TENACIOUS DEFENSE
Bobby Wagner spoke to the media Wednesday afternoon and the Captain and All- Pro linebacker did not mix word when asked about how good the Seahawks defense can be in the upcoming season.
The Seahawks acquired Jadeveon Clowney in blockbuster trade with the Houston Texans Saturday afternoon giving the Seahawks two edge rushers in Clowney and Ziggy Ansah another off season aquisition.
“Having those guys, those playmakers is amazing. I don’t know if you guys have seen them out there the other day by themselves. They both looked about 6’8”, it makes me look taller. So, I’m excited for that.”
WAGNER ON THIS TEAM HAVING A SPECIAL BOND
On what his expectations are for the defense)
“I think we have a chance to be really good. You kind of don’t want to get caught up in all the hype, as far as seeing all the names and seeing all the stuff. I’m not saying we did that. But, we were at the point where we made a trade for Sheldon [Richardson] and they listed all the All-Pros and pro bowlers that were on the team and it didn’t go the way expected it to. So, I think the focus is, “you still have to do the work.”
So, it doesn’t matter who’s on the team, we still have to make sure that we come out there, prepare, ready to go. I’m excited about this group, this is one of our closest groups. We spend a lot of time together, we’ve grown a lot together. I’m excited to see how our growth off the field turns out on the field.
” (On how he gets the defense to come together and create a bond)
“I think sharing your knowledge is one thing. A lot of times you come in, you’ve got an older guy, who maybe doesn’t want to talk to you. Opening that up, doing a lot more activities outside of the building. I think coach [Ken] Norton did a great job in making it a competition to see how fast we can get to know each other that’s beyond football.
When you get to know a person – what he’s playing for, what he’s fighting for, how many kids, does he have a wife? When you know a person personally, it helps you push them on the field. So, I think we did that, everybody did that. I’m excited about that.”
(On how he would describe this team using just one word)
“Tenacious. Because I think you’re going to see the way the defense gets after the ball, the way the offense attacks. It’s going to be pretty exciting football. The offense has a lot of weapons. Our line is great, Russ is great, our running backs are great, receivers are great, d-line is amazing, and our linebackers are pretty good too. I’m really excited to see all of that come together.”
(On Ben Burr-Kirven)
has progressed and picked up on things he has tried to teach him so far) “He’s been picking up a lot. When you have a lot of rookies and new guys coming in, I think the thing that stands out the most is how many questions they ask and if they listen to you when you tell them stuff. I feel like he’s asked a lot of questions. Me and K.J. have the mindset of, we don’t want to keep the information in, we want to pass the information on. So, if we have a curious person, they can get a lot of knowledge from us and I feel like he’s done that. I expect him to be ready if something happens to us, and I expect him to have an amazing effect on special teams.”
