Miller vs. Mariota: Something has to give
Struggling Broncos sackmaster meets often-sacked Titans QB
DENVER — Marcus Mariota could be Von Miller’s elixir.
The Broncos star linebacker is off to the slowest start of his nineyear career with just two sacks in Denver’s 1-4 start under coach Vic Fangio.
Tennessee’s quarterback has been sacked 22 times, second-most in the NFL and by far the largest number he’s ever suffered through his first five weeks in his five-year career.
The Titans (2-3) expect to fortify their line with left tackle Taylor Lewan shaking off the rust of his four-game suspension and guard Kevin Pamphile returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for the first five games.
Miller lost his pass rush partner Bradley Chubb to a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago, and the Broncos are moving him around more as a result, although Fangio jocked that unless he could change Miller’s No. 58 jersey, opponents will know where he is at all times.
No matter where he lines up, Miller is dangerous.
“You’ve got to be very conscious of him,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “Von, I’ve known him since he’s been a young player coming out of college. Very disruptive, explosive and instinctive football player that can wreck plays before they get going.”
Miller hasn’t had the immediate impact everyone expected when Fangio arrived in Denver, but the Super Bowl 50 MVP this week sacked the notion the two have a rocky relationship over his head coach’s constant critiques.
Another fan of Fangio’s frankness is general manager John Elway, who said on his weekly 850 KOA show that “everybody needs to be challenged. When you’re going through tough times like we are right now, your great players have to play great.
“That’s why what I like about Vic is he’s challenging everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re Von Miller or anybody else, the 53rd guy. He’s going to challenge you and push you and try to get the best out of you, and I think that’s great.”
Fangio isn’t even Miller’s harshest critic — that would be Miller, himself.
He suggests that even if he’s disrupting drop-backs or stuffing the run, what he measures himself by are sacks, and those have been hard to come by this season.