Von Miller Is Back for the Denver Broncos, but Is He Better Than Ever?

The Denver Broncos defense has been seriously upgraded this offseason. When free agency began, Denver focused primarily on adding tough, physical playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. They were quick to add impact players like strong safety T.J. Ward, defensive end DeMarcus Ware and cornerback Aqib Talib.

However, the biggest impact player on this defense was not a free-agent addition. Instead, he was a player who had a season to forget in 2013. Now, Von Miller is looking more like his old self after recovering from the torn ACL he suffered last year in the Week 16 game against the Houston Texans.

Not even a year removed from the injury, Miller has played like he did in 2012, when he finished the season with 18.5 sacks.

Miller is back for the Broncos, but is he better than ever? Let’s take a look.

2013 a Season to Forget

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Things didn’t go so well for Miller in 2013. His season began with a six-game suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.

When Miller returned, he looked different.

In an effort to hold up better as a run-defender, Miller added 15 pounds of muscle to his frame. He was noticeably bigger, but he was also noticeably slower when coming around the corner.

Miller was a beat slow when getting to the play, and thus he made fewer impact plays for the Broncos.

His 2013 was ended abruptly on a non-contact play in Week 16 against the Texans. Miller waited for the swelling to go down in the knee, and he had surgery to repair his ACL in early January. Then, the road to recovery began.

Renewed Focus in 2014

Even though he didn’t perform up to expectations in 2013, the Broncos decided to pick up the fifth-year option on his contract. This keeps Miller under contract with the Broncos through the 2015 season with a price tag of $9.75 million next year.

This year, Miller seems revitalized on the field. The 15 pounds of added weight are gone, and Miller’s burst and speed has returned.

He was initially supposed to be eased into the lineup as he returned from the knee injury that cut his 2013 season short. Miller got his first sack of the season in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He followed that up with another sack the next week against the Seattle Seahawks.

Miller then posted two sacks against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5. Against the New York Jets in Week 6, Miller posted the 11th multi-sack game of his career (six tackles, two sacks, one pass defensed).

Examining his stats show how much better Miller has been this year than he was last season. He’s currently tied for third in the NFL with six sacks in 2014.

Year	Games	Snaps	Tackles	Sacks	Disrupted Dropback Pct
2013	9	510	34	5	.9%
2014	5	227	25	6	2.9%

Last week, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio noted how Miller keeps improving each week this season.

“I think he’s just gotten in better shape, he’s recovered from a pretty significant injury and I think each day back, each week back adds to the explosiveness and the strength and his timing and all those things.” Del Rio concluded, “He’s getting better and better as the year goes on.”

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The addition of Ware has really helped Miller in 2014.

Not only is Ware a mentor for Miller on the field, but he is also a positive influence for Miller off the field. The dynamic duo has set the goal of getting as many sacks combined as some teams do (approximately 30). Ware talked about racing Miller to the quarterback on each snap.

“Actually we are in a race. It starts with practice. We always talk about how many pressures we can get in practice, how many tomahawks, how many times we can knock the ball out. And today is one of those big days. It’s a third-down day for us. And we’ll know in meetings who got to the quarterback the most. But it carries over into the game.” Ware concluded, “But yeah it is a race to the quarterback when we’re out there playing.”

Adding Ware was a brilliant move by Broncos general manager John Elway. Ware gives the team a leader that Miller can follow and craft his game after. The team also gets a mentor for Miller that they were missing when Elvis Dumervil moved on to the Baltimore Ravens in free agency.

Better Than 2012?

Miller’s best season as a pro was 2012. He finished the year with a career-high 18.5 sacks, a career-high 55 solo tackles and a career-high six forced fumbles.

Over the last two weeks, Miller has four sacks combined. He matched that accomplishment twice in 2012. In Weeks 8-10 that year, Miller has seven sacks over the three-game span (3,1,3).

This season, Miller has 14 solo tackles through five games. He’ll need to pick up the pace a bit if he’s going to put up better numbers in sacks and tackles this year. Miller also has yet to force his first fumble of the season.

He had a special season in 2012, and while this season is shaping up to be very good, his numbers are not on pace to surpass the production he had in his sophomore season.

Summary

Miller is back to being one of the league’s best pass-rushers. He’s an elite-level player, so his early-season production is not a surprise. However, there were legitimate question marks around Miller as he returned from a disappointing 2013 season.

He’s on track for double-digit sacks for the third time in his four-year career.

Miller’s speed around the corner has returned since he’s playing at a lighter weight. He can still bull-rush opponents from time to time, and Miller has incredible closing burst when the quarterback is within his sights.

Broncos head coach John Fox also feels that Miller has shown better maturity this year.

“When it’s your job or their job or my job, I think all in all, if you’re working hard, the more you do it the better you’re going to get. I think I’ve seen growth and maturity and better performance.”

With 11 games left in the regular season, Miller needs to keep producing at a high level for this to be the best season of his pro career. In addition to sacks and tackles, Miller needs to force more fumbles to surpass the numbers he posted in 2012.

Miller is back in a big way for the Broncos—and he could certainly be better than ever when all is said and done.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via email from the Denver Broncos unless otherwise noted. Transaction history provided by ProSportsTransactions.com. Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac.com.