Question: How much blame should get for Broncos’ losing streak?
Kiz; After the Broncos surrendered 34 points and 323 yards rushing to the gosh-awful , linebacker Von Miller said: “I’m not doing enough for us to win….. I just haven’t been worth anything the last couple weeks.” You know what? He’s 100 percent correct. During this three-game losing streak, Miller has produced zero sacks and recorded only eight tackles. Where has the player formerly known as the Vonster gone?
O’Halloran: From afar through the years, I looked at Von as a premier pass rusher who didn’t pad his statistics with regular three- and four-sack games but as a player who was consistently impactful. But maybe he’s turned into that player — his numbers (four sacks in five games) would at first blush look fine, but we know the truth. He spent most of the first half of the Jets game fishing for deflected passes, which means he wasn’t using his full arsenal of pass rush moves. Not good.
Kiz: Here’s what I’d like you to try to explain. With the addition of as a first-round draft choice, it was believed Miller could face fewer double teams in pass-rush situations, giving him more room to wreak havoc on the quarterback. Is there a flaw in defensive coordinator ‘ scheme? Has Chubb not pulled his weight? Or has Miller simply failed to win the one-on-one battles he is paid the big bucks to dominate?
O’Halloran: When I heard the Chubb-Miller tag team talk during the offseason, I expected the Broncos to line up Chubb at defensive end and have Miller right on his outside hip. Go ahead, offensive lines, try and match up with those two guys. But if that has happened one time this year, I don’t remember it. The Broncos have kept Miller and Chubb on opposite sides. Thatap on the coaches. Chubb is having a rookie-type year (up and down). But the real concern for the Broncos should be that Miller isn’t winning his 1-on-1 matchups. Teams aren’t overly concerned with double-teaming him — he was straight doubled only five times combined in losses to Baltimore and Kansas City.
Kiz: We all saw Miller rip asunder the Seahawks in the season-opener, so obviously he’s not over-the-hill at age 29. But he’s advertised as one of the top 10 players in the NFL, and during this losing streak, Miller hasn’t even played like one of the top 10 edge rushers in the league. The Broncos can’t win consistently without him being the Vonster. We all blame the coach and the quarterback when things go badly. But I think the biggest disappointment on this 2-3 team has been MIller.
O’Halloran: Tough to argue that point. Tracking Miller should be Exhibit A for everybody watching the game, but these days, I find myself keeping an eye on Nos. 55 (Chubb) and 95 (). Itap time for the coaching staff to tinker with where Miller lines up — try him as a stand-up interior rusher or stunt him inside. Itap time to help Miller by creating some mismatches instead of leaving him at one spot and saying, “Go win.”
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