Von Miller has never been short on words (we’ll ignore that little stretch of time where he was muzzled as he sorted out some personal issues with the league).
He’s an outspoken leader and charismatic, to boot.
Following Thursday’s practice, Miller let fly about just how excited he is to have Derek Wolfe back in the lineup and what he’s expecting when his Broncos go up against their former defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, now the head coach of the Raiders.
Sunday’s matchup looks to be more competitive than games against Oakland have been of late.
Here’s what Miller had to say about facing the hated Raiders…
On if this game is more special playing against Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio…
“I think it’s more special that I’m going against Aldon [Smith] on the other side and [Michael] Crabtree. Me and Crabtree are from Texas and everything. I think it’s more special in that end than going against my old defensive coordinator. If you play the game for a little bit, it’s always going to be somebody on the other team that you know or you’ve played against. I think it’s more special that I know these guys now, being able to play against them and stuff.”
On what Del Rio thinks when he hears how much the defense likes playing in Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips’s scheme…
“I don’t know. It’d probably be the same way I felt when he said his players are more physical than I am. It’s probably the same thing. You don’t take it that hard. You’re just like, ‘Aw, come on.’ It’s just what it is.”
He had more to say about some of Del Rio’s comments…
On what he thought when Del Rio said Raiders DE Khalil Mack was more physical…
“I think that me and Khalil are two totally different players. I think that he’s an outstanding player, though. I think he is, if you look at him play, he is more physical than I am. It wasn’t like a false statement or anything. You look at him, he’s a beast out there. I don’t think there is another player in the league that’s playing like Khalil. He’s a young player. He’s going to play a long time for us and I’m going to be going against him a long time in the AFC West.”
On if he has played on a defense with more confidence than this year’s team…
“I mean I like to think that every team that I’m on is the most confident team. I think this year’s team is more confident than it was last year. If I keep on playing, it will be the same. I really think we have confidence. I think to be a good defense you have to have confidence. You just can’t go out there on the field and say, ‘I hope we stop them today.’ You’ve got to go out there thinking and believing and it will start to happen for you.”
He’s adding to that confidence with Derek Wolfe back in the lineup…
On having Derek Wolfe back at practice…
“It’s been great. He hasn’t really left me. I’ve been talking to him. He’s been over to the house and stuff. We’ve been kicking it and stuff. He hadn’t ever left me. To have him back here in the facility has been great. To have that run presence, we’ve already been good in the run and we’ve already been good on defense, just to get one of our stars back is great to get him back. We should see some success in some of the stuff that we’ve been doing. We’ve already had a lot of success. It’s just going to be plus, plus.”
On how the defense has become better with Wolfe on the field…
“I think I touched on it a little bit earlier. For one, he’s Derek Wolfe, one of the best run-stopping players that we have on our team and really in the AFC West. It’s a great, big-time player that we’re getting back. We’re fixing to have success on our defense when he gets back.”
Having Wolfe back will also help against an improved Oakland team…
On what he has seen on film from Oakland’s passing progression from last season…
“I think their progress has come from Derek [Carr]. He’s a better quarterback than he was last year. You can see it. He’s poised. He makes a lot of quick decisions. He’s not holding the ball for four, five seconds. He’s starting to become the quarterback that I think that they drafted. Coach [Tim] DeRuyter, he coached him at Fresno State, so I’ve known about Derek for a little bit. He’s developing into a big-time quarterback. It’s going to be our job to take away those quick throws, make them hold the ball a little bit, get a rush, stop the run and just play the same Broncos defense that we’ve been playing.”
On how to force Carr to hold onto the ball longer…
“You know what, I really don’t know. If I knew the answer to make the quarterback hold the ball, we’d be doing it to everybody. I don’t know. We’ve just got to go in there and play our defense. They’re going to make some catches, we’ve just got to be there. We’ve got to be on our own, create some turnovers and just be the same type of defense that we’ve been. We’ll be alright.”