Allen, Miller compare golf to football
The Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen and Von Miller join the set of Live From the PGA Championship to talk over their experience at nearby Oak Hill Country Club.
Video Transcript
- We actually have both sides of the ball here on set. We've got Von Miller alongside big Josh Allen, defensive superstar, former Super Bowl MVP. Von, Josh, thanks for being with us.
VON MILLER: Thank you guys for having us.
- Von, how's the knee? I know you had an ACL injury last December. How's the rehab? Good enough to be playing some golf?
VON MILLER: Yeah, the knee's in a good spot. I was cleared to play golf for about two months now. So being able to play golf, it's over the hump after that.
- The important thing is that you're cleared to play golf, not so much football at this point. You guys must think golfers are soft. There's all this talk about the weather and how cold it is. I mean, this is a mild day for you guys, is it not?
JOSH ALLEN: I mean, I got I got my shorts on. I'm a big shorts guy. So this is a great day here in Western New York. But I do know golfers. I mean, their hands are so important. And they're walking down the fairways. They got their mitts on and their hand warmers.
And football, it's a little bit different, I guess, in terms of when you're talking about the cold.
- You're a member here. Is that correct?
JOSH ALLEN: I am. I am.
- But you played.
JOSH ALLEN: Recently.
- Just congrats.
JOSH ALLEN: Thank you so much. I'm proud proud to be a member here.
- Are you one of those members who wants to see it play as hard as possible.
JOSH ALLEN: Yes. Absolutely. I want, I want some pros to struggle here. I think that validates us as people that just come out here and the everyday hacks of golf, to see them struggle and to know that when we come out here, it's OK to struggle. I think that makes us feel pretty good. When a pro comes in and goes 61 or 62, it kind of makes you feel bad about your game. But I know the conditions are going to be a little bit different. But it's fun to see the pros have a harder time sometimes too.
- Von, how's your game?
VON MILLER: Inconsistent. I think.
- Welcome to the club.
VON MILLER: I think, you go out there, you hit-- you can hit every shot in the book. Just being able to dial it up consistently is really one of the things that I admire about the pros, for them to have that mindset and the mental toughness to have that consistent shot over and over and over, whether it's driver, wedge, whether it's putting, to be consistent over time. That's what we try to take over to football as well.
- What blows you away about tour pros? And you've played AT&T Pebble Beach, Pro, and played with Keith Mitchell. You guys finished third. What blows you away?
JOSH ALLEN: Yeah, I think-- I think it's the ability to get up and down from just about anywhere around the green. I think their short game, they spend so much time on it. And there's going to be some guys on tour that are great drivers. There's some that aren't very good at all. But they find ways to hit out of the rough and hit it on the green and make some putts.
So they spend so much time. And obviously, that's what they do for their lives. And it's exciting to see.
- You guys are both big, strong guys. You play a tough sport and able to harness the power when you hit driver.
VON MILLER: I think that gets in the way. I think that gets in the way. I think having muscles and being able to be strong in a football field, it definitely hinders you on the golf course, for sure.
- What's your handicap?
JOSH ALLEN: I'm hovering around a 7 or an 8 right now.
- OK.
JOSH ALLEN: Yeah.
- There's room for improvement.
JOSH ALLEN: A lot a lot of room. A lot of room.
- You've got it. The best round of your life.
JOSH ALLEN: 77.
- Where?
JOSH ALLEN: It was at this place in La Quinta called Indian-- Indian Well South, I believe or Indian Canyon South. Something like that.
VON MILLER: I'm in the high teens because of Andy's help.
- So you're getting pops out there. Is he a good partner? Josh?
JOSH ALLEN: Absolutely.
- You take him at an 18.
JOSH ALLEN: I, if I-- If I remember correctly, there was an NFLPA tournament in the Bahamas that he took the championship.
VON MILLER: I was going to bring that up just now.
- That's sits right next to the two Super Bowl trophies.
VON MILLER: Yeah it was.
- [INAUDIBLE] Super Bowl MVP.
VON MILLER: You know, I value golf. I think being able to compete-- being able to compete and do something other than football with your colleagues and go out there and win is super cool. You know, my lowest round is 91. Struggled a little bit that day. I had three-- I had three 3's on the cared, still was able to get a 91. So it's always room for improvement.
- Well done. Tour pros that you love to watch and why?
JOSH ALLEN: Yeah, I think, Keith Mitchell. He's my partner with-- yeah cashmere Keith, baby. He's.
- Yeah. Yeah.
JOSH ALLEN: He's always fit to the nines too. So I love watching him. Justin Thomas, a guy that just kind of shapes the ball. He plays in a lot of different elements. I think, when it's windier, he almost plays better. He can shape the shot how he wants to. And then, I know he's not playing here today, but Tiger Woods is my favorite athlete of all time. So.
- Why?
JOSH ALLEN: Just as a kid growing up, when you saw on the ESPN ticker, Tiger Woods finishing up on 16, 17, 18 on Sunday, you had to turn to that channel and watch. And you know, he's one of the very few athletes where my heart was beating harder when he was lining up for a putt. So that was really fun.
- How about you, Von, any particular tour players that you love to watch?
VON MILLER: I like Brooks Koepka. I like Rickie Fowler. I think, Rickie Fowler's style and the flair that he brings to the game is super cool. For a casual golf guy like me, you see Rickie Fowler, you're like, man, it's got to be a cool sport. So Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka are two of my favorite guy.
- What can these players this week expect from Bills' fans? Are we going to be diving through tables. Doesn't seem like it would play that well in the parking lot here at Oak Hill. But it's a spirited group. What are we looking at?
VON MILLER: I think a couple of big a couple of big plays, you might see Bills Mafia go crazy out here for sure. [INAUDIBLE] fans in Western New York for sure.
JOSH ALLEN: A lot of shouts after some guys hit their drive and people yell, mashed potatoes. You might get a lot of Bills Mafia out here. So.
- We had a conversation earlier in the show about expectations. When a golfer fails late on Sunday, we're typically fairly soft, I would say, as a media group, golf media. But golfer sort of walks away and deals with it on their own.
You guys have let down. If you don't get the job done, you've let down an entire city and a region. And you hear about it, sports radio, national sports talk. How do you guys deal with failure? And it's been a subject with Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucs. How do you guys handle that?
VON MILLER: I think me, being my biggest critic and my teammates being my biggest critic. I think if it's OK with them, I think if I can pass the eye test of my own expectations, then I'm OK with that. You're not going to win them all. I know that's the plan to go out there and win and be successful on each and every play.
But the truth is, we play professional football. And it's not going to happen all the time. But to be able to strap it back up, to go out there, especially with your pals and suit it up and get another shot on goal. That's what it's all about.
JOSH ALLEN: Yeah. He hit it on the head. I mean, at the end of the season for us, there's 31 unhappy teams, right. There's only one Super Bowl winner. So working to find a way to get over that hump and win a Super Bowl, that's what we're trying to do.
But I think, in terms of applying what even golfers do, having that short memory, you hit a bad shot. I throw a bad throw. That next play I got to be on.
- You don't throw a whole lot of bad ones. By the way, how strong is the arm? Just [INAUDIBLE]
VON MILLER: This is my guy, man.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
VON MILLER: Don't start asking me about Josh Allen. I love Josh Allen. The arm is good. He can run. He can throw. He can do just about anything that the greatest quarterbacks can do. He's the guy.
- How's the season looking?
JOSH ALLEN: Again, I mean, we're very early in our process right now. We're getting the rookies kind of acclimated to our program, getting guys healthy, getting guys back, obviously, having Micah coming back too. That's going to help out our defense. And we're just trying to get our groove right now and bond and mesh well during this ota period and get ready to go for Tampa.
- And you came to Buffalo to help the Bills do what the Broncos did and what the Rams did when you were just tearing up quarterbacks as an edge rusher in those two places. Yeah. This place would be absolutely nuts if you guys win the Super Bowl, fair to say, be off the chain.
VON MILLER: Yeah. I think that's an understatement. This-- this town, this region, Western New York, they've been so hungry and thirsty for a Super Bowl and been close a whole lot of times. I think, Super Bowl champion here in Western New York, it would be insane.
JOSH ALLEN: I have vivid dreams of that parade.
- In the meantime, you've got another big one coming up. You've got the American Century in Tahoe in July, the week before the open. That's on NBC and Peacock. And how much do you love that? And by the way, brag-- quarterback bragging rights, because Tony Romo's defending.
JOSH ALLEN: Yes. Yes. That's one of my favorite events all year. And there's no handicap system with this, kind of like the Pebble Beach. There's one quarterback that won it. But a little asterisk on that one. I won't name any names.
- Quarterbacks typically can play. Go back to John Brodie. John Elway could play. Mark Griffin, a really good golfer. So to you. Wish you the best in the upcoming season. Get well. And I know you're going to break 90 soon. I feel it. And you, 75 I feel one coming.
JOSH ALLEN: All right. I love it.
- Josh Allen, Von Miller of the Buffalo Bills.