Von Miller, Phillip Lindsay Selected to 2019 Pro Bowl; Three Broncos Tabbed As Alternates by Aric Dilalla Denverbroncos.Com December 19, 2018
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Von Miller, Phillip Lindsay selected to 2019 Pro Bowl; Three Broncos tabbed as alternates By Aric DiLalla DenverBroncos.com December 19, 2018 Outside linebacker Von Miller and running back Phillip Lindsay have been selected to the 2019 Pro Bowl, the NFL announced Tuesday. Miller has now been selected to the Pro Bowl seven times, and he has been chosen every year since 2014. His 14.5 sacks this season are tied for second in the NFL. To read more about Miller’s Pro Bowl season, click here. Lindsay, meanwhile, becomes the first undrafted offensive rookie to earn a Pro Bowl bid. The Colorado product ranks in the top five in the NFL in rushing yards, rushing average and rushing touchdowns. He currently has 991 yards and nine touchdowns through 14 games. To read more about Lindsay’s Pro Bowl season, click here. The Broncos also had three players named alternates for the 2019 Pro Bowl. Cornerback Chris Harris Jr., wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and outside linebacker Bradley Chubb were all tabbed as alternates. Harris tallied three interceptions, one sack and 49 tackles during his 12 starts in 2018. In Week 7, he returned one of those picks for a touchdown. He suffered a leg injury in Week 13 against the Bengals. Sanders, who suffered an Achilles injury in practice ahead of the Broncos’ game against the 49ers, tallied 71 catches for 868 yards and four receiving touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown and caught a touchdown this season. The Broncos placed Sanders on IR ahead of their Week 14 game. Chubb, the fifth-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, could earn his first Pro Bowl selection. In Week 14, he passed Von Miller for the most sacks by a rookie in Broncos history. He sits just three sacks away from passing Jevon Kearse’s all-time rookie sack record. Ten-and-a-half of Chubb’s 12 sacks have come since Week 6. Von Miller eclipses Simon Fletcher as Broncos' all-time sack leader By Jeff Legwold ESPN Dec. 16, 2018 Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller has always said he considers the most important part of his job is "getting sacks and making game-changing plays,'' and he has now done that more than any other player in franchise history. When Miller launched himself through the Cleveland Browns' offensive line on the last play of the third quarter Saturday night and pulled quarterback Baker Mayfield to the ground, he had his 98th career sack. Miller passed Broncos Ring of Famer Simon Fletcher, who finished his career with 97.5 sacks. Immediately after his sack, the Broncos played a video of Fletcher on the scoreboard congratulating Miller. Fletcher was in attendance. "I saw the video," Miller said after Denver's 17-16 loss to Cleveland. "Me and Simon have been buddies for five or six years now. "He drove all the way down from Wyoming to see it, so it's incredible to have that type of support from the Broncos legend. "Really (good) friends with Simon and he's always been positive in his support, pushing me on to break it. Even when I had 30 sacks, he was pushing me on." The play came at an opportune time for the Broncos, as the Browns had driven into Denver territory against a Broncos defense depleted at cornerback by injury and Jamar Taylor's ejection. The sack also gave Miller 14.5 for the season, the second-highest single-season total of his career. His career high is 18.5 in 2012. Miller was asked this past week if he thinks about awards and records down the road. "I don't really,'' he said. "Honestly, I don't. The thing about getting sacks, the sack race is so close right now. I'm three sacks away from [Rams defensive tackle] Aaron Donald, and the next guy behind me is just a sack away. So, it's a tight race and every sack could mean the difference. That's where my mindset is at right now." Von's redemption went from '6 hours at a time' to Walter Payton Man of Year nomination By Mike Klis 9 News Dec. 7, 2018 Who would have thought at the start of the 2013 season that five years later Von Miller would be the Broncos’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee? And given Miller has raised nearly $1 million for Von’s Vision, his foundation that aids kids in need of eyewear, attends many team community functions, and recently raised nearly $200,000 to supply vest kits for police/firefighters involved in active shooter situations, he has a good chance to become the Broncos’ second national Man of the Year award winner. John Elway was the first, in 1992. "Man, it's an incredible achievement," Miller said at his weekly press conference Thursday. "It's really still like a dream. I remember in 2011 when I just had ideas of starting something (for charitable cause). Working behind Tim Tebow and all the great stuff that he did and sitting down signing autographs. I told my agent (Joby Branion) at the time, hey I want to -- it took me a year from when I was sitting down with my agent and signing autographs to, 'Hey, I want to do Von's Vision.''' Any time Miller is recognized with such a prestigious honor, it’s time to reflect on how far he’s come. This is a story of redemption, both off and on the field. Before the Broncos began training camp in 2013, news broke that Miller – the Broncos’ No. 2 overall draft pick in 2011 and who was coming off two decorated seasons – would be suspended six games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. At the same time, Miller, Branion and Broncos’ public relations boss Patrick Smyth were holding regular conference calls on how to deal with the latest outstanding warrant he had both in- and across state lines. On the field, Miller had his worst season in 2013, registering just 5.0 sacks in 9 games before he suffered a torn ACL that caused him the miss his team’s postseason run to the Super Bowl. Miller was a mess but to his credit, he didn’t become Aldon Smith, another first-round pass rusher in the 2011 draft whose off-field trouble ruined his career. Miller pulled it together. "I guess the key is just to take it one day at a time," Miller said. "That's what I did in 2013 whenever I was going through all that adversity I was going through -- honestly, I didn't even take it one day at a time. I took it, like, six hours at a time. You chip off six hours and another six hours and you string this thing together You string this day, you string this week and then it's a month and before you know it, you're here. "And that's the mentality I have now. Just take it one day at a time, six hours at a time and see where I can go." The 2013 season remains the only year Miller didn’t register double-digit sacks. He had 14 sacks in 2014, became the Super Bowl 50 MVP in 2015 and started his record six-year, $114.5 million contract extension in 2016. Miller has so far earned that contract – which for two years held as the NFL’s richest among defensive players -- through his work on and off the field. Miller has often credited his former teammates and quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning for setting a positive example in the community. Other Walter Payton Man of the Year nominees include Julius Peppers, Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott and Marshawn Lynch. Wesley Woodyard is the Broncos’ only three-time Walter Payton nominee. Rod Smith and Champ Bailey were each two-time nominees. The national Walter Payton Man of the Year winner will be announced at the NFL Honors program on February 2 and presented February 3 on the field at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta. Von Miller leads $200K Broncos initiative to provide protective kits to first responders in mass shootings, improve law-enforcement relations By Nicki Jhabvala The Athletic November 30, 2018 Von Miller wanted to do more. He wanted to do something bigger, something different, something lasting. So during a team meeting last week he pitched an idea to some of his fellow players, hoping they’d follow his lead and go all in on an effort to effect more change in the local community. They were in. Miller and the Denver Broncos committed more than $200,000 toward a program designed to improve local law enforcement relations. The initiative, a unique two-part program, is part of the NFL’s social justice partnership in which league and team owners have contributed millions of dollars for educational projects, criminal justice reform and improved community-police relations across the country. Instead of simply providing a lump sum or one-time donation, however, Miller’s plan is designed for the long term. The donation from Miller and the Broncos to Shield616, a Colorado Springs-based nonprofit, will provide more than 125 advanced protective kits for police and firefighters responding to mass shootings. As the second part of the rollout, Miller and the Broncos will maintain a connection with the select first responders and their families through roundtable discussions, programs with local youth and various volunteer opportunities. The protective Shield616 kits provided to first responders. “When I heard there’s been more than 300 mass shootings in the last year alone, I felt like we needed to do something for those who protect us,” Miller said.