According to Von Miller, he and DeMarcus Ware are the Splash Brothers, the NFL’s version of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. If the sack is a three, Miller and Ware are lethal beyond the arc.
But Miller (also according to Miller) has another NBA doppelganger. He’s Steve Nash, and veteran defensive end Derek Wolfe is Dirk Nowitzki.
“What Dirk did for the Dallas Mavericks early in his career, and still now, he is still the greatest,” Miller explained this week. “Some of the stuff that he does for his team, thatap what Derek does for us. He’s a big man. He can take on more than one guy. He’s able to make plays. He’s able to shoot the three, thatap the sack for us. He’s able to get sacks and he plays the run. Thatap solid paint-work right there. He’s our big man.”
Wolfe about his past, his string of painful injuries this season and his goals, on and off the field.
But he also spoke about his evolution as a player, in becoming that so-called Nowitzki of Wade Phillips’ 3-4 defense in Denver; about his contract and how he felt when Malik Jackson got $90 million from Jacksonville; about his distaste for the Patriots and a pair of division rivals; about his resentment toward the league and his hope for a drug policy drug. Here’s part of our wide-ranging conversation:
When, and how, did you learn to balance your anger on the field with smart play?
“Trial and error. I spent a lot of years getting a lot of personal fouls. When I realized I was hurting the team — because, to me, it was about my pride. My high school coaches tried to tell me and I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ Then I got to college and my college coaches really beat it into my head that you can’t do that kind of stuff.”
Did you idolize any players growing up, or try to learn from other defensive linemen in the game?
“You can only do so much as a player. You can only advance yourself so far. I went through that phase and I’d watch other players. I’d watch J.J. (Watt) and I’d be like, ‘How does he do that? How does he run around people like that?’ Thatap not my style. I’m going to go through you. Thatap my game.
“Nothing against how J.J. plays. But we play completely different styles of football. I try to play as stout as I possibly can. I don’t mind if I don’t make every play. I just want the play to get made. If I can make it so someone else can make the play, he can have all the glory. But I know in the film room it’s because of me. I’m looking for gratification from my coaches and my peers. I’m not looking for Joe Schmo sitting on his couch watching the game. If he doesn’t think I’m playing well, whatever. But as long as my coaches think I’m playing well, thatap all that matters.”
Which coaches have had the most influence on your career?
“My coaches in college had a huge impact on me. (Former Cincinnati head coach) Butch Jones and (former Cincinnati assistant head coach/defensive line) Steve Stripling. Those two guys had a huge impact. They took my game to a whole other level. I was holding myself back because I didn’t think I could do certain things. I didn’t think that I was capable of doing certain pass-rush moves and pushing myself to that next level. I wasn’t sure that I could do that. Then I got to the NFL and had good coaches in the NFL, but (Broncos defensive line coach) Bill Kollar came along last year and made a huge difference. Itap everything. The system. His style.
“Our system is made for our outside linebackers to get sacks. And when you got guys like DeMarcus and Von, why wouldn’t you do that? My job is to make sure the quarterback can’t step up in the pocket.”
Do you take more pride in pass rushing or in your run defense?
“I don’t know why, but nobody is ever going to give me credit for my pass rushing. Itap just not going to happen.”
Do you ever get frustrated by that?
“I used to. But now I don’t really care. I know I can pass rush.”
You have the third-most sacks (5.5) on the team this season.
“I know, yeah. The way I get to the quarterback might not be pretty and fancy. But I get there. I’m going to make sure I get there and be in his face as much as possible.”
Where you do you feel you’ve improved the most in recent years?
“Pass rushing. I’m doing a lot of things to help Von out, like making sure that he’s one-on-one. Because no one is going to block him one-on-one.”
He said earlier this season that “about 10 of the sacks I have throughout my career, I’ve stolen from Derek.”
“He’s stolen a lot from me. There have been a lot of times when we’ve both beat our guys and I’m coming around to get him and I flush him right into Von’s arms. Thatap been happening since I was a rookie. Obviously, he’s a great player. You can’t take anything away from that. We’re a great team. We work very well together.”
What makes this defense so close?
“Think about the things we’ve gone through. And not to knock our offense, but our offense for the past two years has put us in some situations where we had to really step up and make plays and score touchdowns. We’ve been asked to do things that a lot of defenses wouldn’t be able to step up and do. It brought us close together because in times of adversity, you’re either going to fall apart or you’re going to come together as a team. And we do a good job of coming together. We don’t point the finger at the offense. They don’t point the finger at us, like ‘How come it wasn’t a three-and-out for them so we can get right back on the field?’ Itap not like that.”
Has there ever been any resentment toward the offense?
“No, not at all. Obviously you want your offense to score points. Thatap all we care about. As long as they can score enough points for us to win, we’ll do our best to hold them. In our mind, if (opponents) don’t score, they don’t win. So every loss, we put it on us. ‘Against Tennessee, we shouldn’t have let them score that first touchdown on that first drive. Had they not, they only would have had six points and we would have won.’ ”
What about toward the NFL? Any resentment?
“I have a lot of resentment toward the league about a lot of things because I think their whole line about how much they care about us is a load of crap. And thatap fine. But at least let me do what I got to do to get ready for your Thursday night game. … I try my hardest not to take anything other than Aleve. Thatap the only thing I’ll ever take.
“We could get into the conspiracy theories all day about the pharmaceutical companies and how they have a grasp on every aspect of our life. The whole medical system is completely screwed up. Kids who can’t function because of seizures are being cured with CBD (, a nonpsychoactive compound in cannabis). And I can understand now wanting THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound in marijuana that gets users high). I’m a huge supporter of (CBD) and I wish the NFL would make a switch. Or at least give us the option. At least make it OK for us to do that. I should be able to explore all healthy options, because you’re giving me nothing but unhealthy options.”
They collectively bargained a change to the drug policies in 2014. They could change them again before the CBA expires.
“They could do such a better job. They talk about player safety this, player safety that. . If that guy (Titans receiver Harry Douglas) was serious about wanting to keep him away from the play, he would have hit him in his chest. No, he was trying to physically injure, not hurt — hurt and injure are different. When someone is trying to injure me and take my livelihood. This is how I feed my family. This is my life. And I’m not all about the money. I think I proved that when I took a far smaller contract than what I could have gotten in free agency. Itap because I love this team, I love the game that I play, I don’t want to go somewhere that I don’t know anybody. I want to stay right here. I love my coaches, I love the fans. Thatap why I wanted to stay and I said I’ll take a significant haircut to stay here.”
When Malik Jackson signed his $90 million deal with the Jaguars did you have any regrets?
“No, because he’s in Jacksonville. And who wants to live in Jacksonville? But good for him. I’m happy for him.”
You’re an intimidating guy on the field. Are you like that away from football?
“I can be cold. I’m a bit cold-hearted at times. (My fiancée Abbie) reminds me of when I’m being cold and she understands me. Thatap the biggest thing is that she understand me and understands that I’m not trying to be mean. Thatap just who I am.”
What are your goals on the the field?
“I just want to win. I could have five sacks and 15 tackles in a game, but if we lose it’s like it was all for nothing. The only satisfaction you get as a player, for me, is to win. To be winning. When you lose, the whole week (stinks). Your days off (stink). All you’re thinking about is that loss, and then you get on to the next team. You just want to put wins together so they start stacking up. That’s how it was for us last year. I think if we go out and get this win this weekend (against New England) it’ll make a nice turnaround for us.”
You had two of your best games against the Patriots last season. What is it about them?
“I just don’t like them. I don’t like their fans. I have a lot of friends that are Patriots fans, too, and they’re always talking (smack). And itap fun to beat Tom Brady. Itap fun to play against Tom Brady, in general, because he is a great competitor. He’s always chirping on the field, he’s always talking. So he’s a fun guy to get on the ground. I got a ton of respect for the guy. To be as successful as many years as he has, itap impressive.”
So are the Patriots the team you hate the most?
“I really hate San Diego. Really hate them.”
Why?
“Oh, they live on the beach, they got nice weather. They got it nice and easy out there in California with all the Liberals. And Philip Rivers just drives me nuts. I just don’t like him. But I’m starting to develop a real hate for the Raiders, as well. Because the first couple of years, they were a joke. But now that they’re good and to see their fans have zero people in them and nothing but Broncos fans, to now itap filled. Ugh. I love their tough convict mentality, but it’s just one of those teams.”
What about Jack Del Rio?
“I like Del Rio. Del Rio is the only reason I’m in Denver. He’s the one that fought for me to be drafted here. We got a lot of respect for each other I think. He’s a great guy, a great coach, a great motivator, as well.”
Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you didn’t have football?
“I can’t imagine my life without it because itap been in my life for so long. The majority of my life has been football. The first six years of my life were about football too. I was playing backyard football, just waiting my turn to get on the field. Now I all I have to do is just try to make sure I’m the best person out there.”
