Broncos' Williams may finally have found a home on weak side

This is why D.J. Williams is back at weak-side linebacker.

It's Thursday morning, and the Broncos defense is involved in a 7- on-7 red-zone drill with the Cowboys offense. Dallas quarterback Tony Romo drops back and delivers a swing pass to rookie running back Felix Jones, a 4.4-second burner and the nation's leader in yards per carry in 2007.

Jones heads for the sideline, his sights set on the left pylon, when Williams suddenly comes flying at Jones to cut off his angle and send him scurrying out of bounds about the 5-yard line.

"I just feel the position is suited for him," Denver linebackers coach Jim Ryan said of Williams' move away from the middle last year to the relatively wide-open spaces of his new spot. "That 'Will' linebacker is in space a little more and gives him the freedom to run."

At middle linebacker, the angles were completely different. And, perhaps worse yet for someone as athletically gifted as Williams, it was constricting in the sense he had to free himself from traffic before his speed and change-of-direction skills could be used fully. Nonetheless, Williams finished with an AFC-leading 141 stops, but there was an overriding sense the position wasn't natural.

So, in the offseason, Denver dumped Ian Gold, added Niko Koutouvides in free agency, shifted Nate Webster inside and cleared room for
Williams to return to the weak side, where he had earned a third-place finish in the 2004 Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.

In between, Williams also played strong-side linebacker, so his overall count stands at four positions in four years.

"Around Week 6 or 7 last season," he said, "I started enjoying the middle and I started picking it up, and that's why I was kind of a little upset about this switch, because right when I started getting good at it, I moved to another position."

Williams, though, hasn't completely abandoned the middle. In nickel looks, he still plays there. And if the tight end shifts on those passing downs, he might play strong side, too.

'Stressful' but beneficial
So, from a big-picture perspective, his vagabond life in Denver has served as a positive.

"I don't think people realize how difficult it is," Williams said, "but the upside to it is that, when I'm out there, I kind of know what everybody has to do now, just from playing 'Mike,' 'Sam' and 'Will.' . . . So I can kind of help other people."

He admitted all his switching has been "stressful," though, on the surface, one wouldn't know.

"I think that's because, one, I'm a team player and I want the team to win," he said. "But there are times where I felt, 'Are they moving me because I'm versatile and I can do this?' Or, 'Are they moving me because they think someone can play the position better than me?'

"Some of those things go through your head. But as long as every position I play I'm successful at, I don't mind."

Perhaps one drawback to his movement is that it has made it difficult to pin an exact value on Williams, which is important, considering he'll be the team's highest-profile free agent after this season.

The Broncos plan to reach out to Williams' representatives in the next couple of weeks to begin a dialogue on a new contract. But unlike Lance Briggs, Lofa Tatupu and other linebackers who recently have secured high-end contracts, Williams has yet to go to the Pro Bowl.

On the other hand, it's a chicken-and-egg scenario: Has all the moving denied Williams that opportunity?

Further, shouldn't he be rewarded for his willingness to sacrifice without any public groaning?

"I give a lot of praise to him," Broncos cornerback Dre Bly said, "because not a lot of guys can move around and still lead the team in tackles, play at a high level and make a lot of plays. D.J.'s done that. And he hasn't complained one bit.

"For myself, it's taken me years to learn my position, learn routes - and D.J., once he learns one position, he's switching to the next. He's done a tremendous job."

Bly envisions Williams at weak- side linebacker having the same type of impact, from a leadership and on-field perspective, as London Fletcher did when Bly won a Super Bowl with St. Louis in 1999.

"I heard what kind of guy Al Wilson was when he was here. We came out together, and I played with him at the Pro Bowl. And I know what kind of loss it was to the team when he left," Bly said. "I really feel like D.J.'s doing a great job filling his shoes and becoming the leader he needs to be for this football team to take off."

Happy in the Mile High City
Williams isn't ready to take off completely. His positional musical chairs notwithstanding, he admitted he has settled in Denver as a career locale.

"If the numbers are right and things are good, I would love to stay here," he said.

And even if contract talks filter into the season, Williams appears unconcerned that they might be a distraction.

"You know what? It's business and it's my life, so I have to talk about it eventually," he said. "I can't go throughout the day and not think about it, because it's there, it's going to happen."

Denver likely would have the salary-cap room necessary to consummate a deal this fall but would be creative in contract structure to be able to absorb the hit in guaranteed money. Williams, meanwhile, would have to be receptive to receiving split payments. But so far, flexibility, at least on the field,- has been the linebacker's calling card.

It's clear the Broncos, in part, are building their defense around Williams' skill set.

"He's a guy we can utilize on some blitzes, No. 1," defensive coordinator Bob Slowik said. "We're not afraid to have him either in zone or man coverage, because of his athleticism. So we're not worried about him on running backs, even the really good ones who can catch the ball out of the backfield. And then it's just him being able to fly from sideline to sideline and make plays in pursuit, where teams don't account for pursuit from the outside linebacker."

Felix Jones can attest to that.

(rockymountainnews.com)