Booger McFarland offered some bizarre criticism of JJ Watt during Saturday’s AFC Wild Card playoff game between the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts.
The Texans were down 21-0 late in the second quarter and hadn’t sacked Andrew Luck at the time when McFarland criticized Watt. In fact, Watt had just made a good play, batting down a Luck pass attempt on first down with the Colts at their 45 before halftime. McFarland took the opportunity to say Watt was not doing enough.
“I get it, JJ Watt batting balls, but guess what? They don’t pay you as a defensive lineman to bat balls,” McFarland said. “He’s got to get to the quarterback. Great job getting your hands up. But as a defensive lineman, he’s been a 3-time Defensive Player of the Year, and I promise you he hasn’t done that because of batted balls. In the second half, he’s going to have to get to Andrew Luck to create a sense of urgency in the pocket, because right now, Luck is way too comfortable.”
McFarland, one of the commentators for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” package, is right that pressuring Luck would be more disruptive in general. However, he makes it sound like batting a pass is a bad thing. It’s not. It’s a good play. Watt tipped a pass earlier in the half that allowed Houston to get an interception. His second batted pass resulted in an incompletion. Watt’s ability to bat passes shows just how excellent he is; he can still impact a game and disrupt a passing offense even when he’s not getting to the quarterback.
McFarland acting like a batted pass is not a good thing shows short-sighted criticism. That’s tantamount to criticizing a player who’s gone 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles for not being 3-for-3 with a couple of home runs.
Of course, this is nothing too new for McFarland, who often offers harsh criticisms.
