- 2 days ago
Texans legend J.J. Watt joins Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast as the first ever guest on 95.7 The Fan.
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00:00Here's Payne and Pendergast.
00:03Dalton gets the snap, throws it, it's intercepted!
00:07Watt takes it across the 15, 10, 5, rock and roll!
00:11Touchdown, Texans! Pick 6!
00:15Just like that, the Texans take the lead!
00:19And Reliance Stadium has erupted.
00:22Yeah, that is a highlight that took place all the way back when we used to be Sports Radio 610.
00:26Oh, I remember those days.
00:27Yeah, back in the days, yeah.
00:29Yeah, J.J. Watt, pick 6, first ever Texans playoff game.
00:33And we are very excited about this.
00:35As we welcome you back in on 95.7 The Fan.
00:39It's going to take some getting used to.
00:41Love it.
00:43He's joining us right now on the Texas Mattress Makers Hotline.
00:47Five-time first-team All-Pro, three-time Defensive Player of the Year,
00:50Walter Payton Man of the Year, Texans Ring of Honor member,
00:53and probably the biggest honor ever, first guest ever in the era of 95.7 The Fan.
00:58J.J. Watt joining us on the program.
01:00J.J., good morning.
01:01Appreciate you jumping on with us, man.
01:03Guys, good morning.
01:05Honored to be here.
01:07Was fortunate enough to be a part of the first ever playoff team,
01:11first ever playoff win in Houston.
01:12But, I mean, have to believe that's surpassed by first-ever guest on 95.7 The Fan.
01:19Honored to be here.
01:20Also, very excited to hear that this is being – my phone call is being sponsored by Texas Mattress Makers
01:25because for the last 10 years I've been laying on a Texas Mattress Makers mattress,
01:30and it is phenomenal.
01:31So, boom.
01:32Thanks for advertising the show because you guys do great work.
01:35Did not get paid for that.
01:36I paid full price for my mattress.
01:38It's fantastic.
01:39I remember when you tweeted about that, and then Yuval and everybody,
01:42they were over the moon about that, J.J.
01:44My favorite thing that I told J.J. about how the culture of the Texans has changed over the years
01:48is I confirmed where your little sleeping cubby was that you had for your naps,
01:53where it was in the equipment room, and I thought, yep,
01:56that's where Todd Wade and Zach Wieger and I used to drink beer during training camp.
02:00That was – I feel like you made better use of that space than we did.
02:05That's debatable for sure.
02:06Shane Leckler did use it a few times during my career,
02:09and we shared some beers in the parking lot.
02:11So, same time, different place, brother.
02:13Did you ever wake up from your nap with Leckler sitting at the edge of your bed
02:16just drinking a beer contemplating life?
02:20Yeah.
02:20Oh, yeah.
02:21No, he was the only person that was allowed.
02:24If I walked back there and he was in it, they didn't get kicked out.
02:28That's great.
02:28Hey, J.J., before we get into some of the stuff we want to get into with you,
02:31we played that pick from the Bengals playoff game coming in.
02:35What do you – do you get asked about when people see you around town here,
02:38what do they bring up the most with you?
02:42Oh, man.
02:43I mean, can I have a picture?
02:46Can I have an autograph?
02:47That's what comes up first.
02:48No, it really is, and the people of Houston are so great.
02:51The first thing that always comes out is not football.
02:55It's either about the hurricane, the community, the things like that,
03:00and it's so kind and generous of them.
03:03And then when we get into football, it is back to that.
03:06For me, that's the number one.
03:09That's the best one.
03:10It was doing something that had never been done in Houston before
03:13and being able to play such a big part of it.
03:17But, yeah, what a special place, man.
03:19Well, and, you know, the interesting thing about you and how you're living now,
03:25and you're back in Houston, but you're also all over the place
03:27because you have your soccer club, you have Burnley,
03:30and all of these other interests, obviously,
03:32not to mention your broadcasting career, which we'll get into.
03:35But you and Cushing are now living – are you guys in the same neighborhood, basically?
03:40We're close by.
03:41You're close by.
03:42Okay.
03:42So for those of you who don't know, listeners that don't know,
03:45Brian and J.J. are brothers-in-law.
03:48Their wives are sisters, and they're both good athletes in their own right.
03:51I feel like – and I don't want to put pressure on your kids and grandchildren
03:54and everything, but this city has a – they have a tradition of Clay Matthews Sr.
04:00would have – between himself and Bruce Matthews and Clay Matthews,
04:04the second and Clay Matthews III and everybody else,
04:06they've got seven guys in that family who played in the NFL.
04:09I feel like you and Cushing might be – you might be able to blow that out of the water,
04:13J.J.
04:14Is that any part of, like, do you guys talk about that?
04:17Is there a planning session or anything?
04:20I mean, he's obviously much farther ahead than I am.
04:22His kids are older, and they're already phenomenal athletes, both football and baseball.
04:27They do a ton of baseball work.
04:29But, yeah, they're very, very impressive.
04:31My boys, one's about – Koa's about to turn four, and Nico's just past one.
04:36They're large.
04:37They are large human beings.
04:39So, as long as they've got Kalia's speed and agility and hopefully looks,
04:46then we'll be all right.
04:48J.J. Watt joining us here on the first day ever for 95.7 The Fan.
04:54Seth alluded to –
04:55Are we going to talk Shania Twain, guys?
04:56Did you hear that?
04:57When I tuned in this morning, I was like, hey, let's see what this new sports talk radio is all
05:02about.
05:02So, yeah, right out of the gate, a typical sports radio discussion about Shania Twain's legacy,
05:09which anybody who says she's not a legend is pretty nuts.
05:13That's right.
05:14Thank you, J.J.
05:15So, Clint is nuts.
05:16Thank you, J.J.
05:17Good.
05:17Is Clint still in the building?
05:18We can tell him J.J. Watt told him he's nuts.
05:21Well, I mean, I'm with you guys.
05:23He clearly – his Hall of Fame would be a three-person Hall of Fame.
05:27Like, you got – I mean, yeah.
05:29Is she Dolly Parton?
05:30No.
05:30But is she a legend?
05:31Yes.
05:31Yes.
05:33Yeah.
05:33Well, and to that point, I do wonder this, because if you were listening to the segment,
05:38then you heard, obviously, that we talked about you a little bit,
05:41and that's going to be coming up in a couple of years.
05:43Do you – when it comes to the Hall of Fame, do you allow yourself to –
05:47especially on weekends like this past one where every, you know, new class gets inducted,
05:52have you thought ahead to that at all in a couple of years?
05:54Like, what that looks like, what you would say, who presents you?
05:57Like, do you allow your mind to go to that place?
06:02Andre's – when I was at Andre's, it was really cool because, obviously, the history
06:06and everything, and I was so happy for him and being able to be around so many Texans
06:11and the party afterwards and all of that.
06:13It was really cool.
06:14And so that – I'm not going to sit here and be like, no, I don't know.
06:18And I was like, yeah, you certainly think about it a little bit, but it's not anything
06:22that you really – the one thing I do think back to all the time, and I think this was
06:26a
06:26really cool moment for me and something that is a perfect testament to what it's like to
06:32have a good coach, a good mentor, and people who believe in you, sometimes before you even
06:37believe in yourself, was when Wade Phillips, after my rookie year, he was doing a media
06:42gaggle with you guys after a training camp practice, and obviously this was just after
06:47my rookie year, and the quote from it was, he's going to be a bust, not a rookie bust.
06:53He's going to be a Hall of Fame bust someday.
06:56And for me, when I saw that quote the next day, and I'm sitting there as a second-year
07:02player who – the second half of my rookie season played all right, but the first half
07:06of my rookie season was pure – I don't know if you can swear on this or not, but dog
07:11crap.
07:13But that gave me so much confidence to know that this coach who had seen Reggie White,
07:19who had seen Lawrence Taylor and all these great players, to be – him see that in me
07:24before I truly saw it in myself gave me so much confidence and belief.
07:29So that was a really cool moment for me, and I have thought about that when it comes to
07:33the Hall of Fame.
07:34Yeah, JJ, I went back just a few years ago, kind of as an exercise, because I was thinking
07:39about a young defensive lineman and the progress he was making.
07:41I went back and I watched your first few games from your rookie year, and I think that my
07:46impression was, okay, this is a guy with the benefit of hindsight and knowing what would
07:50happen.
07:51You were really close to making a lot of plays.
07:53Like, you were right there, but then you were like a step short, or you took the wrong
07:57angle, or you got a little too excited.
07:59And I felt like – I noticed the same thing in Will Anderson his rookie year.
08:03He was a step shy, or maybe like a little overly exuberant a couple times in making big
08:08plays.
08:09And that – if you can take yourself back to your rookie year, was that – did you
08:15know that you were close, or did it just feel like, oh man, I'm screwing up, I'm sucking
08:19out here?
08:20No, I can tell you – so what it was, was you're trying to do everything perfect, because you're
08:26coming into a new situation with a new coaching staff and being taught a way to play the game,
08:33and you want to do everything right.
08:34So for me, especially in college, I played mainly five technique.
08:38Like, I was a five or a six technique, so I'm lined up, you know, just outside the offensive
08:41tackle or over the tight end, and I'm playing those techniques, and I was used to how we
08:45taught it at Wisconsin and how we played it at Wisconsin.
08:48And I come down to Houston, and of course, it's a new coach, it's a new system, so I'm
08:52playing a little more inside at three technique and defensive tackle work.
08:55You're getting some of those piggyback blocks, and everything is faster.
08:59Everything is more explosive.
09:00The offensive lines are better and more experienced, and all I wanted to do was impress my coaches
09:07and teammates.
09:07So every step, I wanted to be perfect.
09:10Every hand placement, I wanted to be perfect.
09:11And as you know from playing, you can't be thinking all the time, because that's not how
09:17you got where you are.
09:18And so about halfway through my rookie season, I finally had to be like, hey man, like, just
09:24let yourself be the player that you know you can be.
09:28You're going to still make mistakes, but at least make mistakes going 100 miles an hour
09:32and letting everything loose, as opposed to trying to be perfect every step of the way.
09:36And that really is what opened everything up for me, was saying, if I'm going to fail,
09:41at least I'm going to fail leaving it all on the field and not trying to be a playbook
09:45player.
09:46JJ Watt joining us on 95.7 The Fan.
09:49JJ, along those lines, put your analyst hat on now.
09:53What's the ceiling for Will Anderson Jr.?
09:57Oh, I mean, Hall of Fame, easily.
10:00There is no question that Will has the capabilities to do everything possible in this game.
10:05He can win Defensive Player of the Year's.
10:06He can make the Hall of Fame.
10:08He has every single physical tool.
10:11And the best part about it is he also has the mental capacity and the desire to bring
10:17all of those physical tools to their full capacity and utilize them fully.
10:21He's a great, great kid.
10:23He's a great athlete, a great player.
10:26He's constantly learning and growing and wanting to be better and trying to absorb knowledge.
10:31And then, as you guys know, he has this infectious smile and attitude that just makes you love
10:37him and want to be around him and want to see him succeed.
10:40The other question I have, JJ, about the Texans on the defensive side of the ball,
10:44Jadeveon Clowney signs here a week or two ago.
10:47He had talked about in his press conference that he did, it seemed like a more mature Clowney
10:53in his press conference.
10:54He learned a lot of things, especially getting traded away from here.
10:56He did allude to the fact that he butted heads with Bill O'Brien and he wasn't sure what Bill
11:00O'Brien wanted.
11:01Clowney thought he was a pretty easygoing guy.
11:04What did you see from Clowney in his first stint here and how excited are you to see
11:08him in this role with this team?
11:10Yeah, I mean, I think JD's a freak athlete, obviously, as we all know, as everybody knows.
11:15And he came in and he had that raw athleticism and that freakiness.
11:19And I mean, this league is hard, especially when you're number one overall pick and you
11:23have that pressure and everybody's looking at you as like, all right, let's see it.
11:27Show us it.
11:28That's not easy to handle.
11:30And then you're also dealing with all the money and everything that comes along with
11:33it.
11:34And there's just, there is a lot going on that is tough for a young man to handle.
11:40And yeah, he, he, he did a lot of great stuff, but I, and I do think that it was
11:45cool to
11:46watch his press conference.
11:46Seth sent me his clips from the press conference the other day and to, to show me some of those
11:51how he's talked about.
11:52And I think there's no question that he's matured and grown over the years.
11:55And that's been a fun transition to watch for me because it's been really, it's, it's
12:00special.
12:01And so I'm really looking forward to seeing him in this defense doesn't have all the pressure
12:05on him because he gets to play in this unbelievable defense and benefit from everything that comes
12:10with it.
12:11So you add him into a pass rush situation where you have the Neil and will on the edges, you
12:16have the guys on the back end, locking people down.
12:18And then JD can go somewhere in the middle and like roam around and just destroy guards with
12:23his lateral movement or even direct power.
12:26Um, I mean, it's just adding one more weapon to an already loaded arsenal.
12:30Um, and, uh, as, as everybody listening knows, you are now broadcasting with CBS and we all
12:36think you're doing an incredible job with it.
12:38Now I was thinking about it from the perspective of the defensive lineman.
12:41And as you're talking about Clowney coming in as a rookie and all of these other guys,
12:45um, your career kind of spans this, this evolution and pass rushing where JJ, I don't, I've had
12:53to learn the vocabulary of what half of these new moves are and the hop, step, cross chop
12:59and everything.
13:00Like it's just exploded in what guys are doing as a broadcaster.
13:04If you kind of, if you, if you did a step back and kind of relearn the game, cause now
13:09also you're talking about coverages, you're talking about the passing game.
13:12What that, how's that been for you?
13:15Yeah, there's, I mean, it's, it's an evolving thing where you have to a know exactly what's
13:21going on at the deepest levels of the game so that you can talk to players and coaches
13:25about it and also build the context in your own head as you're going to give it to the
13:29viewer.
13:30But at the very same time, you have to take all of that knowledge and all that information
13:36and simplify it down into what the viewers can understand.
13:40And because there's a complete separation there in terms of, yeah, could I go on the
13:46air and talk about how defenses are starting out in a two shell and then they're rotating
13:51the safety down.
13:52But then by the end of it, by the time the ball is actually snapped or flipped back up
13:55into a four high look and it like, yeah, you can go super in depth and talk about Mike
14:00McDonald's complex defense.
14:03But my grandma's also watching the game and she is going to call me after and say, what
14:08was all that stuff you were saying about cover two and cover four?
14:11So you, you really have to find that balance of knowing everything, but still being able
14:17to present it in a way that you're not turning viewers off.
14:21JJ Watt joining us on 95.7, the fan JJ, before we get you out of here, we know it's
14:25a unique
14:25set of circumstances that have led to this, but you're going to be working with Jim Nance
14:29for the foreseeable future, legend in the business, even a bigger legend than Shania
14:33Twain, I would say, Jim Nance.
14:36How excited are you to work with, with Jim Nance?
14:38You guys have been in touch and started talking about how these broadcasts are going to go.
14:42Yeah.
14:42Yeah.
14:43Like you said, it's not the circumstances you want it to happen under, but I am extremely,
14:47extremely excited about this opportunity.
14:48I mean, Jim Nance is a hall of famer, a legend, a Houston legend, obviously.
14:54And we've had that connection for a long time and it's, it's an honor to be a part of
14:59it.
14:59And I can't wait to get started and look forward to it.
15:01We did do a practice game together on Monday of this week and that went great.
15:06We've been in constant contact, me, Jim, Tracy, the whole crew, just to get everything ready
15:11because the number one most important thing is, is just the chemistry and the camaraderie
15:16and comfortability, because we want that to come through for the fans as they're watching
15:20the game, just to feel like it's them sitting on the couch with two of their buddies, one who
15:25happens to be Jim Nance, one of the most legendary announcers of all time.
15:28And the other one, me, who hopefully can bring some knowledge and also entertainment to
15:33the game for them.
15:34Do you feel any pressure to up your golf game now?
15:37Yeah.
15:38We were talking about it the other day.
15:40I asked him what his best round at the University of Houston was, and I think he said it was
15:4365.
15:44So as long as I stay under double that, I'll be proud of myself.
15:48There you go.
15:49There you go.
15:49Hey, do you have any?
15:50Actually, yeah.
15:50Your golf game, whatever pressure you might feel to get better, you're probably going to
15:54get better just by osmosis being around him.
15:56Yeah, being around Nance.
15:56Yeah, I mean, I have to absorb something, right?
15:58Yeah.
15:59Do you have any advice for Ross Tucker, who's a friend of this show, taking over your spot
16:04there with Ian Eagle?
16:06Yeah, Ross is great.
16:07Obviously, he's worked with Ian on the radio calls for a long time, so he knows it there,
16:11but he's in unbelievable hands with that crew, from everybody, from Ian to Evan, all the way
16:16out and the whole crew, but he's just going to have fun, man.
16:20Ian is incredible at setting you up, and he's got every single reference for pop culture
16:26and music and TV that you could want, but he also combines it with the incredible knowledge
16:32and voice and ability to read a game and see the game.
16:35So they're going to be great together because Ross has that football knowledge as well down
16:40pat, as you know, but he also has the humor and the wit and the ability to stay up with
16:45Ian and that.
16:46So those guys are going to be great.
16:47I can't wait to see them in that first week.
16:49Yeah, I'm excited.
16:50We're going to have them.
16:50Yeah, we're going to have him here.
16:52Yeah, yeah.
16:52We're going to have him here for Bill's Texans, so looking forward to that.
16:54And you guys are on Packers Vikings, right?
16:57Yep.
16:58Yep.
16:58First week, 325 window.
17:00JJ, we'll leave you with this text to the show from a listener.
17:04I delivered furniture to JJ Watt years back.
17:06He literally hopped off his seat and offered to help.
17:09We had to tell him to chill.
17:11We got this, LOL.
17:12Do you remember that?
17:15I literally had something like this yesterday because a guy was moving the weight room for
17:19me.
17:20I don't know how to handle myself in those situations.
17:23It's awful.
17:23You hire somebody to move your stuff for you.
17:26Yeah.
17:27And what am I going to do?
17:28Like, no offense to the guys.
17:30I'm bigger than them.
17:31I'm standing here watching these guys move my stuff and like, I'm just like twiddling my
17:36thumbs while these guys are grinding and sweating.
17:40And I'm like, all right, as a human being, I can't just stay in here and watch.
17:45So, yeah, of course I'm going to jump in.
17:47JJ, I share your sentiment on that.
17:49You feel guilty.
17:50I don't.
17:50The only guy who doesn't, yeah.
17:51Sean Pendergast.
17:52Oh, yeah.
17:52The little aristocrat here.
17:55He sits there in knickerbockers and watches the real men do the work.
17:59JJ, Amy's listening right now.
18:00I don't even know how to work the washing machine, let alone lift furniture.
18:03So, yeah, it's, uh, I don't think anybody on sports radio, six, 10 or 95, seven, the
18:08fan is shocked by that.
18:10No, they're not.
18:11You know, also really appreciates you hopping in and giving advice.
18:14Who auto mechanics.
18:15Yeah.
18:16Are you kidding me?
18:19I don't know.
18:20I got to tell you, I took a little shop back in the day.
18:23JJ Watt joining us on the show.
18:25Hey, JJ, we really appreciate you making time for us.
18:28Congrats on all the success.
18:29We enjoy the hell out of watching you on, uh, on CBS every Sunday.
18:32And, um, hope to see you when you're in town doing a Texans game, especially because they're
18:36four and O when you're on the call.
18:38Oh, I, I hope we get some Houston games this year.
18:41That would be fantastic.
18:42I love it.
18:43Thank you guys for having me.
18:44Thank you guys for all the entertainment, not just you guys, but everybody on the show
18:49sports radio, six, 10 for so many years, looking forward to hearing it on 95, seven,
18:53the fan.
18:54Now I got to be on a hundred percent honest.
18:56I did not know the difference between AM and FM in terms of everything it means for you
19:01guys, but you have explained it.
19:03Well, I'm looking forward to clear signals, no static in parking garages like you have
19:07shown.
19:08So, uh, just congratulations.
19:11Congratulations to everybody over there on your great work.
19:13And thank you for all the great years of coverage and many, many more to come.
19:16We appreciate you, man.
19:18Cut a promo.
19:18Yeah, no, that was good stuff.
19:20That was good stuff.
19:20Thanks JJ.
19:21We'll talk soon.
19:21Take it easy.
19:22Have a great one.
19:23Yup.
19:23You too.
19:23That's JJ Watt joining us on the show.
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