Miller is in way of redemption
Von Miller introduced himself to Derek Carr, in a manner of speaking, during a RaidersBroncos game in 2014, when Carr was a rookie.
Carr caught the shotgun snap — and Miller already was behind him (or so it seemed), arriving almost simultaneously with the ball. Carr was startled and confused.
“It’s freakish,” he said Wednesday. “I was like, ‘Do I still do my drop?’ What do you do?’ … Man, he’s an amazing player.”
The Raiders will rediscover Miller on Sunday in Denver, where they meet the Broncos. Carr faces a formidable challenge as he tries to rebound from one of the worst outings
of his career in last Sunday night’s 27-10 loss at Washington.
Miller makes the task no easier.
He has 76.5 sacks in six-plus NFL seasons, seventh among active players, and is a five-time Pro Bowl selection. Miller’s ability to sack the quarterback is such that he held a “passrushing summit” at Stanford in June, attended by several other NFL players, including Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack.
Miller’s motivation was to convene younger players — mostly pass rushers, though also some offensive linemen and coaches — to share ideas about their craft. They chatted about effective moves and notso-effective moves.
Then they scattered to their various teams, with fresh tools in their football belts.
“It’s really just a time where we can all get better on our game,” Miller said. “It’s one of those unique events where you can get all these guys together, from all different teams, and just link up and share knowledge.”
Mack, who — at 26 — is two years younger than Miller, talked of gleaning useful information from DeMarcus Ware, who retired in March after a distinguished career with the Cowboys and Broncos. Mack learned new ways to approach his job.
“When you break down the details, what everybody else sees versus what you think and what you learned from them, it changes your approach to the game,” he told Denver reporters Wednesday. “It widens your horizons to certain things, but at the same time, you’re still going to be the player you are.”
Mack no doubt worries Denver’s offense as much as Miller concerns the Raiders. Specifically, left tackle Donald Penn will bear the biggest responsibility for ensuring Miller does not zoom into the backfield to harass Carr.
This is nothing new, of course. Penn joined Oakland in 2014, so he has faced Miller six times in the past three seasons. Penn will take some practice repetitions this week against Mack, to simulate the challenge awaiting him Sunday in Denver.
Penn and Miller also are good friends, mostly from spending time together in Los Angeles in the offseason. Penn, then, understands what separates Miller from other pass rushers.
“You can’t pinpoint one thing, because he can do everything,” Penn said. “He plays the run, he can rush the passer, he drops into coverage. He can change direction like a DB and he’s fast like some linebackers. He gets a great jump off the line.
“He’s a beast, he knows he’s a beast and he’s playing some of his best football this year.”
Miller has three sacks in three games this season. He also picked up a strange, costly penalty in Sunday’s loss at Buffalo. He was called for unsportsmanlike conduct when he jokingly withdrew his extended hand, as if offering to help Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor off the ground.
So now Miller will seek to bounce back against a Raiders offensive line he called the best in the NFL. Penn and his colleagues didn’t play like it against Washington, allowing four sacks and struggling to clear space in the running game.
Carr also struggled, big time. His 118 passing yards were his third fewest in 50 starts as a pro, and his 52.9 quarterback rating also was his third lowest.
He and his offensive teammates are eager to make amends against the Broncos.
“It doesn’t matter who it is — we could be playing the Replacements,” Penn said. “We weren’t the Raiders last Sunday, so we need to get back on point.” Ron Kroichick is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkroichick@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ronkroichick