Bobby Wagner joined the Los Angeles Rams this season after 10 years with their rivals, the Seattle Seahawks. He was the team’s prized free-agent signing, joining a star-studded defense that already featured Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Donald and Leonard Floyd.
Unfortunately, the season hasn’t gone according to plan for the defending Super Bowl champs, but Wagner is having a terrific first year in Los Angeles individually. On behalf of his partnership with Bud Light, Wagner spoke to Rams Wire in an exclusive interview about the challenges of Year 1 with the Rams, how he feels he’s performed individually, Ernest Jones’ rise and more.
Check out the interview before, which has been edited for clarity.
Can you talk about how much last week’s win meant to you and everyone in the locker room amid a tough season?
Bobby Wagner: “It meant a lot for us. Obviously, we had a losing streak that no one could’ve expected before the season began. We felt we had an opportunity against Seattle to walk away with a win but we didn’t. We had an opportunity in a short week to win and everybody, myself and younger guys, are understanding how tough wins are to come by in this league and when you get one, you need to let out your emotions, so I think that’s what you saw.”
What sort of advice are you giving younger players during this rough stretch?
BW: “The biggest thing is always understanding your film is your resume. So regardless of how the season is going, regardless of how you feel, what you put on film is your resume and if you want to last long in this league, you have to make sure your resume is on point. And then just being present, understanding that we still have opportunities to show how much we care about this game, how much we care about people in this locker room and the way you come out and perform and the energy you give will speak a lot not only for this year, but for years to come.”
What’s been the most challenging part of this season?
BW: “That’s been one of the toughest things, overcoming some of the injuries. For a while, it seemed like there was a serious injury pretty much every week. You get Coop injured, then AD injured, and Matt’s dealing with what he’s doing with. You just try to provide guys with the advice of just keep trying put your best foot forward and not worry about what’s going on around you but worry about things you can control.”
Was there a learning curve joining a new team for the first time in your career?
BW: “I think it’s just playing football at the end of the day and not trying to complicate things. The biggest thing was just the terminology from the offensive side and defensive side because there are certain routes I see from an offensive perspective and I call them certain things but it’s a different language. One of the biggest things with communication is speaking the same language, so that was one of the biggest things was kind of re-writing what I called something and change it to what can relate to Rams terminology, but that was pretty much it.”
How has it been playing under Raheem Morris for the first time?
BW: “It’s been great. He’s been amazing. Fun guy to come and work with. Always makes us laugh, always provides us with really, really dope insight when it comes to offense because what is really special about him is he’s been on both sides of the ball. So he’s able to understand how an offense would attack certain situations and he understands his defense, as well. For me, it was great because there was a moment where he came from the scheme that we were running in Seattle to what we’re running now, so he made that transition from the terminology, so he’s been extremely helpful for me.”
What’s it been like playing alongside Ernest Jones?
BW: “It’s been amazing. It’s been fun. I think the funniest thing is just music – we talk about music all the time. We listen to such different music so it’s been fun to joke around about that. He was a special player when I watched him on film. I knew he was gonna be something special and I think he’s continued to elevate and he’ll continue to elevate and become a special player in this league. It’s been fun, he has a lot of energy so I feed off his energy and it’s been great to play with him.”
You’re PFF’s highest-graded LB this season. Does it feel like you’re having one of your best seasons individually?
BW: “I would put it up there. Obviously, it’s not done yet so it’s always hard for me to compare seasons when one’s not complete. I think this is the most sacks I’ve had since my rookie season or somewhere around there. Definitely been a productive season. Unfortunately, the wins just haven’t come along with it.”
Do you feel the Rams’ scheme has helped put you in better positions to blitz and make plays?
BW: “I’ve always been an adaptive person. So I feel like it doesn’t really matter the scheme. It’s figuring out how to play with the people around me. That’s the biggest thing.”
What’s your take on the NFL’s roughing the passer penalties and the league possibly ejecting players for illegal hits?
BW: “My biggest thing is it’s gotta be a two-way street. If we lower our heads into an offensive player, that’s a flag. And they’re trying to change it to where we get kicked out of the game. I’ve seen offensive players lower their heads on defensive players and they just call it running us over. I just don’t think there’s an equal standard when it comes to protecting both sides of the ball. I’m specifically talking about the targeting rule. Every time I would watch college games, even bowl games, it would be in the first quarter and it’s a subjective call and a guy gets kicked out. That’s the way he ends his college career, being ejected for something that is a lot harder to control than people realize. It’s a lot of guys that are not playing this game making these rules and that’s why I applaud defenders in this day and age because it’s so hard to play defense.
“Even the Chris Jones play where he gets a sack, he strips the ball, he has the ball, but the only way he can keep the ball and hold himself up from getting on the quarterback is he puts his hand down. So they negate the strip-sack fumble because he wasn’t able to keep his weight off the quarterback, which is not possible.
“Some of these things are not possible and I just don’t think it’s going to be fun watching your favorite player get ejected. And not your favorite offensive player. Your favorite defensive player because offensive players are not going to get ejected. It’s going to be the defensive players. Every year it seems like they come out with rules and they’re all on the defensive side. At some point, you just gotta realize they don’t really care about the defense.”
How tough is it for defenders now?
BW: “That’s the thing, though. We’re trying. Even though we feel like these rules are kinda crazy, you see players attempting to try – and there’s no period where it’s like, ‘Let’s figure this out.’ We’re trying. It’s either extreme or not extreme. As soon as they make the rule, you have to abide by it. There’s no period where, ‘All right, we’re gonna give you a chance to figure this out.’ There is no figuring it out. Once it’s a rule, it’s a rule and you have to be a master at that rule. I just couldn’t imagine somebody getting ejected for something that is subjective to that official on that day.”
What is it that you’re doing with Bud Light this holiday season?
BW: “We thought it would be a cool opportunity to help fans and people in general find the perfect present. We know everyone’s trying to find that perfect present. We’re offering an opportunity for fans to get a game-worn jersey and tickets to the December 25th game for Christmas. I think it would be a unique opportunity to do something different for Christmas and provide an experience for them to remember.”
Fans can find out more about the Perfect Present here and follow Bud Light on Facebook, Twitter, and on Instagram.
Fans will be able to enter for a chance to win by tweeting #BudLightPresent and #Sweepstakes at Bud Light for their chance to receive the ultimate prize this holiday season. In addition to winning a game-worn jersey, fans will also receive tickets to attend a game with their family.
