CHENEY – There was a time when film room conversations were all about Grant Wistrom talking and Bryce Fisher listening.
Now on equal footing, the Seattle Seahawks defensive ends can engage in a little more give-and-take these days.
The former St. Louis Rams teammates have been reunited in Seattle, where both are slated to start on a defense desperate to find a pass rush.
“We have two high-effort guys,” Wistrom said. “Anytime you have two guys out there working hard, good things are going to happen for you.
“I don’t think either one of us is going to be a 15-sack-a-year player, but both of us can be every-down players who can play the run and the pass equally well.”
Once an understudy to Wistrom in St. Louis, Fisher comes to Seattle as a fellow starter. Now when they watch film together, Fisher feels comfortable giving advice as well as receiving it.
“He knows the things I do well, and I know the things he does well,” Fisher said, “so we can critique each other and give each other pointers.”
While their off-the-field interests are very different – Wistrom’s favorite pastime is surfing; Fisher attended the Air Force Academy – the defensive end duo has a few similarities. Both weigh less than 275 pounds and play with an aggressive style.
“When you’re an undersized guy, you tend to play with a chip on your shoulder,” said Wistrom, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 272 pounds. “You always take the field with something to prove.”
Fisher (6-3, 268) spent two seasons as Wistrom’s backup before stepping into the Rams’ starting lineup in 2004, after Wistrom signed a six-year, $33 million contract with the Seahawks. Fisher had a breakout year as a starter, recording a career-high 81/2 sacks.
“When Grant took his money to come up here, it gave me an opportunity to get more snaps,” said Fisher, who had five sacks in his first three NFL seasons. “With more snaps comes more production.”
The 29-year-old Wistrom, four years Fisher’s elder, was happy to see his former teammate blossom in 2004.
“You like to see the good guys succeed, and that’s what Bryce has done,” Wistrom said. “He’s definitely one of the good guys in the NFL.
“… He had eight-and-a-half sacks last year, and I’d be lying if I told you I saw that in him. But he works on and off the field, he studies film, and he puts himself in good position to make big plays. Hard work pays off.”
Despite their friendship, Wistrom never once talked to Fisher during the March free-agent signing period. Both parties maintain that Fisher made the decision to come to Seattle without any input from his former teammate. Fisher and his wife, Bobbi, had their first child in March, and wanted to live near his family in Renton or her family in Atlanta.
When the Seahawks made the four-year, $10 million offer, Fisher eagerly accepted.
He’ll be asked to help shore up a pass rush that ranked 21st in the NFL with 36 sacks last season. After piling up 10 sacks in the first three games, Seattle had just 26 over the final 13 weeks of the season. Making matters worse, team leader Chike Okeafor took his 81/2 sacks to Arizona during free agency.
Wistrom had just 31/2 sacks during an injury-plagued season that saw him miss seven games.
“I feel that I have something to prove,” Wistrom said. “I’ve been given a lot here in Seattle, and now I feel like I need to go out and earn it. I started to do a good job last year, but I just had way too many setbacks.
“Hopefully, the injury bug is gone, and I can go out there and earn what I’ve been given.”
In limited action, Wistrom made an immediate impact on the defense. He played the first four games of the season, when the Seahawks led the league in points allowed, then suffered a pair of knee injuries that cost him eight of the final 14 games – including the playoff loss to St. Louis.
“When we lost him,” coach Mike Holmgren said this week, “we lost a little bit of our soul on defense.”
Wistrom won’t have to do as much mentoring now that Fisher has one full season as a starter under his belt. Fisher, a Renton native who played high school football at Seattle Prep, credits part of his recent success to Wistrom.
“When I first got down to St. Louis (in 2002),” Fisher said, “the position coach (Bill Kollar) said: ‘Watch how Grant does things; that’s how we want to do them down here.’ I just did what he did.
“Now that I’m up here I want to do what he does again.”
This time around, Wistrom might steal a few tips from Fisher, too.
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