ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — As Lou from Littleton likes to say, there are two kinds of people in this world: givers and takers.
Von Miller is a giver. How ‘bout this: Miller, the Broncos’ star pass rusher, won’t get Lasik surgery even though he can afford a million of them. Why? Because he wants to continue to give back to needy kids and share their issue with challenged eyesight.
"I've been wearing glasses my whole entire life,’’ Miller said after he had his way again during the Broncos’ mandatory minicamp practice Tuesday. “I've had problems with my vision my whole entire life. To really help in that area it's incredible. I haven't gotten Lasik to this point just because of that. I didn't want to get Lasik and be walking around with costume glasses on. I could never relate to guys.
“I still wear the same glasses. I still have horrible vision. To this day, I still put on contacts every single day just like those kids. If we can't relate in any other way, we can relate in that aspect.’’
Miller gives to his peers, too. He held his third annual Pass Rush Summit over the weekend, this time in Las Vegas – where the turnaround was a who’s who of the NFL’s best sack artists.Did Miller learn a new pass-rush move and try it on right tackle Ja’Wuan James during the Broncos’ minicamp practice Tuesday?
"The thing is, there really aren't any secrets,’’ Miller said. “There really aren't any secrets in the pros. … It's not like a secret move that I've got in my bag that I'm holding from everybody else. You see everything I've got on film.’’
“It's just a place where we are comparing what we're doing. … You get guys like Aaron Donald going out there and really going over 30 of his plays, and the guys the guys still in college and the young guys in the league they can see that.
“It's really the only place the can be around a guy like that other than the Pro Bowl. Everybody doesn't make it to the Pro Bowl. To have everybody in one room to go over film and really compare what they're seeing and really comparing what they're seeing on plays is dope. There's not another spot like it."
Earlier Tuesday, it was announced Miller had received the Jefferson Award in recognition of his public service. Former teammate DeMarcus Ware will present the national award to Miller later this month in Washington D.C.
After his practice and press conference Tuesday, Miller rushed over to a local bowling alley for another one of his Von’s Vision events.
"Uncle Ben said, 'With great power comes great responsibility,'’’ Miller said in quoting from the Spiderman movie. “And we have a huge platform. You have to be able to use that platform for the better. I've got a huge team around me. I had a lot of great examples come before me that really showed the way from Tim Tebow to Brian Dawkins, Champ Bailey, DeMarcus, and Peyton (Manning).
“Peyton was one of the winners a few years back. To have some of these guys come before me and really show me the way it's incredible."
No one gives all the time. Miller won’t give up his sacks. He is currently tied for 33rd all-time with 98.0 sacks even though he has only played eight seasons. He needs but 40 more – or three more typical Von seasons -- to move inside the top 10.
"I care about sacks,’’ Miller said. “I care about getting sacks, care about getting a lot of them.’’
Which is fine. A Miller sack gives his team a better chance to win.
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