Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner was named to his fifth Pro-Bowl this year this week as coaches and players continue to acknowledge his unparalleled effort on the field.
Wagner leads the Seahawks with 114 tackles and 11 passes defensed. The 2nd round draft pick ( 4th overall ) in the 2012 draft has recorded more than 100 tackles in all seven seasons as a pro, has two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and an interception he returned 98 yards for a touchdown.
He just seems like he’s a little bit better. He’s made more big plays, more significant plays that have affected the game than ever. The thing I love about looking at great players is do they show that ability to do it year after year after year. I think that’s what greatness is all about. ” Said Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.
“Bobby’s put together a resume of really Hall of Fame stuff. This is the kind of guy that gets there some day. To add on to that, the leadership that he’s brought and the direction and focus that he’s brought on a regular basis – really, he’s been a perfect Seahawk throughout the whole time he’s been here. We’re just very lucky to have him.”
For Wagner and the rest of the Seahawks defensive unit, Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chief and their number one ranked offense will be the toughest challenge to date.
BOBBY WAGNER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
On figuring a young quarterback out) “
I don’t know if it’s that. I think you just watch the film and personally, you see how they’re going to attack you. You look at similar defenses that they’ve played against that are similar to yours and you see how they like to attack your defense because a lot of the offense is going to be predicated off of the defense that looks like yours. You watch the film, you see what you messed up on last week, and they’re going to do a bunch of that. They’re going to mix in a bunch of stuff that they do well at, so it’s going to be a mixture of what you messed up on last week and what they feel they can beat on a defense that plays like you.”
(On how similar Patrick Mahomes is to Russell Wilson)
“I mean, I could understand the comparison to an extent. I think it’s more so the ability to get outside of the pocket and make crazy throws and crazy plays and the minute you kind of get the pass is when he runs for twenty yards. I understand the similarities but Russell is Russell to me. I don’t really like comparing people.”
(On Tyreek Hill)
“He is fast. He is very fast. You watch some of the plays, it’s right before the play, he snaps, he puts his head down and he just – it’s just track. You’ve got to be conscious of where he’s going to be at. You’ve got to be conscious of the style. You have to make sure your angles are on point.
You have to make sure you try to figure out what ways they try to get him the ball and they’re going to try to find ways to find mismatches and stuff like that, so you want to try to minimize that as much as you can. He’s great. They’re going to give him the rock and whenever he gets the rock, we’re going to try to hit him as hard as we can.”
(On how he has stayed healthy as much as he has)
“Honestly, I pride myself on finding a great routine and I feel like I’ve got a great routine down from the way I eat to the way I prepare to the way I approach the game. If you’re here at like 5-something in the morning, I’m going to be sitting in the same chair eating the same meal probably at the same time every day. It’s little things like that, that you just get into a routine and you allow that routine to become consistent so if your routine off the field becomes consistent, then your play on the field will become consistent.
That’s how I feel, and I pride myself on taking care of my body. I make some sacrifices. I might not go out as much as everybody else or I might not – I don’t drink, I don’t do all that stuff so I feel like that definitely plays a part to staying healthy, but I’m always trying to find ways on getting better – and you can ask all the other guys. A lot of it, success leaves clues so you ask all the older guys who play sixteen years or fifteen years and see what they do, and you try to figure out what works for you and make your own routine.“
(On what time he goes to bed at night)
“I don’t know. I would like to be in bed by 11:00 and fall asleep by 12:00. I’ve always been – even in my rookie year, my rookie year I was super crazy. I used to go to bed at like 2:00 in the morning. For me, I think that was something that I just – my mom was a night owl so I always liked to stay up with her, whatever she was doing, even though she was talking on the phone all the time. It just became a habit and I just was up at night.”
(On when he gets to the facility in the morning) “Yeah, five-something.”
(On if he only gets five hours of sleep) “It depends. On Wednesday, five hours. On Thursday, I go to sleep a little earlier. Friday, I go to sleep a little earlier. Friday and Saturday night, I get eight hours of sleep.”
(On what he does between 5:00 A.M. and meetings)
“The first thing I do is eat and then I watch film and then we have a meeting with the linebackers, so I watch film with the LB’s, and then I go and I do treatment and I’ll get my work done with my treatment, and then I’ll go watch a little more film.
Then, we’ll have all the meetings and I’ll be in meetings til whenever that is, and then I’ll come talk to you guys, and after I talk to you guys, I go ice or do some film study and then practice. Then, watch more film and do yoga and then I end my night watching film.”
(On if he eats the same thing every day)
“Last year, I did. I had to switch it up because it kind of got old. I eat pretty much the same thing on certain days so Wednesdays, I’ll probably eat the same meal. Thursday will probably be the same thing. Friday – you could even be like, the cooks would be like ‘oh man, it’s waffle Saturday or something like that.”
(On what he ate every day last year)
“I was eating oatmeal with strawberries in it every single day and I loved it, and then it just stopped being so good.”
(On changes in watching film from rookie year to this year) “
Yeah, definitely because I feel like (as a) rookie, I’m looking at myself and I’m trying to figure out which ways I can drop better, which ways I can see something faster – now it’s more so just, I’m watching film to see how they’re going to attack the defense and see if I can get a key from somebody watching stances on other teams, see if I can get a key off of that. It’s more so watching the other teams and seeing if I can get something that – I like to find three or four plays that I can hope that they run and we’re in a certain defense that I can steal.”
(On the threats Patrick Mahomes presents in the pocket)
“Well, I mean, he has a good arm so he can definitely pick you apart, both staying in the pocket and getting outside of the pocket. It’s just to me, I feel like the bigger plays are the ones outside of the pocket. The ones that get the team going (are) when he steps out of the pocket and you think he’s about to go out of bounds and he throws it across his body for a touchdown that ignites the crowd and the team.
You don’t want those throws. You don’t want those types of things where it just – if he’s going to sit in the pocket and just throw a route over the middle and hit it, it’s just a play but when he gets outside the pocket and does a no-look pass for like fifteen yards and you see the whole team go crazy, you don’t want those momentum plays. You try to minimize those as much as possible.”
(On watching a powerful run by Chris Carson)
“It’s kind of like what I was saying to him. It’s a play that just ignites the whole sideline and you just appreciate him because you see how relentless he is and you see how much effort (he puts in). For me, it’s something that you’ve seen this before. You’ve watched Marshawn (Lynch) do it all the time, so when you see that, it’s like I know this feeling. You’re watching a person who is not going to be stopped to get to wherever he wants to go and you always respect that and honestly, you want to play against (guys) like that because that makes the game fun.”
