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Sing with me folks:
In the Bronco/Patriot rivalry Von Miller gave to us, 18 tackles, 11 drive stops, 5 tackles for loss, 4 quarterback sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown!
No other team (except for the San Diego Chargers) has been victimized by Von Miller as much as the Patriots. And those numbers are only from the past two regular season meetings. As a rookie, Von dealt with a thumb injury both games versus Tom Brady and company, and was sidelined for the AFC Championship Game with a torn ACL. Miller helped keep the 2012 meeting competitive while he almost singlehandedly took over the game in the 1st half of last year's meeting.
Whether it be Nate Solder or Sebastian Vollmer, Von has been able to win his battles consistently. Let's take a look at some of his plays.
Eatin' Greedy Inc
Von uses his speed around the edge and a shoulder dip to clear Nate Solder on his path to Brady. Don't worry Nate, #58 makes a lot of tackles look foolish.
Here's another view of it. You can see the exact moment when Miller accelerates through the dip.
He uses the same sort of move on Sebastian Vollmer on the other side to get to Brady on this one. Miller is the absolute best in the game at getting low to the ground while maintaining balance. No one else is able to dip and bend like he does. Just call him Gumby.
#58 shoots to #1 with a bullet! When you think of Von Miller you think "speed." Poor Nate doesn't have a shot on this play. I'm not sure what's more impressive, Von's speed or Pot Roast's open field burst.
One of the things Von Miller does not get enough credit for is his dominance in the run game. A stop according to Pro Football Focus is when a player makes a play that stops a drive. Von has done this several times in the short yardage game against New England and on one occasion it kept the Broncos in the game before halftime.
The leverage Miller gets creates a great amount of strength. When you combine that with his speed, you get something like this.
One of the most underrated aspects of Von Miller's game is his overall understanding of situational football. He knows Brady will try to snap the ball quickly and he anticipates the count slicing between two defenders for yet another stop.
When you're always making plays, you're always around the ball. Brady could use some tackling lessons from Peyton Manning.
All week people have been talking about Brady vs. Manning, everyone vs. Gronk, Revis vs. Thomas. Von Miller already has a track record of big games against New England. If the defense can execute consistently, and I'm speaking more for the secondary, they will give the Broncos pass rush ample opportunity to eat.
Of course I think this will also be a good opportunity for Von Miller to welcome Jonas Gray to the NFL, don't you think?
One more thing to note, Von isn't the only Bronco edge rusher who has gotten to Brady consistently. DeMarcus Ware has sacked Tom Brady three times in two games over the course of his career.
Anyone up for a Brady sandwich? It's probably vegan and contains no meat, but what the hell--you have to eat what's on the menu.
GO BRONCOS!!!