There is a tendency to focus so heavily on Bobby Wagner’s raw athleticism, but that has always been there.
What has changed — what has propelled Wagner to the status of an All-Pro and a player the Seahawks were determined to lock up with a new contract extension on Saturday night — is what he now sees.
On the opening drive of a game in San Francisco last year, running back Frank Gore broke past the line, and it looked like he was about to gash the Seahawks. But Wagner read the play, reacted to the breakdown and closed so fast that he held Gore to four yards.