Johnson won in 2014 and Isner did in 2015, both decid

HOUSTON -- J.J. Watt was so good last season that Houston defensive co-ordinator Wade Phillips called it the "best season ever" for a defensive lineman. So what will last seasons defensive player of the year do for an encore? Easy. "Im going to be better," he said as the Texans reported for training camp Thursday. "Just watch." It will be hard to top what he did last season, just his second in the NFL. He led the league with 20 1/2 sacks, had 81 tackles, four forced fumbles and defended 16 passes. Watt spent time this off-season doing what many would find to be a mundane task. He watched video of each of his games, not once but "over and over and over again." He wanted to pinpoint things he missed and find ways he could improve. "Theres sacks I missed here and there," he said. "Theres a couple of plays in the run game I missed here and there, some balls that could have been batted that werent batted. Little things. Im always looking at the little things. You have to be your harshest critic and Im by far my harshest critic and I have by far the highest expectations out of anyone in the entire world." Speaking of critics, Watt is annoyed that many have said he wont be able to replicate the success he had in 2012. "Why not? Why not? Dont sit here and tell me what I can and cant do," Watt said. He also finds it funny when people question whether hell succeed once teams make adjustments to account for him. He said adjustments were made last year that involved everything from double and triple teams to chip blocks. "If you want to focus all your attention on me, a) its not guaranteed to work and b) you have to worry about the 10 other guys on the field with me," he said. "And Im very fortunate to have 10 great other players on the field with me. Im also not going to give up just because Ive got three or four guys on me. Im going to get that sack." Hes enjoyed the fame hes gained from his work on the field and related stories about his delight at seeing pictures of fans wearing his jersey in places as far away as Japan. He loves Houston and the support he receives everywhere he goes, even if it is a little overwhelming at times. He said his plan to go out for breakfast on Thursday morning was foiled because he "cant take two steps without" people asking for autographs or pictures. Considering the speed of his rise to stardom, the 24-year-old is very aware that it could all go away at any moment. That, he says is one of the things that drives him to improve. This year, hes excited to play with ball-hawking safety Ed Reed and about the return of linebacker Brian Cushing from knee surgery. Reed had surgery to repair a partly torn labrum on April 30 and its unclear when hell be ready to play. He wasnt available on Thursday, but Andre Johnson, who has been close with Reed since the two played together at Miami, provided an update. "He feels like hes ahead of schedule," Johnson said. "He said hes feeling fine and hell be ready to go for opening day." Watt, who earned the moniker J.J. Swatt for his knack for batting down passes, has grand plans for how Reed, a nine-time Pro Bowler, can help complement his game. "I hope were going to the end zone many, many times," Watt said. "Ed and I talk about it all the time. I want to be tipping him interceptions all the time." Watt has noticed a different focus among the team than it had at the beginning of the season and believes it is partly due to the disappointing way Houston finished the regular season. The Texans began the season 11-1 before losing three of their last four regular-season games, which cost them bye week and home-field advantage in playoffs. "We definitely didnt play up to our potential at the end of the season last year," he said. "We just didnt finish the season strong and thats what we need to do." Houston won the AFC South title and its first-round playoff game in each of the last two seasons before losing in the divisional round. That kind of performance is unacceptable to Watt this year. "Division championships thats cool, but thats old news. First-round playoff wins -- cool -- but thats old news," he said. "We have one singular goal." Adidas Ultra Boost Sale . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. Adidas Ultra Boost Clearance Sale . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. http://www.cheapultraboost.net/ . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Adidas Ultra Boost Outlet Store . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Adidas Ultra Boost Cheap Sale . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. WASHINGTON -- After playing doubles past midnight and getting to sleep at about 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Steve Johnson was less than thrilled to be playing in the first Citi Open mens match in the main stadium at 4 p.m. Thursday.Still, showing the sort of progress that has lifted his ranking to a career-high 25th, Johnson played quality, first-strike tennis and ended qualifier Ryan Harrisons season-best run by winning the all-American matchup 6-4, 6-4 to reach the hard-court tournaments quarterfinals.I was lucky enough to be on the schedule first today. Just good turnaround, the fifth-seeded Johnson said, his words thick with sarcasm. Got a few hours of sleep. Just get back up. Thats life. Hopefully the ATP and those guys dont do that much anymore, because I dont think its fair. Its up to those guys. Theyve got to do what theyve got to do.Tournament director Jeff Newman said the scheduling was affected by rain that washed out play earlier in the week, and court assignments are based on various factors such as a television perspective, a fan perspective, how the draws are matched up.Every player wants to play in a certain position. You try to take feedback and weigh it all, Newman said. Some players will be happy; some people would prefer other spots.Johnson, a member of the U.S. Olympic team headed to Rio de Janeiro next month, broke Harrison once in each set. Johnson didnt face a break point himself and ended the match with a 130 mph ace.A two-time NCAA singles champion in 2011 and 2012, and a member of Southern California teams that won four consecutive national titles, Johnson earned his first ATP trophy at Nottingham, England, last month, then backed that up by making his fourth-round debut at a Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon.I knew I was capablle always of winning a title -- and, hopefully, multiple titles, Johnson said.dddddddddddd Once you win it, then you know what it feels like, you know what its like to be serving for a title. You get to those situations a little bit more and you just hopefully become more comfortable.On Friday, Johnson will face top-seeded John Isner, who hit serves up to 143 mph and produced 16 aces in a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over No. 15 Marcos Baghdatis. This will be the third year in a row that Johnson and Isner meet in Washington. Johnson won in 2014 and Isner did in 2015, both decided by a third-set tiebreaker.Hell tell you this much: He was playing pretty poorly the first five months of the year. Wasnt getting much going. But he turned the corner [in June], Isner said. Hes carried that confidence over to here. Hes just like anyone else: When he gets confidence on his side, he starts going for his shots and his shots start finding the right spots.Also Thursday, No. 2-seeded Gael Monfils overwhelmed No. 16 Borna Coric 6-2, 6-3; No. 13 Ivo Karlovic hit 21 aces and eliminated No. 3 Bernard Tomic 7-6 (4), 6-3; No. 6 Jack Sock beat Dan Evans 6-1, 7-5; No. 7 Alexander Zverev got past Malek Jaziri 6-2, 5-7, 6-2; and No. 8 Sam Querrey took the last five games in a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over 2012 champion Alexandr Dolgopolov.In womens action, third-seeded Monica Puig lost to Lauren Davis 6-4, 6-2; fourth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic beat 2013 Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-3;?Risa Ozaki edged Naomi Broady 6-1, 5-7, 6-4; and Camila Giorgi advanced when Tamira Paszek withdrew before their match because of an upper respiratory infection. ' ' '