Derrick Brooks knows a thing or two about sustained excellence, first hand. Brooks was a integral piece of the Buccaneers' 10-year run of defensive dominance, including their 2002 Super Bowl win, and recently received his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring. He sees a little of what Tampa Bay had in making them so good for so long in these Seattle Seahawks.
How long can the Seahawks’ defense stay on top?
Hall-of-Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks sees something familiar about Seattle’s defense.
I caught up with one of the all time best linebackers in NFL history on Radio Row Friday as he showed off his new Hall of Fame ring with Kay Jewelers, who redesigned it three years ago and are now going back and retrofitting every Hall of Famer with a brand new one. Brooks gave his opinion on Seattle’s linebacker corps and their defense in general.
"When I look them," -- referring to Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, and Bruce Irvin, primarily, Brooks said -- "their group really was solidified when Bobby Wagner came back."
“Bobby’s probably closest to my skill set, as far as size, speed etc,” Brooks noted. “How they use him, is how I played.”
Speed, range, coverage, tenacity, and fundamental tackling are attributes that come to mind, attributes which made Brooks a Hall of Famer. Brooks was a weakside player and Wagner is in the middle, but there are some similarities in style. “So, I think when Bobby came back,” Brooks continued, “they solidified that defense, and they began to play with more consistency, and they went on a run that they’re on right now.”
Wagner was back on the field after the Seahawks’ loss to Kansas City in Week 11, and his return coincided with Seattle’s run of six straight wins to end the season as they become the first team in the 16-game era to hold opponents under 40 points over their final six games. Wagner’s role in the defense has been a big part of how Seattle beat Carolina and Green Bay to move to the Super Bowl.
Former Patriots and Seahawks linebacker Chad Brown echoed that thought recently. "Obviously when [Wagner] came back from the toe injury, the defense took a huge step forward," Brown said. "But there's a reason why. His ability to cover people allows the Seahawks to keep base defense on the field even when opponents go with three receivers, which is amazing. I really saw that when I was on the sideline for the Seahawks' game against the Cardinals.
"Bobby Wagner's ability to cover deep when they go cover-2 (on third down, for instance) has a huge domino effect," said Brown. "Now, Kam Chancellor can play more aggressive. Now, Earl Thomas is not so worried about the middle of the field because Bobby Wagner's back there. So now Earl can give the corners more help and the corners now have more confidence because they know Earl Thomas has their back. It's amazing how Bobby Wagner's return and his ability to play that middle so well is really the lynchpin to the entire Seahawks defense."
So, does the Seahawks’ defense stack up with the great Buccaneers’ Tampa-2 groups of the mid-1990s to mid-2000s?
“It’s a fair comparison because basically we both run 4-3 defenses,” said Brooks. “Gus Bradley (the Seahawks’ former defensive coordinator, now head coach in Jacksonville), when he got there, he came from our defense.”
(Bradley subsequently installed some of their Tampa Bay’s core principles: a focus on fundamentals -- flying around, tackling well, hitting hard, maximum effort, etc)
“But, it’s still early, man,” Brooks reminded me.
“They won a championship, we won one, and now they have an opportunity to defend. If they do that, then obviously with two championships, with this core group being together, you gotta look at championship moments for them that may put them a step ahead.”
But, as he noted, consistency is the key.
“What we were able to do was stay consistent over time, you know, for a good 10 years, we were one of the top two or three defenses in the league. Only time will tell if they can get to that.”
Key Defensive Players
Seattle certainly has a chance to strengthen their legacy by winning back-to-back Super Bowls, with the first coming against Peyton Manning, and now a chance against Tom Brady -- arguably the two greatest quarterbacks of all time. A resume like that would go a long way in adding Seattle to the list of the all-time great defenses, if Seattle can knock off the Patriots Sunday.
Until we know the outcome, though, it’s clear that we’re still in the thick of Seattle’s reign as a strong, potentially historically dominant defense.
“They’ve done one thing that I’ve been impressed with,” said Brooks, “and keeps them on the track to [be considered among the best of all time]: they’ve signed their core group of players together for the long term.”
Seattle has Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett, and K.J. Wright locked up long term and are sure to start working on extending Bobby Wagner and Byron Maxwell.
“We did that in Tampa. So, being able to keep those six, seven core guys together, you know, for four or five more years, and they keep playing with this level, then you can start those conversations.”
Nonetheless, Sunday’s game will go a long way in setting the tone of that conversation on the Seattle defense’s place in history.
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