ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — ENGLEWOOD – It’s may not be quite as irksome as, say, spending the rest of your life carrying around a .299 career batting average, as former Rockies left fielder Dante Bichette has.
Still, Von Miller is finishing up a long offseason in which he stared at 98.0 sacks on his career stat sheet.
“It kind of hit me in gut,’’ Miller said at the Broncos Kickoff Luncheon on Wednesday at the Pat Bowlen Fieldhouse. “I couldn't get 100 before I was 30 and I couldn't do this other stuff, but it's motivating to know that I'm not the only guy that has been at that number.
“Bruce Smith -- I met with him two days ago -- I think he had 96 sacks, and we all know how that turned out for him.’’
Smith actually had 92 sacks before he turned 30, or 6 less than Miller had on his 30th birthday (March 26). Smith played through his 40th birthday season in 2003 and finished with 200.0 sacks to pass Reggie White's 198.0 as the NFL’s all-time sack leader.
No one else has come close to Smith's still-standing record. Kevin Greene is No. 3 all-time with 160.0 sacks and Miller is the only active player with a chance.
The key to setting individual career records in almost every team sport, though, is to stay healthy and productive in your 30s. Smith only missed 5 games and had 103 sacks in his 30s. Miller interviewed Smith after practice Monday as part of the NFL’s 100-season celebration. The interview will be shown on the NFL Network prior to the Broncos-Chiefs game on Thursday night, October 17.
“They always told me, just go out there and just play, don't really worry about any other stuff,’’ Miller said. “Don't worry about how many years you're going to play, just go out there and play and that's what I'm trying to do.
“I'm taking his advice, trying to stay in the moment, stay in the moment with my teammates, stay in the moment with the fans and just go out there and play.”
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