Bobby Wagner

[Pandion Haliaetus]

Not here to talk about his recent performance but he’s on pace for 200 tackles in a 16 game season.

However, don’t know if it was said last week but he went from 10th All-Time to 9th surpassing Donnie Edwards.

He needs 13 tackles to surpass Hardy Dickerson at 8th.

21 tackles to surpass Clay Matthews, JR at 7th.

67 tackles to reach the 1500 benchmark as a Seahawks.

While 200 tackles isn’t out of the question but let’s just say he makes 150 tackles this season having to make 100 tackles in 13 games.

He’ll end up with 1673 tackles. If he plays another year, he’s looking at:

Derrick Brooks at 6th with 1713 (-40)

Zach Thomas at 5th with 1734 (-61)

And Jessie Tuggle at 4th with
1805 (-132)

If he plays 2 more years:

Junior Seau is 3rd at 1864.

If he plays 3 more years,

2000 tackles is in his grasp.

With #2 London Fletcher at 2039, and #1 Ray Lewis at 2059.

Maybe he doesn’t break the the top 3 before calling his career, however, I think it’s possible he’ll at least cement himself in the top 5 all-time.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

But remember, he's "washed" and he's "old and slow"

Yeah.........not at all.

 

[CalgaryFan05]

But remember, he's "washed" and he's "old and slow"

Yeah.........not at all.

Bobby is so much more than the stats to me on his return.... But he's killing it out there.

I never thought he was washed out - but I DID think he had lost a step in 2021 - got trucked a couple of times that season pretty good and I said so...

But I think he's regained that step - I don't actively 'track' him - but he's beast-modeing it out there as far as I'm concerned.

I'm just thankful he's here - for however long. HOF player and we got to see 95% of his career with us. And the redemption season here is just that much sweeter. Kinda killed me last year after he got the ball and he was SO pumped - running up and down the sideline "I took that ball!!!" or whatever he yelled over to our side. That sucked - you could just see the passion.

This year doesn't suck. Bwags for prez

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Team is having a blast, they are clearly a tight group, and some of the swag is back. Nice to see.

 

[Boohman14]

Doesn't he look sharp, and like he's having fun out there? I imagine he'll coach once his playing career is over. He's so smart and able to LEAD on defense. He's making Brooks play better than we've seen. Wags, like Lofa can quickly diagnose a play before the snap. Anyway it's so nice to have him "home".

I like our defense as they gel and are being creative. Of course we need to show against more elite offenses. The Lions game was a good indicator that we'd improved but needed time together. The Rams game was tough but the offense didn't help them get any rest.

 

[HawkinNY]

I hope he plays 3 more years 2 as a starter. I hope the front office tells him he can be on the team until he wants to leave.

 

[CalgaryFan05]

Not here to talk about his recent performance but he’s on pace for 200 tackles in a 16 game season.

However, don’t know if it was said last week but he went from 10th All-Time to 9th surpassing Donnie Edwards.

He needs 13 tackles to surpass Hardy Dickerson at 8th.

21 tackles to surpass Clay Matthews at 7th.

67 tackles to reach the 1500 as a Seahawks.

200 tackles isn’t out of the question but let’s just say he makes 150 tackles this season having to make 100 tackles in 13 games.

He’ll end up with 1673 tackles. If he plays another year, he’s looking at:

Derrick Brooks his 6th 1713 (-40)

With Zach Thomas 5th at 1734 (-61)

And Jessie Tuggle 4th at 1805 (-132)

If he plays 2 more years

Junior Seau is 3rd at 1864.

If he plays 3 more years,

2000 tackles is in his grasp.

With #2 London Fletcher 2039, and #1 Ray Lewis 2059.

Maybe he doesn’t break the the top 3 before calling his career, however, I think it’s possible he’ll at least cement himself in the top 5 all-time.

And, after some thinking about it - I realized that Bobby is actually my favorite player of all time for the Hawks. He has officially replaced Hass.

Haven't bought anything from the Pro Shop in a dog's age. Gonna go get me at least a Bobby tshirt, if not jersey. Something!

 

[evergreen]

Yep time for a BW jersey.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

Sorry, the OP wasn’t my best work typing from a phone on a 15 minute break.

But to add some actual context back in 2005 when Lofa came in hot as a rookie and helped set that defense on fire and bring it to a more consistent level. I remember thinking he was the best MLB I’ve ever seen in this Uniform but take in account my fandom started in 1997. And a lot of you probably felt the same, Lofa was great, he was an immediate legend and was able to solidify a blackhole in that defense for what felt like forever. But he only sustained his top level of performance for only 4 years of the 6 years he was able to play. In those 6 seasons he tallied 552 tackles.

Now just think about Wagner who is currently on pace to triple Tatupu’s tackle numbers of 1656 tackles in Year 12.

People keep saying he’s lost a step or not as good as he was in his prime, no argument, he’s 33 with currently 4 games in 12 physical seasons. But I don’t think he’s fallen off as much as he just had to reinvent his game and be put in opportunity to utilize his strengths, scheme him around his declining athleticism and get him more out of coverage assignments and sideline to sideline responsibilities.

You know I get why he was let go last season, his salary, the culture dump of moving on from the past to pave way for a new generation, but I felt like there were also reservations if he could translate to a new scheme at his age of decline. Then all he did was sign with a team that ran a 3-4 and once again proved to be one of the best at his position.

Consider the fact, Russell Wilson another HoF hopeful has struggled finding both consistency to his performance and respect within his new location. Bobby remained rock solid and steady as ever, highly revered, highly respected, even taking command of his new defense just as he would have done as a Seahawks, just like he’s doing now, no questions asked. Filling the leadership and captaincy blackhole on this defense that nobody last year could fill and in hindsight letting him go was a bad decision as Adams got hurt in the first game and Seahawks had to back track on the scheme they built for him and it was a mess, they found a way to band-aid it but it prove to be unsustainable without a hardened backbone.

The defense this year, especially this last game, people have the right to question it and they aren’t wrong in their reservations: is it for real, is it sustainable especially when we played one of the worst offenses we will see this season and definitely the worst we seen by far.

But Bobby gives me hope that it is sustainable. Just look at the Run Defense. I thought it would improve towards the average but in no way I thought it was going to be as dominant as it’s been. His leadership, doing all the little things like communicating the defense, getting guys in position, alerting guys to keep their heads up, and reigning guys in or holding them accountable and being the gravitating force holding guys together to be able to galvanize all these new or young faces to be a team together.

I’m not expecting the Defense to be elite or dominant, I thought Seattle was going win with a dynamic clock-control Offense and a more average defense that won with swarming to the ball with better tackling and punish teams with a smoke and mirrors pass-rush and hopefully force turnovers at a league leading clip. Somewhat similar to the 2005 defense. Not great but much better, more hopeful buoyed by functional dynamic offense.

Which brings me back to Tatupu, who was my favorite player from that era by far. I loved and still love him.

But in my opinion even Wagner’s down years, even in his decline that some people have to dramatize because of his high-ceiling he raised over the years with consistently dominant performance.

Just brings me to my bottom-line:

The very worst of Wagner to my untrained eye looks just as good, if not better and more productive on paper than some of Lofa Tatupu’s best years. That’s how good Bobby has been. That even in Wagner’s twilight perhaps he is performing on the same level if not more than one of my most favorite players ever did.

 

[QWERTY]

He is washed old and slow.

Why is he covering WR"s?

Look at week 1 game.

 

[Lagartixa]

But to add some actual context back in 2005 when Lofa came in hot as a rookie and helped set that defense on fire and bring it to a more consistent level. I remember thinking he was the best MLB I’ve ever seen in this Uniform but take in account my fandom started in 1997.

I got to see some great linebackers before you started watching. I was just a little too young to get to appreciate Nitschke and (R.I.P.) Butkus, but I sure heard a lot about Butkus from my dad. I did get to see and appreciate linebackers like Jack Lambert, Randy Gradishar (ugh!), Karl Mecklenburg (ugh again!), and Mike Singletary before you became a fan of the NFL.
The game has changed a lot since then, but I think Wagner belongs in the conversation with those guys.

Wagner is one of my favorite Seahawks of all time, right up there with Largent, Zorn (my first childhood sports hero), Jacob Green, Curt Warner, Easley, Walter, and Tez.

 

[Appyhawk]

"2000 tackles is in his grasp."

Good line, OP.

 

[CalgaryFan05]

I hope he plays 3 more years 2 as a starter. I hope the front office tells him he can be on the team until he wants to leave.

This ^^^^^

 

[CalgaryFan05]

Sorry, the OP wasn’t my best work typing from a phone on a 15 minute break.

But to add some actual context back in 2005 when Lofa came in hot as a rookie and helped set that defense on fire and bring it to a more consistent level. I remember thinking he was the best MLB I’ve ever seen in this Uniform but take in account my fandom started in 1997. And a lot of you probably felt the same, Lofa was great, he was an immediate legend and was able to solidify a blackhole in that defense for what felt like forever. But he only sustained his top level of performance for only 4 years of the 6 years he was able to play. In those 6 seasons he tallied 552 tackles.

Now just think about Wagner who is currently on pace to triple Tatupu’s tackle numbers of 1656 tackles in Year 12.

People keep saying he’s lost a step or not as good as he was in his prime, no argument, he’s 33 with currently 4 games in 12 physical seasons. But I don’t think he’s fallen off as much as he just had to reinvent his game and be put in opportunity to utilize his strengths, scheme him around his declining athleticism and get him more out of coverage assignments and sideline to sideline responsibilities.

You know I get why he was let go last season, his salary, the culture dump of moving on from the past to pave way for a new generation, but I felt like there were also reservations if he could translate to a new scheme at his age of decline. Then all he did was sign with a team that ran a 3-4 and once again proved to be one of the best at his position.

Consider the fact, Russell Wilson another HoF hopeful has struggled finding both consistency to his performance and respect within his new location. Bobby remained rock solid and steady as ever, highly revered, highly respected, even taking command of his new defense just as he would have done as a Seahawks, just like he’s doing now, no questions asked. Filling the leadership and captaincy blackhole on this defense that nobody last year could fill and in hindsight letting him go was a bad decision as Adams got hurt in the first game and Seahawks had to back track on the scheme they built for him and it was a mess, they found a way to band-aid it but it prove to be unsustainable without a hardened backbone.

The defense this year, especially this last game, people have the right to question it and they aren’t wrong in their reservations: is it for real, is it sustainable especially when we played one of the worst offenses we will see this season and definitely the worst we seen by far.

But Bobby gives me hope that it is sustainable. Just look at the Run Defense. I thought it would improve towards the average but in no way I thought it was going to be as dominant as it’s been. His leadership, doing all the little things like communicating the defense, getting guys in position, alerting guys to keep their heads up, and reigning guys in or holding them accountable and being the gravitating force holding guys together to be able to galvanize all these new or young faces to be a team together.

I’m not expecting the Defense to be elite or dominant, I thought Seattle was going win with a dynamic clock-control Offense and a more average defense that won with swarming to the ball with better tackling and punish teams with a smoke and mirrors pass-rush and hopefully force turnovers at a league leading clip. Somewhat similar to the 2005 defense. Not great but much better, more hopeful buoyed by functional dynamic offense.

Which brings me back to Tatupu, who was my favorite player from that era by far. I loved and still love him.

But in my opinion even Wagner’s down years, even in his decline that some people have to dramatize because of his high-ceiling he raised over the years with consistently dominant performance.

Just brings me to my bottom-line:

The very worst of Wagner to my untrained eye looks just as good, if not better and more productive on paper than some of Lofa Tatupu’s best years. That’s how good Bobby has been. That even in Wagner’s twilight perhaps he is performing on the same level if not more than one of my most favorite players ever did.

Wow. Nice post.

After I declared to my wife yesterday that Bobby is my fav Hawk of all time, I asked her.

Her response: Tatupu. Still uses a derivative of his name as her default password for stuff.

 

[CalgaryFan05]

Yep time for a BW jersey.

Well - got a Tshirt anyhow - at least got to put 54 on it....

Jesus - when did jerseys start costing like 300 bucks when you convert to Canuck Bucks?!

 

[FattyKnuckle]

But remember, he's "washed" and he's "old and slow"

Yeah.........not at all.

Oh, he’s definitely slow.

 

[LickMyNuts]

He’s just one of if not the greatest defensive player in Seahawks history.

I hope he goes into coaching or has some role with the Seahawks when he decides to retire.

 

[olyfan63]

I have a Tatupu 51 jersey. I didn't know anyone else still carried the love for Lofa. Except maybe, the poster who goes by Loaf of Tatupu or something like that.
Rookie Tatupu, I always thought, was why the Hawks made it to the Owl after the 2005 season. Unstoppable offense, Shaun, Matt, Walt, Hutch, DJack, Jurevicius, etc., plus schitt defense = .500 team. Add Lofa and schitt D becomes average+ D.

Unstoppable offense + average defense = Superb Owl = 2005 Seahawks season.

 

[RezHawk]

I have a Tatupu 51 jersey. I didn't know anyone else still carried the love for Lofa. Except maybe, the poster who goes by Loaf of Tatupu or something like that.
Rookie Tatupu, I always thought, was why the Hawks made it to the Owl after the 2005 season. Unstoppable offense, Shaun, Matt, Walt, Hutch, DJack, Jurevicius, etc., plus schitt defense = .500 team. Add Lofa and schitt D becomes average+ D.

Unstoppable offense + average defense = Superb Owl = 2005 Seahawks season.

Had season tix on the tunnel for a few years, one of my boys caught a glove he tossed into the stands after a game. Got it framed up in the collection.

 

[oldhawkfan]

I have a Tatupu 51 jersey. I didn't know anyone else still carried the love for Lofa. Except maybe, the poster who goes by Loaf of Tatupu or something like that.
Rookie Tatupu, I always thought, was why the Hawks made it to the Owl after the 2005 season. Unstoppable offense, Shaun, Matt, Walt, Hutch, DJack, Jurevicius, etc., plus schitt defense = .500 team. Add Lofa and schitt D becomes average+ D.

Unstoppable offense + average defense = Superb Owl = 2005 Seahawks season.

I have a Lofa jersey too.