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The Seattle Seahawks defense has achieved a turnaround since a 2-3 start to the season, helping keep the team in games even when the offense has struggled. A key factor in this resurgence is defensive tackle Al Woods, resulting in his teammates openly campaigning for him to reach the Pro Bowl.
A former fourth-round pick from the 2010 NFL Draft (Saints), Woods is currently in his third stint with the Seahawks, and he is playing a big role. He has registered a career-high three passes defensed and 19 solo tackles. He also only needs half a sack to tie his career-best of two from the 2013 season when he played for the Steelers.
According to linebacker Bobby Wagner, Woods deserves to be a Pro Bowl selection in his 11th NFL season. The perennial All-Pro told media members that Woods is the reason that he has a league-leading 152 tackles while defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. explained that the veteran defensive tackle is deserving of love due to his consistent play and his role as a leader in the locker room.
“Big man love, they deserve all of that love,” Norton said during his December 15 press conference. “Everybody loves a big man. Al has been very impactful as you know, he’s made a lot of plays, he’s very consistent, he’s really been a man on the line. He’s been solid, knocking people back, making big plays, and every time he does something—he runs down the field, he makes an impact off of the field, he’s a leader in the locker room.
“There are so many different things that Al does that obviously you see on the field, but don’t see in the locker room. He’s certainly a big impact player, he’s been very important to us and our success, we have done good some things in a lot of situational football, and Al is very much a part of that.”
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Woods Played a Significant Role Against the Texans
The veteran defensive tackle was only on the field for 37% of the defensive snaps during a 33-13 win over the Texans on December 12, but he made a considerable impact in his limited opportunities. He registered half a sack, one tackle for loss, one quarterback hit, and five total tackles.
Woods didn’t pile up a ton of stats during the victory over the Texans, but he made some game-changing plays. He helped limit the team to only 63 rushing yards, and he shut down running back Rex Burkhead on a first-and-goal situation in the second quarter. The Texans also received a penalty for an illegal formation.
Woods and fellow defender Jordyn Brooks then shut down Burkhead two plays later to force a third-and-goal situation, which resulted in an incompletion followed by a field goal attempt. Instead of scoring a touchdown from the one-yard line, the Seahawks kicked a field goal due to Woods leading the defensive effort.
The big man has helped the Seahawks hold opposing offenses to only 3.8 yards per attempt on running plays. This total is the second-lowest in the league behind the Saints (3.7 yards per attempt). He has achieved this goal by taking up multiple blockers on each snap and opening up space for his fellow defenders to make plays or by simply dropping the running backs by himself.
Carroll Previously Compared Woods to a Seahawks Legend
The praise from Wagner and Norton is not the first time that a key member of the organization has spoken highly of Woods. Head coach Pete Carroll previously did so on October 27 when he compared the defensive tackle to a former member of the team.
Carroll met with media members ahead of the October 31 game against the Jaguars. He explained how the defensive line had improved after some early struggles before comparing Woods to big Red Bryant, who made team history in 2011 by blocking four kicks and later helped the Seahawks defeat the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014.
“I’ll give you one, you guys will like this one,” Carroll said during his availability. “Al Woods is playing really like Big Red. It’s been a little bit of a shift, and it’s something that he’s taken to, and he’s been a monster at that spot like Red was back in the day. Sometimes, you’ve got to go back to the history to move forward.”
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