J.J. Watt knows all about fumbles. In what's certain to be a Hall of Fame career, he punched out 27 of them en route to three different NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards.
That made him qualified to break down James Cook issues as color commentator for CBS's broadcast of a Week 6 tilt between the Buffalo Bills and Las Vegas Raiders. Cook led the league in rushing last season, but also put the ball on the turf a career-high six times. He's on pace to shatter that record this fall. He's already got four fumbles, including two last week as Buffalo outlasted the Los Angeles Rams in an overtime win.
Watt brought up ball protection in the booth alongside veteran play-by-play analyst Jim Nantz. He showed off a tried-and-true cross-armed technique to keep the ball safe. He also showed off a new method where the back holds the wrist of the arm carrying the ball, thus bracing it for an incoming punch over the top.
Then, he asked Nantz not just to try and knock the ball out, but to do it "as hard as you've got, brother."
Nantz reared back and gave the ball a solid punch. It didn't move, proving Watt's point. But it also sent Nantz recoiling and shaking out his hand, which reminded us all there's a big difference between active NFL players and middle aged announcers.
"I did not think you were gonna go that hard," explained a chuckling Watt. Nantz, laughing himself, could only counter with "alright." And, like that, we were gifted yet another example of Watt behind a better booth buddy alongside Nantz than Tony Romo.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: J.J. Watt goaded Jim Nantz into hurting himself during Bills-Raiders