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Every once in a while, you’ll hear Bill Belichick step up to the podium and gush about an upcoming opponent and today was one of those times.
Speaking to the media ahead of Thursday night’s game vs. the Steelers, Belichick gave an almost two-minute soliloquy on what makes Pittsburgh pass rusher T.J. Watt such a force. Praising everything from his instincts to his technique:
You know, he’s a very, he’s an instinctive player. He’s very quick off the ball. He has a good edge pass rush. He’s got really good, lower body strength and balance. He does a very good job of closing to the quarterback and rarely gets knocked off balance. He might get hit, but he’s able to play through contact and stay on his track. He really does a good job of condensing the pocket. Even when he doesn’t hit the quarterback, he forces the quarterback into a smaller space that helps everybody else who’s rushing.
Bill Belichick loves him some TJ Watt.
Asked him about the Steelers edge player. He went on for nearly three minutes… and there was more.
Instincts. Quickness. Strength. Balance. Closing speed. You name it. @ABC6 #ForeverNE #NEvsPIT pic.twitter.com/eVXlwe5xnb
— Ian Steele (@IanSteeleABC6) December 6, 2023
That wasn’t all.
He’s a very good pursuit player. He makes a lot of plays from the backside or makes plays where you think he’s blocked. You think he’s out of the play and he’s able to cross face the block or get back in the play and has enough speed and desire, or I would say motor, to get to some of those places on the backside when you think that he should be a non-factor and he ends up making a play.
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And more…
He’s got good ball awareness … so he can sort of anticipate where the ball is gonna be thrown. But also he gets in close proximity to the quarterback so that if he gets his hand in the throwing lane he’s able to either affect the throw or possibly get his hand on the ball. He’s got that really good reach move with his left hand. He’s gotten a lot of strip sacks on that through the years where he’s engaged with a blocker and still is able to knock the ball out of the quarterback’s hand with that left arm reach. I’d say that’s kind of his patented move and he’s really, really good at it.
It’s always nice to hear Belichick share some of that tremendous football acumen when he’s not being so guarded at the mic. We’ll see if his offense can do anything about everything he said when the game kicks off on Amazon Prime.