Top Ten Tuesdays continues today with a look at linebacker Von Miller’s best plays of the 2012 season.
It’s the second Top 10 Broncos TV has put together this offseason, following a look at Peyton Manning’s Top 10 touchdown passes last week.
Here’s a look at the order we came up with for Miller’s top plays of a season in which he set the franchise’s new single-season sack record.
10: Miller sacks Matt Ryan in the fourth quarter
Down 27-14 with the Broncos in the midst of a fourth-quarter comeback, the Denver defense had Atlanta in a third-and-5 at its own 25-yard line. Miller made sure that drive ended quickly, and his 11-yard sack of Ryan forced a three-and-out and gave the Broncos a chance to continue their comeback effort.
9: Miller strip-sacks Carson Palmer
Up 16-7 in the third quarter on Thursday Night Football, Miller and the Broncos defense had no interest in allowing Oakland to get back in the game. On a third down, Miller didn’t even let the Raiders go three-and-out. He went ahead and got the ball back on third down instead of fourth, sacking Palmer and forcing a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Mitch Unrein.
8: Miller stones New England
Just before halftime, the Patriots were threatening to run the Broncos out of the building. Facing a third-and-goal at the 1-yard line with less than 10 seconds remaining in the half, a New England touchdown looked inevitable. But Miller had other plans, drilling Bolden in the backfield for a loss of four yards and forcing the Patriots to settle for a field goal. That resulted in a more manageable 17-7 deficit.
7: Miller strip-sacks Philip Rivers
After Peyton Manning was sacked in the end zone for a safety, the Chargers were threatening in a Week 11 rematch, down just 17-9. But with the ball near midfield, Rivers dropped back and was met almost immediately by Miller for a 9-yard loss on a strip-sack. Linebacker Wesley Woodyard recovered the fumble, and three plays later Manning found wide receiver Eric Decker for a 20-yard touchdown and a 24-9 lead.
6: Miller hits Cam Newton immediately in the backfield
With a chance to get his team back in the game late in the third quarter, Newton took a shotgun snap, ready to take off on a designed run. Before he could even take a step forward, Miller sent the 6-foot-5, 245-pound quarterback flying onto his back for a 4-yard loss, forcing a punt.
5: Miller forces a bad throw by Newton for a pick-six
The Panthers looked like they would jump right back into the game after Manning was strip-sacked and Carolina took over. But on the first play of the ensuing drive, Miller put intense pressure on Newton and forced an errant throw. It was intercepted by cornerback Tony Carter and returned 40 yards for a touchdown and a 24-7 lead.
4: Miller forces a fumble from Jonathan Stewart
Miller’s stat-sheet-stuffing day against Carolina also included a forced fumble when he stuffed Stewart at the line of scrimmage, forcing the running back to lose his grip on the ball.
3: Miller sets the tone with a Newton sack
Earlier in the week, Miller had predicted that he would mimic Newton’s Superman pose after he sacked the former No. 1 overall selection. He got that out of the way early, ending Carolina’s first drive with a sack that was followed by the signature celebration.
2: Miller grabs his first career pick-six
Miller helped put the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of reach late in the third quarter. After Manning hit Demaryius Thomas for a 10-yard touchdown and a 21-10 lead, two plays later, Miller intercepted Josh Freeman and returned the pick 26 yards for a touchdown and a 28-10 lead.
1: Miller becomes the single-season sack king
In the third quarter against the Cleveland Browns, Miller sacked Brandon Weededn for a loss of 9 yards. The quarterback takedown was Miller’s 17.5th, which made him the franchise’s single-season sack leader, passing Elvis Dumervil’s 17. He finished the season with 18.5 after he sacked Chiefs quarterback Brady Quinn the following week.
What do you think of the list? Anything missing? Too much from his dominating game against Carolina? Let us know what you think and what your top 10 would be in the comments.
Take a look at a photo gallery of those top plays here.
Tags: Top 10 Tuesdays, Von Miller
Here’s to drafting quality not quantity.
BRONCOS 2013!
I’m in on that idea!
I vote for that one also.
Here is a scouting report on Walterfootball about Free Agents for 2013. Here is the write up about Jairus Byrd.
Jairus Byrd, S, Bills age 26; 4 1/2 star rating.
Jairus Byrd is one of the top Safety’s in the NFL. He shuts everything down in coverage – he was responsable for no TD’s all year.
He constantly comes up with turnovers. He’s also decent in run support and is seldom penalized. He deserves a massive contract.
That sounds good Strand but I don’t think we have the money to spend on a guy like that. I know we have 18.5 Million but that goes pretty fast when you have to give Clady a big deal and the rookie class will take about 4-6 million of that. Sure letting some guys walk saves some money but don’t forget Miller will need a big pay day down the road too.
I second the draft of Quality as well. Id rather see us trade up this year than down. He have one of the most complete teams. We don’t need bodies. We need quality
Byrd is possible. But im sure the BILLS will try to keep their star. He is also not adverse to cold weather so he will fit right in. We are contenders so maybe he chooses winning over money, maybe manning restructures contract. We will see. I am pushing for safety in the draft, I think its a great safety class but if byrd is possible that’s awesome. Doesn’t have the speed u would usually desire but he proves speed is only part of the equation. He is tops in all other categories. Definitely shoulda gotten him in 09 instead of alphonso smith … HE would have been worth the first we gave up. Smh
But if not him. Still pulling for Kenny Vacarro to fall to us at 28 or moving up to get him or getting LSU Reid/Florida Elam at 28. I know people want the beef. Even MLB makes sense but our safety play needs to grow leaps ant bounds, between both safeties last year we only had 1 INT and 2 fumbles forced I believe. That’s pathetic. Especially when u consider that we have a mean pass rush that forces QBs to put up a prayer.
TRB
RH, you know what I like about miller? I believe they asked him when he came out and got drafted number 2 if he wished he came out a year earlier before the rookie scale was in place … his response was something akin to “It doesn’t bother me, if you play like a top pick you will get your money regardless” … He has played like a top pick, and he will earn his deal.
TRB
I cant get on board the draft less but hopefully better players mantra. Not that it isn’t a fair idea, it just isn’t the reality of the draft. Sadly, the draft is almost a crapshoot no matter how much research you put in. It is about educated guesses but even with that, more turn out as so-so guys then talented ones.
I say move down if possible and pick as many guys as possible. Play the odds.
Nice call TRB! Thats what I’m talking about. Every team is somewhat in the same position as in to be under the cap and go after a particular player or players. And of course some teams are well over their cap and have to make some hard decisions in who to cut just to get under. As for our Broncos, thats in the front offices hands in what to do come FA and the draft. We’re in great position in being 18 million under the cap, kudos to all of the decision makers in Dove Valley. Its early but something to ponder on when FA hits.
I also dont judge Safetys or CB by interceptions. We had very strong safety play this year. yes it can improve but it was very solid.
Ummm… I wouldn’t go so far as to say Very Strong or Very Solid… Maybe Solid, and for sure adequate, but the guys on the field at Safety this season
a) didn’t really directly impact the outcome of any game by making a spectacular play (even though Adams had a chance for a pick in OT against BAL)
b) did in fact impact the outcome of the single most important game the Broncos were involved in this season by committing an egregious error. One play does not an entire season make, but that one play did in fact make our season…
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True maybe judging them by turn overs and fumbles forced is not fair. The point is, they weren’t impactful IMO … in a passer league I expect more INTs from both my safeties … COMBINED. I know everyone isn’t a ball hawk but come on. Speaks to instincts and hands. They are not fearful tacklers either … adequate I suppose. If u want something else to judge them by, we can judge them by TE coverage as well, which was the worst in the league. Im not saying they are terrible, im just saying in this vertical league i personally believe we need better safety play … even before the Rahim Moore incident, and that sure didn’t help. They were adequate all year in the sense they might not as well have been there. I know everyone can’t be superstars but we need impact players. I almost feel like we coulda had Bruton and Leonard back there and not know the difference. Woodyard made an impact, so did von and doom of course, even wolf. Champ did, and so did chris harris (even tony carter and porter at times). I just cannot remember a time for either of our safeties where i was like … MAN sure glad we got those guys. You don’t have to be ed reed. Just need impact of some sort. Our Safeties are like our DTs, they did enough but weren’t impactful … hence why people are calling for the beef. And MLB as well.
TRB
At least Moore has UPside, I believe he will get better after that failed play. Adams on the other hand has plateaued. IMO
Thats why we have Carter who has a lot of upside as well and is coming back next year.
And here is the Safety data.
Those mad a Moore will see how good he was before an outlier in the playoffs. You will see just how good Byrd is, which is most likely going to make him expensive. If Buffalo even wants to let him get away.
Mike Adams had a tough year but I think he was asked to do some very tough things and in that regard he performed adequately.
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/01/30/signature-stats-first-downs-allowed-safeties/
It depends how you viewed the games I guess. I remember Moore having a chance at a few and having stone hands. It happens and even though you don’t get an INT, you do get a pass defensed. Moore had also not missed a tackle in the first 12 or 13 games. That is huge. Especially when he came in for run support and I remember some TFL on a WR or TE screen. Moore was awesome.
With Adams, I can see how many people could be mad at what they saw. What I saw was a guy who was in position the majority of the time but would just barely miss getting his hand on the ball. Adams was good against the run but struggled in coverage. I attribute his struggles to the fact that he was asked to cover TE one-on-one most of the time. This is a large mismatch for him and he did a pretty good job considering. If we can pick up a good coverage MLB, I think what Adams is asked to do will change some.
Stats have there place but they are limited without the narrative. Adams did have coverage problems but I think it was due to our limited skill at MLB that led to using Adams in that role. Either, we find a good MLB or Adams understands this is his new role and trains for it in the off season to improve on his size and coverage skills.
Qaulity vs. Quantity
It all depends on how your team is setting. A team that has good talent everywhere and just needs to fill a few holes, definitely quality. If a team needs a lot of help in a lot of places sometimes it makes sense to draft quantity.
I don’t think we have one of the most complete teams. Petyon Manning is great but unfortunately he can hide a lot of flaws on your football team.
Brian. I agree that we want to get quality. However, I disagree on how to draft for quality because I think that only a small percentage of those in the draft actually become quality.
Maybe this will help. We can all agree that a rifle is more accurate than a shotgun. However, try and shoot a flying duck at 20 yards with a rifle. Sure the rifle is accurate and you know what you want to do, but it is going to be very difficult to accomplish your task. The shotgun is going to have some stray pellets but it has a higher percentage of getting the task done.
This is how the draft is. A guy could have all the talent and athletic ability in the world but say he just wants that first pay check and then doesn’t have the work ethic anymore. That is almost impossible to see. That is why the whole thing is a crap shoot and drafting more players is always better then focusing on a few that you THINK will be stars.
As much as I hate the guy. Just ask Bellycheat.
RH, I can see your perspective but don’t agree with the conclusion. I think it is possible to draft truely good players who will make an impact. Last year we had a very productive draft. I didn’t agree with all the choices,I still think we should have went with Martin but we did well non the less. As far as your gun analogy, I can’t agree. As a hunter I have shot many game birds,with a shotgun, and have found them wounded but not dead. This is what happened in our game with the Ravens , we wounded them but were unable to finish them off. We need a few pieces to carry us to the big show and Moore, Adams and Willis can’t be counted on to finish the job. imo
Elway, Fox, and Co. are smart I’m sure they can draft both quality and quantity.
Moore is a top 10 safety. Period. He was solid this year and he will be even better next year.
Adams is a good safety and was asked to do a lot this year. If we draft a MLB high this year, don’t expect Adams to be asked to do the same stuff next year. Also, having Q. Carter back will improve both Carter and Adams.
If you look at that play again, Tony Carter is as equally at fault as Rahim Moore was. Carter released the WR, and pulled off the route entirely, leaving Moore all by himself.
Carter is suppose to let the receiver go. They are playing in a zone. Carter has the underneath zone. If he had followed Jones, then the underneath to that side of the field is wide open.
But Carter didn’t provid support underneath. He simply let up on the play, and ended up serving no purpose.
*provide
EVERYBODY ASSOCIATED WITH THE BRONCOS FROM PAT BOWLEN ON DOWN SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY ASHAMED OF THEMERSLVES.
In less than 73 hours the 21013 HOF inductees will be announced. Among those who might be announced is the Denver Broncos exceptional NT Curly Culp. Yet, not one Bronco staff writer has even mentioned this posibilty and given Curlys history as a Bronco for those who have no concept who he is and what an exceptionalo player he was.
SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well color me stupids and amazed. The Curley Culp old time HOF nominee is a Curley Culp who played for the Chiefs. Not the one who played for the Broncos. DDDDDUUUHHHHH!!!!!
Your forgiven OSS. LOL
OSS, they are one and the same. Culp was drafted by Denver, but Lou Saban traded him to Hank Stram not long after. Saban wanted him to play guard, and he couldn’t pick up the offense, so Stram took him and made him a DT, which is what he was to begin with.
Just thought I’d pass this little nugget on……
Is ‘Honeybadger’ Mathiew joining this draft?
One player we have I wouldnt mind see playing is ILB Stevie Johnson. I will never doubt a CFA’s ability.
Johnson has talent. same with Trevathan. time will tell.
I still believe in Quantity over quality this year. But i agree peyton can hide alot of flaws … mainly on offense tho. None the less we have a short window with him. I know the draft is a crap shoot and people believe the more picks u have the better. But your chances in the first round are not to bad if u know what u want. Stacking up on a bunch of 3rds and 4ths rarely yeild fruit. U are more likely to pick a stud in the first than strike gold with a diamond in the rough in mid rounds.
Moore is not a top 10 safety … not even. I can list 10 right now better than him
Ed reed, polomalu, byrd, Laron Landry, Eric Berry, Earl thomas, Goldston, Donte whitner, Michael griffin, Bernard Pollard … and 8 of those were off the top of my head.
Im not saying its all about stats … im saying impact … and some on that list might not have overwhelming stats but they make an impact.
Rahim was drafted for his ball hawking, he was scouted as a terrible tackler. and he was season 1. vastly improved his sophmore year, but then his hands became stone the few times he was in position. I repeat, i am not saying our safeties are trash … and i believe rahim will most likely grow from this. i am saying we can and need to do better at that position in this passing league.
TRB
Broncos20,
Yes, Honey Badger is in the draft. Slated aroudn the 3rd to mid rounds now because of his dismisal from LSU program, the fact that he has been out of football for a year, plus his clear drug addiction that led to all of this. He has been in rehab since his dismisal so hopefully he is clean now. If you read the kids story … some folk just get a bum hand. If he’s got his stuff back on track, i wish him the best. Not many capable pint sized CBs.
TRB
Best Starting Pair
When asking the question, which cornerback duo was the best in the NFL this season, it is impossible to prove definitively one way or the other. What we can tell you though, is which starting cornerback duo gave up the least yardage. That would be the Broncos’ Champ Bailey and Chris Harris Jr. They finished fourth and ninth respectively in YPCS this season, the highest average finish of any starting cornerback tandem. Four individual corners gave up more yards than the 929 yards the Denver duo combined to give up. They may get overlooked because of their modest combined interception total (5), but they played about as good as any pair in the league this season.
I’m starting to see a trend. Seems like our guys can all play decent during the regular season but all of a sudden in the postseason they fall apart. Hope it doesn’t turn into a pattern.
We have bucked a few patterns lately. Remember we use to fade down the stretch three years running. Got that monkey off the back this year. Next year we can get the playoff monkey off the back.
Tidfe: Thanks, I was sure he was a Bronco. Even if he is Chief, he richly deserves getting in. Exceptional DT.
Anybody going to head up a draft selection “contest”. Sort of remember that I did abysimally bad last year.
i saw some videos of Tyran “HoneyBadger” training with his mentor Patrick Peterson leading up to the draft..No doubt his size is a bit questionable, but he is a definite game changer..just needs better guidance,..IMO,,I think any team that picks him up will get results……… last year was Vontaze Burfict…look at how he played all year..
I am happy with our CBs…Harris is an underrated shutdown CB.and i think he isnt that big of a CB. I’d still have Champ, Harris with Bolden and Carter as our main guys…
I lobbied for vontaze too broncos20, he just has the raw skills and instincts. Not the smartest guy but he is a enforcer for sure. And he went undraftd too i believe smh.
I believe Honey Badger will be fine … id welcome him on the broncos … even tho i guess we technically dont “need” him.
TRB
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8DKJpK2G2o
for u broncos 20
TRB