Man in the Middle

[dragondawg]

ENGLEWOOD — Through his trademark dark-tinted visor, D.J. Williams scanned the offense and barked out defensive adjustments like a general heading into battle.

At 6-foot-1, 242 pounds, Williams didn’t look like a player who was still trying to get the hang of things, and he certainly didn’t act like one. But if you ask the fourth-year vet how his transition from strong side linebacker to middle has gone this off-season, the learning curve has been a little steeper than one might think.

“It’s been a daily struggle, but it’s getting better,” Williams said. “Luckily I’ve guys like (John) Lynch and Sam Adams helping me as I go.”

As if the move to middle linebacker, often referred to as the quarterback of the defense, wasn’t hard enough, Williams has also taken on the responsibility of filling the void in leadership left by the loss of Al Wilson.

After eight years of anchoring Denver’s defense, Wilson was released in April because of injury and salary cap issues. As a result, Williams, who has played on the outside since his freshman year at Miami (Fla.), was called upon to take over the reigns of the Bronco defense.

Widely regarded as one of the premier young linebackers in the NFL, it was never a question of whether Williams had the physical ability to seamlessly fill Wilson’s shoes; it was how he would respond mentally.

In his first three seasons in Denver, Williams has played in every game and racked up 268 career tackles. Statistically, he was right on pace with Wilson, who had 277 over the same span.

Where Williams falls short is the leadership and respect Wilson carried within the team. It was no coincidence that Wilson was voted a captain the past six seasons and represented the team as a speaker at the funerals of cornerback Darrent Williams and running back Damien Nash.

But while Williams still has a long way to go in that regard, his coaches say he’s met their expectations and then some.

“He’s doing real well,” assistant head coach/defense Jim Bates said. “He’s making progress every day. What I like is how he’s taking charge in the huddle, stepping up and providing good leadership at a position where you really need it the most.”

It may take awhile for Williams to reach Wilson’s level as a team leader, but he’s already taken steps in that direction. In fact, one of the biggest actually has nothing to do with football.

For the past few years, Wilson led what has become known as the “pre-calisthenic breakdown” – a randomly selected competition that pits two players against one another in a dance-off. When the team opened it’s off-season training camp in May, Williams continued the tradition by taking over where Wilson left off.

If everything goes as planned, that won’t be the only Wilson tradition Williams keeps intact.

“I’ve got huge shoes to fill,” Williams said. “There may be days that I may be down, but I can’t show it. I can’t act like that because the guys feed off that. Every day I have to be up and keep every guy up because I have to be the tone setter.”

CAMP NOTES

The Broncos spent Friday’s morning session in helmets and shorts alternating between position drills and seven-on-seven scrimmages. Mixing in situational drills – third downs, short-yardage, etc. – the team practiced for about two and a half hours, culminating in a full, no-contact scrimmage.

Quarterback Jay Cutler showed no signs of a sophomore slump, as he looked poised in the pocket and threw crisp, accurate passes all morning. The highlight of the day was during the scrimmage, when Cutler rolled out to his right and hit wide receiver Javon Walker for a 60-yard touchdown pass. The ball was partially tipped by cornerback Champ Bailey, but any time an all-pro like Bailey gets beat deep is an accomplishment.

The defensive highlight of the day belonged to newly acquired cornerback Dre Bly. On the last play of the scrimmage, Bly made a fully-extended dive to break up a pass that garnered “oohs” and “ahhs” from the roughly 700 fans in attendance.

Head coach Mike Shanahan said linebacker Warrick Holdman was still being held at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Denver, overnight and was still reporting some numbness on Friday morning. Holdman was carted off the field Thursday after suffering a spinal injury during the morning session. Shanahan said Holdman was expected to be released from the hospital late Friday morning.

In other injury news, Walker was pulled from practice early after suffering some tightness in his upper left leg. “He got a little tightness,” Shanahan said. “I wasn’t sure if he cramped up, but he didn’t pull anything. It just got a little tight, so we kept him out.” Shanahan backed up his assessment by letting Walker work with the special teams unit during the evening practice. Walker has been working with the Broncos’ hands team.

http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2007/08/04/sports/doc46b4116a0bb13054266478.txt

[SoCalBronco]

Nice piece, thanks dragondawg.

[CBF1]

SoCal... I knew you would be all this post. I hope he continues to get better and better all the way to Pro Bowl status.

[SoCalBronco]

SoCal... I knew you would be all this post. I hope he continues to get better and better all the way to Pro Bowl status.

Right on, bro. He had a real good day today and is adjusting well (not without some expected rough patches, ofcourse). This is another article that I thought was pretty good on DJ from Lee Rasizer, I think it is a day old though, but its pretty good.

New middle man likes the plan
Williams excited he's in key position for Bates' scheme

By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News

ENGLEWOOD - D.J. Williams knows what's ahead of him at middle linebacker - a legacy of production at the position in Jim Bates' scheme.

And it was with that knowledge the Broncos' 2004 No. 1 draft pick embarked on his new task this offseason in the post-Al Wilson era.

Williams got a jump on film study well before team camps began and for a half hour a day or every other day, he broke down tape of those who thrived in the system previously under the team's new defensive boss.

He watched as Zach Thomas of the Miami Dolphins averaged 10 tackles a game in making the Pro Bowl in four of five seasons playing in the same system, beginning in 2000.

He witnessed Nick Barnett, whose body type and athletic skills is perhaps an even stronger match, post a career-best 138 tackles in his single year under Bates in 2005 with the Green Bay Packers.

Mostly, he saw the possibilities as the Broncos' new middle man.

"This defense is set up for the 'Mike' to play pretty well," Williams said.

How well?

Williams' position coach, Joe Baker, stated he would be surprised if the fourth-year pro didn't have more than 140 tackles this season, well above previous totals. And it goes beyond the fact Williams has the requisite body type and athleticism or will log increased playing time as an every- down player.

It's because of the steady progress Williams has demonstrated even in a short time at his new position.

"That big thing that's struck me about D.J. is the combination of intelligence and instinct on the field," Baker said. "A lot of guys have one but maybe not both. He's one of those guys when you're sitting in the meeting room and you're talking about ideas and concepts, he literally understands it because of how he talks about it and can draw it on the board.

"But when you actually go out on the field, his feel and ability to execute is awesome. And that's really special."

The switch to the middle, prompted by Wilson's career- threatening neck injury and subsequent release, is Williams' first long-term exposure to the position.

While the pressure to replace a five-time Pro Bowl pick and team captain is daunting in one respect, it's also liberating.

He had practiced at middle linebacker and on the weak side in the nickel but rarely played as Ian Gold and Wilson stayed on the field. On base downs, he first occupied the weak-side spot as a rookie before switching to the strong side - a position he disliked - the past two years.

All that movement was making his head spin.

"Now, I get to concentrate on one position," he said.

Studying Thomas and Barnett demonstrated to him he would be able to read, flow and explode to the ball and use his athleticism without getting too bogged down with information overload.

"Teams can never run away from you when you are in the middle of that defense," Thomas said during a break at Dolphins camp Wednesday. "From what I see, (the Broncos) have a lot of good defensive linemen they've been stacking up. That's what runs that defense. If you have a good defensive line, you can do a lot of great things because it gives you freedom to roam."

One of the biggest adjustments for Williams making the transition will be learning to play under control while racing to the ball from a different area on the field.

"You have to remember, he has to run inside-out to the ball, and sometimes thinking you have to run to the sidelines, you can overrun things," Barnett said. "That's a big adjustment. And there's a lot of cutting back against this scheme you have to guard against."

Williams' approach is to use his speed but in a controlled fashion to avoid overrunning plays.

Those qualities were what stood out in breaking down tape of Thomas, in particular.

"Thomas anticipated and knew what was going to happen even before it happened," Williams said. "Guys may talk about this and that, but in between the tackles, he's one of the fastest linebackers because he has that initial first step and knows where the ball's going without taking false steps. He's just a fundamental player."

The other big change for Williams will be his increased pass- coverage responsibilities.

His lack of action in that role has meant he has played no more than 72 percent of the snaps in a single season as a pro.

But Baker pointed out Williams already had a fundamental grasp of coverage principles in Bates' system because the scheme is similar to one in which the linebacker played at the University of Miami, and that will smooth the transition.

"It's a zone-match scheme, where you're pretty much playing man, so you have to be pretty athletic to make plays," Barnett said of Williams' pending coverage duties.

Training camp is about the Broncos linebacker continuing to grow comfortable with such new responsibilities while making sure he aligns everyone correctly as the defense's play-caller.

Eventually, he will refine his skills and learn adjustments that will allow him to read and react more quickly and take the next step in his career progression.

"To be quite honest with you, we've probably underutilized him a little bit," Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist said of Williams' three seasons.

"But you look at D.J. in the offseason and his preparation and how he attacked the minicamp and his preparation, and out here, you see a guy who's excited about football again. And I think that's going to spill over on the field."

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...657457,00.html

[That One Guy]

I've heard before that overrunning plays could be an issue with DJ. I hope he succeeds and becomes a 150 tackle monster, that'd be awesome.