. Head coaches in contact sports – especially in the NHL and NFL – usually are about as willing to enlighten us all on their players’ injuries as U.S. presidential candidates are to honestly explain their personal-policy 180s.

A decade or so ago, Toronto Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn introduced the concept of the ridiculously vague “lower body injury.”

And New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin often issues this manner of terse reply when asked to elaborate on an injury, such as a couple weeks ago with regard to wide receiver Hakeem Nicks’ banged-up knee: “It’s a knee.” But what, specifically? “A knee.”

We’re neither suggesting nor expecting that Gailey and the Bills be held to a higher revelatory standard.

What we are flat-out stating, however, is that increasingly – for a month-and-a-half up until Wednesday’s announcement of a “procedure” – Gailey and Williams had not been on the same page with their public pronouncements about the wrist injury.

Gailey had said repeatedly that Williams’ injury was nothing more than the usual aches and pains that all NFL players put up with:

**    Sept. 10 (after the opening loss at the New York Jets): “He has been bothered by that wrist a little bit and it probably had some effect. I think that it is becoming smaller and smaller every day.”

**    Oct. 3 (after the loss to New England): “He has been getting some treatment, but it has not been a thing that has kept him from ever practising or anything like that. How much it bothers a guy, we have guys with ankles, knees, hips and shoulders. Everything bothers you during a season. How much? Only a player can answer that. But it is not enough for him to not make every rep in practice and do what he is doing.”

**    Oct. 10 (after the loss in San Francisco): “He has not missed one day of practice, he has not missed a snap of practice, and he has not missed a game. It is one of those things that everybody has bumps, bruises, kinks and something like that. It is just something you work through.”

**    On Monday: “I cannot speak for him. I cannot tell you whether he is being affected by it at all, a little bit or what it is. I cannot tell … I ask him how it is going and he says it is all right.”

Williams, however, has gone out of his way to ensure that reporters know the injury is in no small part to blame for his sub-standard play:

**    Sept. 12, after the loss to the Jets: “I had a little freak deal a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, it was right before the regular season.”

**    Sept. 16, after the win against Kansas City in Week 2: “I casted my wrist and just went at it. I wish I did that last week.”

**    Oct. 3, after the loss to the Pats: “I have to … (be) able to use my hands and stay healthy. (There’s) just a little deal going on, but we have already mentioned that before and it is just lingering a little longer than expected … I am a hands-on player. It is all about power with my game … It is definitely frustrating for it to happen when it did happen, and not when anything counted. That was the biggest thing. Coming out of the fourth preseason game …”

**    Oct. 10, after the loss to the Niners: “My biggest thing is I feel like I need to use my hands better. I need to get my hands, in general, healthy because I am a hands person. I am a power person.”

That Williams had publicly discussed his wrist injury with greater concern, and in greater detail, as criticism over his production mounted cannot be overlooked. He did not mention it following Buffalo’s victories over Cleveland (Sept. 23) or Arizona (Oct. 14).

But, hell, if it weren’t for the fact the NFL investigated both Williams’ injury and the reason the club went weeks without putting it on its injury list, we wouldn’t even know what the ailment is – a sprain.

Neither the Bills nor Williams has been that specific.

For not listing Williams among its injured from the get-go, the NFL last Friday fined the Bills $20,000.

Bottom line, if you believe Williams’ and Gailey’s public comments, the defender apparently was more willing to discuss the debilitating nature of his injury with reporters than with his own head coach.

That’s the most curious thing of all.

——
J.J. WATT SAYS MARIO CAN’T BE MARIO IF INJURED

J.J. Watt says his former teammate and current Buffalo Bill, Mario Williams, is one of the most powerful pass rushers in the NFL.

That is, if he’s healthy.

“I don’t know what his injury is exactly, but if you’re anything less than full strength, that’s going to be hard to do,” Watt, the Houston Texans defensive, told me in Houston on Friday.

Watt, in his second year, leads the NFL with 9.5 sacks and 10 pass knockdown.

Williams played six seasons in Houston before signing with Buffalo in March.

“He was my lockermate,” Watt said. “He’s a very good football player. I learned a little bit about power (from him). I mean, the guy is one of the most powerful guys in the game.”

 

 

 

 

Texans pass rushers Whitney Mercilus (59) and Antonio Smith (94)
reintroduce themselves to Ravens QB Joe Flacco Sunday in Houston.

——

HOUSTON, Texas – Like some oldtimers down here say ’bout things, if the Houston Texans aren’t the best team in the AFC, they’ll do ’til the best one gets here.

That’s a fact. A solid gold fact.

Matter of fact, if you scan the Texans’ schedule, it’s hard to see them losing more than three of their remaining nine games. If even three.

See for yourself. After a bye this week, 6-1 Houston plays Buffalo, at Chicago on a Sunday night, Jacksonville, at Detroit on U.S. Thanksgiving, at Tennessee, at New England on a Monday night, Indianapolis, Minnesota and at Indianapolis.

If the Texans lose only two of those games, they’ll finish 13-3. In that event, the only way they could be tied atop the AFC come January is if either the 5-2 Baltimore Ravens – on whom they opened a 43-13 can of whoop-ass on Sunday – or one of the AFC’s three-loss teams (New England, Pittsburgh, Miami, Denver or San Diego) wins out.

Uh, no.

And that’s just to wind up in a statistical tie with a 13-3 Houston. The Texans already hold the tiebreaker against Baltimore and Denver, and could get it against New England with a win over the Patriots in December.

Of all those teams, who’d be most likely to push the Texans? Probably New England and Denver. Just don’t bet on it.

The Patriots are 4-3. Outside of a season-opening win over Tennessee and a six-quarter stretch between the Buffalo and Denver games, when their offence appeared omnipotent, the Pats have had a tough time beating anybody.

Denver, similarly, has been life-and-death to defeat any team not named the Oakland Raiders.

As for the Ravens, their brutal 2012 schedule continues after this week’s bye. And given the condition of their hospital-ward defence, they’ll be fortunate to hold off the Steelers to win the AFC North.

So, barring the unforeseen, the Texans are in the clear to win homefield advantage in the AFC side of the NFL playoffs.

“We’re a very good football team – very good,” defensive end J.J. Watt said. “But we also know that we have to execute our assignments and do what we do, to not let last week happen again.”

By ‘last week,’ Watt means the Texans’ 42-24 loss to Green Bay. It took Houston only six-and-a-half days, however, to shake off that disappointing stumble against the NFC’s Packers.

“This (thrashing of Baltimore) shows what we’re capable of, and I think we need to do this every week,” Watt said.

Most weeks, with that schedule, they probably will.

The Bills, for instance, will come into Houston’s Reliant Stadium a week from Sunday with more holes in ’em than a horse trader’s mule.

The Texans have few holes. And they’re iddy-biddy ones.

Their offence seems to catch fire the moment their under-rated offensive line can create a bit of room for dynamic running back Arian Foster on a run of plays.

“That’s our whole scheme of offence,” centre Chris Myers told me after Sunday’s game. “If we establish the run, the play-actions (fake-run passes) open up.”

Then Houston quarterback Matt Schaub has his pick of receivers, it seems. And, Myers said, when the offensive line sees desperation creep in on the other side, well, the game becomes fun.

“Yeah, when you’re successful running the ball, and you get to the third and fourth quarter and they’re starting to throw different things at you, and you’re still able to establish the run, it’s a confidence booster for you for sure – and the other way for them.”

And so, with their confidence soaring higher than the top rows of their towering stadium, the Texans have two weeks to enjoy the view.

Maybe wide receiver Kevin Walter put it best in the festive Texans locker room on Sunday, when asked if his team is indeed the best in the AFC.

“In my mind, absolutely, yeah,” Walter said. “But that doesn’t mean anything. You can play well, and the next week you can be in the doghouse. That’s how this league works.”

And dogs that don’t hunt down here ain’t worth a plugged six-shooter.

——

WHY MATT SCHAUB IS STILL IN ONE PIECE:

HOUSTON, Texas – Quarterback Matt Schaub had what he thought was a good idea.

But it was a bad, bad idea – and his longtime Houston Texans teammate, wide receiver Andre Johnson, told him so.

In the third quarter of Houston’s impressive 43-13 blowout of the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Schaub got out in front on an end-around, and made like he was going to turn around and throw a block straight into hard-charging Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs.

But then Schaub must have remembered what Johnson had told him a while earlier.

“(He’d come) to me on the sideline and was like, ‘Hey, man, if they’re running back toward me, can I cut the guy coming at me?,” a chuckling Johnson said afterward. “And I’m like, ‘No, man. You can’t do that. Just get out of the way.’”

That’s exactly what Schaub did. That’s why his head is still on.

 

 

 

HOUSTON, Texas – The showdown was a beatdown.

The Baltimore Ravens were no match for the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon.

The Texans showed everybody who’s boss in the AFC, taking the Ravens to the woodshed with a 43-13 victory.

And this, just a week after Green Bay had creamed the Texans, 42-24.

“It’s about responding to adversity, and the team really did that this week,” Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said. “There was a good edge in practice this week. Everybody was pretty quiet. I think we were really, really locked in to what we were doing.”

No kidding.

Added Texans wide receiver Kevin Walter, who had four catches for 74 yards and a score: “Everyone around the league wanted to see, ‘How is this team going to respond? They played well their first five games, then they got their butt handed to them last week. We’ll see what these guys are all about.’”

What the Texans were all about was applyin’ an old-fashioned whuppin’ to the banged-up Ravens, in front of 71,708 – the largest regular-season crowd at Reliant Stadium in the Texans’ 11-year history.

That wasn’t the only milestone. It was the first time in seven tries the Texans had ever defeated the Ravens, it was the most points the Texans have ever scored in a game, and it was the worst loss of head coach John Harbaugh’s five-year tenure in Baltimore.

Are the Texans the real deal?

“They are. They are,” veteran Ravens safety Ed Reed said. “They’ve been there for the last few years. I know how those guys work.”

Houston improved to 6-1, while Baltimore fell to 5-2. They entered the game as the only teams in the AFC with a winning record. Both have byes next week.

After the Ravens took a 3-0 lead on their first possession, the Texans dominated – on both sides of the ball.

The Texans scored 29 unanswered points before halftime, and their efficient, dual-threat offence piled on the points with a pair of long, will-breaking drives in the second half.

Houston quarterback Matt Schaub was outstanding. By halftime he was 19-of-32 for 190 yards and two touchdowns. He finished 23-of-37 for 256 yards.

Schaub successfully picked on Ravens cornerbacks Cary Williams and Jimmy Smith, the latter of whom filled in for Lardarius Webb – Baltimore’s top corner who went down for the season last week with an ACL tear. And Schaub had lots of time to throw.

“We’ve got a lot of playmakers on the team,” Schaub said. “When we are able to spread the ball around, that is when we are at our best.”

That’s what he did. Top wide receiver Andre Johnson caught nine balls for 86 yards, and tight end Owen Daniels had seven for 59 and a score. Besides Walter, four other receivers had at least two grabs.

Even more than the offence, it was the Texans’ defence that showed that when it’s on, it’s as good as any in the league.

“We found out today we can still play great defence, and we expect to do that for the rest of the year,” Kubiak said.

The Texans’ defensive front continually harassed Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, flustering him as he hadn’t been all season. It was thorough domination. By game’s end, the Texans sacked Flacco four times, hit him eight times, batted down five of his passes at the line – plus six others in the secondary – and hurried him many other times.

“We put the pressure on him,” Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. “They’ve been one of the top offensive teams in the league. And for us to play the way we did I thought was excellent.”

In a particularly miserable first half, Flacco was just 7-of-20 for 52 yards. He was sacked twice, once for a safety, and he was picked off twice, once for a touchdown – by star Texans cornerback Johnathan (J-Jo) Joseph.

Flacco had it so tough, that after completing his first pass of the game for 13 yards to Torrey Smith, he didn’t have another completion longer than eight yards until 10:36 remained in the third quarter. By then it was 29-3 for Houston.

The only deep pass Flacco threw all game was the pick-six by Joseph.

“They played physical. They played fast. We just weren’t able to stand up to it today,” Flacco said.

Baltimore finished with a paltry 176 yards of total offence, only 121 through the air.

“We’re a very confident football team,” said Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, who despite not getting a sack for the first time since last December had two more pass knockdowns, giving him 10 on the season. It’s the first time in NFL history a defensive linemen has had double-digit pass knockdowns through seven games.

“We believe in our coaches, we believe in each other. And if we got out there and execute our assignments, we’ve very, very difficult to beat.”

At least in the AFC.

——

 

INCREDIBLY, SUGGS PLAYS — AND HAS AN IMPACT

HOUSTON, Texas – The Terrell Suggs shockers just keep on coming.

First, it was that the star Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker had returned to practice last week.

Then, that he’d made the trip here on Saturday, and was added to the club’s active roster.

Then, late Sunday morning, that he’d actually suit up — and maybe even play a bit against the Houston Texans.

Then, that he’d actually start.

Finally, that he’d wind up being perhaps the best Baltimore Ravens defender in a 43-13 loss.

Suggs, the NFL’s defensive MVP last season, tore his right Achilles in April, had surgery in early May and was written off by everyone as having any chance of playing again until next year. He swore he’d return this season, though.

And did.

In the first half, Suggs had a sack and an additional hit on Houston quarterback Matt Schaub, plus he broke up one of Schaub’s passes. Suggs also made a couple of important tackles, all before the game slipped away from the Ravens late in the first half.

Incredible, really.

“Of course I wanted to come back for a win,” Suggs said, “but I felt that if (the Achilles) was good on Saturday, then I would go.

“I had to come back this game against a good team, because we all know how important those games in November and December are, and I didn’t want to try to be still knocking the rust off.”

Suggs said he felt “good” afterward.

“It looked to me like he played really well,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said.

Texans offensive tackle Duane Brown said it was “amazing” to see Suggs bounce back so fast from such an injury.

“I have to tip my hat off to him,” Brown said. “He came out there and looked like he didn’t miss a beat. He’s still quick, strong, fast and still very instinctive … That was a heck of an effort.”

Wide receiver Torrey Smith said there was no mistaking the return of the Ravens’ brash defender.

“(The) first way you know he’s here is when you hear him in the locker room,” Smith said. “He’s the loudest person everywhere he goes, so we’re definitely happy to have him back, and to see him make some plays, even though he’s still working back in it.”

With the loss for the year last week of star inside linebacker Ray Lewis (torn triceps) and top cornerback Lardarius Webb (torn ACL), and with a host of other injuries to the Ravens’ defenders heading into the bye week, Suggs actually might be the healthiest of the bunch.

 

 

HOUSTON, Texas — News, notes, observations a couple hours before the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens get it on:

** UPDATE: It’s official. Terrell Suggs actually WILL suit up and presumably will play today. About 45 minutes ago, he warmed up in sweats. Shuttled across the 50-yard line, stopping occasionally to stretch. Appeared to be only offensive players (QBs, receivers) out at the time. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network just reported that the 2011 NFL defensive MVP is on the Baltimore dress list.

Even insiders are shaking their heads at yesterday’s news that Suggs had been activated and might play today, just six months after tearing his right Achilles.

** The roof is closed today at Reliant Stadium. Gonna be a hot one even for these parts in late October — mid 80s F.

** Both quarterbacks — Ravens’ Joe Flacco and Texans’ Matt Schaub — were out warming up now (9:55 am CDT) with their receivers.

** Both teams have byes next week. With both teams’ defences so banged up, could it come at a better time? No.

** I asked Texans DC Wade Phillips the other day if he’s ever seen a player other than J.J. Watt come into the league and dominate to this extent by early in his second year. His response: “Reggie White, when we had him, he was pretty darn good when he first sstarted playing.” Touche.

** I asked Watt, the star Texans DE, what the deal was with all the former Big Ten players on their roster. It’s the Big Ten South, I told him. His reply: “We’ll take as many Big Ten guys as we can get. Obviously being from the Big Ten, it’s an honour to have that many guys … I remember draft day this year, and we kept drafting guys and it was like: Whitney Mercilus, Big Ten; DeVier Posey, Big Ten; Jared Crick, Big Ten. And I was like, ‘I like this. I like the way it’s headed.’”

 

 

 

HOUSTON, Texas – Why is J.J. Watt so hot with the swat?

The Houston Texans defensive end is far and away the NFL leader among defensive linemen, with eight pass knockdowns. No other tackle or end has more than four.

“I think people are making a big deal out of it now, but I’ve been doing it since (the University of) Wisconsin,” the 6-foot-5 Watt told me on Friday.

“My position coach at Wisconsin (Charlie Partridge) harped on it a lot, and we practised it a lot. And now we practise it a lot here. It’s just one of those things where if you practise it a lot, you get good at it.”

OK, J.J., but what are you doing, specifically, that others maybe aren’t to get so many bat-downs?

He explained.

“When you realize you’re not going to get to the quarterback, then you start to watch his eyes, and you start to watch his arm. And as soon as he cocks it, you put your hands up and you jump. And it takes some luck. There’s definitely skill involved, but there’s also a little bit of luck.”

That is, in timing it properly. Like a shot-blocker in basketball.

“Exactly. You can get pump-faked,” Watt said. “You watch the film – I’ll look silly a few times. But you also look really, really good the times that you bat it down.”

Texans quarterback Matt Schaub practises against the scout team during the season, but in spring OTAs and summer training-camp, the first-team offence often faces the first-team defence. Watt does it to him, too.

“It’s all instinctive,” Schaub told me, in reference to Watt’s swats. “He understands that if he’s not going to get to the quarterback, to get his hands up. He anticipates when the ball is coming out, and he just tries to get his hands up. He’s a big guy with long arms, so it’s pretty advantageous for him.”

Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said the club took note of Watt’s acumen in this regard before the 2011 draft, concluding it was not a fluke. They selected him 11^th overall.

“That’s one of the reasons we liked him,” Phillips told me. “He led Wisconsin in passes broken up. He had more than their secondary guys did. It’s something he naturally did well, and he’s really expanded on that here.

“You have to be able to rush and see the quarterback at the same time. Some guys can only focus on the rush, on the guy that’s blocking him. But he has great ability to do that.”

And because in Phillips’ 3-4 scheme Watt lines up inside, rather than as an edge rusher as ends do in a 4-3, he gets more opportunities.

“Well, yeah,” Phillips said, “because that’s where more throwing lanes are.”

 

 

——

HOUSTON, Texas – J.J. Watt has a long list of personal statistical goals. And he’s not sharing them with anybody.

Why?

“Because everybody would laugh,” the Houston Texans defensive end told QMI Agency in an interview on Friday.

The most impactful defensive player in the NFL this season – and, really, since late last year – is at least willing to speak of his ambitions in general terms.

“I have goals. I have very, very big goals. I have them locked up in my house, and the reason I keep them locked up is people would laugh at me if they saw them, because I have very, very high expectations.”

That’s why Watt said he isn’t surprised that, through Week 6, he has compiled unheard-of stats for an inside-positioned end in a 3-4 defence.  Such as:

**    He leads the NFL in quarterback sacks, with 9.5.

**    He leads the NFL in tackles for loss, with 16.

**    And he’s the only defensive end or tackle with more than four pass knockdowns; Watt has eight.

By any standard except probably his own, this cocksure, fun-loving 23-year-old quickly has become a dominating force every time he steps onto a football field.

“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised, because I’ve put in a lot of hard work, I have a great defensive coordinator and have great teammates around me,” Watt said. “So I’m not surprised. It’s definitely a product of a lot of different factors, but when you work this hard I think you should expect big production.”

Watt hasn’t even played in 25 NFL games yet. He’ll hit that milestone on Sunday, when his Texans play host to the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams are 5-1, and the winner will be viewed for at least one week as having the inside track to the Super Bowl in the AFC.

The Texans drafted Watt out of the University of Wisconsin a year ago April, with the 11^th overall pick. Not many Texans fans were happy, as Watt was not a big-name college star.

He was having a good rookie season with the Texans, starting in defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ attack 3-4. Late in the year, though, something clicked.

“I think it wasn’t until the last four games of the year that he really a became dominant player,” Phillips told me. “And I was excited about seeing him repeat that this year, and he has.

“He’s playing tremendous football right now. Normally a guy cannot play that way every game, but he has so far this year. In six games, and really in two playoff games last year – he was tremendous. He’s been playing at a very high level. We hope he keeps it up. I think he will.”

After getting 5.5 sacks in the 2011 regular season, Watt indeed broke through as a high-impact defender in the playoffs. He racked up 3.5 sacks combined, in a 31-10 win over Cincinnati and a tough 20-13 loss in Baltimore.

Against the Bengals he leaped and, rather than merely knock down an Andy Dalton pass, he picked it off and returned it 29 yards for a go-ahead score.

What switches did Watt flip in January to take his game to such a higher level?

“I was confident,” he told reporters Friday. “I just went out there and played – let it loose. I think that’s the biggest thing. The thing I’ve been doing this year is I let it loose. I’m very confident in my game.”

That he hails from a tiny town in southern Wisconsin, Pewaukee, only adds to the charm of Watt’s story.

He was a helluvan athlete there. In addition to being an all-state tight end and defensive end in football, he was an all-district baseball player, an all-county basketball player, and he won a state title in shot put.

Central Michigan University offered him a scholarship, but after a year there as a tight end he quit and returned home to Pewaukee, determined to become a star defender with the University of Wisconsin Badgers. By his senior year, 2010, he did.

Goals are something Watt does not take lightly. He apparently knows all the good sayings about them, too. For instance, if you begin to recite the one that begins, “A goal without a plan is …” he’ll jump in and finish it for you.

“ … a wish. Nothing but a wish. Yeah, exactly. I love it. It’s so true.

“So many people have these big dreams, and so many people want to do so many things, and talk about doing so many things. But they’re not willing to put in the time and the effort. And that’s what you have to be willing to do.

“I mean, if you’re willing to rush the passer, and you’re willing to work your tail off to get there, you’re going to get sacks. If you’re willing to chase down a running back from the backside, or beat your man, then you’re going to get TFLs. If you’re going to put your hands up, you’re going to get batted balls … People have this perception that 3-4 defensive ends can’t make plays. You can make plays – you just have to work extremely hard for them.”

Work ethic. It’s an overused sports expression. You can see that Watt takes pride in being a true exception. Phillips backs him up on that point.

“Normally, rookies toward the end of the year start fading,” Phillips said. “J.J. just did just the opposite. He started getting better and better.”

Such a reputation has a drawback. And you can tell it doesn’t sit well with Watt.

“Yeah, a lot of people peg me as a ‘try-hard’ guy. A lot of people say, ‘Yeah, he might not be the most athletic, but he works hard.’ But if you look at my combine numbers, and you look at what I do, I mean, I’m an athletic guy – don’t discount me. I love being known as a try-hard guy, but I hope people don’t discount the athleticism.”

Watt indeed is fast and elusive, not just powerful and relentless, for a 6-foot-5, 295-pound man. To think he has just brushed the surface of his abilities and is already dominating compels one to wonder just how good Watt can be.

Talk that he’s a sure-fire future Hall of Famer already has begun.

“It’s an honour, and I’m very humbled by it,” Watt said. “I’m only six games into my second year, so the exciting part for me is I’m not anywhere near as good as I’m going to get.

“I can get better in pass rush, I can get better in run stopping, I can swat more balls. I mean, when I watch the film there are plays that I leave on the field. And so it’s really exciting to know that I’m playing this well, but I also have so much more that I can do, and so much better that I can get.”

john.kryk@sunmedia.ca

——

J.J. Watt loves hockey, Canada, poutine, Timmy’s …

HOUSTON, Texas – The NFL’s best defender loves Canada. Loves Poutine. Loves Tim Horton’s.

And he grew up on skates, dreaming of becoming an NHL star.

In an interview with me on Friday, Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt revealed that hockey probably was his first love as a kid growing up in Pewaukee, Wisc.

“Hockey is STILL possibly my favourite sport,” Watt said. “I skated at age 3. So from age 3 to 13, I was on skates every day. I loved it.”

Watt, a tremendous all-around athlete, played rep hockey. He traveled to tournaments as far away as Germany. And, often, in Canada.

“I’m a huge fan of Canadians,” Watt said. “I was up there all the time. I used to play all over. I’ve played in Quebec City, I’ve played in Montreal, I’ve played in Toronto. Went to the Hockey Hall of Fame a few times.

“I love it there. Great place, great people. And I love Tim Horton’s. Tim Horton’s is one of my favourite things I’ve done! And then what city has the fries and … gravy, is it?

Yes, gravy. And cheese curds. Poutine. That was probably in Quebec.

“Yeah. It’s delicious! It’s not healthy whatsoever, but it’s delicious.”

Watt, 23, might be 6-foot-5, 295 pounds now and more solid than an iron ice-rink stanchion, but he implied he was a pretty good player – fast on his skates.

“I was a centre. I was small then, so I was a goal scorer.”

So what happened when he turned 13?

“It got very expensive for my family,” Watt said. “I used to play in Germany, too, and everywhere. It got really expensive, and so that was the reason I had to quit.”

Watt said he was “super sad” about it.

Could the uber-confident, high-intensity Watt have made it to the NHL?

“I’d like to think so. I’ll definitely be in an old-man league when I’m done playing football.”

That was the sound of a million Canadian beer-leaguers gulping.