Friday 30 September 2016 07:54, UK
Jadeveon Clowney has been a dominant player before. If the Houston Texans hope to succeed this season, he will need to be a dominant player once again.
With the decision to place defensive end J.J. Watt, three-time defensive player of the year, on injured reserve on Wednesday, it will be up to Clowney, the No. 1 pick in the draft in 2014, to stabilise the Texans' top-ranked pass defence.
Clowney, 23, has battled his own injuries over his first two seasons, including a torn meniscus in his right knee on his professional debut that limited him to four games that year.
Although he has admitted the knee still ails him, Clowney devoted himself during the offseason to finding ways to mitigate the pain. He began doing yoga, visited a chiropractor and reportedly lost 20 pounds by the start of training camp in July.
It is unknown whether Watt's back injury is related to the one he sustained last year and required surgery in July. It appeared to affect him greatly in the Texans' 27-0 loss to the New England Patriots last Thursday as he finished with just two tackles and struggled to shed blockers.
Coach Bill O'Brien told reporters in Houston on Wednesday that Watt "passed every test before being cleared to play" after surgery and that the decision was made "in the best interests of J.J.'s long-term health".
"You can never replace the best player in the NFL, and when someone like that goes down, you know, that's a tough thing, obviously, but at the same time, this is a team - a team made up of some really good veteran leaders, some really good young players," O'Brien said. "We've got a lot of good players in that locker room, and we're looking forward to the challenges ahead."
Watt, a four-time Pro Bowler who had a league-high 17.5 sacks last season, would not be eligible to return from injured reserve until Houston's game against the San Diego Chargers on November 27. Even then, it would be unlikely that the Texans would allow him to return after battling so many injuries.
He played through a number of torn muscles last season and broke his left hand last December. Still, Watt has not missed a game since the Texans selected him in the first round in 2011 - a streak that will end when Houston hosts the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
"I haven't missed a game since [age 16]," Watt, 27, wrote on Twitter. "This won't be fun, but it is necessary in order for me to return to 100 per cent and play at the level that I am capable of playing at."
Clowney had frequently lined up opposite Watt this season, though defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel occasionally had the two together on the left side in the Texans' first three games.
Part of Clowney's success over the first three weeks of the season has been the result of the coaching staff's decision to move him back to defensive end. Clowney was a game-changer at the position in the University of South Carolina's four-man front, with his size, strength and speed often no match for offensive linemen.
The Texans, though, asked Clowney to move to outside linebacker in their defensive scheme when he was drafted, forcing him to adjust to different defensive assignments that included dropping into coverage.
To replace Watt, the Texans signed Antonio Smith, a defensive end who spent five seasons in Houston before joining the Oakland Raiders in 2014. It would be unlikely that Smith would play a major role on Sunday, which would likely force Devon Still into a starting role against the Titans.
Linebackers Whitney Mercilus, Benardrick McKinney and John Simon, who have combined for 6.5 sacks this season, will also be counted on to stop the Titans' Marcus Mariota, who has already been sacked six times through three games.
"I think you can cobble some things together and have a good game plan," O'Brien said.
Houston could also get a boost from the potential return of inside linebacker Brian Cushing, who practised on Wednesday after missing the previous two games with a left knee injury.
"We're going to try to ask everybody else to tighten their belts and then go play the best game that they've played," Crennel said.
