HOUSTON (CBS HOUSTON) – J.J. Watt is on yet another amazing pace.

Through eight games last year he amassed 32 tackles, seven sacks, seven pass deflections, a forced fumble, and returned an interception for a touchdown.

This year through eight games Watt has been better.

He has more tackles (40), more sacks (8.5), is close on the pass deflections (6), and has the same amount of forced fumbles. He also has more tackles for a loss and quarterback hits than last year’s first eight games.

He isn’t happy with the perception of his season so far.

When asked if he knew how well he was doing in the sack statistic at this point last year, Watt’s reply was simple and short.

“Not as many as I have this year, I know that.”

What followed next was a message for his critics.

“So maybe y’all can stop talking how down of a year I’m having. How about that?”

The ultimate statistic is of course wins, and the Texans are one game off where they stood through eight last year, which was 4-4.

Regardless of the whispers, headlines, or critical talk, if Watt keeps this up he will be in line to be the NFL’s defensive player of the year once again.

Follow Stoots on Twitter – @Cody_Stoots