Fatherly advice? As it’s in Buffalo, Von Miller Sr. figured, he’s probably just going to wing it.
“Of course, he and I had conversations about it,” the father of Broncos icon — and current Bills pass-rushing ace — Von Miller told me Tuesday by phone from Texas. “I know how he feels. He grew up in Denver. And became a man in Denver. Some of that is always going to be there.”
The Millers are at the heart of Sunday’s AFC Wild Card game between the Broncos and Bills. Those hearts are knocking a little harder than usual this week.
“It’s bittersweet,” Von Sr. said. “But when you get in situations like that, you’ve got to move on. And dedication has got to be where you’re working.”
As John Lennon once sang, life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans. Von Miller, MVP of Super Bowl 50, always planned to be on the field for the Broncos’ biggest game in nine years.
The part he didn’t see coming was that he’d do it while wearing Bills blue and white. Or that he’d be tasked with mashing the rookie — Bo Nix — who effectively replaced him as the face of his favorite franchise.
“The one thing I always tried to get him to focus on is that you’ve got to know it’s a business,” Von Sr. said. “And sometimes, you’ve got to take your feelings out of it and move on. He had no control over that situation.”
Broncos GM George Paton ripped John Elway’s Band-Aid off, trading Miller to the Rams in November 2021 for two draft picks. The Vonster landed another ring a few months later in La La Land, then parlayed that into a six-year deal in Buffalo worth $20 million annually.
Young Von was crushed at the time, wiping away tears as he left Dove Valley that morning. In hindsight, it was a deal where everybody won. Eventually.
The Broncos took a lot longer to get there, of course, thanks to reasons nobody around here should have to live through ever again.
“It’s crazy,” Von Sr. said. “As a family, we’ve all kind of kept our eyes on the Broncos. Like any other team, like any other franchise, they hit hard times. But it sure looks like they’re on the mend, on the way up.”
Sure does.
Time flies when you haven’t won.
“Can you believe,” I asked Von’s dad, “that almost nine years have passed since Super Bowl 50?”
“It seems like yesterday,” Von Sr. laughed. “It seems like yesterday that we were in a place I thought was going to be his history.
“But things happened. The NFL is a business.”
And Sunday’s a business trip. For everybody. That includes Von Sr. and his wife, Gloria, who may have to beat a winter storm to make it north to Orchard Park.
“(I’ve) still got friends in Denver and I’ve got a lot in Buffalo,” Von Sr. said. “We still communicate. But I haven’t gotten any (Broncos) calls at all.”
If anything, it helps the Vonster — and his folks — that he’s already lined up against the Broncos once before. Last November, during a weird, wild Monday Night Football tussle, the ex-Denver star recorded just one solo stop and zero sacks on 23 snaps, per Pro-Football-Reference. A Wil Lutz field goal as time expired — and that one was a do-over, as the Bills were flagged for too many men on the field during Lutz’s initial miss — gave Denver a 24-22 victory.
“He wasn’t at his best,” Von Sr. said of his son. “The (Bills) weren’t at their best. It’ll be a better contest this time.”
The contests along the edge figure to loom large. The Bills were 11-0 this season when picking up two sacks or more, but 2-4 when it was one takedown or fewer. In the six games that saw The Vonster notch a sack, Buffalo went 5-1.
“Von and I have a great relationship,” Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles said earlier this week. “I don’t know how much I’ll see him because he plays on the right side. But I bet he’ll come over and then I’ll have to do what I need to do to get him back on that side. But I love the kid. I love him to death. He’s family to me and I’m excited to see him.”
The Vonster may have left Denver, but Denver never completely left The Vonster. His “Von’s Vision” nonprofit still provides Front Range kids with necessary eye care and corrective eyewear. Most of his old teammates are long gone. But the memories remain. Right next to that Lombardi Trophy.
“Broncos Country, during our time, they always traveled well,” Von Sr. reflected. “But Buffalo is a different kind of a place.”
His son’s in a different place, too.
“It’s just like leaving home,” Von Sr. said. “You’ve got to go start on your own somewhere. Once you leave home, you’ve got to go and get roots somewhere else.
“That’s (what) Von has done. But he never forgets where he came from.”
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