Denver Post sports writer Mike Klis posts his Broncos Mailbag every Tuesday during the 2007 National Football League season on DenverPost.com.
To drop a Broncos- or NFL-related question into the Broncos Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
Mike – It seems to me that Nate Webster is usually in better position, makes more tackles and plays more aggressively than D.J. Williams. I understand how fast and strong D.J. is supposed to be. However, I have yet to see D.J. do anything I can remember. Will you please explain to us why D.J. is starting in the middle instead of Nate? Size and speed shouldn’t matter when you make the wrong reads. Do the Broncos feel Nate is too small to play the middle? Thanks.
— Dave Elsberry, Park City, Utah
Dave – You’re right, in the end, a player is evaluated on his performance, not his 40 time or number of bench-press reps. If the Broncos’ coaching staff evaluates Williams as you do, then I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Webster switch positions some time during the regular season. However, I don’t think the Broncos are there, yet.
Remember, the coaching staff’s investment in Williams didn’t start with the preseason. It started with their first offseason training session a month prior to the draft. The belief is Williams has a chance to become great; Webster is an eight-year player who has 11 career starts. Williams may have barely scratched the tackle charts through the first two preseason games, but he had a game-high nine tackles in a little more than two quarters against the Browns. That’s progress.
Another thing to consider: The middle linebacker stays on the field for every play. The strongside linebacker usually plays only on running downs. So while Webster does bring it in his limited playing time, would he outperform Williams on an every down basis? In my humble opinion, if the Broncos are to wind up with a Super Bowl-caliber defense, they’re going to need Pro Bowl-caliber players. Williams has Pro Bowl-caliber potential.
What do you think of after seeing him play?
— Matthew R., Denver
Matthew – I was impressed like everyone else. Then again, he was no more impressive than Charlie Frye or Derek Anderson. The Browns’ QB trio completed 19 of 27 for 223 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. That’s an impressive 107.5 quarterback rating for a position that supposedly was in flux.
It looks to me like Quinn is going to be way ahead of the learning curve as far as reading defenses and making good decisions on the fly. The question is his arm strength but he had impressive zip on that 25-yard completion to Kellen Winslow.
I would be surprised if Browns coach Romeo Crennel, who has to win now to save his job, plays Quinn in the first half of this season. But if the season gets away from the Browns early, I can see Quinn coming in to renew enthusiasm – and possibly buy Crennel, who I still believe has what it takes to be successful head coach, a little more time.
Will the Broncos try to sign Jeremiah Trotter? Or was he cut because he is past his prime?
— Mr. Dan, St. Augustine, Fla.
Mr. Dan – No to Jeremiah Trotter. The Broncos are not interested. Rest assured, Eagles coach Andy Reid would not have unceremoniously dumped Trotter without explanation if he felt the linebacker could still play. Anytime NFL coaches are mum about why they released a popular veteran, it’s usually because they don’t want to embarrass that player with an honest explanation. That doesn’t mean Reid and the Eagles are right in their judgment of Trotter. But it’s a good bet their close.
How has technology changed the job of a sports writer? Detail some personal experiences over the years that illustrate the progression of equipment, procedures and pressure in doing the nuts-and-bolts basics that sports writers do to get their work before readers’ eyes.
— David Brown, Lenexa, Kan.
David – Even us poorly dressed sleuths need love. Thanks for caring.
I started off in the weekly newspaper business around 1980 when I would write my stories on a typewriter, then drop them off at the office and somebody would re-type them into a whatchamacallit. When I started with the Colorado Springs Gazette in 1984, we had these Radio Shack mini-computer dealies. The keyboard was laptop quality, but the screen was about four-fingers thick. Then we had to hook up phone couplers to the back, call a computer phone number, press a button on the computer, wait for the tone, put the phone ends into the couplers, hold down tight and wait a couple minutes for the story to send back to the office computers.
Then it got to where we hooked up phone lines to the back of our laptops and we’d send in stories through modems, or so I was told. Now we send through wireless, Internet something-or-other, where we hit a button or two, and off she goes.
As you can tell, I never paid much attention to the technology part. Sports writing has always been about meeting the crunch of deadline, whether through dictation or modern technology. On those night Bronco games, for instance, I will send in the first version of my game story a few minutes before the game is over. You think and type at the same time, and always in a hurry. Editors foremost ask that copy is sent in clean, which means no typos or misspells or grammatical errors. That’s been sports writing since the days of Grantland Rice, Damon Runyan and Ring Lardner on through the modern era of Jim Murray and .
Do you think Jay Cutler has seen enough snaps in the preseason to be ready for the opener?
— Ted, Lakewood
Ted – Considering preseason can only do so much for a young player’s development, whatever playing time Cutler received is enough. Had he played every minute of all four preseason games, he could still expect to endure growing pains during the regular season, where the intensity is dialed up, defenses mix up their defensive coverages and blitzes, and nothing but the very best 11 players are executing the plan.
I thought Cutler played pretty much to expectations in the preseason. There were times when he underthrew a checkdown receiver by 5 feet. And then on the next pass he would zip a 25-yard completion down the seam. I think he will experience these bouts of inconsistency during the regular season, too. The Broncos have faith his moments of brilliance will outweigh his misfires by game’s end. They also believe that by season’s end, Cutler will be a refined quarterback capable of leading a team through the playoffs.
With all the talk lately around the Broncos defensive line, one name that seems never to be mentioned is Jimmy Kennedy. Not much is being said about the former first-round pick (12th overall), good or bad, and he never seems to be running with the first team. Your thoughts?
— Josh, Chicago
Josh – Kennedy is part of the Broncos’ eight-man D-line rotation, but the surprise of the preseason has been the Broncos coaching staff’s endearing evaluation of defensive tackle Amon Gordon. In three NFL seasons, Gordon had 10 tackles as a rookie, spent the entire 2005 season on the Browns’ injured reserve list and the 2006 season on the Broncos’ practice squad. And now he’s a starter. Gordon made Gerard Warren expendable and put the more proven Kennedy and Alvin McKinley on the bench, at least on first and second downs. Gordon and D.J. Williams’ switch to middle linebacker are two examples of how defensive boss Jim Bates sees something in players others don’t.
Does Mike Shanahan not believe in the 3-4 defense? The best D’s in this league seem to run it (e.g. New England, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Dallas).
— Dan H., Colorado Springs
Dan – Shanahan believes enough in the 3-4 defense to know it presents unique challenges to his offense. But personnel must fit into the 3-4 scheme, and after years of going with the 4-3 – the alignment Indianapolis and Chicago used in the Super Bowl last year, by the way – Shanahan would have to essentially blow up his defensive roster and start over.
The strengths needed from defensive ends, nose tackles and outside linebackers in the 3-4 are different from those associated with the 4-3. After years of drafting for the 4-3, the Broncos would probably have to take a year off from pursuing the Super Bowl, and Shanahan doesn’t want to waste anyone’s time by committing to a rebuilding season.
Any insight on what’s up with Brandon Stokley? It’s like he dropped off the earth. You guys wrote that he was tearing things up in the first couple of practices. Now he doesn’t practice at all and nothing is said. Will he even make the team? What gives?
— Tim Andersen, Des Moines, Iowa
Tim – There’s usually an injury update on Stokley every day in the paper. If a guy is injured, what more needs to be said? Stokley did make his preseason debut Saturday against the Browns, and he made a nice crossing-pattern reception for a 26-yard gain. Expect Stokley to be the No. 3 receiver in the regular-season opener at Buffalo.
Mike Klis is in his third season of covering the Broncos after previously covering the Rockies and Major League Baseball for 15 years. To drop a question into his Broncos Mailbag, or visit DenverPost.com’s .
