DJ Williams Likely Out for Opener

[UnderArmour]

http://blogs.denverpost.com/broncos/2011/08/27/d-j-williams-out-3-4-weeks-with-dislocated-elbow/9128/

Williams, the Broncos’ leading tackler the past two seasons, is expected to be sidelined three to four weeks, which means he could miss not only the opener Spet. 12 against the Raiders but Game 2 against Cincinnati on Sept. 18.

Ugh. Was kind of hoping to see what he could contribute early now that he's back at his natural position.

[ogplife]

If this is the worst injury we get out of the pre-season, I can take that. Could be worse, ask the Giants. Besides, I dont think Dj is much better than Woodyard.

[HORSEPOWER 56]

Any updates on Bunkley? Losing DJ for a few weeks is bad but our depth at OLB is solid enough. Losing Bunkley (who is our best run-stopping DT by far) for an extended period of time might actually cost us games.

[UnderArmour]

Any updates on Bunkley? Losing DJ for a few weeks is bad but our depth at OLB is solid enough. Losing Bunkley (who is our best run-stopping DT by far) for an extended period of time might actually cost us games.

I've been looking but so far nothing. He said he's okay though, his knees took a hit from a chop block.

[BroncoJoe]

I've been looking but so far nothing. He said he's okay though, his knees took a hit from a chop block.

Wasn't a chop block - it was a perfectly legal block.

That said, I hope he's OK.

[Agent of Orange]

I've been looking but so far nothing. He said he's okay though, his knees took a hit from a chop block.

It's been said that he was walking around after the game like he's fine but he'll also be getting an MRI.

[tomjonesrocks]

Great. Too bad he didn't get moved in the offseason.

[Magnificent Seven]

Good thing that we have one more preseason game against the Cardinals. They can test on defense without DJ Williams. Can they start Nate Irving on WLB?

[Timmy!]

Woodyard will be just fine at will. Like DJ its his best position and he has plenty of speed to make plays. This doesn`t worry me much.

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[Slick]

Not a huge loss for the Broncos. He is a professional LB, nothing more. We have a couple of those on the roster.

[SpringsBroncoFan]

Isn't Haggan still banged up too? Seems I recall reading somewhere that Haggan was going to backup Miller & Woody DJ and if you go by preseason stats it should be Woody.

Has Irving even practiced anywhere but Mike?

I think I'd rather see how Mohamed does over Robinson??? :(

[Ziggy]

Good thing that we have one more preseason game against the Cardinals. They can test on defense without DJ Williams. Can they start Nate Irving on WLB?

The starters will won't play more than 1 or 2 series if they play at all in the last preseason game. Woodyard will start at WLB. The D didn't lose a beat when he came in last week.

[I Eat Staples]

I don't know what some fans see in Woodyard. He has been nothing but a good ST'er.

And speaking of LBs, Joe Mays still sucks.

[bcbronc]

The starters will won't play more than 1 or 2 series if they play at all in the last preseason game. Woodyard will start at WLB. The D didn't lose a beat when he came in last week.

the one concern I have is if you have Doom and Woodyard on the same side, it could be a weak link for OCs to run power at. Week 1 will go a long way towards answering that.

[dogfish]

the one concern I have is if you have Doom and Woodyard on the same side, it could be a weak link for OCs to run power at. Week 1 will go a long way towards answering that.

NOT that you can fix everything with scheme, but they will at least work to minimize that type of weakness, as MO has pointed out. . . using over and under fronts, bringing the safety on that side down into the box, etc. . . i missed some of the first quarter (took the bus and it got caught in traffic) and some of the fourth, but one thing i noticed when the first defense was on the field was that dawkins was playing on the right side of the defense a lot, with moore on the left. . . i don't know if they designate free and strong, left and right, whether they flip or not, or any of those details regarding allen's scheme-- but they were definitely playing dawkins on the right and close up to the line (extra LBer, basically-- filling against the run and some blitzing), with moore playing deep and angled towards the left hash. . . probably some cover-3. . .

it's not ideal, and everyone knows how i feel about our tackle situation. . . joe mays and haggan also. . .you can only do so much to make up for lack of talent. . . but ideally, the speed of players like champ and moore on the back end will allow us to play a lot of eight man fronts against the run. . . and carter will add versatility with his range and hitting. . .

that's all in theory, of course. . . your deep safety has to be good when you play that way-- moore's supposed to be heady, but it's a lot of responsbility to trust a rookie with. . . those stacked fronts require good play from the tackles and particularly the MIKE. . . bunkley looks like he might be solid holding the point at the one tech, but we'll see how many snaps he can hold up for. . . our other guys are less than suited for it, with vickerson being maybe the best fit-- and he fit better twenty pounds ago, and is now slated to start at three-tech. . .they probably should IR warren if there's a usable one-tech available on waivers. . . *sighs*

we'll see if mays can hold up against backs with speed to the edges, and how long we can hide him in coverage without dropping von more than we want to. . . i don't mind that they drafted irving, and could probably live with him going through some on-field growing pains if mays can't perform pretty well. . . too bad we wouldn't shell out a little money and fill the spot with a ready-to-go stallwart like steven tulloch, though. . . could've filled a big need with a serious upgrade for the forseeable future, and spent that pick on a DL, another OL or a young RB. . .

ah well. . .

any progress will be encouraging, and it was never going to be a one year project. . . we're guaranteed to have a MUCH better pass rush this year, and that's REALLY welcome. . .

just a little frustrating that we could have made a four-five year turnaround into a two year one with a little expenditure of cash, when we're twenty-plus million under the cap. . . mebane/coefield and tulloch/poz, and we're potentially a right corner away from being pretty friggin' dangerous in 2012, even after totally punting DL in the draft. . . hell, just mebane/coefield gets us so much closer, and then if bunkley works out, you can re-sign him and have it solved for the next 3-4 years. . .

enh, doesn't matter. . . we passed the opportunity and rolled the dice with cheaper options, so now we just have to hope that players like irving and bunkley work out. . .

having a pass rush and a legit top corner at least gives us something to work with, and having real NFL coaches will help. . . might end up being our typical late-season collapse if the guys right up the middle of the D can't hold up, though. . . we shall see. . . .

[bcbronc]

i don't know if they designate free and strong, left and right, whether they flip or not, or any of those details regarding allen's scheme-- .

it seems like they do designate a strong side...at least a couple of times vs the Hawks we did a full scale rotation of our front seven after Seattle switched their strong side. Almost bit us once when Seattle waited until there was about 10 seconds left in the play clock to motion their TE...Bronco defenders were looking at each other asking "do we switch sides" and then as soon as the DEs began to move, Seattle hutted the ball.

Not sure about the DBs, but they must since you said you've seen Dawk playing on the right side of the defense, and I've mostly noticed him on the left. Can't say I've noticed Champ playing on the right though, even when it's the wide side or formationally strong side, so don't know.

I'm actually okay with them not going to crazy in the UFA market. I'd just as soon get as many young guys on the field (assuming they earn the starting position) and let the team grow together. Then when we're at a point where at least contending for a playoff spot is a given, target the UFAs that finish the picture. imo it's a bit cart before the horse to start with the UFAs and then surround them with draft picks...draft picks are full of surprises and UFAs keep younger players on the bench.

oh, and hope DJ gets better soon. Anyone else see the video of his arm? it was kinda gross. I was watching the SEA feed and Warren Moon said it was just a stinger, but when I rewatched the play a couple of times you can pretty much see the elbow pop out and back in. I don't see losing DJ as a huge loss (rather have him than not though) but I'm not overly confident in Woodyard.

If WK1 wasn't vs the Raiders, maybe we'd see extra nickel (with regular DL, not Miller at DE) or even the return of the Big Nickel. But vs OAK I expect dog's right and we'll keep Dawkins in the box and play lots of Cover 1 or Cover 3. Biggest key will be to get some points on the board early and try to force Oakland out of running the ball.

[NightTerror218]

hope he heals fast

[BroncoNut]

this sucks for sure. I like DJ