In his off-field black-rimmed specs, he looks like Clark Kent. In his on-field pads, he plays like Superman. The Denver Broncos’ Von Miller has stepped into the NFL and made an immediate and, if you are an opposing quarterback, a painful impact.
His latest victims, the New York Jets and Mark Sanchez, felt the sting of Miller’s speed, power and tenacity. He ended the game with ten tackles, three of those for a loss, and 1 ½ sacks. And while the late game of heroics of Tim Tebow garnered the post-game attention, it was the reincarnation of the Orange Crush defense led by Miller that created the opportunities to allow Tebow to make his late game dash to the end zone.
Miller’s success isn’t too much of a surprise. He was the leader of the Wrecking Crew defense for four years at Texas A&M, sticking around for his senior year to earn his degree and finish school with his teammates. After winning the Butkus Award in 2010, the namesake of the Award wisely noted, “This is just the start of this kid’s career. He’s got room and places to go.” With an endorsement like that, it was (or at least should have been) an easy decision for the Broncos, who finished last in the league in most 2010 defensive categories, to use the second overall 2011 draft pick to nab Miller. It has gone better than any Denver fan could have hoped.
For the season, Miller has already recorded 9 ½ sacks – just five short of the rookie record. With six games to go, the record is certainly at risk. It’s not just the sacks, though. It’s the disruption, the pressure, the intensity that Miller brings each week that make him a likely Pro Bowler this year and a future superstar in the NFL.
More than just a fierce player, Miller, like the elder members of the Orange Crush club (names like Gradishar, Jackson and Alzado) is respected for the person he is off the field as well. Universally respected by his coaches and teammates at A&M, he has already become active in the Denver community and is seen as a motivational leader of the locker room.
But don’t get the impression the first-year linebacker is soft on the field. He’s already been fined $15,000 by the NFL for a hit on Carson Palmer two weeks ago. When asked the day after the Jets game about potential league fines for three hits on Sanchez where it appeared Miller led with his helmet, Miller sounded more like Lex Luther than Clark Kent, merely replying that in the heat of the game you have to “shoot first and ask questions later.” It’s exactly that sort of attitude and toughness the once proud Denver defense sorely lacked last season. With Miller in the middle, Elvis Dumervil upfront and Brian Dawkins roaming the passing lanes, a dangerous edge has returned to the Rocky Mountains.
Sure, the post-Elway years have been filled with malaise and bitterness, particularly the still confounding and bizarre Josh McDaniel’s fiasco. But thing are looking up – even from a Mile High. Tebow, with all his unorthodox style and developing passing skills, has far better numbers during his first eight starts then the Hall of Famer Elway, and Tebow’s intangibles are off the charts. Miller already has the pundits talking about the revamped Denver D and, of course, the ferocious, bone-rattling Orange Crush.
These days it is good to be a Bronco fan. With Tebow leading the offense and Miller orchestrating the defense, Denver fans have reason to smile – two extremely talented, young players with a passion for football and winning who also represent themselves and the Denver Broncos with class, dignity and humility off the gridiron.
