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Lamar Miller should have a huge game if given opportunity

By Kevin Parvizi

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The Miami Dolphins will be getting Knowshon Moreno back for  tomorrow’s game against the Green Bay Packers, as Moreno is only listed as probable on the team’s injury report. Moreno had a strong rushing performance in Week 1 with over 100 yards against the New England Patriots, and he’s a solid back overall. But third-year pro Lamar Miller has been even more impressive in Moreno’s absence, and there’s never been a slight bit of doubt in my mind that he deserves to hold the “feature back” label in the Dolphins offense.

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    • Not only does Miller have more raw talent than Moreno at this stage, but, of all RBs with at least 40 carries, Miller leads the league with an average of 5.7 yards per carry. He’s consistently managed to move the ball on the ground for solid chunks of yardage, making him one of the league’s most reliable backs on a per-carry basis. He somehow averaged 4.0 yards per carry last year despite playing behind the league’s most pathetic offensive line, and the upgrade in blocking has caused his superior talent to blossom.

    It will be interesting to see how Bill Lazor and the Dolphins split carries between the two backs, but what’s clear is that, if Lazor wins out and the Dolphins stay committed to the ground game, both RBs should have huge days against one of the NFL’s most pitiful run defenses. The Packers can shut down passing attacks with a deep group of pass rushers and an uber-athletic secondary, but they sorely lack muscle and steady play against the run in the front seven, particularly when coming downhill.

    Lamar Miller mainly bases his game on speed and elusiveness, but he showed that he can grind out the tough yards last year when space was incredibly difficult to come by. That 5.7 yards per carry shouldn’t be taken lightly at all, and Miller should be able to take full advantage of a soft matchup ahead of him. Of course, the one issue with him is fumbling, as he’s already lost two fumbles this season. Coaches hate turnovers even more than fans do, so it would surely sting if Miller were to put the ball on the turf and promptly receive a benching. Against the Packers run D and with a quality RB2 in Moreno, the Dolphins won’t have any problems moving the ball anyway, so they could give him a shorter leash. But as long as Miller shows good ball security and gets enough touches, tomorrow’s game should yield results for the explosive 23-year-old.

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