Webster gets the first shot at MLB

The Broncos made some decisions yesterday regarding some of the positional battles that have been going on all summer.  Based on what I saw when I was in Denver, combined with what we have seen on the field, I have to say I am a bit surprised at some of the decisions the Broncos' Brass made.

I will create a separate post for each one, starting with....

Nate Webster over Niko Koutouvides at MLB -- There is little doubting the energy Webster brings to the football field.  There is also little chance an entire game or practice can go by without Nate losing his helmet.  The energy and flying head-gear have become synonomous with Webster, who has gone from a player looking to resurrect an injury plagued career to the starting Middle Linebacker of the Denver Broncos in the span of a few seasons.

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.