Bobby Wagner on why the Seahawks fly under the radar
Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz spoke to the Seahawks linebacker about Seattle’s start to the season, how Pete Carroll has changed through the years and Geno Smith’s resurgence. Bobby joined Yahoo Sports on behalf of USAA’s “Prevent Defense” campaign, which aims to raise awareness about wildfire prevention.
Video Transcript
[AUDIO LOGO]
JASON FITZ: Jason Fitz from Yahoo Sports hanging out with Seattle Seahawks superstar Bobby Wagner. Bobby's joining us on behalf of USAA, where he's doing some great work to prevent forest fires. So obviously the Seahawks having a great year, but it feels like they're flying a little bit under the radar. What's the locker room vibe like so far this year?
BOBBY WAGNER: I feel like it's always been like that. I think a lot of times like people don't give us our respect until towards the end of the season when we're still winning games. A lot of the times they don't expect us to win.
So the locker room is good. I think we understand that there's so much more that we can do from a team's perspective, from defense, offense, special teams. We can still get good. So I definitely feel like we're moving in the right direction.
JASON FITZ: Why do you guys always seem to fly under the radar?
BOBBY WAGNER: I think it's just, you know, Pacific Northwest type thing. I think a lot of people have that east coast bias. We're OK with that. We do our thing. We're always there when people not expect us to be.
JASON FITZ: You say always there. And so much of that is around Coach Carroll. You spent a lot of time with him. How has he changed now from who he was when you first started working with him?
BOBBY WAGNER: Man, not much. You know, he's been very, very consistent. He's been consistently positive, consistently trying to get the best out of people. I think last year maybe he even found a new energy because a lot of people were counting him out or questioning how well he is as a coach. And you know you see him fire, passionate, just to be out there and coach.
And you know when you watch him in the games and you watch him at practice, he does not look like he's the oldest coach in the league. And that's something I've always admired and something that I'm like, you know, when I'm his age, I'm hoping that's something people say about me.
JASON FITZ: You mentioned consistent. And I want to stick there for a second because I would use that word for Geno Smith, right? Like Geno didn't have a lot of expectations. He's consistently playing at a high level. This is new for you being around him. What have you seen from the quarterback in practice every day?
BOBBY WAGNER: I think the confidence is the first thing that pops off. The command of the offense. I think that's been the biggest thing too because last year you had to figure out you know what he liked, what he didn't like. But now you got all confidence in the world in what he's able to do.
And he's always been a guy that works hard. When given the opportunity, he excels. And that's kind of what happened.
JASON FITZ: All right, Bobby. Obviously you're doing great work with USAA as part of the official salute to service partner of the Seattle Seahawks and the fire department up there. Tell everybody what you're doing, what you're up to.
BOBBY WAGNER: Yeah. We're trying to help spread the word and educate everybody about wildfires. I know that's a weird thing to say being in an area that rains a lot. But 98% of the wildfires are caused by humans. And you know, there's a part that we play in preventing that.
And just trying to be able to help everybody understand how we can play our part in protecting the cities that we love, because I know it happens in Seattle a lot. But there's also other regions that have this effect. So we're just trying to do our part to make sure that they understand we are in control of trying to keep this place safe and to do our part.
JASON FITZ: Well, y'all might keep flying under the radar, but you never do. And the Seahawks always end up in the right place, just like you do on the field man. Thanks for the time. I appreciate it. Best of luck this season. Thanks for hanging out with us.
BOBBY WAGNER: Thank you. I appreciate you.
