Bobby Wagner serves as heart of Seahawks’ defense
RENTON, Wash. – San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore was try to describe why his team struggled so much to move the ball against the Seahawks on Thanksgiving when came up with a pretty simple, albeit R-rated, explanation.
“No. 54, Bobby, he’s (expletive) fast as (expletive), man,” Gore said on a conference call with Seattle-area media.
Of course No. 54 would be linebacker Bobby Wagner, who isn’t just the man in the middle of Seattle’s defense, but also the man in the middle of an impressive defensive turnaround.
It would be oversimplifying things to say that the Seahawks defense turned a corner just because Wagner returned from a five-game absence, but it’s also impossible to ignore how much he means to Seattle’s defense.
Two of Seattle’s worst defensive performances this season were the home loss to Dallas, in which the Cowboys gained 401 yards, and the loss in Kansas City that saw the Chiefs rush for 190 yards, the most by a Seahawks opponent this season. Wagner was hurt in the Dallas game, and while he eventually returned to finish the game, he missed part of it and was playing with a torn ligament in his toe and a broken bone in his foot when he did return for the second half. The Kansas City loss came during Wagner’s absence. Wagner returned from a turf toe injury for Seattle’s win over Arizona, and in that game and the following two wins, the Seahawks held the Cardinals, 49ers and Eagles to season lows both in yards and points.
“He’s the heart of the defense,” cornerback Richard Sherman said of Wagner. “… He cleans up a lot of mistakes made by guys, and other guys clean up mistakes like Earl (Thomas) and Kam (Chancellor), we got a lot guys who are erasers out there, and he has such an instinctual game – he believes what he sees, he plays what he sees on top of the immense talent and speed that he has that he makes for a fantastic football player that I hope everybody recognizes.”
Or as defensive end Michael Bennett put it, “Him coming back has really changed our defense.”
Both before and after Wagner’s injury, Sherman has made a point of campaigning to get the linebacker his first Pro Bowl nod. Missing five games – almost one third of the season – would seemingly keep a player from earning such honors, but Wagner’s play this year has been so impressive he might be worth considering despite a long absence. Before his injury, Wagner ranked sixth in the NFC with 50 tackles, and since coming back he has 25 in three games, meaning another 100-tackle season is in reach despite a long layoff.
But Wagner’s value is in more than just those tackles. Getting him back frees everyone up to play a little faster, knowing that if they just do what they’re supposed to do, good things will happen, and that even if a mistake is made, Wagner or Thomas or Chancellor will be there to clean up the mess.
“Everybody right now is just running around, playing ball, having fun,” Wagner said. “We play our best ball when we’re having fun. When you hear the music and all that stuff, especially in the ‘C-Link’ when we’re dancing and all that stuff, the (opposing) team is probably in for some trouble.”
Hawks add D-lineman
Seattle signed DL David King off of Cincinnati’s practice squad Wednesday and waived LB Allen Bradford. King, a seventh-round pick out of Oklahoma in 2013, has spent most of the last two seasons on the Bengals’ practice squad. The fact that Seattle waived King to make room on the roster is potentially good news for DE Demarcus Dobbs, who is dealing with what Carroll described as a “legit” ankle sprain.