Tim Benz: How Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt thinks he can improve upon an award-winning season in 2022

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt and his brothers (J.J. and Derek) weren’t just youth football players growing up in Wisconsin. En route to their NFL careers, they played a lot of hockey, too.

So Watt can appreciate an NHL analogy when there is one to make. That’s good because Watt is coming off one of the best individual seasons in Pittsburgh sports since 2014 when Penguins captain Sidney Crosby won the Art Ross, Hart and Lindsay Trophies all in the same year.

In 2021, Watt was named All-Pro, won NFL Defensive Player of the Year and tied the NFL’s all-time sack record of 22.5.

Early in Crosby’s career, even after his best seasons, Crosby became renowned for identifying any self-critiqued flaw in his game. Every offseason, he’d practice that perceived weakness into oblivion, honing whatever skill was necessary until that diagnosed problem became a strength.

One offseason that may have been his faceoffs. Another may have been his shot. Or his defense. That’s part of the reason why Crosby went from All-Star and Stanley Cup champion in 2009 to NHL goal-scoring leader (51) in 2010.

So what does Watt do for a similar encore this year? How does he improve upon what was one of the best pass-rushing seasons in NFL history in 2021?

“Super Bowl,” Watt succinctly responded when he was asked that question one day at training camp in July.

Multiple times during interviews while the team was at Saint Vincent College, Watt got questions to that effect. Just about every time, he gave a similar response, redirecting any inquiry about improving individual honors down a path of team success toward the ultimate prize.

“I agree with T.J.,” coach Mike Tomlin said with a smile when asked a similar question about what Watt can do to make 2022 even better than ‘21.

But how does Watt make that happen from the outside linebacker position? Beyond the high-impact sacks, tackles for loss, batted balls, strips and turnovers Watt already produces — often in high-leverage situations — how does Watt individually influence positive team results even more than he already does?

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To continue the Crosby analogy, the hockey answers are easy. A star goal-scorer can block more shots. Kill a penalty. Play better defense. Finish more checks. Distribute the puck to the open man. Set stronger screens in front of the net.

For Watt, he said the answer isn’t too complicated. It’s simply making more of those big plays more often.

“The splash plays. More splash plays,” Watt insisted during a recent conversation.

That may seem like an overly simple response, especially given that on top of his 22.5 sacks in ‘21, Watt totaled an NFL- high 21 tackles for loss. He also tallied five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and seven pass deflections. But the longer Watt talked, the more nuance came out in his point.

He’s trying to ignore the number of big plays he made en route to a fourth straight Pro Bowl. Rather he’s focusing on eliminating the missed opportunities for such plays in 2022.

Specifically, punching the ball loose when he sees the chance to do so.

“There were a lot of opportunities last year where I would’ve been able to punch the ball out,” Watt said. “Just looking back on the film, if you’re just attempting more punchouts, maybe those plays will fall in our favor more often than not. Those are just tangible things. Obviously, the intangible is all the leadership and things along those lines.”

Watt said a key, though, is not hunting for those big plays so much that he is getting out of position or sacrificing fundamentals in the hope of causing turnovers.

“Everybody, as a defender, has those moments where you feel like the game isn’t going the way you want it — personally or collectively. You want to be that guy, and that can be a detriment to yourself and the team to swim out of your gap and stuff like that,” Watt said. “It’s very important to remember that defense is a 1/11 job, just like we said in college.”

To a man, Steelers along the defensive front preached that point this summer when it came to addressing the club’s 32nd-ranked rush defense. Avoid playing “hero ball” by sacrificing assignments in the name of leaving your spot to make a play and reverse momentum.

Is that an area of Watt’s game that can improve? Forget the pass rush element and big play components of his game for a moment. Is it just about anchoring down and being more fundamentally sound in the run game?

Pro Football Focus ranked Watt 18th among 110 qualified edge defenders when it came to their run-stopping grades. He was third in pass rush. But defensive coordinator Teryl Austin insisted there was no truth to the belief that Watt and other Steelers were sacrificing responsibilities in the run game to attack the passer.

“That was not a contributing factor to our issues (against the run),” Austin said at Saint Vincent College. “Other than last year, we’ve led the league in sacks and been pretty good in run defense. We just had things we had to do better. It wasn’t that. We are still going to continue to rush and be the best in the league at putting the quarterback on his back, but also have a really good rush defense.”

Watt was equally disruptive in both aspects of the game during training camp and his limited preseason snaps. He was often dominant in camp drills. It’s not often a veteran All-Pro shines as a “camp darling” in Latrobe. Usually, that title is bestowed to a draft choice or an “out of nowhere” free agent signing. Training camp is frequently viewed as a time for established vets to work their way into game shape. But in the summer of ‘22, few Steelers, if any, stood out more than Watt during practices at Saint Vincent.

“The way he plays is a reflection of the way he practices,” safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said last week. “Any great player in this league is going to be a great practice player as well.”

Derek Watt said T.J. hasn’t stopped looking to improve since receiving all of last year’s accolades.

“Just because he won (Defensive Player of the Year), that doesn’t change anything,” the Steelers fullback said last week. “He continues to make his strengths even stronger and improve his weaknesses. He is just trying to be the best he can to help our team win a Super Bowl… More film. More study. He’s a very smart player.”

Smart enough not to overtrain, as well. Something Watt said he monitored this offseason so as not to tax his body too much heading into the season. Avoiding injury is one way Watt can certainly help the Steelers in 2022. He missed two games and had to leave three more early due to injury last season, to say nothing of attempting to play through injury in a few others.

“I’m going into my sixth year now. So I’m very comfortable where I’m at (physically),” Watt said in July. “I don’t have to train crazy amounts of hours a day because I know what it takes to be successful. I’ve seen my brothers overtrain at times. When you love what you do, it’s hard to pull the reins back. But that’s something I’ve gotten really good at, and it’s helped me be successful.”

The more Watt finds out about himself, the more the NFL may find out about him. As if it hasn’t learned enough already, with his 72 sacks over five years. But it’s that one thing — a Super Bowl ring — that Watt is missing which is troubling him right now.

That should mean significant trouble for opposing offenses across the league in 2022.

Listen to T.J. Watt talk about making even more big plays in 2022, improving team-wide run defense, and the marriage of pass rush and pass coverage.