From youth leagues through college, special teams are generally reserved for bench-warmers.
Then comes the NFL, where special teams become the difference between warming the bench on Sunday, or watching from the stands.
Take the case of Nate Webster, who is the Broncos’ top backup linebacker but because he does not play special teams did not dress for the opener last week against St. Louis.
The starting linebackers are Al Wilson, Ian Gold and D.J. Williams. But if someone from that trio got dinged in the opener, the first linebacker to replace him would have been Louis Green or Keith Burns, who are special team forces.
“Knock on wood we haven’t had a linebacker go down, but if we did, Nate Webster is probably the guy who is starting,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said.
“Well, not probably, he would be the guy who would be starting. He played extremely well through the preseason. He’s a heckuva football player. But, we talk about it all the time – when you only have 45 players on game day, you have to look at all the different areas.”
So possibly again this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs at Invesco Field at Mile High, Webster may not be among the 45 players to dress, much less watch and wait his turn from the sideline.
“Mike has never wavered from that since he got here in ’95,” said Burns, the Broncos’ special teams captain.
“It’s the difference between a receiver being in the (game) rotation; a linebacker being in that rotation; a D-lineman being up or being down (on the active, game roster). And it affects the whole locker room. If you’re not in the starting 11, offense and defense, you have to play special teams and play it well.”
Javon time
Shanahan agreed with everyone else that Javon Walker should have caught his third quarter slant pattern last week at St. Louis, but excused the receiver on another play because of its difficulty.
Walker had made a midair adjustment between two defenders, and though he worked himself in the clear, he could not hang on to quarterback Jake Plummer’s pass.
For his part, Walker offered no such alibi on the play that would have been a certain touchdown had he made the catch.
“Where I jumped over them?” Walker said. “Those are the ones people are used to seeing from me.
“Anybody can make the easy play, but when I was in Green Bay, Javon Walker makes those plays. That’s the play that separates receivers in the NFL. And that’s the play I expect of myself. All I had to do was hold on and bring it in.”
Walker did have three catches for 34 yards in his debut.
Eliminating turnovers
Coaching against turnovers can be tricky. The Broncos committed five last week against the Rams, but yelling all week at Plummer and running back Tatum Bell to not throw interceptions or fumble could be counterproductive.
“Turnovers, if you harp on it – we know not to turn the ballover,” said Mike Heimerdinger, Shanahan’s top offensive assistant.
“That’s emphasized every day out here. But it’s not going to be a panic situation where you’re going to hammer it at them.”
Footnotes
Broncos place-kicker Jason Elam didn’t participate in practice much this week as he’s been nursing a sore left hip. Shanahan expects Elam to be ready by Sunday. …
Amon Gordon, a defensive tackle on the practice squad, missed Friday’s workout to have an MRI on his troublesome knee. Gordon missed all of last season with Cleveland because of a knee injury.
