ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Von Miller was hurt emotionally when he and the Broncos decided he not play last Sunday for the first time in nearly six years.
“I cried real man tears,’’ he said at his press conference Thursday.
Physically, it appears he may be miss a second game this Sunday at Houston. He is practicing this week on a limited basis but Miller didn’t sound optimistic about putting on the pads Sunday on the Texans’ turf.
Miller has a sprained MCL that one doctor he consulted said was a one- to- three week injury. He did sit out one week. We’ll see about this week against Houston or the following week at Kansas City.
“If I can’t get my exotic movements back, then in my opinion, I don’t feel like I should be out there,” said Miller, who had played in 95 consecutive games, counting the postseasons of 2014-15, before sitting out the Chargers’ game last week.
Exotic movements. When Miller exploded into the NFL as a rookie in 2011, his pass-rushing teammate, Elvis Dumervil, was already established as one of the league’s best sack masters. Dumervil said early that season what made Miller special was, first, his speed off the first step, but also, “he’s more bendable. He’s more limber.’’
>> Listen to the latest episode of Klis' Mike Drop podcast below
Pretty soon, the animated, rubberized character “Gumby,” was used to describe Miller. It was those pliable Gumby-like characteristics that made Miller the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, the trait that made him Super Bowl 50 MVP, that delivered an NFL defensive player record contract at an average of $19.083 million a year, and 98 career sacks before he reached the age of 30.
Consider the knee torque involved while bending at sudden speed past an offensive tackle on a pass rush. And if that knee torque is compromised by a sprained MCL, there’s no Von.
“I’m already undersized and I already play my position undersized, so when you take away the exotic movements that make me who I am, it changes the type of player that I am,’’ said Miller, who suffered the injury two weeks ago while pass rushing Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen. “I’ve got to be able to get that back to go out there and play. If I don’t have that back, then I need to take time to get back right. But if I can get that back, if I can get the exotic movements back, then I have an opportunity to play.”
SUGGESTED VIDEOS | Sports
