Wagner proving to be the voice of the surprising Seahawks

SEATTLE — Bobby Wagner walked to his locker and noticed there was perhaps a bit too much noise and laughter less than 24 hours after a loss. Wagner didn’t raise his voice. He respectfully said a few words and the noise immediately died down.

“His voice is bigger than ever, and he’s taken to it,” Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “He’s embellished the role to become — he’s really the voice of our guys. He’s done a great job with handling that.”

If possible, Wagner may be having the best season of his career heading into tonight’s key NFC game against the Minnesota Vikings. It’s not the numbers that stand out about Wagner’s season — although they are pretty impressive — but the context.

Yes, he’s one of the best middle linebackers in football. But he’s doing it for an almost entirely rebuilt defense without a number of the stars that helped make Seattle such a defensive powerhouse. Wagner is one of only a few holdovers, yet Seattle is on the cusp of a playoff berth with its middle linebacker leading the way.

“I really think it’s extraordinary when guys continue to be really good,” Carroll said of Wagner. “It’s not that it has to be better than or have some other things happen that have never happened before — although it did. It’s just that they continue to be great. That’s really the mark of a great competitor and a great player and performer and all that, not just show once in a while that they can.”

A victory by Seattle (7-5) won’t lock up a postseason spot but would put the Seahawks in great position entering the final three weeks with games remaining against lowly San Francisco and Arizona. A win by the Vikings (6-5-1) might be their only way of staying in the NFC North race.

Last week against San Francisco, Wagner managed to fill every column on the NFL’s official defensive stat sheet: tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, quarterback hits, forced fumbles, fumble recovery and an interception — the first pick-six of his career on a 98-yard touchdown return.

“Stats-wise, I had everything that you could have, so I think that’s dope. But I think there’s — I don’t know how to say what game is what,” Wagner said. “It kind of just depends on the game and how important of a game it was or the magnitude of the game, so it’s kind of hard to compare games.”