A recent article on Josh Barrett, titled "Barrett seizes chance to shine for Broncos", along with D.J.'s impending return to his weakside linebacker spot, which Wesley Woodyard has been manning in spectacular fashion, has me thinking about next year's safety situation. I'm not the only one wondering where Woodyard will play in the coming weeks, given that all of us, including apparently Coach Shanahan, agree that he needs to play somewhere. But what about next year, when a more permanent solution can be developed? Can you imagine Woodyard, who has played the position before, and Barrett as our starting safeties?

An interesting sidenote in the article, which relates to something written by HT (or was it Styg or Guru?), is this comment from Barrett: "Barrett said he’s actually thankful he was on the practice squad for the first 11 weeks. That experience allowed him to absorb more knowledge. 'It’s been gradual, but the amount of information and the validity of that information that I’ve gotten, you can’t put a price to it,' he said." Since the point has been made in these pages that it was better for him to learn on the practice squad than being prematurely thrown to the wolves and perhaps losing confidence, someone needs to take a bow.

In the offchance that this does come to pass, that Barrett and Woodyard become (next year) our starting safeties, which position should each play? At first glance one would think Barrett, with his blazing speed, should be the free safety, but I think Woodyard's remarkable read and react skills--he appears to be far ahead of Barrett in that respect--make him the better candidate. What do the rest of you think?