INSIDE THE MIND OF THE BRONCOS’ VON MILLER
Broncos star in a (pass) rush as student and teacher
Grab a seat, because Von Miller is about to divulge one of his passrushing secrets, and when Von Miller does this, it’s detailed and honest and, to be frank, you should be taking notes, too.
This lesson is on his spin move to sack quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a move that left two 300pound linemen flat-footed and one of the game’s top quarterbacks curled up in the fetal position during the Broncos’ preseason win over the Green Bay Packers.
Take it away, Von:
“I started off on the right, going against (tackle David) Bakhtiari, and I tried to switch it up,” Miller begins. “I like to move around, so I started on the right side, went over to the left and I had a rush, came around, I had the edge, but the right tackle, he kind of … because when you get a sack, it’s not just that play you get a sack. You kind of set the sack like a couple of plays in advance.
“So I was rushing on the outside a couple plays before, and he kind of dragged me down. So I was thinking to myself, ‘When I get another opportunity, I’m going to try to bull rush.’ He came again, but I got a chip (block), so I didn’t get a clean bull. Another play after that, I lined up outside, and I rushed. I got the chip, and I came and I spun underneath and was like, ‘Oh, he’s free. I can spin underneath on this guy.’ Because I didn’t get a lot of film on (tackle Jason) Spriggs.
“So I spun underneath off a chip, and if you can spin off a chip, if you have an open rush, you can get it. So the very next rush I was like, ‘I’m going to spin again.’ Spun again and it was open. The center was too late, and Aaron Rodgers just gave it to me. I thought he was going to try to scramble, but he just gave it to me. “Appreciate it, Aaron.”
The postsack dance — the “Sexy T-Rex,” Miller calls it — was planned too, clipped from his book of choreographed celebrations.
A one-minute glimpse into the mind of Miller is a window into his world, his five-steps-ahead thinking, his computer-like processor, his unique physical ability, his attention to detail and his rare transparency as one of the NFL’s pre-eminent players.
Over the summer, Miller held a
pass-rush summit on Stanford’s campus for a meeting of the minds among the game’s leading and upand-coming defenders. He shared his famed moves and techniques, just as he shared the one he pulled on Rodgers.
The vision was derived from the passing camps Peyton Manning held annually with his receivers and his quarterback younger brother, Eli, at Duke.
“You know, if you’ve got Khalil (Mack) on the board and he’s showing how he just had his sack, none of the guys in the room can just run through an offensive tackle the way he does and so forth,” Miller said. “We were just in there sharing knowledge. Quarterbacks do it all the time, and I had the summit so we can start that type of culture as pass rushers.”
Weeks later, Miller returned for Broncos training camp to hold many more informal summits, with rookie linebacker DeMarcus Walker during evening walkthroughs, with rookie offensive tackle Garett Bolles in between team drills, with veteran linebacker Shaquil Barrett during one-on-ones.
Miller has said — usually in the third person and often with a mention of the full National Football League — he’s “the same Von Miller” and that he’s still just “trying to be the best Von Miller he can be.” But each season, he raises the bar, and his role has clearly expanded to include that of a teacher.
After practice Wednesday, coach Vance Joseph validated Miller’s latest leap from starring defender to team leader. Miller was voted by his teammates as one of five season captains, alongside cornerback Aqib Talib, quarterback Trevor Siemian, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and kicker Brandon McManus.
As Miller looks ahead to his seventh season, he’s also searching for new ways to leave his mark, even as opponents search for new ways to contain him.
“In the National Football League, if a team doesn’t want you to get a sack and that’s like top on their agenda, that’s their primary goal — ‘Don’t let Von get a sack, don’t let him wreck the game.’ — 90 percent of the time it’s not going to happen. You got to find other ways to change the game. You got to find other ways to impact the game, and that’s what I try to do.
“You know, we talked about sack numbers and all that stuff earlier in the preseason. For me, I never really set goals like that. I just try to go out there and be a dominant football player. I try to affect the game in whatever way I can, whether that’s coverage, playing the run, rushing the passer. Whatever chance I can get to wreck the game, that’s what I’m going to try to do. If they stop one area of the game, you got to be able to adapt and overcome and achieve in another area.”
Welcome to the mind of Miller: Pass rusher, teacher, captain.