J.J. Watt Speaks: Romeo Crennel, The Defense, Seahawks, Softball And More

It's nice to turn on your car on a cold, dreary day in Houston and immediately have your heart warmed by J.J. Watt's resonant, baritone voice on the radio. The All-Pro, Pro-Bowling, Super Pro was on Sports Radio 610 yesterday and he had a few noteworthy things to say. I've transcribed the good parts here (rather poorly), but you can listen to the entire interview here.

On if he's spoken with new defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel:

"I haven't met him in person. I haven't been back in Houston since January 2nd. Just a phone conversation. Obviously as we go forward, I'll learn a lot more and we'll go from there."

On if he knows anything about how Crennel will use him:

"No, we haven't talked about that; that'll come in a little bit. I'm sure he has a great plan."

On the defense and what it will take to get back on track:

"Obviously we need to win more games, but we're not as bad as everybody thinks. We need to create more turnovers. That's definitely number one in our list, and get that momentum rolling in the right direction. I would say, just a couple little tweaks here and there... there's not a whole lot that needs to be fixed, we just need to be rolling again, get that confidence back, get that swagger back. Start playing like we know how to play."

On how other Pro Bowlers reacted to him about the Texans' disappointing season:

"We didn't talk about it much, but... when they did bring it up, they couldn't believe it... It was tough to believe, with the team that we had and the expectations we had going into the season, it was disappointing, and it was frustrating. I think it was the same across the league... it was hard to see that happen."

On seeing the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl and the tough loss suffered to them early in the season:

"Obviously it's early in the year, but we played them well, just didn't finish. It just goes to show you what we can do. We had the potential. We had what we needed to have, but we just didn't finish it out. And then obviously you get on a losing streak and it starts to all kinda snowball, and it ends the way it did. It was unfortunate, but obviously they played great and ended up winning the Super Bowl so good for them."

Again, listen to the full interview here. Watt also talks about his vacation in Europe with his brothers, Shiloh Keo's softball-hitting prowess and what motivates him to do so much charity work.

Speaking of which, the 2014 J.J. Watt Charity Classic is coming up on May 2nd. Tickets go on sale TODAY at 9 a.m., CST, so BUY TICKETS because it will most certainly sell out. Apparently, last year's softball game between the offense and defense was a legitimate nail-biter that ended in extra innings. There'll also be a home run derby, silent auctions and such and such. All proceeds go to his superb foundation.

I'll be skipping my Friday night hot yoga class to be there, so I hope to see some Battle Red Bretheren out there, too. Have you been before, or planning to attend this year? Let us hear it in the Comments.

As far as football goes, it stinks that we couldn't get any insight on what Watt's responsibilities will be in Crennel's two-gap-flavored 3-4 defense. It's just another thing we'll have to fuss about alongside upcoming Free Agency and the NFL Draft-- all with a brand new coaching staff to boot.

It's going to be a long offseason, folks. Happy Saturday!