Seahawks' Wistrom downplays matchup with former team

08:04 AM PDT on Thursday, October 7, 2004

Associated Press

KIRKLAND, Wash. - Grant Wistrom remembers the animosity on the field between NFC West rivals Seattle and St. Louis.

AP

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Grant Wistrom (96) sacks Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brad Johnson (14) during the Seahawks 10-6 win Sunday Sept. 19, 2004 in Tampa, Fla. Seattle's new defensive end plans to earn every penny of his whopping $14 million bonus. Wistrom leads the Seahawks with 2 -1/2 sacks, and he's a major contributor on a defense that has sparked the team's 2-0 start.

Now, it's not so clear.

Any free agent who switches teams within the same division knows what's coming twice a year: showdowns against former teammates and endless questions about how it's going to feel.

That's the case this week for Wistrom, who spent his first six NFL seasons with the St. Louis Rams (2-2).

"I think everybody is making a bigger deal about this than I am," said Wistrom, who ranks second on the Seahawks (3-0) with 21/2 sacks. "When the opening kickoff happens, you forget about all that stuff. It's just another football team."

Oh, but there's a little extra invested for Wistrom this week.

Not only is he facing his former teammates, but for the first time he'll line up against the potent Rams offense directed by his old coach, Mike Martz, a man he grew to know very well.

Martz said Wistrom's departure had "a deep, deep emotional impact. He's like one of my family, like one of my kids."

Wistrom's reasons for leaving were sound, Martz said. Wistrom received a $33 million contract that included a $14 million signing bonus, and Martz said he believes the star defender deserves that kind of money.

"I don't look forward to playing him," Martz said. "I've watched him on tape and I think he's really playing very well."

Wistrom went out of his way in recent years to stand up for Martz when he felt the coach was being unfairly maligned.

"We were pretty tight," Wistrom said. "I really appreciate coach Martz. When he was catching a lot of heat, I always stood behind him. I told him that I believed in him as a coach, and I think he receives a lot of undue criticism."

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