Broncos' Webster, Koutouvides soon will know fate
Little separation in duel at heart of Denver's defense
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 21, 2008 at 12:22 p.m.
Webster, left, and Koutouvides sweat out a tight position battle.
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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 the preseason game with the Green Bay Packers tonight 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 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 essentially has promised to make a decision before the preseason finale next week, 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, then the opening series of the third quarter. Koutouvides then will take 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 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."
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August 21, 2008
12:57 p.m.
Suggest removal
Littleboyblue writes:
Webster should win the job hands down. Niko was always a step behind where he should've been. I wonder if they'll consider grooming Jordan Beck for the job? He seemed to play faster than Koutouvides.
August 21, 2008
3:37 p.m.
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CourtneyBrown98 writes:
I agree little boy blue. Not saying someone being signed should just come in and take over immediatly. But i dont think Niko is doing that well. His reaction to the ball seems slow. He technically doesn't have any experience at LB at all! Webster has stepped his game up and he should be the starter. At which good players do come in and take jobs that part of the business. He has not proved himself obviously
August 21, 2008
3:54 p.m.
Suggest removal
dano writes:
Who? Have we lost all ability to draft, trade, or cheat. These two are horrible, actually worse. They have to improve to be horrible.
August 21, 2008
5:58 p.m.
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The_Man writes:
I agree with dano,
these two are horrible, at least Webster is, he misses so many tackles. Why didn't we go after Vilma
August 22, 2008
2:58 p.m.
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mkrueger1968 writes:
...Or even Zach Thomas. Even if Webster does win the job, Niko will have it soon when Webster gets his dome crushed on the field because he can't keep his helmet on. Hopefully Boss will be healthy and he and D.J. can dominate because they are definitely weak in the middle...
August 22, 2008
4:35 p.m.
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myerda00 writes:
I just love you GHE fans. (remember dano is a faider) Watch the games!! Both these guys really hit. Remember that DJ and Champ quoted "love Niko because he is smart and is really good at reading defenses".
Question is, 'how many LB's make the 53? 6?
Baily, DJ, Niko, Nate, Jamie, and Woodyard are locks (IMO).
That leaves Green and Beck.