PHOENIX — Every orchestra needs a conductor. Every squadron needs a commander. And every defense needs…
“A general,’’ Bobby Wagner says. “I’m the general of the defense.’’
Whoa. That’s some statement, considering this Seahawks’ defense has already spearheaded a rousing Super Bowl rout of Peyton Manning and the Broncos and is merely days away from trying to do the same to Tom Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX. This is, hands down, acknowledged as the top defense in the NFL and where does someone as unassuming as Bobby Wagner declare he runs the show?
“I think it’s just kinda the centerpiece, the quiet storm,’’ Wagner said. “I’m not as vocal as everybody else around me but I feel like when I talk people listen and that’s how I run things. This is my defense.’’
He is not a member of the “Legion of Boom” secondary — the position group most heralded on the Seattle defense. He does not make headlines, a la cornerback Richard Sherman, does not make as many crunching hits as safety Kam Chancellor and he certainly does not offer the zany view of the world that garners defensive end Michael Bennett so much attention. Wagner’s ascension came immediately and gradually and if that’s a contradiction, so be it. It may not add up that as the irreplaceable middle linebacker he’s the centerpiece of a masterful defense, but he is.
“We have a lot of high-profile guys, a lot of guys with a lot of things they do,’’ Bennett said, “and for him to be the general says a lot about him, because we all listen.’’
They listen because Wagner has earned their attention.
“He comes in early before anybody gets there and watches his film,” said Seahawks linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr., who knows plenty about taking command of a huddle. “He stays later after everybody’s gone, watching film of other elite players to see what they do really well. Then he puts it all together with his natural ability — his speed, his size, his strength, his instincts — and he turns that into plays and having a dominant presence on the field.”
None of this came completely naturally for Wagner. He came out of Ontario, Calif., as a two-star recruit and his only scholarship offer came from Utah State, and so off to Logan, Utah, he went. He was a four-year starter and as a senior in 2011 was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year after registering 147 tackles, four sacks and two interceptions. Wagner says he succeeded at Utah State because he told the coaching staff he planned on playing football long after he left campus.
“I told them that I wanted to get to the NFL, so they coached like I wanted to get to the NFL,’’ Wagner said. “I was treated different. They were much harder on me because I had a dream. They helped me kind of get that dream. Them being hard on me and not letting me sleep at night, and all types of stuff, has put me in the position that I am.’’
Wagner, who as a teenager learned he is a cousin of former Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, became the highest-drafted player from Utah State in 32 years when he was the 47th overall selection in 2012, taken in the second round by the Seahawks. As a rookie starter, he had 104 tackles in 11 games in 2012 for an ascending Seattle defense, but he was not yet The General.
“When Bobby Wagner first came in to the Seattle Seahawks, he came into a pretty tough position, honestly,” said Sherman, who arrived one year before Wagner. “I think we had just come off a season — we weren’t the greatest defense, but we were a pretty solid defense. He was coming into a position where you have to be very vocal and you have to call the plays every play, and he was kind of nervous in that regard.
“You’re stepping into a team full of older guys who have played this game at a high level, and you have to tell them what to do. We would be playful, and he got more and more comfortable with speaking because he’s not a very vocal guy in that regard. He’s very laid back and reserved. I think the better he’s been accepted by his teammates, the more he’s been accepted, the more he’s been able to kind of be himself, the better he’s played. I think you’ve seen a culmination of that the last two years and that he’s played phenomenal football.’’
Wagner came out of his shell, although he is far from the most talkative member of the Seahawks’ defense. He was congenial and engaging early this week but the steady flow of media sessions wore him down. “I’m ready to hit somebody!’’ he exclaimed Tuesday as the Media Day hubbub neared an end. “I’m tired of talking.’’ On Wednesday, his offerings were mostly one-sentence throwaway lines.
“I’ve always looked forward, whatever team I played, on to becoming the leader,’’ Wagner said. “You got the ‘Legion of Boom,’ you got all that stuff but at the end of the day this is my defense. It’s not an ego thing. Everybody understands it’s just a guy who helps to put everybody in place. Everybody understands that and everybody got their role, this is my role.’’
Wagner missed five straight games this season with a turf toe injury, the Seahawks went 3-2 and their defense lacked its usual bite.
“We were somewhere in the middle, not very dominant, not able to put teams away,’’ Norton said, “and then once he shows up, the middle, the run defense is solid, the pass defense is solid and then the middle linebacker and the tradition of it is kind of the heart and soul of the team. It kind of brings everyone together. He’s very good as far as keeping everybody on the same page and then being a dominant player himself. He’s really put us to another level.”
At 6-foot and 241 pounds, Wagner does not have the prototype size of a middle linebacker but he is a ball-seeking missile. He was selected for his first Pro Bowl and at 24 is a core member of a defense gunning for back-to-back Super Bowl victories. On Sunday, he will match wits with Brady, who will call out “Fifty-four’s the Mike,’’ pointing and gesturing at Wagner, who would have it no other way.
“I like to play inside, honestly, because you’re in the middle of everything and I like being in the middle of everything,’’ Wagner said. “Like, where the balls at, I’m at. I like having that type of pressure on me.’’