Dawand Jones gets confidence boost 'just going against an All-Pro' in Steelers' T.J. Watt
BEREA — There's a perception of how things are going on the field in real time. Then there's the reality that shows up when the film is watched.
Browns rookie right tackle Dawand Jones was tasked on Monday night with the job of trying to block Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro T.J. Watt. It's a task many multi-year veterans don't want on their plate.
In the postgame locker room, Jones seemed mostly pleased with his performance. With the benefit of time and film work with offensive line coach Bill Callahan, that assessment hasn't changed too much for the fourth-round pick out of Ohio State.
"It was OK," Jones told the Beacon Journal this week. "It was decent for the most part. There was a couple things I could clean up blocking and whether there's pass blocking, run blocking, things always working."
Watt did record his one sack of the game — which made him the franchise's all-time sack leader — by getting around Jones with a dip. The Steelers outside linebacker finished with four quarterback hits, two tackles for loss, four combined tackles, a pass defensed and, most notably, the go-ahead fumble return for a touchdown.
Of Watt's 70 defensive snaps against the Browns, 69 were on the left side of the defensive line. That would mostly, but not always, over Jones.
Jones was obviously given help a lot of the time with either a tight end lined up next to him or a teammate chipping Watt. Still, the former Defensive Player of the Week had praise for the rookie afterward.
"I think he's a great player," Watt said. "Has a bright future. Definitely very long. I just think it's a tough night anytime you're getting chipped 90% of the time."
Watt's words managed to find their way back to Jones. The big tackle, though, acknowledged that while he appreciated the compliments, his mind was already moving forward to this Sunday's home game against the Tennessee Titans.
Jones won't have to worry about a Watt or an Alex Highsmith, necessarily, with the Titans. He will have to worry about a defensive line that is still one of the best in the league.
The two edge interior linemen in Tennessee's three-man line, Jeffrey Simmons and Denico Autry, already have 4.5 combined sacks, 17 quarterback pressures and five tackles for loss in two games. The duo have a combined 73 sacks in 200 combined games in their careers.
"They're fast, they're physical," Jones said. "They're always around the ball. You hear a lot of noise, you know what I mean? They may not get home, but they're going to make sure the quarterback feels them. Now, I feel like once we capture or put them down like that, we should be all right."
Jones, if nothing else, feels all right going into his second NFL start. For one thing, it won't be his first one, so those nerves should be out of his system.
There's another reason why Jones feels that way.
"Honestly, it was just going against an All-Pro," Jones said. "I mean, honestly, that really helped up my confidence. Like I said, it's things to work on, but for the most part did decent, so it definitely helps your confidence."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns rookie Dawand Jones gains confidence from facing T.J. Watt
