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Wagner means winner for Seahawks
• By Joe Lyons
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_8d1edd42-db40-509b-a939-87b4d0d59b58.html
Despite missing five games with turf toe, Seattle middle linebacker Bobby Wagner was named to his first Pro Bowl earlier this week.
“I feel like it’s something I’ve been working on since I got in the NFL, and to finally have it happen did mean a lot to me,” Wagner told Seattle reporters Wednesday. “I knew it was going to be announced, but I kind of just wasn’t thinking about it because I didn’t want to get my hopes up and then not be able to get it and then be (ticked off) — and have to take it out on the world.”
Wagner is one of five Seahawks named to the Pro Bowl, joining fellow defenders Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor and running back Marshawn Lynch.
Seattle, 11-4 and looking to wrap up the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed for the playoffs, enters Sunday’s action against the visiting Rams (6-9) as the NFL’s hottest team, having won five in a row and eight of nine since dropping a 28-26 decision to the Rams at the Edward Jones Dome on Oct. 19.
Wagner was injured the previous week, in a 30-24 home loss to Dallas, and didn’t even make the trip to St. Louis.
“It was super frustrating because I watched it from home, so I had to sit there and wait for commercial breaks and all that other crap that was going on,” he recalled. “I plan to make a big impact this game.”
On a defensive unit loaded with top-flight talent, Wagner is a player who brings it all together. This season, the Sea-hawks are 8-1 when he’s at or close to 100 percent physically and 3-3 in the games he played injured or didn’t dress at all.
During the current five-game winning streak, which coincides with Wagner’s return to the lineup, Seattle’s league-leading defense is allowing just 6.6 points and 193.6 yards per game, the most dominant stretch of defense in franchise history.
“I think we’re playing really well right now,” Wagner, 24, said. “I think we’re on it, from the run game to the pass game. I think that we’re really gelling right now in the chemistry that we’ve got right now. It’s scary to the league.
“We’re kind of fighting for plays. When you’ve got everybody trying to make plays out there, you’ve got to capitalize on the ones you get. ... I think guys are just focused on trying to be great.”
Seattle’s slow start — they fell to 3-3 with the loss in St. Louis and were 6-4 after dropping a 24-20 decision in Kansas City on Nov. 16 — had some in the media questioning the Seahawks’ ability to defend their Super Bowl crown. But the Seahawks never lost faith.
“We weren’t playing very well,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll pointed out. “We just weren’t playing hard enough and we finally found our tempo and intensity. ... After the Kansas City game, we finally got ready to get back on track. Did something about it and put some big wins together.”
Wagner agreed. “We heard everybody talking bad, but we knew as soon as we turned around everybody was going to switch back their talk and say how good we were again,” he said. “I think we just focused on the people that were in the building and making sure we were straight, which we were.’’
Wagner, who stands 6 feet and weighs 241 pounds, starred at Utah State and has been a starter in 39 of 40 NFL games since being selected in the third round of the 2012 draft. This season, despite missing five games, he is on pace for his third consecutive 100-tackle season.
“He’s the guy that calls all the defenses and he’s right in the middle of it all,” Carroll said. “He’s got great speed (and) uses it well. He’s tough. He’s a very good all-around athlete and a great worker. He’s just everything that you’re looking for in a ‘Mike’ linebacker in our system.”
Rams coach Jeff Fisher said: “He puts them in position. He’s very instinctive, physical. He’s a sideline-to-sideline player. When he decides to pressure, he can do that. He’s an outstanding tackler.”
The Rams had Wagner in for a pre-draft visit and had serious interest in drafting him in 2012. During a conference call with the St. Louis media this week, Wagner said he received a text from a Rams linebacker coach just before he was selected by the Seahawks with pick No. 47. At No. 50, the Rams took running back Isaiah Pead, who’s currently on IR after suffering a knee injury in the preseason.
“I talked to them before (and) I knew they were interested. ... I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I could definitely tell through the conversations that we were having and just the vibe that they really wanted me. I actually got a text — basically, just be ready — but Seattle came first. That’s how the story’s written; I’m happy where I’m at.”
And why not? He’s a key member of a team looking to defend its Super Bowl title and a leader of a defensive unit playing as well as any in NFL history.
“The more you play with somebody, the more you get comfortable with them,” Wagner said. “You know what they like to do on certain plays and it just makes you really, really fast. It’s fun to be a part of.”
• By Joe Lyons
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_8d1edd42-db40-509b-a939-87b4d0d59b58.html
Despite missing five games with turf toe, Seattle middle linebacker Bobby Wagner was named to his first Pro Bowl earlier this week.
“I feel like it’s something I’ve been working on since I got in the NFL, and to finally have it happen did mean a lot to me,” Wagner told Seattle reporters Wednesday. “I knew it was going to be announced, but I kind of just wasn’t thinking about it because I didn’t want to get my hopes up and then not be able to get it and then be (ticked off) — and have to take it out on the world.”
Wagner is one of five Seahawks named to the Pro Bowl, joining fellow defenders Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor and running back Marshawn Lynch.
Seattle, 11-4 and looking to wrap up the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed for the playoffs, enters Sunday’s action against the visiting Rams (6-9) as the NFL’s hottest team, having won five in a row and eight of nine since dropping a 28-26 decision to the Rams at the Edward Jones Dome on Oct. 19.
Wagner was injured the previous week, in a 30-24 home loss to Dallas, and didn’t even make the trip to St. Louis.
“It was super frustrating because I watched it from home, so I had to sit there and wait for commercial breaks and all that other crap that was going on,” he recalled. “I plan to make a big impact this game.”
On a defensive unit loaded with top-flight talent, Wagner is a player who brings it all together. This season, the Sea-hawks are 8-1 when he’s at or close to 100 percent physically and 3-3 in the games he played injured or didn’t dress at all.
During the current five-game winning streak, which coincides with Wagner’s return to the lineup, Seattle’s league-leading defense is allowing just 6.6 points and 193.6 yards per game, the most dominant stretch of defense in franchise history.
“I think we’re playing really well right now,” Wagner, 24, said. “I think we’re on it, from the run game to the pass game. I think that we’re really gelling right now in the chemistry that we’ve got right now. It’s scary to the league.
“We’re kind of fighting for plays. When you’ve got everybody trying to make plays out there, you’ve got to capitalize on the ones you get. ... I think guys are just focused on trying to be great.”
Seattle’s slow start — they fell to 3-3 with the loss in St. Louis and were 6-4 after dropping a 24-20 decision in Kansas City on Nov. 16 — had some in the media questioning the Seahawks’ ability to defend their Super Bowl crown. But the Seahawks never lost faith.
“We weren’t playing very well,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll pointed out. “We just weren’t playing hard enough and we finally found our tempo and intensity. ... After the Kansas City game, we finally got ready to get back on track. Did something about it and put some big wins together.”
Wagner agreed. “We heard everybody talking bad, but we knew as soon as we turned around everybody was going to switch back their talk and say how good we were again,” he said. “I think we just focused on the people that were in the building and making sure we were straight, which we were.’’
Wagner, who stands 6 feet and weighs 241 pounds, starred at Utah State and has been a starter in 39 of 40 NFL games since being selected in the third round of the 2012 draft. This season, despite missing five games, he is on pace for his third consecutive 100-tackle season.
“He’s the guy that calls all the defenses and he’s right in the middle of it all,” Carroll said. “He’s got great speed (and) uses it well. He’s tough. He’s a very good all-around athlete and a great worker. He’s just everything that you’re looking for in a ‘Mike’ linebacker in our system.”
Rams coach Jeff Fisher said: “He puts them in position. He’s very instinctive, physical. He’s a sideline-to-sideline player. When he decides to pressure, he can do that. He’s an outstanding tackler.”
The Rams had Wagner in for a pre-draft visit and had serious interest in drafting him in 2012. During a conference call with the St. Louis media this week, Wagner said he received a text from a Rams linebacker coach just before he was selected by the Seahawks with pick No. 47. At No. 50, the Rams took running back Isaiah Pead, who’s currently on IR after suffering a knee injury in the preseason.
“I talked to them before (and) I knew they were interested. ... I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I could definitely tell through the conversations that we were having and just the vibe that they really wanted me. I actually got a text — basically, just be ready — but Seattle came first. That’s how the story’s written; I’m happy where I’m at.”
And why not? He’s a key member of a team looking to defend its Super Bowl title and a leader of a defensive unit playing as well as any in NFL history.
“The more you play with somebody, the more you get comfortable with them,” Wagner said. “You know what they like to do on certain plays and it just makes you really, really fast. It’s fun to be a part of.”