Steve Kelley / Times staff columnist
Wistrom more than living up to his fat paycheck

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TAMPA, Fla. — Head bowed, rivulets of sweat forking around the stubble on his face, Grant Wistrom knelt on the sideline, leaning on his helmet waiting for referee Johnny Grier to rule on Tampa Bay's challenge of Michael Boulware's game-saving interception.

Wistrom looked like the definition of the cliché. He left everything on the field and looked as if he couldn't pull himself back on his feet one more time, or play one more down.

"But I'll bet if he had had to make another play he would have," Seahawks linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski said after yesterday's 10-6 win. "He's that kind of guy. That's what he does. That's what we've got. He's our leader. The guy who's going to lead us into battle."

In the sapping Gulf Coast humidity, fighting off the pain from a nagging heel injury, Wistrom chased Tampa quarterbacks Brad Johnson and Chris Simms north and south, east and west, all over Raymond James Stadium. He stalked running back Charlie Garner and dodged fullback Mike Alstott. He played more downs than anybody had a right to believe he could.

"I was pretty tired out there," he said. "I'm not going to lie to you."

But he was magnificent.

Defensive stars Several Seahawks came up with big defensive games: DE Grant Wistrom: Two sacks, seven total tackles and a forced fumble. CB Marcus Trufant: One interception, eight tackles and a pass defensed. MLB Orlando Huff: Team-high nine tackles and one sack.

"The thing about Grant is, he not only talks the talk, he walks the walk," Kacyvenski said. "They brought him in to be a leader like that, and you just know he's never going to let up at all. There's only so much you can control in football, but one thing you can control is giving good effort all the time, and he epitomizes that.

"When he was at St. Louis we kind of admired him from afar. But now he's with us, and you can't put a price on what he brings to this team. He's huge for this team."

Like the hyperactive kid in the playground, Wistrom never stopped running. He was into the Bucs' backfield pressuring Simms. He was out into the flat disrupting screen passes.

On third down, in the Buccaneers' first series, he sprinted around left tackle Derrick Deese and sacked Johnson for a 10-yard loss, stopping a Tampa Bay threat.

"I was talking to Trent (Dilfer, Seahawks backup quarterback) before the game, and he asked me if I was ready," Wistrom said. "I was like, 'Man, I'm going to have a good ballgame today.' It was just one of those days where you just know you're going to go out and play well."

In the third quarter, Wistrom was chopped to the ground by Alstott's block, but instead of quitting on the play, he recovered. Wistrom chased and caught Simms and stripped the ball from behind, forcing a fumble that defensive tackle Rashad Moore recovered.

He is a 272-pound defensive end with the energy of a hummingbird. He's as much a marathon man as a lineman. And, as good as his statistics were — six solo tackles, one assist, two sacks and a forced fumble — Wistrom was better than his numbers.

"That's the man," Moore said. "Grant Wistrom is the man. He's out there making plays, and my question is, why's everybody out there worrying about what he got paid?"

For the record, the Hawks signed Wistrom for six years and $33 million as a free agent from St. Louis and gave him a $14 million signing bonus. Critics called it the most inflated deal of the offseason.

"I'm not going to disagree with them either, man," Wistrom said. "I mean, I don't think anybody's worth that much money, but I'll certainly take it. Whatever. That's what the contract was, and now I have to go out there and earn it.

"But it doesn't matter what I'm making. If it's a great contract like I have, or the league minimum, I'll go out and bust my butt every Sunday. I put more pressure on myself than anybody ever could."

Yesterday, he looked like a bargain.

"Grant's come in here, and you know he's banged up a little bit. We really weren't sure what he was going to be able to do at the start of the season," linebacker Anthony Simmons said. "But the guy has heart. He has a great motor and a good head on his shoulders. He's a good football player. That's what we need."

With the offense moldering in the heat, managing only two first downs in the second half, and converting only 1 of 14 third downs for the game, the Seahawks defense had no margin for error.

It controlled the game. It forced three fumbles and recovered one. It picked two passes. At this early stage of the season, the Seahawks' hitters are far ahead of their pitchers.

"There's a lot more talent out here than I initially realized," Wistrom said. "I think my impact has been overanalyzed and overestimated."

This no-name defense — guys like Moore, Cedric Woodard, Rocky Bernard, Kacyvenski, Antonio Cochran, Ken Lucas — have allowed only one touchdown in eight quarters.

"I love being a quiet storm," Moore said. "Don't nobody know about you, they can't prepare for you. If we're just a quiet storm, it ain't no problem for me. They ain't never got to know about me."

But this quiet storm is making too much noise. The Seahawks' no-name defense is about to be introduced to the rest of the world.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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