Von Miller seems happy, again.
It’s too harsh to say he was surly last year, but greetings of hello sometimes went unanswered. Laughter was absent not only in his personal interactions but as he moved through the Broncos’ locker room.
There was trouble for the standout linebacker last year, but it wasn’t just that. It was how trouble mushroomed into so many twisted perceptions of Miller the person. He wasn’t the first person to experience this, but he is human. It hurt.
Much has been made about Miller’s newfound maturity, and while there is ample evidence of this, it’s not the easiest characteristic to measure. Maturity comes in layers. It can begin with the simple task of showing up on time. It can end with teammates trusting that you can be counted on.
It takes time to establish maturity, more than one calendar year. Everybody tries, but no one can rush time.
“No, you can’t,” Miller said. “I’ve already talked about all the maturing up. What happened last year helped me become a better person. Would I have liked to have not gone through all that stuff? Yeah. But my mistakes are not going to make me or break me. I’m very lucky. I feel blessed.”
It’s an attitude that has helped Miller’s engaging outward appearance to resurface. His skin might be thicker, but it no longer blocks the good-natured humor within. His guard might never again disappear, but it has thinned to where the smile and jokes are once again evident.
“When you’re here at the facility, you tell yourself: ‘I’m not going to let any of that stuff affect me,’ ” Miller said. “But when you go home, you constantly think about stuff. You feel like you constantly have to defend stuff that’s not true. Have to talk about this, have to talk about that. It takes a toll.
“Going out here this year, the talk is all about football. I can be myself in front of the media and not have to be so angry and worry about how I select my words and who’s going to twist my words. It’s just different this year. It’s different with the media. It’s different with my teammates. I’m looking forward to playing.”
Warm welcome back
For the first time since tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament Dec. 22, early in the Broncos’ 15th game of the 2013 season at Houston, Miller was back playing strongside linebacker in the preseason game Saturday night against those same Texans. The fans at Sports Authority Field at Mile High gave him a warm reception.
There was a brace on his right knee and he might have to wear it all season, but it has brought no apparent restrictions during training camp. There was explosion, not timidity, in his trademark bend-and-rip pass-rushing technique that helped him average 15 sacks through his first two NFL seasons.
His conditioning and physique are extraordinary. After serving a six-game suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy last season, Miller returned to play at an overmuscled 268 pounds. He made only five sacks in nine games before his knee buckled.
He is in the 252-pound range now.
“I don’t know if he’s ever worked this hard in his preparation for a season,” Broncos coach John Fox said. “Whether it’s because of the rehab or what, he’s probably in as good a shape as he’s ever been.”
It’s not often a star NFL player comes off a torn ACL and his physical well-being is a secondary concern. Miller doesn’t like it that his past transgressions keep getting brought up, but he understands he has to deal with it a while longer.
With each sack, each game, each season, each Pro Bowl, maybe even with a Super Bowl ring, forgiveness will come. Broncos fans have always carried an unconditional love for their own.
Miller truly desires to be great and is beginning to understand the responsibility that only the best must carry. First things first. Miller has concentrated on becoming much more responsible.
“He has embraced it,” said Joby Branion, Miller’s agent. “He didn’t just put on a show. If he wasn’t genuine about this, you would be hearing about him getting fined for being late to meetings or people upset for him showing up late to appearances. He’s acknowledged that is all part of the decision-making process.”
Making a choice to listen
Like most young men, Miller went through a spell where he occasionally made decisions without considering the ramifications.
In the past year, he has kept a close-knit group around him for counsel. Mom, Dad, his agent. He talks with Jerry Butler, the Broncos’ director of player development.
It’s not about his support team, though. It’s Von. He chooses to listen. He asks the questions. He keeps appointments. He’s early for appointments. He no longer misses flights.
His supporters don’t make his decisions. He makes the decisions, sometimes after consulting with his group.
Fox often says it’s not about the coaches, it’s about the players. Miller was always a coachable player. Talent wasn’t all that was behind his Pro Bowl production in 2011 and 2012.
But put the skill set of the No. 2 draft pick together with a life in order and add a premier pass rusher in DeMarcus Ware on the other side of the defensive front, and watch out for Von Miller in 2014. Knee brace and all.
“Sometimes it takes a minute for young people to see the light,” Fox said. “It’s a tribute to him and his character that I’ve seen a real big change maturity-wise. Not that he was a little kid. I’m talking about being a pro. In meetings, taking notes. It’s all the little things that help you in your preparation.”
How this season turns out for Miller, time will tell. It’s already known that he’s off to a much happier start.
