Film Room: How Bobby Wagner helped make the Seahawks defense elite again

The Seattle Seahawks need to keep Bobby Wagner healthy.

When the linebacker missed five games after suffering a torn ligament in his foot, the Seahawks' defense wasn't the same. Their linemen shot the wrong gaps, their linebackers were lost and their secondary took bad angles.

In Week 11, Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles rushed for 159 yards against the Seahawks in an upset win. It was 60 yards more than they had been allowing per game in Wagner's five-week absence, more than double what they had been allowing (72 yards per game) when he was active.

The defense gave up 24 points against the Chiefs. Two weeks earlier they gave up 24 points to the Oakland Raiders. Four weeks earlier they gave up 28 to the St. Louis Rams in another upset loss.

Then, in Week 12, Wagner came back.

Suddenly, the defense shaped up. In the three games that followed, they allowed a total of 20 points. They took after his aggressiveness, his physicality and his intelligence. Wagner reads run plays faster than any other linebacker on the roster.

In Week 15 against the San Francisco 49ers, Wagner lined up close to the B-gap between the right guard and right tackle. As the quarterback yelled for the snap Wagner stepped forward with his left foot, expecting a run. He stopped for a quick second, then read the backfield flow.

The right guard, who had been in front, pulled across the formation. The running back took one step to his left, three steps forward and took the handoff. That was enough for Wagner to slide his feet to his right, shoot through the opposite A-gap to the inside of the center, then drive his right shoulder through the running back for a two-yard stop.

It’s not just speed that separates Wagner from the rest of the Seahawks' linebackers - and many other NFL linebackers. It's his intelligence, too.

He reads plays quicker than most linebackers. He’s confident in what he sees and trusts that it will develop like he expects it to based off film study. Often, it’s the reason why he's so quick to attack downhill on a passing play or shoot a gap on a running play to secure a significant tackle for loss.

Later in the game against the 49ers, Wagner was in front of the center. Again the offense ran a run play with the back-side guard pulling. This time, it was the left guard. The left guard squared his hips and ran laterally.

That left the center to block to his left, to replace the void left by the guard, which created a void in the middle of the offensive line, leaving it for Wagner to run through.

The center tried to peel off his block and knock Wagner off balance. He put his hands on Wagner’s chest, but the linebacker had a leverage advantage and springboarded off the center into the backfield. Wagner widened his base and wrapped his arms around the running back to drag him for a three-yard loss.

Both run stops against the 49ers came on first down, crucially setting the offense back in down and distance as well as play calling. When offenses struggle to pick up four or five yards on first down, they're forced to look deeper into their playbook and throw the ball more often. For the 49ers, whose philosophy is smashmouth football, they were forced to throw more than they wanted, which benefited the Seahawks' ballhawks.

Wagner's pass defense is as good as his run defense. He’s instinctive and intelligent, dropping to landmarks and driving on throws with blistering speed. He takes intersecting angles when chasing pass catchers. When he has tracked down pass catchers, according to Pro Football Focus, he has given up only 98 yards after the catch, fourth-least.

In Week 16 against the Arizona Cardinals, Wagner had nine stops, including one thudding tackle.

It was third down. The Cardinals had a stacked set on the formation’s left. A wide receiver was in a reduced split, on the line of scrimmage, while a running back stood behind him. To defend the set, the Seahawks pressed their cornerback on the line. But to avoid a possible pick play they aligned Wagner seven yards behind the cornerback.

The whole point of the Cardinals' stacked set was to create a free release for the running back. When the receiver was jammed on an outside release at the snap, the running back had a delayed release inside on a quick slant. Wagner watched the entire way in zone coverage. He stood like his feet were in cement, scanned the upfield shoulder of the quarterback and read the running back’s route.

As soon as he saw the quarterback's shoulder raise, Wagner attacked the running back's upfield shoulder. As the throw came in, the running back caught the ball away from his body and then Wagner drilled him. The throw went for all of three yards.

The hit was reminiscent of teammate and safety Kam Chancellor's in Super Bowl 48. Chancellor came downhill as a robber and popped a Denver Broncos wide receiver running a crossing route. The hit was a statement. It showed that the Seahawks weren't going to back down, that they would set the tone, that they would dominate by playing their way.

Now, with Wagner back healthy, they're playing their way again.