His competition was brought in this off-season for the express reason of becoming the starting MLB, signed as a free agent from the Seattle Seahawks. Niko doesn't play with the pure emotion that Webster does, but he showed during the pre-season that he could be exactly what the Broncos thought he would be - a fundamentally sound, intelligent player, who may not make the big play, but won't give up the big play either.
The competition seemed to go back and forth, with both players alternating with the first team during workouts and games. It was my opinion that Niko had actually performed better than Webster, both individually and as a team defense. The defense seemed to play with a steady consistency with Niko in the middle, while Webster's bunch seemed to be up and down, making the big play, then missing a tackle. In the end, the coaches took the latter option, perhaps preferring the big risk/reward that Webster provides over the "slow and steady wins the race" brought by K-Tou.
Regardless of who starts opening night, I still feel the MLB situation is a fluid one for the Broncos. Should Webster struggle the Broncos would waste no time bringing K-Tou in to steady the ship. In my younger days, Webster would definitely have been the more attractive option, but with parenthood came the slow and steady preference. I feel the Broncos are more in need of fundamentals then flash, but it will be Webster that gets the first crack at helping Broncos fans forget Al Wilson.
True, we never will forget Al, but lets hope Webster or K-Tou sees to it that we don't wish for Big Al's return.