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Great group
Broncos have LBs with the talent to be the NFL's best set
By Mike Klis,
Denver Post Staff Writer
There is no sense wasting paper proclaiming Broncos linebackers Al Wilson, D.J. Williams and Ian Gold as really good, or even excellent, or among the best.
American's sporting public is most fascinated with whether a player, group or team is No. 1. Everybody agrees the Broncos' linebackers are good. Can they become the best?
"It's really hard to compare linebacker groups, but I think they have the best three," said Gil Brandt, who for 30 years was the Dallas Cowboys' roster ar****ect and now serves as the NFL's senior analyst. "There's teams like the (Chicago) Bears, who have Brian Urlacher, who was hurt and didn't play well last year, and Lance Briggs. There's a number of teams who had two pretty good guys, but I don't think anybody has three across the board like Denver has."
The notion that Wilson, Williams and Gold make up the NFL's best set of linebackers likely would incite debates in Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Calling the trio the strength of the Broncos' defense, however, is indisputable.
The best of the linebacker group plays the middle, where the 6-foot, 240-pound Wilson is both swift in the leg and vicious with the shoulder pads. The flanks burst with athleticism and even more speed in Williams, a former highly recruited prep running back star who has grown large, even by linebacker standards, and Gold, an undersized overachiever the Broncos believe is the ideal complement to the other two as they approach Sunday's opener at Miami.
"If they study and prepare, they'll play great," Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer said. "Because they have great talent. You know what I'm saying? Some guys can study and prepare and just play good."
So it has been established the Broncos are capable of playing great. Can they be the best? To a man, they defer.
"I'm apprehensive and hesitant to comment about it," Gold said. "I don't like talking about it, because you start reading your own clippings, you start talking about yourself and how great your potential is, you tend to forget you have to come out and work every day and every week."
Peyton Manning is widely considered the NFL's best quarterback, providing no one brings up Tom Brady and the merits of three Super Bowl championship rings. There is LaDainian Tomlinson or Shaun Alexander for No. 1 tailback, Urlacher or Ray Lewis at linebacker.
Or maybe not just Urlacher and Lewis.
"Al Wilson is not as publicized as Urlacher and Lewis, but I believe Al Wilson is just as good as those two guys," Brandt said.
Different sets, tasks
Comparisons are at the root of nearly every sporting debate. Which can be a problem with linebacker units, the apples and oranges of football comparisons. NFL teams primarily use two sets of linebacker formations: the 3-4, which is used by the Patriots, Steelers and last year, the Ravens; and the 4-3, which the Broncos run and the Ravens are utilizing again this year.
By definition, it's impossible to give the NFL's best linebacker group to the Broncos, because their 4-3 defense limits the sack opportunities inherent with the 3-4 packages. The Patriots' Willie McGinest really is a disguised defensive end. In fact, the Ravens' Terrell Suggs, who led all linebackers with 10 1/2 sacks last year, is a defensive end after his team switched from the 3-4 alignment to the 4-3.
"It's a matter of philosophy," Denver linebackers coach Kirk Doll said. "In the 3-4, you'll have at least one linebacker pass rushing or moving in to the D-line 70 plays a game. In the 4-3, your linebackers typically have more zone (coverage) responsibility."
The downside to the 3-4 is it's virtually impossible for one team to horde four exceptional linebackers. As for the 4-3, if the Broncos are going to surpass the standard set in recent years by Lewis and the Ravens, the key may be Williams.
Wilson and the 6-foot, 223- pound Gold are veterans playing near the peak of their careers. Williams was voted the NFL's third-best defensive rookie last year, but the league has accumulated a long list of second- year linebackers who have gone either way.
The Broncos are confident the 6-1, 242-pound Williams will become a perennial all-pro, unlike 1991 first-round pick Mike Croel.
"I should be a step faster this year," said Williams, a former University of Miami star. "Last year, the game didn't surprise me as far as individual speed, but what surprised me was how fast the offensive team moved together. I won't say the game has slowed down. I just sped up. Now I can anticipate a little bit more. Last year, I would be going through the plays in my head when the ball was snapped. Now I'm a little bit more relaxed."
Timing crucial
Wilson, the Denver defensive captain whose words are heard and intensity is contagious, echoes Coyer's theory on the difference between good and great.
For linebackers to work at optimum efficiency, a group of three Hall of Famers chasing glory could be counterproductive. The most effective linebacker units have one attacking the ball, another covering the weak side and the third playing off the other two.
Precision harmony, maybe more than talent, is what separates the best from a pack of greats.
"It's a feeling you get," Wilson said. "When you're on the field, it's just a feeling. It's something you can't coach. It's something you can't prepare for. It's something that just happens. Once we all get on that same page, and understand how each other plays, it's going to be hard to stop us. Teams are going to have to account for us."
By season's end, perhaps accounts about the Broncos' linebackers will go even further.
The ball stops here
Five of the NFL's top linebacker units:
1. Ravens - Ray Lewis, below; Adalius Thomas, Tommy Polley: So stacked, sack man Terrell Suggs moved to defensive end.
2. Steelers - Joey Porter, Larry Foote, James Farrior, Clark Haggans: Colorado State alum Porter is big weapon in 3-4 set.
3. Broncos - Al Wilson, D.J. Williams, Ian Gold: Superb run stuffers with pass-rush speed, although 4-3 scheme limits sacks.
4. Bills - London Fletcher, Takeo Spikes, Jeff Posey: Spikes was a rare triple threat last year with 96 tackles, three sacks, five interceptions.
5. Patriots - Willie McGinest, Mike Vrabel, Chad Brown, Monty Beisel: Former Buff Brown and Beisel replace former Buff Ted Johnson and Tedy Bruschi.
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440
Broncos have LBs with the talent to be the NFL's best set
By Mike Klis,
Denver Post Staff Writer
There is no sense wasting paper proclaiming Broncos linebackers Al Wilson, D.J. Williams and Ian Gold as really good, or even excellent, or among the best.
American's sporting public is most fascinated with whether a player, group or team is No. 1. Everybody agrees the Broncos' linebackers are good. Can they become the best?
"It's really hard to compare linebacker groups, but I think they have the best three," said Gil Brandt, who for 30 years was the Dallas Cowboys' roster ar****ect and now serves as the NFL's senior analyst. "There's teams like the (Chicago) Bears, who have Brian Urlacher, who was hurt and didn't play well last year, and Lance Briggs. There's a number of teams who had two pretty good guys, but I don't think anybody has three across the board like Denver has."
The notion that Wilson, Williams and Gold make up the NFL's best set of linebackers likely would incite debates in Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Calling the trio the strength of the Broncos' defense, however, is indisputable.
The best of the linebacker group plays the middle, where the 6-foot, 240-pound Wilson is both swift in the leg and vicious with the shoulder pads. The flanks burst with athleticism and even more speed in Williams, a former highly recruited prep running back star who has grown large, even by linebacker standards, and Gold, an undersized overachiever the Broncos believe is the ideal complement to the other two as they approach Sunday's opener at Miami.
"If they study and prepare, they'll play great," Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer said. "Because they have great talent. You know what I'm saying? Some guys can study and prepare and just play good."
So it has been established the Broncos are capable of playing great. Can they be the best? To a man, they defer.
"I'm apprehensive and hesitant to comment about it," Gold said. "I don't like talking about it, because you start reading your own clippings, you start talking about yourself and how great your potential is, you tend to forget you have to come out and work every day and every week."
Peyton Manning is widely considered the NFL's best quarterback, providing no one brings up Tom Brady and the merits of three Super Bowl championship rings. There is LaDainian Tomlinson or Shaun Alexander for No. 1 tailback, Urlacher or Ray Lewis at linebacker.
Or maybe not just Urlacher and Lewis.
"Al Wilson is not as publicized as Urlacher and Lewis, but I believe Al Wilson is just as good as those two guys," Brandt said.
Different sets, tasks
Comparisons are at the root of nearly every sporting debate. Which can be a problem with linebacker units, the apples and oranges of football comparisons. NFL teams primarily use two sets of linebacker formations: the 3-4, which is used by the Patriots, Steelers and last year, the Ravens; and the 4-3, which the Broncos run and the Ravens are utilizing again this year.
By definition, it's impossible to give the NFL's best linebacker group to the Broncos, because their 4-3 defense limits the sack opportunities inherent with the 3-4 packages. The Patriots' Willie McGinest really is a disguised defensive end. In fact, the Ravens' Terrell Suggs, who led all linebackers with 10 1/2 sacks last year, is a defensive end after his team switched from the 3-4 alignment to the 4-3.
"It's a matter of philosophy," Denver linebackers coach Kirk Doll said. "In the 3-4, you'll have at least one linebacker pass rushing or moving in to the D-line 70 plays a game. In the 4-3, your linebackers typically have more zone (coverage) responsibility."
The downside to the 3-4 is it's virtually impossible for one team to horde four exceptional linebackers. As for the 4-3, if the Broncos are going to surpass the standard set in recent years by Lewis and the Ravens, the key may be Williams.
Wilson and the 6-foot, 223- pound Gold are veterans playing near the peak of their careers. Williams was voted the NFL's third-best defensive rookie last year, but the league has accumulated a long list of second- year linebackers who have gone either way.
The Broncos are confident the 6-1, 242-pound Williams will become a perennial all-pro, unlike 1991 first-round pick Mike Croel.
"I should be a step faster this year," said Williams, a former University of Miami star. "Last year, the game didn't surprise me as far as individual speed, but what surprised me was how fast the offensive team moved together. I won't say the game has slowed down. I just sped up. Now I can anticipate a little bit more. Last year, I would be going through the plays in my head when the ball was snapped. Now I'm a little bit more relaxed."
Timing crucial
Wilson, the Denver defensive captain whose words are heard and intensity is contagious, echoes Coyer's theory on the difference between good and great.
For linebackers to work at optimum efficiency, a group of three Hall of Famers chasing glory could be counterproductive. The most effective linebacker units have one attacking the ball, another covering the weak side and the third playing off the other two.
Precision harmony, maybe more than talent, is what separates the best from a pack of greats.
"It's a feeling you get," Wilson said. "When you're on the field, it's just a feeling. It's something you can't coach. It's something you can't prepare for. It's something that just happens. Once we all get on that same page, and understand how each other plays, it's going to be hard to stop us. Teams are going to have to account for us."
By season's end, perhaps accounts about the Broncos' linebackers will go even further.
The ball stops here
Five of the NFL's top linebacker units:
1. Ravens - Ray Lewis, below; Adalius Thomas, Tommy Polley: So stacked, sack man Terrell Suggs moved to defensive end.
2. Steelers - Joey Porter, Larry Foote, James Farrior, Clark Haggans: Colorado State alum Porter is big weapon in 3-4 set.
3. Broncos - Al Wilson, D.J. Williams, Ian Gold: Superb run stuffers with pass-rush speed, although 4-3 scheme limits sacks.
4. Bills - London Fletcher, Takeo Spikes, Jeff Posey: Spikes was a rare triple threat last year with 96 tackles, three sacks, five interceptions.
5. Patriots - Willie McGinest, Mike Vrabel, Chad Brown, Monty Beisel: Former Buff Brown and Beisel replace former Buff Ted Johnson and Tedy Bruschi.
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440
