The story behind Bobby Wagner’s 20-tackle game: Al Woods. ‘Christmas will be good for him’
The way Bobby Wagner sees it, the best statistical game of his long career wasn’t because of his preparation or film study.
It wasn’t because he knew where the Tennessee Titans were going, or because his coaches gave him new jobs or freedoms.
The All-Pro linebacker says his career game last weekend — a team-record 20 tackles, the fourth-most in a game in NFL history — came because Seahawks teammate Al Woods was having the best day of his career, too.
The massive Woods’ selfless job in the middle of Seattle’s defensive line is first to occupy the opposing guards, center and anyone else in a different-colored jersey who’s trying to block Wagner. Woods’ secondary tasks are to plug running lanes and gaps in the line of scrimmage. If he gets tackles and, like a blue moon, sacks, that’s gravy. It’s not the meat of why Woods is a Seahawk.
Wagner believes no one knows his role better in Seattle’s defense — or does it with more conscientiousness — right now than Woods.
“He always asks me after the play, ‘Did the center get to you? What can I do better?’” Wagner said Wednesday.
“You love having guys like that.
“And,” Wagner added with a knowing grin, “Christmas will be good for him.”’
At 6 feet 4, 330-(plus) pounds, there’s a lot Woods could want for Christmas.
Whatever. Like an appreciative quarterback with his offensive linemen, Wagner’s willing to Santa-up for his big man directly in front of him in the middle of Seattle’s defense.
“For sure, you’ve got to take care of those guys, man,” Wagner said, “whether it’s food, whether it’s whatever they want. Those guys really look out for me, so I like to return the favor.”
Woods picked a great time and team to return this season from a one-year football hiatus. He’s taking on added roles and importance in the middle of a new Seahawks defensive scheme up front.
He’s one of only three defensive tackles on Seattle’s 53-man roster, and one of them, Bryan Mone, is injured. Poona Ford is the only other healthy tackle on the defensive line, which is why the team promoted Robert Nkemdiche from its practice squad for the Titans game. It was Nkemdiche’s first NFL game in two years.
The Seahawks are using five defensive linemen and two linebackers instead of coach Pete Carroll’s usual 4-3 as its base set more through the season’s first two games. That was intended to combat the run-heavy Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans.
Woods and Seattle are likely to be in the 5-2 base more again on Sunday, when the Seahawks (1-1) play Dalvin Cook and the run-based Minnesota Vikings (0-2) on the road.
Last weekend in the Seahawks’ 33-30 overtime loss to Tennessee in Seattle’s home opener, Woods looked like what he may in fact be: the NFL’s freshest 34-year-old lineman. He had a career-high seven total tackles, five of them solo. Five were of Derrick Henry for gains of 3 yards or fewer, including one for no gain plus a loss of 2 yards on a rush by Henry in the third quarter. To put it another way: Henry gained 178 yards when Woods didn’t tackle him.
Woods also had his second sack in four seasons. He played 60 snaps against the Titans. That’s the most he’d played in any game in his 11 seasons in the league.
His work allowed Wagner to make 10 of his tackles against Tennessee’s running game. The other 10 were on receivers after catches. Five were on the Titans’ dump-off passes underneath Wagner and Seattle’s pass coverage late in the fourth quarter, when Tennessee took what the Seahawks gave them to rally from being down 30-16 to force overtime and eventually win.
Asked if this is more than the coaches expected when the Seahawks re-signed Woods for this year, defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. laughed.
“More?” Norton said, his voice rising.
“No, we have high expectations for Al. That’s why we wanted him back. He’s a big force. A leader. A guy that everybody looks up to, and he’s a really good football player.
“Certainly, we had really high expectations for him to be here.”
Woods took last year off, opted out of his only season contracted with Jacksonville. That was because of his COVID-19 concerns having a baby girl at home.
“My daughter was born, March 1st (of 2020),” Woods said of his third child, Anyia.
Told that’s a darn good reason, he said, “yes, sir.”
After the birth went well and as Anyia grew, so did Woods’ desire to play football again.
Carroll’s desire to have Woods back with the Seahawks grew this spring when they lost defensive tackle Jarran Reed to Kansas City following a fiasco with Reed’s contract. Reed refused Seattle’s effort to lower his salary-cap charge for 2021 of $13,975,000. The Seahawks couldn’t trade Reed and waived him.
Nine days later, Woods signed with Seattle. He got one year and $2.5 million.
Why Seattle?
“For one, they win. It’s as simple as that,” he said. “And then I had made a lot of good friends when I was here. I love the coaches.
“It was an easy decision for me to come back.”
Carroll’s and coordinator Ken Norton Jr.’s system was another reason Woods signed back with the Seahawks.
“I love it, man,” he said. “I love the fact I can play nose (tackle), over the center, ‘zero nose,’ and then change it up and get to shade off (to the side) of the ball. So it’s a good mix of the two.”
Woods isn’t fresh only because he took 2020 off.
This is his 11th NFL season and sixth team. New Orleans drafted him in 2010, in the fourth round, but he played that season for Tampa Bay. Then he played for Seattle (2011), Pittsburgh (‘12-’13), Tennessee (‘14-’16), Indianapolis (‘17-’18) and the Seahawks again in 2019. After all those different locker rooms, coaches, teammates, schemes and cities, Woods has a unique perspective on the way NFL daily life can be.
He has an appreciation of Carroll’s Seahawks.
“For one, man, they like to keep you fresh,” Woods said. “I love the way they work. They are: get on the field, do your work, get out. This isn’t one of those places where they drag (practice) out three, 3 1/2 hours just because they are trying to keep you busy.
“It’s a true training (each day). It ain’t like a day care.”
Wagner sure appreciates Woods returning to football, and to the Seahawks, this year. The superstar is coming off the best statistical game of his career, because, he says, of Woods.
Wagner thinks the unheralded tackle needs to be heralded.
“Man, he’s just been a force up the middle,” Wagner said. “Definitely, a guy like myself, I notice it. I’m running free and able to make those tackles. A lot of it is because of the work the D-line is doing up front to make sure that I’m free and I’m able to move.
“He’s definitely a guy that I’m extremely happy to have back.”
This story was originally published September 22, 2021 at 2:59 PM.
