T. J. Watt
I just want to be able to be a game-wrecker.
After every injury people ask me if I want to play anymore. I think we look at things differently. I'm like, are you kidding me? It makes me find a new love for the game - a new love for practice, a new love for watching film. It makes me appreciate football.
I've set myself up nice where I've been having a good career but it doesn't matter if you're not winning games when they matter most.
Steelers Nation travels so well no matter where we are. But even for training camp, it could be 105 degrees, no cloud in sight and there's going to be a ton of fans out there just wanting to support us.
I think it's awesome. It's something that you only dream about growing up in the same house. That's what gave me the confidence to be in the NFL - J.J. did it, Derek did it, why can't I do it? And to be able to play against them is incredible.
You're seeing so many more mobile quarterbacks. I mean, each and every year it seems like some teams are converting from a traditional pro style to a mobile quarterback.
I've got a boring lifestyle.
I work out, I go home, I grill burgers and hang out by myself or hang out with a few of the guys on the team.
Always try to put a smile on someone's face.
My father instilled in me to always work as hard as I can, and if I do I can accomplish whatever I want. It's because he sees the potential in me. He always has.
My excuse for everything was 'I'm sorry, I'm not J.J. I didn't know how to handle my brother's success. Anything I did wrong, I blamed on that. It was immaturity, not owning up to my actions.
I have a role model who is a text away. J.J. is the person I go to about anything in life. To have him as my older brother is awesome. He has done everything I hope to achieve. It's an inspiration.
We'd like to ideally be communicating more in-person, understanding each other face-to-face, and creating acceptance offline, instead of intolerance online.
I only get one chance at this. You only get to play for so long. It's definitely very time consuming but like I said, it would be different if I didn't love to do it.
The people around me truly push me and understand my obsession with this game and wanting to be the best. It makes it a lot easier for me to want to do it.
I'll never publish my individual goals.
I always had the plan that I wanted to enter the NFL and I had the blueprint from both my brothers of just wanting to put my head down and work as hard as I possibly can.
If you go back to all my interviews as a rookie, I was very shy and didn't want to say a lot at all. I just wanted to work and soak up as much information as I possibly could and gain the trust of my teammates.
I'm just out here trying to show that I'm consistent as possible, I can make plays and I can be trusted.
I'm trying to be the best player I can be.
After games, I'll literally sit in my apartment and watch football. I have it instilled in me from my brothers, J.J. especially, minimal gains and marginal gains, you can be one percent better.
When you have a guy come in that demands a lot of attention and respect, it helps the unit as a whole.
I played with Derek in high school, I played with him in college. We've grown, we were the two that fought the most growing up and my dad always said 'You guys can be best friends someday just wait and see.'
I believe if you write it down it's more likely to stick in the memory.
At the end of the day, I can't always rely on my brother and I never really have.
I didn't realize rushing from the left how much visualization you have. I can see the quarterback's eyes a lot more so I can bat passes down. I can see what kind of drop he's taking. And I can always see the football when I'm rushing the quarterback, whereas on the right side, you can't really see it at all.
As I watched more and more film, I could see how vulnerable players are and how careless they are with carrying the football.
Any time a quarterback is able to move around in the pocket and create escape lanes, it creates a certain type of challenge for the rush men.
I've been dealing with pressure my whole life.
The work that I've put in will not change, it'll only grow.
I'll never short-change the game, whether it's preseason or regular season. And that's why, when the switch flips on, I don't care if it's preseason or not. You're just playing football.
I think everybody has to adjust to it. I don't know if anybody fully is prepared for zero-degree football.
I always want to play if I can.
The Steelers have invested in me and want me to be here long term. I want to be here long term.
I am trying to continue to grow and be one of the best who ever played this game.
The coolest thing about J.J. is his openness to us. Truly being an open book in any aspect of life and that's what makes him a great older brother, and Derek as well.
We'd play football, baseball. Whatever we were doing, we'd try to get as many kids in the community to come over to our house and play as many sports as we possibly could.
Our parents did an excellent job of making sure we were always outside of the house.
I just want to continue to be that guy that the other team has to account for and continue to grow my leadership role with the team and try to be as consistent as possible.
That's the hardest thing about the NFL is anybody can have a great game at this point. It's just about stringing together a band of great games.
I'm never gonna reach the levels that I want to, but I'm gonna give it all I can.
Early on when J.J. first started blowing up, I didn't know how to handle it, but now definitely I love it. My brother is the best defensive player to ever play the game, in my opinion.
I know it's a cliche, but I do have a motor that's nonstop. I'm just always going after the ball.
I'm always going to give a team everything that I have.
I knew I wanted to get my teeth straightened eventually in life.
I'm always eating.
I always want to be out there as much as I possibly can, but it's also about managing my play and how efficient I am when I'm out there. I don't want to be out there when I'm completely gassed.
Obviously, Green Bay is very, very big back home, so to be able to play in a historical venue like Lambeau is something special.
I think I was Brett Favre four or five times for Halloween.