J.J. Watt. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Texans four-time All Pro and three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt was an iron man the first five years of his career. He didn't miss a game. But the last two seasons, Watt's played just eight of 32 games, and he was limited to eight snaps this preseason.
Houston will visit New England Sunday, and Patriots coach Bill Belichick is still expecting the same old Watt.
"J.J.'s a great player, very talented," Belichick said. "He's got a great motor, very instinctive, very smart player, as well as one who has outstanding physical skill. We always expect their best, and prepare for it."
Belichick has nothing but respect for the Texans' front on D, especially with his former assistant Romeo Crennel running the show.
"They have a group of outstanding players who are among the very best in the league, very challenging," Belichick said. "They have good depth. They rotate some players through there that are maybe not as good as some of the others but they're still really good players. This is a very talented team in all three phases of the game, front four or front seven, however you want to look at it because some of those players are a little bit interchangeable. Romeo's an outstanding coach and one of the top coaches in the game, has been for a long time. Nobody's better than Romeo at running a defense and creating problems for the offence, and utilizing his personnel."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports