FanHouse DarrentWilliams

We tend to forget that there are human beings behind statistics -- the touchdowns, the passes, catches and tackles. The victories, mistakes and losses. Then Steve McNair, once a powerful, influential football player, but also a husband, father of four and a friend, was gunned down.

As the shock of his sudden death staggered friends and fans, the details quickly became muddled and disturbing. Why was McNair shot multiple times, including twice in the head? Who was the 20-year-old woman, found dead of a single gunshot wound to the head, lying near McNair's feet in the former quarterback's rented Nashville condominium?

The Tennessee Titans' signature player and a beloved figure in the Nashville community, gone at age 36.

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A man that was considered a "person of interest" in the murder of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams is in custody on first-degree murder.

Willie D. Clark is the 25-year-old that faces 39 counts, from murder to assault to attempted murder and even a weapon violation for the murder of Williams on a New Years Eve drive-by in 2007. Clark, who obviously had been in some trouble before, was already in custody in a different case when he became the first suspect named.

The altercation happened when Williams' crew and Clark's crew got in an argument outside a nightclub in Denver and Clark followed Williams' limo down Speer Boulevard and fired into the car, killing Williams and injuring two more.

Williams' mother, Rosalind Williams, said after finding out Clark had been indicted that it was the first step in a long process of justice.

"Oh, I got bittersweet news today," she said of her phone call from Detective Michael Martinez informing her of Clark's indictment. "There's still a long ways to go, a long trial ahead. And we have to make sure this doesn't happen to another family, too."

This is a slightly modified segment of one that was run on NFL FanHouse last year, in which a specific team blogger scours the internet and interviews a blogger of the opposing team.

I began this season by interviewing TheSportsGuru of Mile High Report, a Sports Blog Nation column that covers the Denver Broncos.

Dan Benton: "Due to injuries, the Broncos have lost three extremely important players. How will Denver move forward without Al Wilson, Rod Smith and Ebenezer Ekuban? Just how significant are those loses?"

TheSportsGuru: "All three are tough, but for different reasons. The toughest of the 3 is certainly Al Wilson who meant so much to the team, both on and off the field. Wilson was the emotional leader and glue that kept the defense together. While there is no doubting his importance in the locker room, Wilson's play had deteriorated as injuries to his neck, back and hands began to take their toll. It is a testament to Wilson and the reputation he had garnered around the League that he made the Pro Bowl last season. The Broncos have found it harder to replace what he meant on the field than the production they from him on it. D.J. Williams will get the first chance to replace Wilson in the middle and will grow into the role nicely over time. As for Wilson's leadership, look for John Lynch, Champ Bailey and Ian Gold to be counted on for an increased voice in the locker room."

To get you ready for week 1, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Buffalo Bills/Denver Broncos preview.

2006 Records: (Click names for 2007 preview)

Denver Broncos: 9-7 (3rd in AFC West)
Buffalo Bills: 7-9 (3rd in AFC East)

2006 Head-to-Head:

No Game. (Broncos 28 - Bills 17 in 2005)

When the Broncos have the ball: The Bills couldn't stop the run last season, while the Broncos consistently ran all over teams. Does anyone actually think the Broncos will take an alternative approach on Sunday? I certainly don't.

Travis Henry, another brand new Denver running back, will get plenty of carries against a Bills defense that ranked 29th in the NFL last season; a Bills defense that no longer has Takeo Spikes or London Fletcher. However, what they do have is rookie linebacker Paul Posluszny -- a standout from Penn State who figures to excel in the NFL.

The Broncos will also aim to get second-year quarterback Jay Cutler comfortable in his first opening weekend start. Once the run is established, keep an eye out for a long play action pass. It could be Henry, Henry, Culter-to-Javon Walker all day long.

Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed eight months ago at the age of 23. He was buried on Jan. 6, and there has been just a temporary marker on the grave since then.

Last week, Woody Paige wrote a column in the Denver Post in which he proposed that Broncos fans should donate money to purchase a dignified headstone for Williams, which Paige said would cost about $7,000. Paige opened a bank account where donations will be held, and he donated the first $250 himself.

Today Paige writes that many readers reacted negatively. Comments included:

"Spare me. ... How about donating your money to all the poor people who have no money to bury themselves? The Broncos are so overrated here in Denver. You should be embarrassed."

And:

"What about all the widows of soldiers whose kids won't be able to enjoy their fathers and go to Ivy League schools?"

And:

"Another case of the hip-hop generation thinking they are immortal."

Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was murdered in a drive-by shooting on New Year's Day, and authorities still have not arrested anyone.
But The Denver Post reports today that authorities believe a 24-year-old man named Willie "Little Lett" Clark was one of three gang members inside a white Chevrolet Tahoe that was used in the shooting that killed Williams.

The Post reports that Clark on Friday was charged in U.S. District Court with possession and distribution of between 500 grams and 5 kilograms of cocaine or 5 to 50 grams of crack, and that federal authorities allege Clark was tied to a street gang suspected of killing 11 people, robbing homes and running an extensive illegal-drug operation. It is not clear whether Williams' murder was one of the 11.

Clark, who has been arrested 25 times, has been in prison on a parole violation since four days after Williams was killed. The Post reports that Clark belongs to a branch of the Rolling 30's street gang called the Tre-Tre Crips. A subset of that gang is called the Elite Eight, led by Brian Hicks, whose SUV police believe was used in the Williams shooting.

I don't want to distract anyone from the real news - Darrent Williams was shot and killed outside of a club in Denver at around 2 a.m on Monday. Our condolences to his family. But regardless of the tragedy, the Broncos will play next year. The show will go on, as they say. And so will this show.

No matter what people tell you, and no matter what the idiots say about the state of the offense or Mike Shanahan's choice to switch quarterbacks, don't believe them. This season was all about defense. At the start of the year, it was about a defense that just didn't let opposing offenses score. By the end of the year, especially after successive injuries to Sam Brandon and Nick Ferguson in the secondary, it was about a defense that couldn't stop the run, and couldn't stop teams in late winning drives.

In fact, I posted about both things last week. And sure enough, the defense couldn't stop Frank Gore (153 yards), and they couldn't stop San Francisco's offense as they drove into field goal range late in the overtime period. As Alex Smith dropped back to pass just outside of field goal range, on third down, the Broncos put no pressure on the young quarterback and he completed the pass that secured the game for San Francisco.

Even when the niners were ahead by four points with ten minutes left in the game, the defense couldn't give the Broncos offense a chance to win, letting San Francisco drive into field goal range to make it a seven point difference. This from a defense that was known early in the season for being able to make up for lackluster offensive play. So when Jay Cutler calmly lead the Broncos on a crucial 80-yard touchdown drive, all he could do was tie the game and send the Broncos into overtime.

You can say all you want about the offense that sputtered in the red zone, and gave up another interception for a touchdown. It's probably true that the Broncos should have scored 20 more points than they did. But with the game and the season on the line, the Broncos defense didn't even try to put pressure on Alex Smith. Whether it's bad coaching or lack of a defensive line, it's clear that the Broncos didn't deserve to go to the playoffs. And you can bet filling the holes on defense will be Shanahan's primary focus this off-season.

The injury report for this week's game against the Bengals is in - and it's good news all around for the Broncos. Darrent Williams will likely make his return to the lineup just in time to cover T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and it'll be interesting to see how Mike Shanhan handles the situation. Last week, the Broncos successfully contained the Cardinals' outstanding receiving pair of Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald without Williams, who's claim to fame this season was being torched by Reggie Wayne when the Colts came into town. I'm betting we'll see a lot of Domonique Foxworth (maybe playing safety like he did against the Chargers?) on Sunday, especially because Williams is still recovering from his toe injury.

Adam Meadows will also likely be available this weekend after missing a few games with hamstring problems. Just before Meadows was injured, he was promoted ahead of George Foster, who has been one of the weakest links in Denver's offensive line this year. Last week that line produced just 106 rushing yards for a team that normally racks up at least 150, so we could see Meadows starting ahead of Foster again, or possibly in place of Erik Pears, who took over when Matt Lepsis was injured earlier this season. Either way, the Broncos must re-establish the run if they want to win against Cincinatti.

Other notable Broncos on the list: Stephen Alexander is probable coming off of a rib injury, Jason Elam is still recovering (but probable to play) from his "rainbow right" hammy pull, Javon Walker looks to be ready after suffering a first degree shoulder separation last week, and as always, Al "Ironman" Wilson is ready to play despite his season-long thumb injury.

It can't be true - but the words coming out of Chad Johnson's mouth seem to indicate that the league's leading receiver might have some respect for the league's best cornerback. Then again, it could just be a trap. The one thing we do know for sure is that Sunday's game between the Broncos and the Bengals is going to feature one of the most exciting one-on-one matchups of the year between Ocho Cinco and Champ Bailey.

Last time the two met, Johnson torched Bailey, snatching 149 yards and one TD. You can bet Champ remembers it, and this time he'll be pumped to stop Johnson in his tracks. So who has the edge? It depends more on the Broncos offense than anything. We know that the Bengals will go to Johnson regardless of who's covering him - but the Broncos pass defense, which is arguably their strongest unit, gets worse as the game goes on and they get tired out and go to their zone coverage. If the offense stays on the field long enough, the defense might be able to deal with Cincinatti's dynamic passing game - and Champ, for his part, should be able to cover Johnson if the Broncos let him stay in man coverage (he's covered everyone else effectively). If they don't, it usually means the other team's offense is rolling, which in this case could be very bad for the Broncos.

Actually, I'm more concerned about Darrent Williams (who should be healthy again) covering T.J. Houshmandzadeh on the other side. Williams was burned by Reggie Wayne when the Colts rolled into town, while Champ Bailey kept Marvin Harrison fairly silent. Regardless, the Bailey/Johnson matchup is going to be one of the most intriguing of the year - and if Bailey does shut down 85, it'll be interesting to see if the Bengals keep their promise by trying to force the ball to Johnson, or risk pissing him off by exploiting Darrent Williams on the other side with Houshmandzadeh. I guess we'll find out.

Just to touch base again, yesterday I posted about the injured Broncos - and just about five minutes after my post, the Broncos released an updated injury report. So here's how it stands now:

Now looking probable to play are both Bells, Patrick Chukwurah, Cedric Cobbs, Kyle Johnson, Kenard Lang, Brandon Marshall, Rod Smith, and Al Wilson. So this sets up another interesting choice for Mike Shanahan. Does he go with both Bells now that they're healthy, or does he activate Tatum, who's had an extra week to rest, and leave Mike Bell, who's had just five days to recover from his grisly performance against the Chargers, on the bench? My money is with deactivating Mike and going with Tatum and Damien Nash, who showed good strength after contact against the Chargers. We may not see another double-Bell game this season if Nash continues to perform.

The questionable players on the injury list are Cooper Carlisle and Darrent Williams, who is still nursing his shoulder. Williams previously said that he might not be fully healthy until he can rest during the off season - but if he's not ready to go, it leaves the secondary badly depleted with Nick Ferguson out for the season. Domonique Foxworth would take Williams' place as the starter, meaning two second-stringers would start in the secondary. That means that Karl Paymah, who's seen little work outside of special teams this season, would take the field as the third cornerback on nickel downs.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs, who's injury list is a total of five players, might get Tony Gonzalez back for the game (he's listed as questionable). If they do, it could really compound the problems in the Broncos' secondary.

P.S. Doesn't it look like President Bush is doing something sinister to those children with that Turkey? Kinda weird...Also, since the game is in Kansas City, does anyone know if you can barbecue turkey? I haven't really thought about it, but does turkey go well with a nice red Kansas City barbecue sauce? If it does, I'm very, very intrigued.