The Rocky Mountain News suggests that D.J. Williams (knee) could move to middle linebacker full time now that he's healthy.
Williams, who's listed as probable, was playing inside on passing downs before his injury. Denver wants to keep rookie WLB Wesley Woodyard in the lineup and it could come at current MLB Nate Webster's expense. Denver could also move Webster to the strong side, replacing Jamie Winborn.

(rotoworld.com)

Outside linebacker D.J. Williams (knee) and running back Selvin Young (groin) were held out for at least one more week.

Middle linebacker Nate Webster returned after missing the previous three games with a left knee injury. Spencer Larsen, a rookie who had been filling in for Webster at middle linebacker, returned to fullback where he will start.

(denverpost.com)

The team hopes to get its middle starter back this week from a partially torn MCL in his right knee. Webster has missed the past three games after going down early the week before. He was among the league tackle leaders before the injury. Teammate D.J. Williams has been taking limited practice reps as well but doesn't appear to be as close to returning.

(sportingnews.com)

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said Nate Webster's injury was a second-degree sprain in the MCL of his left knee.
Webster thought it was the "same thing D.J. [Williams] got," and he will have an MRI Friday. The Broncos have lost all three starting linebackers in successive weeks and will likely be starting Jamie Winborn, Wesley Woodyard, and Niko Koutouvides for the next couple of games.

(rotoworld.com)

Q: How long before the Broncos make a change at middle linebacker? Nate Webster has been almost invisible this season -- other than the fumble return (for a TD). For a position that should be involved in most plays, he's been conspicuous in his absence. The only time he's visible is when he's over-running plays, filling the wrong hole, or chasing a tight end or running back downfield after a pass reception. Could Spencer Larsen or Niko Koutouvides be any worse? Nate has been around long enough for coaches to know that what you see is what you're going to get.

A: Also in some of the Webster questions were add-ons about the team's ability to improve the pass rush as it goes along and any potential for some trades.

Right off the top it has to be noted the coaches' video review has Webster leading the team in tackles, being a couple ahead of D.J. Williams and, in their minds, he won the job in training camp.

Whether folks watching the game at home would agree with that or not, Webster is still the official leader. He has over-run some plays in his zeal to make something happen - that is the one thing opposing offensive coordinators do point to at times when looking at his game - but he has not been alone, especially in Kansas City when Larry Johnson gained a significant amount of yardage coming out of the back side of the play after the front side - or "play" side - was bottled up.

The Broncos had certainly signed Koutouvides with the intention of playing him at middle linebacker and would have if he would have done a little more in the preseason. Even Koutouvides admitted that he did fine when it came to assignment football, but that he felt like he didn't "make enough plays'' to tip things his way.

Webster won the job with his best offseason in quite some time with efforts the Broncos likely didn't expect when last season ended.

But Koutouvides would be put into the lineup if Webster graded out poorly enough at some point for the coaches to believe they needed to make a change. And if they are thinking anything close to that right now, they have not conveyed that to any of the players at the moment.

Also, certainly if Webster got hurt Koutouvides would be in the lineup.

But right now they have big picture problems on defense that require their attention rather than simply tinkering with the depth chart in one or two places - that's just smoothing a rough edge or two to replace a player here and there.

(blogs.rockymountainews.com)

There's no doubt the Broncos' defense has struggled, but sources in Denver say MLB Nate Webster has been one of the team's more pleasant surprises. Webster moved to the middle after playing on the strong side last season, and he's been a much better fit inside. He's fiery, and although CB Champ Bailey and WLB D.J. Williams were voted defensive captains, insiders say Webster is the one who brings the most energy to the defense. The Broncos signed Niko Koutouvides for a starter's salary in the offseason, and he was expected to get the nod at middle linebacker. However, Webster, who is in much better shape this season, sources say, outplayed Koutouvides all through training camp and took the job away. The ninth-year veteran doesn't have a whole lot of range or speed, but the coaches know his weaknesses and he typically is pulled off the field in passing situations.

(pfw.com)

DENVER -- The Denver Broncos signed linebacker D.J. Williams to a five-year contract extension Sunday.

The deal was first reported by the NFL Network and Rocky Mountain News, which said that the contract is worth $32 million, including $13 million in guaranteed money.

Williams has played all three linebacker positions since being drafted by the Broncos in 2004. He lined up at middle linebacker last season for the first time in his career, and was credited with 170 tackles, the most by a Broncos player in five seasons. He also had a sack, three forced fumbles and an interception.

The 6-foot-1, 240-pound Williams was switched back to the weakside slot for this season, as Nate Webster inherited the middle linebacker duties.
Williams was recently voted a defensive captain by his teammates, along with Champ Bailey.

After starting three years at the University of Miami, Williams was taken by Denver with the 17th overall pick in 2004. He has started 62 games since he was selected.

The Broncos open the season at Oakland on Monday night.

(kentucky.com)

It's Nate.

The Broncos' top position competition of the preseason has been settled.

Mike Shanahan, the Broncos' coach, announced Nate Webster has beaten out Niko Koutouvides for starting middle linebacker.

The decision was an upset of sorts as Webster is a nine-year veteran who was primarily a back up in Tampa Bay and Cincinnati before starting at strongside linebacker for the Broncos' last year. Koutouvides was one of the Broncos' top free-agent pick ups this offseason as he received a three-year, $7.5 million contract that included a $2 million signing bonus.

"It was a very close competition," Shanahan said. "Both guys I look at as starters. Both guys will help as special teams but it was nip and tuck."

Shanahan said Koutouvides, a standout special teams player for four years in Seattle, would play extensively in the fourth and final preseason game at Arizona to get him more familiar with Denver's defense.

"Nate's a little more comfortable in it, right now." Shanahan said.

(denverpost.com)

Nate Webster played well in his starting role at middle linebacker. It appears he may hold off Niko Koutouvides for the starting job.




(espn.com)

ENGLEWOOD — Your guess is as good is theirs.

Neither Nate Webster nor Niko Koutouvides is sure how their battle to become the Broncos' starting middle linebacker ultimately will pan out.

At various points this summer they've traded practice days, swapped games and, so far, no one has given them a clue where their competition stands. But both are assured of one thing:

While Friday night's preseason game with the Green Bay Packers might not be the be-all, it will be the end-all of a competition that has lasted the past five months.

Koutouvides played a half with the No. 1 defense last Saturday against the Dallas Cowboys and made one tackle as Denver allowed one touchdown.

It's Webster's turn against the Packers, and the coaching staff has essentially promised to make a decision before next week's preseason finale, when the starters will not play.

"You just keep playing until you hear the word, basically," Koutouvides said. "There's not much we can do on our part except keep playing ball."
Webster and the rest of the first-team defense will play the first two quarters against Green Bay, plus the opening series of the third quarter. Koutouvides then takes over with the reserves.

"I love it, man," Webster said. "I don't feel bad at all about the situation. I feel I've done the best job I could do."

Webster, who also started the first preseason game, is currently listed as No. 1 on the team's official depth chart. But that latter document often is misleading at this early juncture. And the Denver coaching staff is known to defer to holdover players as far as providing the first crack in tight battles.

"They don't clue us in about what's going on, pretty much," Koutouvides said.

Webster entered the competition with the slight advantage of having been entrenched in Denver's defense for several years. Still, the scheme was tweaked, and last year he was playing the strong side, not the middle, so while not as steep as the one Koutouvides faced, there was a transition period for Webster.

But middle linebacker is Webster's most natural position. And he has bulled his way into the competition to a large degree with a solid offseason that was borne not only out of the desire to change Denver's defensive fortunes from a year ago but also from tragedy.

Webster's father, Nate Sr., suffered a heart attack in the offseason and was hospitalized for a month. During that time, the linebacker lost 15 pounds.

But after his dad rallied, so did Webster Jr. He rebuilt his body the right way in regaining his weight back as a 100 percent participant in the offseason strength program.

"I kind of teased them that I was stripping the engine down and was going to rebuild it," Webster said. "I wanted to put a big engine in."
Koutouvides had some weight of his own with which to deal - the expectations wrought from a three-year, $7.5 million free-agent contract.

"It's two guys who are busting their butts, two guys who can start, and two guys who both make our defense better," said Marlon McCree, who has gotten an up-close view of the battle while aligned as the deep safety on virtually every snap. "It's a coin toss . . . Both guys are fiery. Both guys are smart. Both guys hit blocks well. It's a good problem to have."

(rockymountainnews.com)

Niko or Nate. Nate or Niko.

It's only at middle linebacker, among the 11 starting defensive positions, that the Broncos have yet to decide.

Niko Koutouvides was the middle linebacker last week in the serious test that was the Dallas Cowboys. The Broncos' first-string defense played well, allowing only seven points and 128 total yards in the first half.

Nate Webster is the middle linebacker this week for the all-important third preseason game against the Green Bay Packers.

Will it be Nate? Or is it Niko?

"I guess it's going down to the end," Webster said. "They've given us both a fair shot. But I'm sure we've got to make a decision somewhere in the next couple weeks."

Maybe after the Packers game. Even though Broncos starters generally play 2 1/2 quarters in the third preseason game, coach Mike Shanahan said he and his defensive staff haven't settled on how to divvy up playing time at middle linebacker.

"It's going to be a big game for both of them," Shanahan said.

(denverpost.com)

With no afternoon practice today, I just was able to get caught up with Episode 2 of HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” A television crew is following the Cowboys through training camp, including the team’s four practices against the Broncos.

Episode 2, which aired on Wednesday night, included a short segment on rookie RB Keon Lattimore, who just so happens to be little brother of Ravens LB Ray Lewis. Guess Broncos’ LB Nate Webster (who, like Lewis, is a former Miami Hurricane) hasn’t been watching.

On Thursday, Webster unleashed possibly the hardest hit of training camp on Lattimore — the crunch of the hit, not even a real tackle since no one was in full pads — was heard all the way across the practice field. No surprise, but Lattimore fumbled the ball.

After the practice, I was talking to Webster, when cornerback Domonique Foxworth came up to us and asked me if I had seen the hit. I said I did, but Foxworth wanted to make sure, so he grabbed my notebook and wrote in it that “Nate Webster almost killed a man.” Foxworth said it was Lattimore, and I told Webster that Lattimore is Lewis’ brother. That led to one of my favorite exchanges of camp:

Webster: “Ray Lewis has a little brother?”

Foxworth: “Not anymore he doesn’t.”

I’m looking forward to seeing the next episode of Hard Knocks to see if that hit — and how much of the Brandon Marshall-Adam “Pacman” Jones “feud” — makes the cut.

(blogs.denverpost.com)

There is certainly no one on the Broncos' defense louder than Nate Webster, but all it took was one late-night phone call in early January for everything to go silent.

His mother, Linda, was on the other end of the line. She was crying. "Your daddy's not breathing," Webster remembered her saying.

Nate Webster Sr. had suffered a major heart attack at his home in Tampa, Fla.

"At one point, he was dead," Webster said. "The paramedics brought him back."

Webster flew to Florida the next day and spent about three months there while his father recuperated. During that time, Webster lost 15 pounds from the stress.

But the ordeal gave him a new perspective once he returned to Denver for offseason conditioning in March, about he time he learned he would be switching from strong side to middle linebacker, the same position he played at the University of Miami and earlier in his career with Tampa Bay.

"My dad's been so strong and worked so hard for so many years to be a provider for us. I have never seen him at a weak point, never ever, so to see him down and unconscious, that hit me hard," Webster said. "Right then and there, I just wanted to dedicate and put a lot of focus into getting into the best shape of my life."

Coaches noticed. Mike Shanahan commented on the day before training camp started last month that Webster had never been in better condition. After almost three weeks of camp, Webster is listed first on the depth chart at middle linebacker, ahead of Niko Koutouvides, who was signed away from Seattle in the offseason with the intention he would be the starter.

Webster, who was credited with 100 tackles by the Broncos in 2007, started the preseason opener against the Houston Texans, though the battle is far from over. Koutouvides led the first-team defense Monday and Tuesday.

"It's going to go down to the wire, and that's the way it should be," Koutouvides said. "Give both players every opportunity to show what they've got."

What makes the battle more interesting is that Webster and Koutouvides are so different.

Koutouvides, a Connecticut native who went to Purdue, isn't flashy or loud. Webster, though, is impossible to ignore, from his overly baggy mesh shorts that hang nearly to his ankles to his tendency to lose his helmet in piles of tacklers.

And, of course, there is that voice.

Almost every day, he issues a guttural yell as he walks toward the practice field, and hardly a play goes by without him making some sort of comment to the offense.

"He's a live-wire kind of guy, always talking," defensive coordinator Bob Slowik said. "He always has to be talking, has to be moving."

That kind of behavior has endeared him to teammates, though he knows he has to learn to better curb his emotions at times during games. It wasn't something he always knew how to do when he was younger.

"Back in the day, I used to be a bit dirty under the piles," Webster said. "But the cameras see everything, plus it's just part of growing up and being smarter, and not wanting to put your team in a bad situation, get a penalty, do anything that will hurt your chances of winning the game."

Webster's father has recovered enough from the heart attack to travel, and he and Linda are staying with Webster in Denver during training camp.
Linda cooks, and the three spend as much time as possible talking about when Webster and his siblings were young.

"I want to get him out here to participate, to see as much of me as he can, whether it's coming to games or practices, or just being around me, period," Webster said, "because I'm a daddy's boy."

(denverpost.com)

Nate Webster gets the start at middle linebacker tonight, but Niko Koutouvides is still very much in the running for the job.

Throughout training camp, Webster and Koutouvides have taken turns practicing with the first team. Usually, each player gets two consecutive days with the first unit, and then they switch. Shanahan said they’ll take turns in the preseason games, too.

“Both of them will get a chance to play with the starting defense, and we’ll evaluate both of them,” he said. “I feel good about both of them.”

(timescall.com)

Nate Webster is back with the first-team defense, it's not going to be apparent who has won the middle linebacker position until the season begins. Coaches are rotating Webster and Niko Koutouvides every two days it seems, on the first-team as middle linebackers.

(broncos-denver-broncos.blogspot.com)

Nate Webster apparently is in peak physical condition.

He's not in bad shape, either, when it comes to his position battle.

On Sunday, Webster ran with the first team at middle linebacker after Niko Koutouvides was No. 1 the first two days of practice. That revolving pattern should continue until one of the players establishes a firm grip on the starting job.

"That's fair to me," Webster noted. "As far as competing for the position, it's better than staying with the 'twos,' and you get a chance to switch up tempo."

Webster started last season at strong-side linebacker. But he's a more natural fit in the center of the defense as a between- the-tackles defender.

"I call it home. That's what I've played all my life . . . ," he said. "I'm real excited about it."

The staff also is pleased with Webster's offseason participation, which has resulted in him being "in the best shape I've ever seen him in," according to coach Mike Shanahan. When Webster first came to Denver in 2006, he still was feeling the aftereffects of a torn right patella tendon.

"I had to damn near start over again. But that's not even a question anymore," he said. "And last year, I finished the season healthy and didn't miss any games, so that was one of my first goals I did reach. My next goal was to stay healthy and play hard."

Webster finished 2007 second on the team in tackles, with 100 (77 solo), playing on the strong side. Both numbers were career bests.

"Nate did some good things even at the strong-side linebacker spot last year," defensive coordinator Bob Slowik said. "He flashed some talent in the run game and was physical and explosive. But we thought him being inside in the middle would be the most natural position, and having those two compete is good. And it's tight. They've both been doing really good things."

(rockymountainnews.com)

Expect a new-look linebacking corps this season. Boss Bailey was brought in for speed to replace Ian Gold, and Shanahan said that Nate Webster has been awesome in the off-season and is in the best shape of his carrier. He also said not to count out Niko Koutouvides, who impressed coaches the second half of last season.    

(thedenverdailynews.com)

ENGLEWOOD - Nate Webster is prepared to battle to get a starting job for the second straight year.

Webster, who started 13 games for the Denver Broncos last year at outside linebacker, is practicing primarily at middle linebacker during this week’s minicamp and in Thursday’s practice he took the snaps with the starting defense. Niko Koutouvides signed a three-year, $7.5 million contract with the Broncos this offseason and seems to be the favorite to start at middle linebacker. Koutouvides worked with the second team Thursday.

Minicamp practices hadn’t been open to the media before this week, and Koutouvides took first-team repetitions earlier this week. Webster said he and Koutouvides have been rotating in the middle. Webster said nothing has been promised to either player.

“It’s competition,” Webster said. “I guess we’ll be evaluated throughout the camps, practices and preseason. Nothing has been handed to him or me. We’re going to compete, which I don’t mind doing.”

Webster said he is comfortable being back at middle linebacker. He has played most of his career there, although he can play all three positions.

“That’s almost like being back home,” Webster said. “Middle linebacker is home for me. I can play the other ones, but I’m more instinctive in the middle.”

(gazette.com)

ENGLEWOOD • Nate Webster is prepared to battle to get a starting job for the second straight year.

Webster, who started 13 games for the Denver Broncos last year at outside linebacker, is practicing primarily at middle linebacker during this week's minicamp and in Thursday's practice he took the snaps with the starting defense. Niko Koutouvides signed a three-year, $7.5 million contract with the Broncos this offseason and seems to be the favorite to start at middle linebacker. Koutouvides worked with the second team Thursday.

Minicamp practices hadn't been open to the media before this week, and Koutouvides took first-team repetitions earlier this week. Webster said he and Koutouvides have been rotating in the middle. Webster said nothing has been promised to either player.

"It's competition," Webster said. "I guess we'll be evaluated throughout the camps, practices and preseason. Nothing has been handed to him or me. We're going to compete, which I don't mind doing."

Webster said he is comfortable being back at middle linebacker. He has played most of his career there, although he can play all three positions.

"That's almost like being back home," Webster said. "Middle linebacker is home for me. I can play the other ones, but I'm more instinctive in the middle."

(gazette.com)

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan mentioned Nate Webster when asked who might compete with Niko Koutouvides to start at middle linebacker. It's obvious that the Broncos want Koutouvides to win this battle, and pretty close to a lock that he will. Webster started on the strong side last year, but has been replaced there by Boss Bailey. He's not an effective starter.

(rotoworld.com)