After 15 years, Seahawks’ Dwight Freeney finally part of a defensive-minded culture

Dwight Freeney will teach you his signature spin move – but there are some conditions.

“I can help. That being said, you have to have the body type, you have the instincts, you’ve got to have those other intangibles for it to work the right way,” Freeney said. “I’m not going to tell some big nose guard or some big nose tackle to go ahead and do that, because they’ll still be spinning – the game will be over, and he’ll still be spinning.”

Seahawks players ‘excited’ to learn from veteran Dwight Freeney

The seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end, the newest member of the Seahawks, joined The Huddle on 710 ESPN Seattle Thursday to talk about the move – and his move to Seattle.

The call from the Seahawks came at just the right time; 37-year-old Freeney was considering retirement, and was one week away from his own deadline. Now, he’s getting a crash-course in the Seahawks’ scheme. For Freeney, though, the cramming is worth it – he’s wanted to play in Seattle for a few years now, and is particularly excited to be around the defense-centered fan culture.

“I’ve always been jealous of how the fans get behind you the way you do, but it’s like a defensive-minded place here,” Freeney said. “I’ve never really been a part of a type of organization that was like that. (Indianapolis) was all offense, and we had an amazing offense in Peyton (Manning). And the defense, we finally got things going late, but we were never a top-tier type of defense. So, this would probably be one of those teams I’ve never been on, where it’s been a top-tier defense. I went to Arizona in the middle of the season, and that was my only experience with that type of thing.”

Freeney also talked to Bob Stelton, Dave Grosby, Tom Wassell and Dave Wyman about the biggest change he’s seen in playing style during his 15-year career in the NFL, and what’s kept him going for so long. Listen to the entire interview embedded above.

Follow @stacyrost