With 123.5 sacks in a career spanning over 12 years, Von Miller is undeniably one of the greatest offensive linebackers of our time. Since his days in Denver, the two-time Super Bowl champion has terrorized NFL offenses, and former Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski knows a thing or two about it. Hence in his appearance on ex-teammate Julian Edelaman’s podcast, the TE sang glowing praises for the Bills player.
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Gronkowski on the ‘Games With Names‘ podcast praised Von Miller for his incredibly unique ability to permeate through offensive lines. The former Patriots revealed that Miller’s natural agility and super fast get-off speed made him almost impossible to contain. Moreover, Gronkowski curiously attributed Miller’s ‘small stature’ to his ability to evade blocks.
Fans found this odd because Von Miller is 6 foot 3 inches tall. Regardless, Rob admitted that back in his days and even today, Von Miller was a beast and a menace for the opposition.
“Von Miller is ridiculous, bro. I think he has the fastest get off in all of football on the defensive side of the ball. He’s a smaller guy. He’s a smaller outside linebacker, defensive end. He could play it all. If you got a hold of him, yeah, you could block him. But that’s if you got a hold of him.“
Fellow Patriots player Julian Edelman agreed with Gronk’s assessment and went on to reveal how HC Bill Belichick was forced to develop a special play to stop Von Miller.
Julian Edelman On How the Patriots Had a Different Strategy For Von Miller
One of the biggest compliments that a player can receive is if the opposition has specific plans to hinder his/her impact in the game. The feeling gets sweeter when one of the most dominant sides in NFL’s history, the New England Patriots are doing so. As Edelman and Gronkowski noted, what helped Von Miller succeed was his unique ability to read games from the get-off itself. Edelman noted that Miller was always a step ahead of the opposition.
“I swear he was like getting off on the snap count before every offensive player would get off. Because of Von Miller and his get off, we actually had to introduce Double Denver, which was this on two silent count for when we were playing in away games in like a stadium where you couldn’t hear.”
Thus, Bill Belichick devised a play called “Double Denver” for players like Von Miller. On two silent counts before the main count, the Patriots’ defense prepared themselves rather than waiting for the main count, which was often inaudible in away games.
“We had to put in a Double Denver because he wasn’t just like getting off the ball. He was reading sh*t while he was getting off the ball. That’s what made him that good.”
Miller has been one of the best in his position for more than a decade and it’s a well-deserved praise for him coming from two stalwarts of the game. However, now that he has had a Hall of Fame-worthy career in the NFL many might believe he is on the verge of retirement. But the 35-year-old has plans to play until he is 39.
