Thursday, March 28

Super Bowl: Von Miller could make history just months after joining the LA Rams


The pinnacle of Von Miller’s career so far is his bone-crunching, sensational display for the Denver Broncos that helped them beat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 and win himself the game’s MVP award.

It was one of the greatest defensive displays on the NFL’s grandest stage but Miller himself, just four months ago, would have said you were crazy if you told him he’d be preparing for another shot at the big one.

The LA Rams linebacker can make history on Sunday by becoming just the sixth NFL player to be a two-time Super Bowl MVP and the only non-quarterback – Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Eli Manning, Terry Bradshaw and Bart Starr have all done it .

Von Miller will play in the Super Bowl for the LA Rams on Sunday, despite joining in November

Von Miller will play in the Super Bowl for the LA Rams on Sunday, despite joining in November

Rams coach Sean McVay (center) paid a huge price to bring in the linebacker from Denver

Rams coach Sean McVay (center) paid a huge price to bring in the linebacker from Denver

Miller and the Broncos were in poor form earlier in the season, results were average and, with no franchise quarterback to lead them through the storm, they were basically out of play-off contention before they had a chance to regroup.

Miller, who spent the 2020 season on the treatment table after suffering a freak ankle injury in practice, was struggling to have the impact that the Broncos had come to expect from the face of their franchise.

He left Denver as an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, seven-time All-Pro and a member of the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade team. And he is the Broncos’ franchise leader with 110.5 sacks in the regular season and has another 6.5 in the playoffs.

On the day he left Colorado, Miller walked past a photo gallery of the Broncos’ iconic moments at their training facility. One shows him knocking the ball from Cam Newton’s grasp as he dragged the Broncos to the Vince Lombardi trophy.

‘Always have Super Bowl 50,’ a choked-up Miller said. ‘Seeing the pictures as I was walking out made me tear up.’

Miller was named MVP of Super Bowl 50 after helping the Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers

Miller was named MVP of Super Bowl 50 after helping the Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers

Miller was outrageous against the Panthers as the Broncos ran out winners in Santa Clara

Miller was outrageous against the Panthers as the Broncos ran out winners in Santa Clara

But the tears quickly dried away as Miller moved out to California and joined a Rams team littered with superstars that had one goal in mind: Super Bowl LVI at their own SoFi Stadium.

‘I went to sleep 4-4 and woke up 7-1,’ Miller said on his flight to the west coast as he struggled to contain his excitement.

Signing Miller cost Rams owner Stan Kroenke a lot. Owner and head coach Sean McVay handed over a second and third-round pick to the Broncos in this April’s draft but his impact has been priceless.

Miller is just one of many superstars in a Rams team that will take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night. He will have his work cut out trying to shut down a Bengals offense that has won so many plaudits on their unlikely post-season run.

Defensively, Miller has the outstanding Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey and Leonard Floyd alongside him. They are all big-name talents who have lit up the NFL this season.

Asked about how often chat turned to the Super Bowl among the Rams group, Miller said this week it’s ‘really all we talk about’ and emphasized how they want to win for Donald, who has been a Ram since they were based in St Louis.

Miller tackles Cardinals star Rondale Moore as he continues to impress for the Rams defense

Miller tackles Cardinals star Rondale Moore as he continues to impress for the Rams defense

‘Everything that I talk to him about is about winning a Super Bowl, how can I help him be a better Aaron Donald, how can he make me a better Von Miller.

‘Our whole friendship is about winning this Super Bowl.’

On the other side of the ball there is quarterback Matthew Stafford – another huge trade arrival for the Rams this season – who has taken McVay’s imaginative offense to another level while wide receiver Cooper Kupp has had a career-best season and running back Cam Akers has provided a boost after his return from injury.

Factor in the mid-season arrival of Miller’s best friend Odell Beckham Jr after his acrimonious exit from the Cleveland Browns and things have fallen nicely into place for the 32-year-old.

‘They’ve got a special way of doing things here,’ said Miller recently. ‘You see it all throughout the organisation. Everything about this place is special.’

Miller and Beckham Jr were rehabilitation buddies in last year’s off-season as they worked their way back to fitness together in Colorado Springs.

The pair spoke about the possibility of uniting on the field and their dreams came true when Miller was traded to the Rams and Beckham Jr ended up in California, too.

The pair were recovering together last off-season and dreamt about teaming up one day

The pair were recovering together last off-season and dreamt about teaming up one day

The wide receiver’s exit from Cleveland was shrouded in controversy when his father accused Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, as well as head coach Kevin Stefanski, of not involving his son in the offense.

When Beckham Jr’s position in Cleveland became untenable, he was allowed to move into free agency. The former New York Giant almost ended up with the Patriots but the prospect of linking up with Miller in Los Angeles was too good to pass up.

‘It’s time, man,’ Beckham told Miller as he weighed up his next team. ‘Time to put it all together.’

The duo now regularly play video games together on streaming platform Twitch and those dreams of lifting the Vince Lombardi trophy together, as they lay there injured nearly 12 months ago, could become a reality.

While Miller loves nothing more than smashing into quarterbacks and running backs, his other great passion in life couldn’t be more different.

On Sundays he is one of the most feared linebackers in the NFL but the other love of his life, the one thing that makes all the noise from his day job fade into the background, is his chickens.

Miller, who was born in Texas, has his own chicken farm in Austin. He studied Poultry Science at Texas A&M college and, despite admitting he struggled to stay awake in class while he balanced studying and playing, was instantly hooked.

Miller studied Poultry Science at Texas A&M college and now runs his own chicken farm

Miller studied Poultry Science at Texas A&M college and now runs his own chicken farm

Miller's farm is in Austin, Texas and he reportedly has a coop the size of a tennis court in LA

Miller’s farm is in Austin, Texas and he reportedly has a coop the size of a tennis court in LA

A Broncos fan cracks a joke about Miller's love for chickens at a training camp back in 2018

A Broncos fan cracks a joke about Miller’s love for chickens at a training camp back in 2018

He told the Players’ Tribune back in 2019: ‘It started out as taking an easy class but I’d fall asleep every day.

‘I was a good student but my professor made it hard for me. He would wake me up, make me stand up and talk about the class in front of everybody.

‘Internally I really fell in love with it. From there I was like “yep, I’m going to be a chicken farmer.”

‘When I’m chasing a chicken it’s about being patient. When I’m on the football field I’m just trying to get from point A to point B as fast as possible.’

Miller, who is covered in tattoos, loves his chickens so much that he reportedly has a coop the size of a tennis court in his LA home.

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He also loves fishing but escaped charges for catching a hammerhead shark on a trip off the coast of Miami in March 2018.

Miller posed with the enormous catch on Instagram but the boat’s owner and operator received a $2,000 (£1,500) fine after being charged for not properly releasing the fish and shark fishing without a proper permit.

While Miller may be used to catching deadly animals in the water, he will have his hands full keeping Bengals running back Joe Mixon down on Sunday night.

In his down time, Miller loves unwinding with some fishing but did end up in controversy once

In his down time, Miller loves unwinding with some fishing but did end up in controversy once

Miller escaped charges for catching a hammerhead shark off the coast of Miami in March 2018

Miller escaped charges for catching a hammerhead shark off the coast of Miami in March 2018

Miller tackles Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers and is now heading to the Super Bowl

Miller tackles Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers and is now heading to the Super Bowl

Their unlikely run into the play-offs and then their performances in the post-season so far – they’ve beat both No 1 seed Tennessee and Kansas City on the road – make them an unknown quantity in the biggest game of them all.

Miller has heaped praise on Bengals star Joe Burrow though, insisting he sees ‘shades’ of Tom Brady in the second-year quarterback.

But Miller is one of a few people involved on Sunday night who has been there in the spotlight of the NFL’s biggest occasion and come out on top. That night in Santa Clara in 2016 was all about Miller and his fierce defense of him.

Miller had known nothing but the Broncos until the Rams did the deal for him to move to California. In the build up to the Super Bowl, he admits he would still be in Denver if it were his choice of him alone.

‘I didn’t want to leave, if it was up to me I’d still be in Denver,’ he said.

‘This wasn’t my choice. I always wanted to be a Denver Bronco forever.

‘I’ll always be a Denver Bronco forever. I’m just here working in LA right now.’

It may not have been Miller’s choice to leave Denver but one thing is for certain: if he gets his hands on that Vince Lombardi trophy on Sunday night, he will be eternally grateful that the Rams came calling.


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