Teammates stand by DJ Williams

Broncos coach Josh McDaniels gathered his six remaining team captains Saturday for a private meeting, asking for input on how the Broncos should punish linebacker D.J. Williams.

Williams, who had his team captaincy stripped on Saturday, was arrested early Friday morning on drunken driving charges, and missed Friday's practice and meetings while at a detox facility.

McDaniels and the players, a mix of offensive and defensive captains, agreed that no one wanted Williams suspended for the entire game. Players said Williams apologized to the team.

"We are looked at as the leaders on this team, and whenever there is a big decision like that, he came to us and expressed how he felt about it, and we expressed how we feel about it, and that was that. It was more of a collaboration on things," linebacker and special-teams captain Wesley Woodyard said. "We were 100 percent behind him sitting him out a series and then letting him come back in and play."

The punishment lasted only six plays, as the Broncos' defense forced the Chiefs to punt on their opening series. The Broncos played with Woodyard and Joe Mays lined up at inside linebacker as Williams watched from the sideline.

By the time Williams entered the game at the start of the Broncos' second defensive series, Denver had a 14-0 lead with about 11 minutes ticked off the game clock.

"We already had the fire started with Wesley in there, and D.J. came in and poured some more gasoline on it," linebacker Mario Haggan said.
On his first play in the game, Williams chased down Kansas City running back Jamaal Charles and made the tackle after a 3-yard gain.

But otherwise, Sunday marked Williams' quietest game of the season. The team's leading tackler didn't record another tackle until late in the fourth quarter, and finished with only two tackles.

He declined to talk to reporters after the game.

"I'm not talking," Williams said after he finished dressing. He left the locker room a few minutes later.

He took to his personal Twitter account a short time later to thank the fans who "had my back." But he stopped short of apologizing in this brief message.

"Even though the true facts aren't out, I should of never put myself in that situation," Williams wrote.

But the private apology Williams made to his teammates Saturday was enough for many of them, especially his fellow linebackers, who were charged with stopping the Chiefs and their No. 1-ranked rushing game without him.

"We just want to make sure we're here to show support," Mays said. "We needed the whole team to step up and be behind him. I think that's what happened. I think overall everything is good, we're just waiting to see what else is going to happen."

Williams still faces up to a four-game suspension by the NFL because Friday's arrest was his second for DUI, making Williams a repeat offender of the league's substance-abuse program. Any NFL suspension likely won't happen until next season.

If Williams is convicted, or even pleads guilty to an alcohol-related charge, he faces a mandatory 10-day jail sentence and at least two years' probation.

"I'm sure that's in the back of his head, he feels like he let us down, but he is still one of the guys we look to as a leader," Woodyard said. "But everybody, we have to be smart. We're put in a situation like we are, and we have to take care of things the right way."

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(denverpost.com)