bubba9497 Posted October 7, 2005 Share Posted October 7, 2005 Circumstance hindering Williams Second-year linebacker's limited role is not because of his play, it is situational http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/broncos/article/0,1299,DRMN_17_4139854,00.html ENGLEWOOD - LaVar Arrington of the Washington Redskins isn't the only linebacker wondering where his playing time has gone this season. The Denver Broncos' D.J. Williams, runner- up for the NFL's defensive rookie of the year award in 2004, has seen his snaps in the first month of the season diminish greatly because of his absence from the team's nickel package. Ian Gold and Al Wilson are the linebackers in that personnel group, leaving Williams to spend more time on the sideline. Williams played only 16 snaps in the Broncos' 20-7 victory Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Overall, he has played only about 60 percent of the snaps this season after participating in 72 percent of the defensive snaps last season. And it has meant a dip in his production. The team leader after four games last season with 26 tackles, including 20 solo, those numbers have dipped to 13 stops (nine solo) during the Broncos' 3-1 start. "It's mentally hard," Williams said. "The worst part of it is running off the field and just watching the other guys out there. Every other down it seems like you're running in and out." The second-year linebacker from the University of Miami isn't complaining because the team is winning despite his reduced role. "If we were doing that and losing, I'd be (mad)," he said with a laugh. Arrington, who, like Williams, is a former first-round pick, has taken the same sort of high road with the Redskins since being demoted to fifth on the depth chart last month. While Arrington apparently has one foot out the door, Williams still figures greatly in the Broncos' future plans. "His time will come," Wilson said of Williams, runner-up to former college teammate Jonathan Vilma of the New York Jets in the 2004 defensive rookie voting. "D.J.'s got a bright future here, and he knows that and we all know that. His day will come where he'll never leave the field. The time isn't right now. "He has a couple guys in front of him who have been around and played the game awhile and kind of understand what's going on. But . . . the guy's a first-class kid and he understands his role and knows what we expect from him." Williams' time might come sooner rather than later. Gold and Wilson still will be used in nickel packages as the Broncos proceed, beginning Sunday (2:15 p.m., KDVR-Channel 31) against the Redskins (3-0). But defensive coordinator Larry Coyer vowed Thursday to get Williams more involved by shifting the three starting linebackers in and out more frequently when the Broncos go to the nickel. "We're very well aware that he was off the field too much in those situations," Coyer said of the Jaguars game. "One thing that we have to be conscious of as we go is that doesn't happen again. We've got to rotate in our nickel situations." Williams already was getting used to a revised role in the base defense, even before all this happened. Gold's signing in free agency, according to all the off-season chatter, was supposed to push Williams from the weak-side position to the strong side and perhaps dull his play-making ability after a season in which he became the first Broncos rookie in 32 years to lead the team in tackles (114). The hypothesis was only half right. Technically, Williams has played weak side more frequently than the strong side. But the way the Broncos' defensive scheme is constructed, Gold still is being allowed to flow to the action by tweaking formations to protect him, and he has been a preferred choice because of his top-end speed as a blitzer out of the base alignment. Gold has made 25 tackles (20 solo) and has been one of the defense's top performers. But the prevailing opinion in the Broncos organization is Williams also has played well - when he has had his opportunities. "I don't feel like my performance has gone down. My numbers have gone down," Williams said. "But as far as me as a player and my athletic ability . . . the way that I'm playing hasn't gone down. It's just that you've got a lot less opportunities." His absence on the field also is not so much a lack of confidence in his coverage abilities in the nickel, it's more a convergence of circumstances. Denver has played some of the game's best tight ends during the first month, and safety Sam Brandon has established himself as better in coverage in such situations. In games against teams that have a less potent tight end, the Broncos could decide to keep Williams on the field in coverage in base formations or occasionally match a receiver, as he did last season. "I'm just being patient and just trying to do my role," Williams said. "When you start thinking about your personal numbers and all that, you go out of the scheme of the defense and hurt the team. And I'd rather be 50 tackles at the end of the season and be a Super Bowl champ than be 130-something tackles and didn't make the playoffs and make the Pro Bowl." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted October 7, 2005 Share Posted October 7, 2005 DJ Williams was the runner up, and not ST??? Man, what a travesty! I thought DJ wasn't even playing that well in Denver. I could be making that up, but I remember reading something about how he wasn't performing well...maybe that was early in the season or something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oompa lumpa Posted October 7, 2005 Share Posted October 7, 2005 DJ Williams was the runner up, and not ST??? Man, what a travesty! I thought DJ wasn't even playing that well in Denver. I could be making that up, but I remember reading something about how he wasn't performing well...maybe that was early in the season or something... You are wrong. Williams was known to make many rookie mistakes on the field last year, but the coaches would talk about how he was so athletic that he could recover from every mistake easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveP666 Posted October 7, 2005 Share Posted October 7, 2005 Its not gonna be fun watching Lavar on special teams... we could be paying a top class kicker to win games whan pay some cover guy. Gee... frustrating!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrfriedm Posted October 7, 2005 Share Posted October 7, 2005 Well sucks for him, but lifes not fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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