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It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers were without their top player for a majority of the game last Sunday when the Steelers dropped their home opener to the Las Vegas Raiders. TJ Watt pulled up limp in the first half against Oakland and now has had an entire week to rehab and practice. So what can we reasonably expect this Sunday as the Steelers take on the Cincinnati Bengals?
Watt said in an interview today, “If I’m going to play, I’m going to play like I always do.” We would not expect anything less from Watt, but it’s hard to ignore the big “if” in Watt’s statement. The biggest question the Steelers have to ask themselves is whether it’s worth it to push Watt, or let him try to rehab another week and have him full speed for when the Steelers take on the Green Bay Packers next Sunday at Lambeau Field. We clearly don’t know the full extent of the injury, but with Alex Highsmith already ruled out for the game, the Steelers will be down to just Melvin Ingram and company if Watt can’t suit up. The Bengals have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, but the Steelers would clearly be much better off if Watt was full go.
When Watt was asked about the nature of his injury he said, “I think it’s any soft-tissue injury, to be honest with you. This isn’t going around playing Pee Wee football — this is playing with guys who do this for a living.” Watt and the Steelers obviously understand that if he isn’t good enough to go, then it’s not worth worsening the injury. However, we know how much of a gamer Watt is and we can reasonably expect him to give it his all if he is cleared for Sunday.
Finally, when Watt was asked about his guess for whether or not he would be playing on Sunday he said, “I felt like I was able to do a good amount this week to leave the door open.” The decision clearly isn’t made by Watt or the Steelers, but it’s reasonable to infer that they have a strong inkling he has a chance to play, so back to our original question, what can we expect from Watt on Sunday?
It’s highly unlikely Watt will be out there for every snap. Watt rarely plays every snap when he is healthy, but his snap count would more than likely be around 40-50% of what he normally plays. The Bengals are a very pass happy team, but have started to revolve their offense more around their ground game and running back, Joe Mixon, so don’t expect Joe Burrow to throw the ball 40-50 times a game like he did last year.
If the game script goes in the Bengals favor, they would like Burrow to throw 30-35 times. A majority of those throws are likely to occur on second and third down, which is when I would expect to see Watt on the field. Watt’s mere presence on the field could possibly be enough to attract double teams and open up holes for other edge rushers like the aforementioned Ingram. If the Steelers can stay in third and plus on defense, I expect Watt to play around 30 snaps on Sunday. Watt may only be at 75-80% on those 30 snaps, but he’s going to be better than 95% of the league when they are at 100%.
What do you expect from Watt on Sunday? Sound off in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
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Watt said in an interview today, “If I’m going to play, I’m going to play like I always do.” We would not expect anything less from Watt, but it’s hard to ignore the big “if” in Watt’s statement. The biggest question the Steelers have to ask themselves is whether it’s worth it to push Watt, or let him try to rehab another week and have him full speed for when the Steelers take on the Green Bay Packers next Sunday at Lambeau Field. We clearly don’t know the full extent of the injury, but with Alex Highsmith already ruled out for the game, the Steelers will be down to just Melvin Ingram and company if Watt can’t suit up. The Bengals have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, but the Steelers would clearly be much better off if Watt was full go.
When Watt was asked about the nature of his injury he said, “I think it’s any soft-tissue injury, to be honest with you. This isn’t going around playing Pee Wee football — this is playing with guys who do this for a living.” Watt and the Steelers obviously understand that if he isn’t good enough to go, then it’s not worth worsening the injury. However, we know how much of a gamer Watt is and we can reasonably expect him to give it his all if he is cleared for Sunday.
Finally, when Watt was asked about his guess for whether or not he would be playing on Sunday he said, “I felt like I was able to do a good amount this week to leave the door open.” The decision clearly isn’t made by Watt or the Steelers, but it’s reasonable to infer that they have a strong inkling he has a chance to play, so back to our original question, what can we expect from Watt on Sunday?
It’s highly unlikely Watt will be out there for every snap. Watt rarely plays every snap when he is healthy, but his snap count would more than likely be around 40-50% of what he normally plays. The Bengals are a very pass happy team, but have started to revolve their offense more around their ground game and running back, Joe Mixon, so don’t expect Joe Burrow to throw the ball 40-50 times a game like he did last year.
If the game script goes in the Bengals favor, they would like Burrow to throw 30-35 times. A majority of those throws are likely to occur on second and third down, which is when I would expect to see Watt on the field. Watt’s mere presence on the field could possibly be enough to attract double teams and open up holes for other edge rushers like the aforementioned Ingram. If the Steelers can stay in third and plus on defense, I expect Watt to play around 30 snaps on Sunday. Watt may only be at 75-80% on those 30 snaps, but he’s going to be better than 95% of the league when they are at 100%.
What do you expect from Watt on Sunday? Sound off in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
