Von Miller proves the doubters wrong

[Jauronimo]

2 hours ago, nedboy7 said:

AJ is useless now. But next game after 2 sacks he will be crowned. Thus goes he roller coaster of TBD. 

AJ was lining up as a tackle on multiples reps due to injuries on the interior DL. Good for him for being a team player and doing his best while lining up badly out of position.  I hope we dont see him lined up on the interior ever again.

[Jauronimo]

I will believe Von is back when I see him dip around the left tackle, running at a 30 degree angle to the ground, and bury a QB before he knows whats coming with his speed rush.  We haven't seen von win with his signature move in quite a long time.

 

 

~3:00 minute mark for an example

[Utah John]

7 hours ago, The Cincinnati Kid said:

Not sure what “ESPN did” means, but the game started with a 1st down and Von is more of a 3rd down guy, so makes sense he didn’t start the game.

I'm guessing that meant Epenesa.  Who knows.

[Shaw66]

3 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

That is not a fair characterisation of me at all. But I say it as I see it with every player. Von was better than last year but that's a low bar. He had a few pressures but that wasn't a sack in more than the stat books. He pushed his guy back, fair, but Murray trips. He gets a freebie sack. 

 

Nobody would be more delighted than me if Von gets double digit sacks this year and proves me wrong. But I am going to be honest with what I see. 

 

 

I think you're wrong about this, in multiple respects.  First, I'm surprised you're getting into the business of saying that something is sack only in the stat books.  That's the same as saying that an interception is only in the stat books when it goes off the hands of the receiver first.  EVERY player accumulates some stats that can be argued were more about being in the right place at the right time.  

 

Von was in the right place at the right time to touch Murray down because he executed a classic Von Miller bull rush where he got the tackle off balance right off the snap and drove him all the way into the QB's lap.  Whether he gets a tackle or not, that is exactly what we want out of a defensive end.  (Nobody would be complaining about Epenesa if he could do that.)

 

As others have said, the presence of his blocker was the single play that was most responsible for Murray tripping.   Miller, more than anyone else, caused Murray to go down.  

 

Yes, others rushing cut off escape routes that Murray might otherwise have used to get away from Miller attacking the pocket so aggressively, but that is true of half the sacks that are recorded throughout the league.  QBs don't get sacked if they have escape routes.  

 

But beyond that, as I said my lengthy post elsewhere, it was absolutely clear that Miller turned up his play in the second half.   The Bills have always been clear that they brought Miller to Buffalo to make the big play in the fourth quarter, and Miller has been equally clear that he understands that that is his job.   That's exactly what he gave the Bills in the fourth quarter yesterday.  He was getting consistent pressure in a variety of ways, AND he wasn't letting Murray escape.   

 

It was exactly what I was hoping to see out of Miller:   Pressure on the QB when the game is on the line. 

[QCity]

The season isn't quite over yet. 

[Shaw66]

3 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

I will believe Von is back when I see him dip around the left tackle, running at a 30 degree angle to the ground, and bury a QB before he knows whats coming with his speed rush.  We haven't seen von win with his signature move in quite a long time.

 

 

~3:00 minute mark for an example

This is a fair point, but the "long time" you're talking about is just the time since his injury.   He had that classic Von Miller move for the Bills before then.  

 

I think it's coming.  The way any athlete in the NFL stands out is when he has multiple ways to attack.  One-trick ponies don't succeed for long.  Miller showed yesterday that he still has the bull rush that his truly amazing for a guy his size.  He looks like a smallish linebacker, and yet he just explodes into tackles and drives them back.  

 

Teams are going to see that on film, and tackles are going to get planted to nullify that rush.   When the tackles start doing that, Miller will show you what you're looking for.   

[Scott7975]

3 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I haven't said Von had a bad play. He pushed his guy back. But it was Murray's clumsiness that led to a freebie sack. It isn't hard. It is just the reality of what happened.

 

The reality is that Von destroyed his guy and pushed him all the way back into Murray which caused the sack.  I love how you downplay this. It was Vons effort that created the play.  Thats pretty stubborn to not want to give a guy credit here.  If that were Oliver youd be jumping for joy over it.  You even thought he was involved in the play and initially tried to credit him and he had nothing to do with it.

Edited September 10 by Scott7975

[Sargent Hulka]

2 hours ago, 34-78-83 said:

probably something to do with Murray being 5'9"

I like that answer!

[transplantbillsfan]

7 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea. The rep is as I said. Murray trips up and Von taps him. He doesn't sack him in a traditional sense. 

 

You are talking nonsense. Haven't listened to Joe yet this week. I will. I respect his opinion. But unless he shows me stuff I missed in the game I disagree with him on Von. He was meh. 

 

Wow... this is kinda small of you

[hondo in seattle]

GB, I respect your football acumen but think you're wrong on this one.  Better to pick another battle.

[Radar]

Agree on Von being meh in the game and with all due respect for Von's  career this was and will be a bad signing by Beane.

[LABILLBACKER]

6 hours ago, Toledo Bill said:

The only damage AJE did Sunday was to the Bills.

This will be his last year as a Bill. He just never developed. He and Basham will go down as busts.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

I don't know about proved the doubters wrong, but he played like 30 snaps and made a few plays.  He pressured at times in both half's, didn't have an amazing game where he looked unblockable though either.    

[LABILLBACKER]

1 hour ago, Utah John said:

I'm guessing that meant Epenesa.  Who knows.

Well ESPN is shut down right now so that makes sense.

[Fender]

13 minutes ago, Radar said:

Agree on Von being meh in the game and with all due respect for Von's  career this was and will be a bad signing by Beane.

I don’t disagree it was a terrible contract but he caused that sack regardless 

[TheBrownBear]

1 hour ago, Scott7975 said:

If that were Oliver youd be jumping for joy over it.  You even thought he was involved in the play and initially tried to credit him and he had nothing to do with it.

Bingo.  I like and respect GunnerBill and appreciate all of the time he puts into sharing his typically quality takes with the board, but the bolded is direct evidence that he isn't viewing things relating to Von's performance objectively. 

 

As for the larger picture, Bill could be right and it's entirely possible that Sunday is the best we ever see from Von this season and he goes back to being invisible, but he played a solid game on Sunday and definitely created and deserved that 4th quarter sack. 

[That's No Moon]

I don't know that he proved anything yesterday other than he's able to suit up and do something other than run the long way around the line.

 

Yes he made a nice play shoving the tackle back into Murray. Murray did trip which allowed Miller to get the sack, without that trip he had escaped.

 

He also didn't show a lot of speed or quickness or the bend that made him Von Miller.

 

This week with a running QB a lot of focus was on containing the QB which makes sense. This coming week Miami prioritizes getting the ball out on time so I don't anticipate seeing a lot from Miller either.

 

Basically, a lot remains to be seen as to how far back he has come or he can come.

[SCBills]

It is absolutely wild to me that some people want to pretend like Von Miller dog walking the Tackle back into Kyler Murray shouldn't count as a sack. 

 

Some of y'all gotta let that hate in your heart go.. not able to see things rationally. 

[uticaclub]

He looked better as the game went on. I watched him in the first half, and he still looked bad. Something flipped in the second half, for him and the rest of the team. Chris Jones bull-rushing Dawkins into Allen was the play of the game in the Division Championship.

 

Allen just didn’t go down because he is a beast

Edited September 10 by uticaclub

[Sharky7337]

One game in. One game in. Jump the gun much?