Seahawks’ Bobby Wagner: ‘Our team is used to proving doubters wrong’

How does Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner feel about being in the coversation for Defensive Player of the Year?

Wagner was this week’s guest on Seahawks Weekly, where he talked about playing on a Seahawks defense without Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril. Wagner also talks about his crazy interception against the 49ers, previews an upcoming game against the Eagles, and says people shouldn’t sleep on the Seahawks.

Football 101 with Dave Wyman: Bobby Wagner for Defensive MVP?

Here are a few highlights:

On his individual 2017 season, which has his name circulating for Defensive Player of the Year, and the Seahawks’ season as a team: “For myself, obviously you hope to make a little bit more tackles, add some interceptions and sacks in there, but I think the most important thing is to win our division. All the individual stuff is cool, but if you’re sitting at home when everybody else is playing in the playoffs, that sucks. The individual stuff don’t really mean nothing.”

On how Seattle’s defense is faring without Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril: “I think we’re doing good. Obviously, it sucks to lose those guys, and those guys are such a big part of our defense. But we do feel like coming into the season we had pretty good depth and this is the opportunity to (show) that; show how deep our team is and what we’re capable of doing. We don’t expect those guys that follow Cliff or Kam or Sherm to be them — we expect you to bring your own uniqueness to the defense. I feel like we’re doing that — the more we play with each other, the more we learn each other and communicate, and just have fun out there.”

On his relationship with K.J. Wright: “We have a great relationship. It was one of those things where I was fortunate enough to come in not only with a guy like that, but he was around my age. So we can relate. It would be one thing if I was 21 coming in with a 30 year old. But I was 21, he was 22, and we just kind of hit it off. He helps me play fast, because you’ve got a guy like that out there that thinks just like you (and) understands what you want to do. We’ve been playing so long, he can look at me and I can be like, ‘OK, I’m about to take this shot, cover me,’ and vice versa. It’s a really dope relationship.”

On why they argue off-the-field: “That’s because K.J. thinks he’s right all the time and he thinks he’s really good at Jeopardy, so I just try to find as many questions that he can’t answer, and it frustrates him. That’s what it is. I try to challenge him in trivia and Jeopardy — he wants to go on Jeopardy, so whoever runs Jeopardy, let K.J. get on Jeopardy — and then let me do the questions. I bet you he’ll be off in 10 minutes.”

On a comment from teammate K.J. Wright cautioning people against sleeping on the Seahawks, who are underdogs for this Sunday’s matchup against the Eagles: “We’re a team that always finds something to keep us pushing. But we try not to pay attention to it; if you’re sleeping on us, that’s just your fault. We’re not worrying about what everybody else thinks. As long as the guys in the room believe and know that we can get it accomplished, that’s really all that matters. Everybody else – our team is used to proving doubters wrong. We’ve been doing it since I’ve been here, so this is nothing new.”

On what it feels like to be recognized for his play, and a potential defensive MVP nod: “It would be an honor, it would be a blessing. You sit there and idolize linebackers growing up, and you see the things that they were able to accomplish in their career, and you hope that you are able to accomplish those things as well.”