Seattle Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner (54) comes back to the sideline after making an interception against the Minnesota Vikings during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Conventional wisdom states that offensive players, with the exception of the words stated earlier this season by a confident Reggie Bush, despise the cold weather and snow, whereas defenses relish the opportunity to face a potent passing attack that is weakened by snow. Even though the Seattle Seahawks possess the “Legion of Boom” and are well-equipped to stop even top-notch passing attacks, the Denver Broncos offensive line, quarterback, and “Four Horsemen” combine to form something much more potent than “top-notch”. So the Seahawks will naturally be rooting for more snow and hoping that the ol’ narrative “Peyton Manning can’t win in the cold” (which has been disproved several times but was definitely a talking point after the Broncos regular season loss to the New England Patriots) comes to fruition.
Seattle Seahawks star linebacker Bobby Wagner is a key part of one of the NFL’s best defenses, and he and K.J. Wright are two of the leagues most impressive young linebackers. It was incredible watching the Seahawks shut down Frank Gore in the team’s NFC Championship Game win over the 49ers, and that was a huge reason why they were able to win the back-and-forth battle in Seattle. Knowshon Moreno isn’t as good as Gore, but he’s still plenty good and has a nice No. 2 back behind him in rookie Montee Ball. Plus, guys like Manny Ramirez and Louis Vasquez help form one of the league’s best offensive lines in both pass protection and run blocking.
Bad weather would cause the Broncos to lean on Moreno more often, but the Seahawks front seven is more stout than the Patriots front seven and less vulnerable to great interior offensive lines and the power running game. I mean, have you seen the likes of Tony McDaniel, Michael Bennett, and Red Bryant (just to name three) dominate against the run? Those guys are nasty and have plenty of help behind them.
Wagner sounds like a guy who loves to show off his run defense at every opportunity he gets, and he told CBS Sports’s Jason La Canfora that he and the Seahawks defense are hoping that the weather isn’t good, “Honestly, I think it affects the offense a lot more than the defense, and if it’s snowing or raining or whatever, we definitely know what kind of team they are and what that can do, and if it’s harder to throw the ball, and we know what kind of secondary we have and what they can do — so if that makes it a little more difficult to throw the ball, and you add the weather to that, then that’s great. So if it snows and the weather is a factor, it’s going to be more of a running game, and we look forward to that, too.”
He’s ready to get cracking in run defense, and he knows that the “Legion of Boom” will have some pressure alleviated against Manning and his pass-catchers if the weather is indeed bad. Plus, the Seahawks run defense would be ready for the ground-and-pound, because that’s honestly their style on both sides of the ball. If this becomes a slugfest due to the weather, then the Seahawks surely have that advantage, even though Manning and his receivers are still potent even in adverse conditions.