When Mike Singletary talks about anything defense-related, you tend to pay attention.

Such was the case on 1st & 10 @ 10 when the guys had the Hall of Fame middle linebacker on to chat Denver Broncos and what makes a good inside linebacker.

Since Singletary has been around the NFL for so long, he knows about new Broncos head coach Vic Fangio. Given that, what does Singletary think about Fangio and the hire to be Denver’s head coach?

“Time will tell about the hire itself,” Singletary said. “But what he’s been able to do as a coordinator has been extraordinary. I think he’s done a great job of putting the right guys in the right position and being able to have a scheme that allows them to play at the best of their ability.”

Steve Atwater said it best about Singletary.

When the Broncos legend looks at middle linebackers, Atwater said they don’t make them like Singletary anymore. That brought forth a good question from Atwater — what characteristics make up a great inside linebacker?

“I think one of the best characteristics that make up a really good middle linebacker is instincts,” Singletary told the guys on 1st & 10 @ 10 on Thursday. “A guy can be fast. A guy can be tough. You can put a guy who has never really played linebacker and you see a guy start to pick up things. So to me, that’s the No. 1 characteristic of a really good middle linebacker.”

What will be fun to watch for over the course of training camp and preseason is how Fangio and defensive coordinator Ed Donatell best utilize both Todd Davis, Josey Jewell and the other middle linebackers on the roster. We know Fangio has a scheme that puts players in the best situation to have success, and Jewell already loves Fangio’s coaching style and his defense. They won’t turn into Singletary, but both Davis and Jewell have the instincts he said are key.