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+---- Thread: *An Unstoppable Force (/showthread.php?tid=23480)
*An Unstoppable Force - BRNXB0MBERS - 07-10-2020
AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE
The Big Man in the Middle
John Wesley Hardin, Arizona Outlaw Herald-Tribune | Jul 10, 2020 | Phoenix
Look at his eyes. No, not Pete “Plop” Miller’s eyes. Look at his opponent, the center or guard lined up across from him. They will tell you everything you need to know. They dart from side to side. They’re dilated. There’s an almost imperceptible shake. He’s scared, nervous, anxious. And he should be. At 6’ 3”, 310 pounds, Miller is a force to be reckoned with. Even his hands and fingers are huge. The offensive lineman hopes that little extra adrenaline gets him through the next play. The center snaps the ball, and BAM! Plop just got the drop on him.
To have any chance against Miller, even the slightest chance of making it through the game without being embarrassed, the offensive line needs every advantage they can get. Look at any team’s stats when they play the Arizona Outlaws – false starts and illegal formation penalties increase dramatically when Miller is on the field. He is a nightmare for offense coaches, and he never seems to slow down. He’s like a jackhammer powered by the world’s largest Energizer bunny.
Since being drafted in S21, Miller has changed the way teams plan and play against Arizona, which has allowed the entire defense to elevate to the elites of the NSFL. Coaches and analysts alike frequently comment on his impact in Arizona’s year-over-year improving record. If you need even more proof, just look at the stances of the offensive line.
“They're almost standing up," says Outlaws LB Galf Wilf. "Their spines are curved back like nothing I’ve ever seen. They're as far back off the line as they are allowed. Sometimes more. I wouldn't say they're cheating, but they toe the line. You can’t beat him. What can you do?"
Can any lineman stop him one-on-one? Miller answers with a mix of insult and repulsion. "No," he says graciously but with intensity. "No, they cannot."
Says Wilf, "You put a guy one-on-one with Plop? Why? Why would you do that? That’s just plain stupid. You’re hanging that guy out to dry."
So, the teams plan around him. Maybe they keep a running back in for a chip-block. Maybe they pull the tight end around to double-team him. Maybe they do both, especially if it’s an obvious passing down in the late stages of a close game
"Pete makes teams abandon their usual style and game plan," says Arizona co-GM xQCFamous. "Sometimes you'll look at his side of the line and it doesn’t look like a legal formation – there are so many guys over there. I always get a good laugh though, because Miller usually ends up beating them anyway. He’s a beast. You know he is going to get his, but you can’t forget about anyone else either. They spend so much time planning for Miller, it opens lanes for Wilf, Masters, Miller II, and Ryeu. Not to mention the pressure he takes off our DBs."
You might think you can simply overpower Miller. That might be the case if you want to block him with three guys. But even when you throw a 340-pound lineman and a 245-pound blocking back at him, he can use his angles, strength, and athleticism to make his path to the QB.
"At the beginning of his career, teams could overwhelm him with a couple of blockers," says xQC. "That doesn’t work anymore. He worked so hard in practice and the off season. He’s more than the one-dimensional bull rusher that was drafted a couple years ago. Now, he uses his length to reach through the blockers and make a play on the ball. He's so low and so explosive that he can’t be stopped. Everything the [opposing coaches] have schemed against him, he's negated with his strength, preparedness, and natural ability. If he keeps improving like this, adding more moves and different looks, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him hit 20 sacks in a season. If you’re Hendrix, Tuck, Ernston, Winchester, or Dan Miller, you should probably be looking over your shoulder. I don’t know if you’ll still be on top of the sacks leader board when Pete Miller decides to hang them up."
Among the fun-loving and outspoken Outlaws, there's always joking and teasing. Never any animosity though. Partly because Miller handles everything with modesty, but largely because he makes everyone's job easier.
"You can drop into coverage and be two steps behind the receiver thinking, ‘Damn it! I'm beat this time,’” CB Desmond Scarlett says. "Then you hear the crowd roar and the whistles blow. You turn around and see Pete standing up off the QB with that big, dumb grin of his. As you jog back to the line of scrimmage all you can think is ‘Ha. He saved my butt again.’ I’m so glad he’s on our team; he makes plays to cover our mistakes."
It’s funny to look back on the S21 draft now, where Miller was the sixth defensive lineman (fourth defensive tackle) off the board. He led all rookies in sacks with 9 in S21. He also added 44 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 forced fumble on his way to a Pro Bowl selection. He followed that up with another Pro Bowl campaign in S22 that included 12 sacks, 40 tackles, and 3 tackles for loss. And that doesn’t even account for the elevated stats of his teammates due to intimidating presence.
However, the Outlaws knew Miller was the key from the beginning. "We wanted him from the start. We didn’t have a first-round pick, so we were a little worried that he might not make it to us at pick 14. The War Room was going crazy with possible trade scenarios if another team took him. We really wanted him; we were willing to trade up to the top half of the first round," says GM unicorn.
"We graded him as the single player who could anchor our defense. Luckily, we didn’t have to make any trades, and as we got closer and closer to our pick, we couldn't believe it. We were amazed that we were able to get him at our pick."
By nature of his upbringing, Miller is serious, quiet, and humble. He’s not flashy and has a relatively unassuming house and car. Sometimes that makes it difficult when players around the league take cheap shots at him – whether that be on the field or in the media. If he ends up in the pile or gets knocked down, he knows there’s going to be an extra knee or two jammed into his back. Late hits too.
"He's a target out there," Wilf says. "They get beat on a couple of plays, so they get frustrated. You just never what they might do.”
"I mean, it sucks, but it’s not my job to ref the game. We have some of the best officials in the world, and they do a great job,” Miller says. “That said, if it keeps up and the refs don't call it, I'm going to do something about it. I'm going to do it within the rules of the game – I don’t want to punish my teammates with a penalty – but I’ll take care of it."
It hasn’t come to that yet. He simply plays harder and laughs in the faces of his opponents.
“Sometimes he’ll come jogging back to the huddle smiling and saying, ‘This guy is taking cheap shots at me,’” says fellow defensive lineman Shane Masters. “Pete thinks it’s funny.”
Even when you try to cheat and get the best of him, Miller still wins.
He is an unstoppable force.
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