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09-08-2007, 03:50 AM
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Broncos' Williams staking out middle ground
Chris Schneider © The Rocky
http://mas.scripps.com/DRMN/2007/09/08/435404957_o.jpg
D.J. Williams said he is ready to play middle linebacker. "If I'm not prepared Sunday, it's no one's fault but my own," he said. The Broncos believe the hits will keep on coming from their new man in the middle. But some skeptics already might have decided the former strong-side linebacker is fine when doing his old thing; but this new stuff, we'll pass . . . and run. Teams did that against Williams and the Broncos defense all preseason.STORY TOOLS
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By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News
September 8, 2007
ENGLEWOOD - In this iPod culture, people don't have to sample an entire body of work. They can download one song, make judgments and, if they wish, pass on the rest.
It isn't like the old days, when it might take a few albums for a performer to find a comfort level. Fail to get that top-10 single on the first shot now and an artist might never be heard from again.
Things have evolved in similar fashion for Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams.
The Broncos believe the hits will keep on coming from their new man in the middle.
But some skeptics already might have decided the former strong-side linebacker is fine when doing his old thing; but this new stuff, we'll pass . . .
And run.
Teams did that against Williams and the Broncos defense all preseason. It's why the uncomfortable feeling exists outside the walls of the team's Dove Valley headquarters.
Fans have seen the finger- pointing among Broncos defensive players during the preseason.
Confusion. Uncertainty. It makes some fans nervous as the Broncos head to Orchard Park, N.Y., on Sunday (11 a.m. MDT, CBS 4) for the regular- season opener, against the Buffalo Bills.
And for good reason, too, because Williams is the player orchestrating the front seven.
Relax, the Broncos respond.
Give a second whirl to Williams' performance against the Cleveland Browns in a preseason game, when he had a team-leading nine tackles (seven solo) in about 2 1/2 quarters.
The Broncos believe that showing is a harbinger of things to come.
"It was a slow process, and then in the third game is where he picked it up," said assistant head coach/defense Jim Bates, who has installed a new scheme that will get its first regular-season test. "He's progressing. You can see it every day on the practice field, that he's growing with the position and getting more comfortable with it.
"And what has to happen is, the speed of the game has to slow down mentally to where you just react and there's no thinking involved. Through the last week in practice and the third game of the preseason, he's making that progress."
In earlier preseason games, Williams was caught in traffic at times, overpursuing and missing tackles.
That prompted coach Mike Shanahan to say he probably wouldn't know until the regular season whether Williams was a natural fit at middle linebacker.
Shanahan left open the possibility Williams could slide back to his old strong-side spot and be replaced by Nate Webster.
The games now count, starting at Ralph Wilson Stadium in upstate New York. And Williams isn't going anywhere.
"If I'm not prepared Sunday, it's no one's fault but my own," Williams said this week. "But I've had enough time. And I think I'll do well."
Williams said he decided to focus daily on single aspects of his game to improve overall. It might be pass coverage one day, run reads the next. And Williams has gauged his progress based on taking small steps in those areas each practice.
Williams acknowledged some of the defensive communication problems that existed earlier. But he also believes film study, position meetings and practice have helped iron those out.
Williams has been carrying and studying a piece of paper that lists defensive checks he'll need to use come game time.
"Just looking over the paper time and time again kind of makes it stick in your head," he said. "So when you get out there on the field, it kind of happens."
It has happened more consistently lately. The coaching staff has seen Williams make prog- ress with run-pass recognition, move quicker to his gap responsibility, shed tunnel vision and improvise to make plays.
"Honestly, D.J. is such a conscientious guy that some of it was just him holding himself back because he wanted to be exactly right," Broncos linebackers coach Joe Baker said. "So in some ways, he was inhibiting his own instincts because he was trying to make sure that he was correct on the blackboard instead of just going out and playing ball. That's part of the growth process."
Others within the organization stress some of the preseason looks Williams had to decipher quickly amounted to the first time he had been put in those situations, and he learned and adapted from those trials and moved on.
The disconcerting prospect for those on the outside is things will get more complicated during the regular season and offenses will try to isolate Williams.
Baker countered that the middle linebacker in the Broncos' scheme gets attacked no matter who is playing there and has to be ready for that "buzz saw."
"Within the (defensive) framework, there's very few things that he's not been exposed to that would really, really expose us," Baker said.
Bates has been pleased with how even-keeled Williams remains under duress.
"He doesn't panic like some players we've had in the past, where, if they make a bad play, then it really throws them off for the rest of the game. He's able to have self-control within himself," Bates said. "D.J. has a calmness about him that we really like."
D.D. Lewis, the backup at middle linebacker, said he saw Williams adapt throughout the summer and envisions him becoming a Pro Bowl player in the Broncos' scheme.
Weak-side starter Ian Gold said Williams has great ability "and he hasn't even reached half his potential yet. He's just learning the position."
With the Bills waiting, the learning curve has just accelerated greatly.
"It's really too early to try to say what I see," Webster said in assessing Williams. "But people ready to jump ship already, for what? They haven't seen nothing. I guess time will tell, really."
Measuring sticks
• How previous middle linebackers have fared in their first full season with the Broncos defense during coach Mike Shanahan's tenure, which started in 1995:
Name Year Starts Solo Asts Total Team rank
Dave Wyman 1995 11 54 19 73 5
Allen Aldridge 1996 16 74 47 121 2
Glenn Cadrez 1998 15 76 29 105 2
Al Wilson 1999 12 70 18 88 3
How Middle Linebackers Have Fared In Jim Bates' Defensive Scheme During His Past Five Seasons As An Assistant And Interim ...
Name Year Team Starts Solo Asts Total Team rank
Nick Barnett 2005 Green Bay 16 91 47 138 1
Zach Thomas 2004 Miami 13 85 60 145 1
Zach Thomas 2003 Miami 15 84 68 152 1
Zach Thomas 2002 Miami 16 101 55 156 1
Zach Thomas 2001 Miami 15 94 60 154 1
rasizerl@RockyMountainNews.com
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_5693031,00.html
Broncos' Williams staking out middle ground
Chris Schneider © The Rocky
http://mas.scripps.com/DRMN/2007/09/08/435404957_o.jpg
D.J. Williams said he is ready to play middle linebacker. "If I'm not prepared Sunday, it's no one's fault but my own," he said. The Broncos believe the hits will keep on coming from their new man in the middle. But some skeptics already might have decided the former strong-side linebacker is fine when doing his old thing; but this new stuff, we'll pass . . . and run. Teams did that against Williams and the Broncos defense all preseason.STORY TOOLS
Email this story | Print
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News
September 8, 2007
ENGLEWOOD - In this iPod culture, people don't have to sample an entire body of work. They can download one song, make judgments and, if they wish, pass on the rest.
It isn't like the old days, when it might take a few albums for a performer to find a comfort level. Fail to get that top-10 single on the first shot now and an artist might never be heard from again.
Things have evolved in similar fashion for Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams.
The Broncos believe the hits will keep on coming from their new man in the middle.
But some skeptics already might have decided the former strong-side linebacker is fine when doing his old thing; but this new stuff, we'll pass . . .
And run.
Teams did that against Williams and the Broncos defense all preseason. It's why the uncomfortable feeling exists outside the walls of the team's Dove Valley headquarters.
Fans have seen the finger- pointing among Broncos defensive players during the preseason.
Confusion. Uncertainty. It makes some fans nervous as the Broncos head to Orchard Park, N.Y., on Sunday (11 a.m. MDT, CBS 4) for the regular- season opener, against the Buffalo Bills.
And for good reason, too, because Williams is the player orchestrating the front seven.
Relax, the Broncos respond.
Give a second whirl to Williams' performance against the Cleveland Browns in a preseason game, when he had a team-leading nine tackles (seven solo) in about 2 1/2 quarters.
The Broncos believe that showing is a harbinger of things to come.
"It was a slow process, and then in the third game is where he picked it up," said assistant head coach/defense Jim Bates, who has installed a new scheme that will get its first regular-season test. "He's progressing. You can see it every day on the practice field, that he's growing with the position and getting more comfortable with it.
"And what has to happen is, the speed of the game has to slow down mentally to where you just react and there's no thinking involved. Through the last week in practice and the third game of the preseason, he's making that progress."
In earlier preseason games, Williams was caught in traffic at times, overpursuing and missing tackles.
That prompted coach Mike Shanahan to say he probably wouldn't know until the regular season whether Williams was a natural fit at middle linebacker.
Shanahan left open the possibility Williams could slide back to his old strong-side spot and be replaced by Nate Webster.
The games now count, starting at Ralph Wilson Stadium in upstate New York. And Williams isn't going anywhere.
"If I'm not prepared Sunday, it's no one's fault but my own," Williams said this week. "But I've had enough time. And I think I'll do well."
Williams said he decided to focus daily on single aspects of his game to improve overall. It might be pass coverage one day, run reads the next. And Williams has gauged his progress based on taking small steps in those areas each practice.
Williams acknowledged some of the defensive communication problems that existed earlier. But he also believes film study, position meetings and practice have helped iron those out.
Williams has been carrying and studying a piece of paper that lists defensive checks he'll need to use come game time.
"Just looking over the paper time and time again kind of makes it stick in your head," he said. "So when you get out there on the field, it kind of happens."
It has happened more consistently lately. The coaching staff has seen Williams make prog- ress with run-pass recognition, move quicker to his gap responsibility, shed tunnel vision and improvise to make plays.
"Honestly, D.J. is such a conscientious guy that some of it was just him holding himself back because he wanted to be exactly right," Broncos linebackers coach Joe Baker said. "So in some ways, he was inhibiting his own instincts because he was trying to make sure that he was correct on the blackboard instead of just going out and playing ball. That's part of the growth process."
Others within the organization stress some of the preseason looks Williams had to decipher quickly amounted to the first time he had been put in those situations, and he learned and adapted from those trials and moved on.
The disconcerting prospect for those on the outside is things will get more complicated during the regular season and offenses will try to isolate Williams.
Baker countered that the middle linebacker in the Broncos' scheme gets attacked no matter who is playing there and has to be ready for that "buzz saw."
"Within the (defensive) framework, there's very few things that he's not been exposed to that would really, really expose us," Baker said.
Bates has been pleased with how even-keeled Williams remains under duress.
"He doesn't panic like some players we've had in the past, where, if they make a bad play, then it really throws them off for the rest of the game. He's able to have self-control within himself," Bates said. "D.J. has a calmness about him that we really like."
D.D. Lewis, the backup at middle linebacker, said he saw Williams adapt throughout the summer and envisions him becoming a Pro Bowl player in the Broncos' scheme.
Weak-side starter Ian Gold said Williams has great ability "and he hasn't even reached half his potential yet. He's just learning the position."
With the Bills waiting, the learning curve has just accelerated greatly.
"It's really too early to try to say what I see," Webster said in assessing Williams. "But people ready to jump ship already, for what? They haven't seen nothing. I guess time will tell, really."
Measuring sticks
• How previous middle linebackers have fared in their first full season with the Broncos defense during coach Mike Shanahan's tenure, which started in 1995:
Name Year Starts Solo Asts Total Team rank
Dave Wyman 1995 11 54 19 73 5
Allen Aldridge 1996 16 74 47 121 2
Glenn Cadrez 1998 15 76 29 105 2
Al Wilson 1999 12 70 18 88 3
How Middle Linebackers Have Fared In Jim Bates' Defensive Scheme During His Past Five Seasons As An Assistant And Interim ...
Name Year Team Starts Solo Asts Total Team rank
Nick Barnett 2005 Green Bay 16 91 47 138 1
Zach Thomas 2004 Miami 13 85 60 145 1
Zach Thomas 2003 Miami 15 84 68 152 1
Zach Thomas 2002 Miami 16 101 55 156 1
Zach Thomas 2001 Miami 15 94 60 154 1
rasizerl@RockyMountainNews.com
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_5693031,00.html