JJ Watt calls out 'double commonplace' in Tua Tagovailoa discourse, breaks down QB's in-play thought course of

JJ Watt has expertise on each side of the aisle when it comes to being an NFL participant and being an NFL media member. 

Watt is among the greatest defensive gamers of all time as a three-time NFL Defensive Participant of the Yr (tied for essentially the most in league historical past) after enjoying 12 seasons as a defensive lineman with the Houston Texans (2011-2020) and the Arizona Cardinals (2021-2022). 

He’s now an analyst on CBS Sports activities “NFL Right this moment” pregame present on Sunday’s, and Watt is not right here for the takes within the soccer world from followers and media members alike that Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa ought to have slid and guarded his well being on a fourth-down scramble in a 31-10 loss on “Thursday Night Football” towards the Buffalo Bills. Watt looks like if Tagovailoa had performed that and never picked up the primary down, he would as a substitute be ridiculed for not being a workforce participant. 

“I’ve seen a variety of conversations final evening and this morning about ‘Tua wants to slip. He is gotta get down. He is aware of he cannot take hits like that.’ I really feel like a variety of those self same persons are those who could be crushing him if he slides and comes up brief on fourth down within the purple zone when his workforce is making an attempt to muster any semblance of a comeback that they’ll. It’s kind of of a double commonplace for my part,” Watt said in a video he posted on Twitter Friday morning. “All people desires to see modern-day gladiators, however they do not need the guilt that comes together with it. They need a man to decrease his shoulder. They need a man to energy via. They need a man to get the primary down. However then when he does that and will get harm, all of them wish to say ‘no, no completely slide. Why would he do this? He is bought to guard himself. Why would he do this?'”

As a reminder to followers watching the sport at house, Watt makes clear the yellow line that pops up on TV to point the primary down is a broadcast graphic and never one thing the gamers see throughout recreation motion. Thus, Tagovailoa reducing his shoulder with Payments security Damar Hamlin incoming was an comprehensible transfer in Watt’s eyes. 

“First, let’s check out the logistics of that scenario as a result of I’ve seen a variety of armchair quarterbacks saying ‘he needed to know he had the primary down. Quarterbacks at all times know,'” Watt stated. “Earlier than the play, completely. Quarterback is aware of precisely the place the sticks are. As soon as the play begins, he is dropping again. He is wanting via his reads, He is scrambling up via the road. There isn’t any yellow line on the sphere. He’s simply making an attempt to get to the place he thinks the primary down is. He’s in the course of the sphere between the hashes. He is doing his greatest. He isn’t 100% certain he has it, and there’s a defender proper in entrance of him. Making an attempt to provide his workforce an opportunity at a comeback, he lowers his shoulder and tries to make a play. Will get the primary down and clearly a particularly unlucky scenario happens.”

In Watt’s eyes, the play by which Tagovailoa suffered his third NFL concussion and first since struggling two within the 2022 season, was at all times going to be a lose-lose scenario for the 26-year-old. 

“To observe everyone sit right here and act like ‘he is bought to get down. He is bought to slip. We at all times need our gamers to slip in that scenario.’ To me, that simply, being on the opposite facet and figuring out what if looks like for followers to criticize your each choice, it simply would not really feel true,” Watt stated. “As a result of if he would not do this, the narrative is ‘he is not powerful. He isn’t a frontrunner. He would not deserve the massive contract. That is why Tua’s not the man as a result of he is not prepared to put it on the road for the workforce.’  All I am saying is preserve that very same power on each side.” 

Watt finally hopes the remainder of the world can minimize NFL gamers some slack in moments just like the one Tagovailoa went via Thursday evening as a result of the very last thing the league’s “modern-day gladiators” deserve is critique for placing their our bodies on the road.