Denver's Nickel Package

There was another interesting comment I wanted to mention in Legwold's mailbag column. Here's a quote:

So that said Bailey and Williams would likely be the two linebackers on the field in the nickel. Bailey, even with some knee troubles in his career, is still the kind of athlete people don't see very often.

Assuming this is true--which I invite you to comment if its not--there are several interesting insights we can garner from this. For one, this is a silver lining to the failed D.J. Williams experiment at middle linebacker. In 2006, D.J. typically sat out on the Nickel. A true weak-side linebacker, he wasn't considered a reliable pass defender. After a year in the middle, perhaps Denver's confidence in Williams seems to have increased.

In a related comment, this could be a telling sign of Denver's long-term vision of Niko at middle linebacker. Given that D.J. is not elite in pass coverage, its surprising to me that Niko wouldn't be filling this role. While inside linebackers typically sit out in the Nickel and Dime, there are certainly plenty of examples in the NFL where this isn't the case (e.g. Lofa Tatupa in Seattle). If true, this further supports my assertion that Denver will target Niko's successor at some point in this year's draft.

Or maybe Legwold just didn't think this comment through as much as I did. In any case, it will be interesting to see how our linebacker corp develops as the preseason progresses.