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Texans DE J.J. Watt undergoes back surgery (out for season 9/27)
- Thread starter alphajoker
- Start date
We can't handle the truth
zshawn10
All Pro
texan279
Hall of Fame
Malloy
Hall of Fame
ChampionTexan
Hall of Fame
From JJ earlier today...
Hopefully he's serious (and stays serious) about the modifications to his routine.
http://www.click2houston.com/sports/jj-watt-says-hes-past-rehab-feels-great-training-normally-again
zshawn10
All Pro
Max
Veteran
CloakNNNdagger
Hall of Fame
I said it then that his quick return was ill-advised.........and for him to return to the field that soon is not only on him, but equally on all those involved in allowing to return when he did. Despite Watt's proclamation of "feeling great and back to better than the old Watt," my opinion of every play going forward being one big crap shoot for him remains unchanged.
***********************************************************************************************
Texans' J.J. Watt: Pride got in way of first rehab from back surgery
11:12 AM CT
HOUSTON -- For the first time in J.J. Watt’s career, his tireless work ethic may have been a negative for him.
After Watt had surgery on a herniated disk in his back in late July, he went through an aggressive rehab that allowed him to return for the Houston Texans’ season opener. Watt played in the first three games but re-injured his back in late September and needed a second surgery. Watt said he doesn’t feel like he did anything wrong by having an aggressive timeline the first time around, but he said he may have let his pride get in the way of making sure his back was totally healthy.
“I think we did things the right way. I think that we did them within the scope of what was allowed,” Watt said at Gatorade’s GX gym on Wednesday. “But my pride did it very aggressively and obviously it didn’t go too well.
J.J. Watt says he pushed too hard to come back too soon, but he knows now that a year off and proper rehab has him feelng fresh and eager to go when offseason activity begins in April. Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports
“I think there is an element of being very prideful and wanting to get back as quickly as I possibly could. And wanting to do things that had never been done before. You know, rehab quicker than anybody has rehabbed.”
Watt played through injuries to his abs, hand and groin for much of the 2015 season, and entering 2016 he had never missed a game in his five-year NFL career.
But after undergoing three major surgeries in the last year, Watt said he realized he can push himself only so far and that he had to be smart, too.
“You have to take some time to realize, OK, this is a serious thing, you need to do it the right way and be smart about it,” Watt said. “You can work hard, but you need to work smart.
“By the third [surgery] I finally kind of realized, OK do what you need to do to make sure that you’re getting back 100 percent healthy. Don’t try to impress anyone, even if it’s yourself. Don’t try and impress yourself with how fast you can get back. Don’t try and impress yourself with how much weight you can lift so early. Just do everything the right way. Do everything they say. And I have to say, it’s paid off big time.
“And the way my body feels right now, I can definitely tell that we did it the right way.”
Watt, who has been “fully cleared for football activities” and plans to be on the field for the Texans’ offseason program that begins in April, said he thinks the benefit he had after the second surgery is a longer period of time to make sure his back will be healthy long term.
Though NFL rules said Watt could have come off injured reserve later in the season, Texans coach Bill O’Brien ruled him out for the season soon after he had back surgery. Watt said having almost a full year between his second back surgery and games next season allowed him to “rebuild my body exactly how it needs to be” and not feel pressed to do it at “any certain speed.”
Watt has been one of the best defensive players in his first six seasons in the NFL since the Texans drafted him in the first round out of Wisconsin. Watt has become one of the NFL’s elite players, already registering two seasons with more than 20 sacks.
Watt said in the last four months he has been focused on coming back even better than the J.J. Watt of old.
“Just to know that there’s new levels to reach that I haven’t even reached yet is exciting,” Watt said. “It’s not like I’m just out here trying to come back and be a football player again. I’m still trying to continue to capitalize on what I was before and be even better than I was before. So, it’s always about being the best version of you that you can be and if I’m not trying to be the best player ever then I’m doing everyone a disservice. If I’m not going out here and I’m trying to be the best football player ever then it’s a disservice to myself, my fans, my teammates."
Though Watt played in the first three games of the season, he did not look like the dominant force Houston had come to know in the previous five seasons. And though Watt said he's glad for the extended period of time to recover from his back injury, he is ready to be back on the field.
“I can’t wait [to hit someone again],” Watt said. “It’s like having an insatiable appetite that hasn’t been fed in a very, very long time. You have this hunger, you have this desire. It’s all pent up and at some point – I don’t know who it’s going to be – but at some point somebody is going to feel it and that’s going to be fun. That’s going to be very fun.”
***********************************************************************************************
Texans' J.J. Watt: Pride got in way of first rehab from back surgery
11:12 AM CT
HOUSTON -- For the first time in J.J. Watt’s career, his tireless work ethic may have been a negative for him.
After Watt had surgery on a herniated disk in his back in late July, he went through an aggressive rehab that allowed him to return for the Houston Texans’ season opener. Watt played in the first three games but re-injured his back in late September and needed a second surgery. Watt said he doesn’t feel like he did anything wrong by having an aggressive timeline the first time around, but he said he may have let his pride get in the way of making sure his back was totally healthy.
“I think we did things the right way. I think that we did them within the scope of what was allowed,” Watt said at Gatorade’s GX gym on Wednesday. “But my pride did it very aggressively and obviously it didn’t go too well.
J.J. Watt says he pushed too hard to come back too soon, but he knows now that a year off and proper rehab has him feelng fresh and eager to go when offseason activity begins in April. Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports
“I think there is an element of being very prideful and wanting to get back as quickly as I possibly could. And wanting to do things that had never been done before. You know, rehab quicker than anybody has rehabbed.”
Watt played through injuries to his abs, hand and groin for much of the 2015 season, and entering 2016 he had never missed a game in his five-year NFL career.
But after undergoing three major surgeries in the last year, Watt said he realized he can push himself only so far and that he had to be smart, too.
“You have to take some time to realize, OK, this is a serious thing, you need to do it the right way and be smart about it,” Watt said. “You can work hard, but you need to work smart.
“By the third [surgery] I finally kind of realized, OK do what you need to do to make sure that you’re getting back 100 percent healthy. Don’t try to impress anyone, even if it’s yourself. Don’t try and impress yourself with how fast you can get back. Don’t try and impress yourself with how much weight you can lift so early. Just do everything the right way. Do everything they say. And I have to say, it’s paid off big time.
“And the way my body feels right now, I can definitely tell that we did it the right way.”
Watt, who has been “fully cleared for football activities” and plans to be on the field for the Texans’ offseason program that begins in April, said he thinks the benefit he had after the second surgery is a longer period of time to make sure his back will be healthy long term.
Though NFL rules said Watt could have come off injured reserve later in the season, Texans coach Bill O’Brien ruled him out for the season soon after he had back surgery. Watt said having almost a full year between his second back surgery and games next season allowed him to “rebuild my body exactly how it needs to be” and not feel pressed to do it at “any certain speed.”
Watt has been one of the best defensive players in his first six seasons in the NFL since the Texans drafted him in the first round out of Wisconsin. Watt has become one of the NFL’s elite players, already registering two seasons with more than 20 sacks.
Watt said in the last four months he has been focused on coming back even better than the J.J. Watt of old.
“Just to know that there’s new levels to reach that I haven’t even reached yet is exciting,” Watt said. “It’s not like I’m just out here trying to come back and be a football player again. I’m still trying to continue to capitalize on what I was before and be even better than I was before. So, it’s always about being the best version of you that you can be and if I’m not trying to be the best player ever then I’m doing everyone a disservice. If I’m not going out here and I’m trying to be the best football player ever then it’s a disservice to myself, my fans, my teammates."
Though Watt played in the first three games of the season, he did not look like the dominant force Houston had come to know in the previous five seasons. And though Watt said he's glad for the extended period of time to recover from his back injury, he is ready to be back on the field.
“I can’t wait [to hit someone again],” Watt said. “It’s like having an insatiable appetite that hasn’t been fed in a very, very long time. You have this hunger, you have this desire. It’s all pent up and at some point – I don’t know who it’s going to be – but at some point somebody is going to feel it and that’s going to be fun. That’s going to be very fun.”
CloakNNNdagger
Hall of Fame
Texans' J.J. Watt 'feels good' as he works way toward football activities
Limited to 3 games last season, Watt 'feels good' as he works his way back toward football activities
April 18, 2017
J.J. Watt alternated between lighthearted NBA talk and the serious matter of getting back to the NFL.
Standing at a podium Monday and wearing a red T-shirt as the Texans launched their offseason conditioning program, J.J. Watt struck a confident, humorous tone.
The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year poked fun at his struggles to don an extra-small Rockets T-shirt Sunday night during a playoff win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, quipping: "That's the offseason plan. Not to get bigger, just to get smaller shirts."
The defensive end doled out heavy praise for the game of Rockets guard Pat Beverley but turned more serious when the topic of the most-discussed back injury in the NFL was broached.
Watt underwent a pair of microdiscectomy surgeries last season to repair the same herniated disk on the heels of undergoing another procedure last offseason to address several core muscles. He spent the majority of last season on injured reserve, playing just three games, in which he was limited to eight tackles and 11/2 sacks.
"I feel very good," Watt said. "Obviously, it's a long offseason, and there's plenty of time to continue to improve and grow. I think that everybody has done a great job. My body feels really good.
"I'm really looking forward to this whole offseason process and getting back to just playing football. I just want to play football. I can't wait to get back out there and play some ball."
Watt disclosed during the Super Bowl that he has been cleared for all physical activities. He continues to make steady progress as he works his way back into football activities at some point. Watt and the Texans are expected to be cautious and monitor his back closely. He acknowledged previously that he probably overdid his exercise and rehab regimen last year and should have allowed himself more time to heal.
"I've had time for the passion to grow and for the fire to keep burning bigger and bigger," Watt said. "It's going to be a lot of fun. But I've also learned a lot over that time where I need to make sure that I balance myself and not get overly crazy in the offseason and things like that."
Making adjustments
Watt's work ethic is legendary, and his workouts are extremely intense. He's making adjustments, though, to account for the stress his back has endured.
"Part of you wants to hold on to what you did in the past and be like, 'This is what I did to get here. I want to continue doing that,' " Watt said. "But as you get through it and you grow and you learn, you really … I mean, I had a lot of time, so I dove into the research behind everything and understanding how you can do certain things without putting yourself at risk.
"So I've grown as a person. I've learned a lot. I've really talked with so many people, and we've kind of created a program and a plan where I can get the results I want without necessarily putting myself at risk in those situations. It's been good."
It is obvious Watt has regained the muscle mass and tone he lost during his convalescence last season. His 6-5 frame looks like it's carrying at least the 295 pounds he's routinely listed at on the Texans' roster.
Watt has come a long way since aggravating the injury last season and being a shell of his usual robust self during a shutout loss to the New England Patriots in which he spent a lot of time on the ground despite drawing only single-blocker attention. With 76 sacks in six NFL seasons, the Wisconsin native expressed a strong belief that he's going to be ready and will regain his old Pro Bowl form.
"You can never fake confidence," Watt said. "You can't BS yourself into thinking that you're good enough when you know for a fact you didn't put in the work and didn't put in the time. For me, it all comes down to making sure that I put in that time and making sure that I put in that effort so that when I step on that field, I know for a fact that I can step out there confident and strong and I can go out there and dominate because I put in the work.
"There's nothing to be worried about when you put in the work. The only time you have to be nervous or anxious for a game is when you didn't put in the work and you're just hoping you're good enough. That's not a situation I ever want to be in."
True to his trademark competitive nature, Watt is keeping track of every whisper, question and doubt about whether he'll ever be the same again. He's paying close attention to those wondering about his recent durability issues after not having any problem staying on the field in his first five NFL seasons.
'Heard them all'
"I see them all, I know them all, I've heard them all," Watt said. "You hear doubters. You hear everything. I've heard everything from you get constantly injured and things like that. This is the first games I've ever missed this last season. It's not like I've been hurt every single year. It's not like it's been some over and over and over again thing.
"It was a very serious last year for me. It was a very tough year for me, but the only way I'll ever be truly the player that I want to get back out there and be for my teammates and for these fans is to go out there and be confident and to work my (butt) off every single day and to just be who I know I can be. If something happens, it happens. I'm going to give it everything I have. I feel great, and I'm very much looking forward to it."
Limited to 3 games last season, Watt 'feels good' as he works his way back toward football activities
April 18, 2017
J.J. Watt alternated between lighthearted NBA talk and the serious matter of getting back to the NFL.
Standing at a podium Monday and wearing a red T-shirt as the Texans launched their offseason conditioning program, J.J. Watt struck a confident, humorous tone.
The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year poked fun at his struggles to don an extra-small Rockets T-shirt Sunday night during a playoff win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, quipping: "That's the offseason plan. Not to get bigger, just to get smaller shirts."
The defensive end doled out heavy praise for the game of Rockets guard Pat Beverley but turned more serious when the topic of the most-discussed back injury in the NFL was broached.
Watt underwent a pair of microdiscectomy surgeries last season to repair the same herniated disk on the heels of undergoing another procedure last offseason to address several core muscles. He spent the majority of last season on injured reserve, playing just three games, in which he was limited to eight tackles and 11/2 sacks.
"I feel very good," Watt said. "Obviously, it's a long offseason, and there's plenty of time to continue to improve and grow. I think that everybody has done a great job. My body feels really good.
"I'm really looking forward to this whole offseason process and getting back to just playing football. I just want to play football. I can't wait to get back out there and play some ball."
Watt disclosed during the Super Bowl that he has been cleared for all physical activities. He continues to make steady progress as he works his way back into football activities at some point. Watt and the Texans are expected to be cautious and monitor his back closely. He acknowledged previously that he probably overdid his exercise and rehab regimen last year and should have allowed himself more time to heal.
"I've had time for the passion to grow and for the fire to keep burning bigger and bigger," Watt said. "It's going to be a lot of fun. But I've also learned a lot over that time where I need to make sure that I balance myself and not get overly crazy in the offseason and things like that."
Making adjustments
Watt's work ethic is legendary, and his workouts are extremely intense. He's making adjustments, though, to account for the stress his back has endured.
"Part of you wants to hold on to what you did in the past and be like, 'This is what I did to get here. I want to continue doing that,' " Watt said. "But as you get through it and you grow and you learn, you really … I mean, I had a lot of time, so I dove into the research behind everything and understanding how you can do certain things without putting yourself at risk.
"So I've grown as a person. I've learned a lot. I've really talked with so many people, and we've kind of created a program and a plan where I can get the results I want without necessarily putting myself at risk in those situations. It's been good."
It is obvious Watt has regained the muscle mass and tone he lost during his convalescence last season. His 6-5 frame looks like it's carrying at least the 295 pounds he's routinely listed at on the Texans' roster.
Watt has come a long way since aggravating the injury last season and being a shell of his usual robust self during a shutout loss to the New England Patriots in which he spent a lot of time on the ground despite drawing only single-blocker attention. With 76 sacks in six NFL seasons, the Wisconsin native expressed a strong belief that he's going to be ready and will regain his old Pro Bowl form.
"You can never fake confidence," Watt said. "You can't BS yourself into thinking that you're good enough when you know for a fact you didn't put in the work and didn't put in the time. For me, it all comes down to making sure that I put in that time and making sure that I put in that effort so that when I step on that field, I know for a fact that I can step out there confident and strong and I can go out there and dominate because I put in the work.
"There's nothing to be worried about when you put in the work. The only time you have to be nervous or anxious for a game is when you didn't put in the work and you're just hoping you're good enough. That's not a situation I ever want to be in."
True to his trademark competitive nature, Watt is keeping track of every whisper, question and doubt about whether he'll ever be the same again. He's paying close attention to those wondering about his recent durability issues after not having any problem staying on the field in his first five NFL seasons.
'Heard them all'
"I see them all, I know them all, I've heard them all," Watt said. "You hear doubters. You hear everything. I've heard everything from you get constantly injured and things like that. This is the first games I've ever missed this last season. It's not like I've been hurt every single year. It's not like it's been some over and over and over again thing.
"It was a very serious last year for me. It was a very tough year for me, but the only way I'll ever be truly the player that I want to get back out there and be for my teammates and for these fans is to go out there and be confident and to work my (butt) off every single day and to just be who I know I can be. If something happens, it happens. I'm going to give it everything I have. I feel great, and I'm very much looking forward to it."
Dutchrudder
Hall of Fame
It's ok, the Texans will draft TJ Watt and will have plenty of Watts for years to come. We can always move JJ To strength trainer. Dude would kill as a coach in that role.
Brandon420tx
Flounder
TheMatrix31
Hall of Fame
I'd have no problem drafting TJ Watt.
Even with his injury history?
TheMatrix31
Hall of Fame
I like guys with motor. If he's even half of his brother in that regard I'd be happy.
PapaL
Loose Screw
Where would you line him up?
I'd be ok with it as well; assuming the top OL talent is off the board.
Motor doesn't mean much on the trainers table. Just sayin...
badboy
Hall of Fame
my sources tell me he will be roller skating in a buffalo herd flipping them from biggest to smallest.
TheMatrix31
Hall of Fame
I don't know much about schemes and all that. Seems from what I can gather that he can be a wildcard type. Mix and match versatility depending on what we're doing at any given point. Hell, even line him up offensively.
I don't know about his injuries and all that but I do know that motor places #1 for me. I like players who won't stop no matter what. Always said this team would be the greatest if every player had the motor of Watt and Cushing. We could literally get another Watt. That's a player we don't have to worry about being a shithead on or off the field, don't have to worry about their desire or intelligence, etc. I'd be happy with it.
For me I'm going all OL, but I know that's not possible so TJ Watt is definitely someone I'd be cool with.