Von Miller is only interested in one thing

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — “I’m Von Miller, and I play defense.”

A simple, obvious, far-from-groundbreaking sentence, it’s a sentence that Von Miller recites to his teammates at the beginning of every season when prompted to state his name and his position.

When it comes to the football field, Miller likes to keep things simple. But as he’s putting together a season that is most certainly heading towards Defensive Player of the Year honors, that simplicity is starting to look like pure genius.

His approach is so simple, in fact, it really boils down to one thing.

“I just have to understand what my role is,” the league’s highest-paid defensive player explained. “It’s not just rushing the passer. It’s not just the run game, and it’s not just dropping in coverage or covering tight ends. My job is to make big plays for my team. However, I can make them, stripping the ball, sacks or PBUs. However I can get them, that is my responsibility… I really don’t look at it as, ‘I have to rush the passer.’ I’m out there to make plays. I’m out there to make plays for my teammates. That I try to go out there and do.”

Make plays, so cliche. Often times you hear players use cliches to avoid showing too much or putting anything on a bulletin board, but when Von Miller tells you he’s only interested making plays, he’s really only interested in making plays.

“I want to make plays. I’m not looking for respect (laughs),” Miller responded when asked if being double-teamed is a sign of respect. “I’m trying to make plays. It’s frustrating, but I never get caught up into it. I just try to get the opportunities that I do get. I need to make it happen. I beat myself up about this because when I first came into the league nobody was really chipping me like that and my second year nobody was chipping me. I should have been taking of those opportunities when I go them. I really don’t pay any mind to it. LeBron James, they triple team him and Steph Curry and Klay Matthews and all of that stuff. I’m not looking for respect. I’m trying to make plays. It is what it is. I’m trying to ruin the game, and they don’t want me to do it.”

They really don’t want him to do it.

Last week, Jacksonville coaches admitted to Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips that they, “Weren’t going to let [Miller] be the difference.” So they sent more double teams at No. 58 than Phillips had seen in his entire career. The result: Miller’s pressure forced a pick-six that proved to be game-winning and his sack/forced fumble combo late in the fourth quarter sealed the game.

He was the difference, more often than not he is. It’s the reason his teammates have begun their campaign to get him DPOY honors, the reason most of those same teammates ranked him first when participating in the NFL Network’s Top 100 survey this week.

Is any of that important to Miller? Take a guess.

“It’s important that I go out there and put my best foot forward every single week,” he said. “I know that if I do that then whatever happens at the end of the year, I’ll be okay with. That’s what I’ve been doing all the way up until this point. I don’t see why I can’t keep doing it for the last four weeks. It’s the National Football League and things happen, but I’m just trying to be the best Von Miller that I can possibly be, and if I’m able to do that, then I’ll be okay with whatever happens.”

Simple approach, serious results.

“I’m Von Miller, and I play defense.”