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Lamar Miller and his lack of usage

By Kevin Parvizi

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Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller never had more than 19 carries in a game last season, and yet he was one of the league’s top rushers, turning just 216 carries into 1,099 yards as arguably the team’s most impressive player on offense in 2014 (and that’s including strong seasons from Ryan Tannehill and Jarvis Landry). Miller put up a whopping 5.1 yards per carry last season, consistently moving the chains despite largely playing behind poor run blocking. He’s shown that he can get more than what’s in front of him, and there’s little doubt in my mind that few backs possess better vision than Miller.

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He seems like a guy the Dolphins should be feeding 15-20 times per game on the ground, and yet it seems like the organization is intent on using him as sparingly as possible. With 30 carries on the season, Miller has 11 less rushing attempts than Giovani Bernard, who fits the profile of a type of back who should be limited.

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Miller, to be fair, has averaged just 3.5 yards per carry so far, but it’s kind of hard to take those numbers too seriously when that average is held down by his 1.4 yards per carry average against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2. In Week 1, Miller had 13 carries for 53 yards against a tough Washington Redskins run defense (one that includes Terrance Knighton and Jason Hatcher up front), and he averaged 5.4 yards per carry yesterday against the Buffalo Bills fearsome front seven.

I mention Miller’s yards per carry average only when referring to his play in Week 3, because it’s a number that carries a lot more meaning than “38”, which was his total number of rushing yards. Miller earned just seven carries against the Bills, meaning that he was out-carried by the bruising Jonas Gray.

Although both Miller and Gray averaged 5.4 yards per carry, it’s hard to understand why the Dolphins took it out of Miller’s hands so often. He’s the better back, and while Gray isn’t bad and is a hard-nosed rusher who might be a better matchup play against certain teams, it’s just hard to follow the logic here.

The Dolphins dialed up 49 passes for Ryan Tannehill because of the Bills quick lead (the Dolphins secondary is seriously in dire straits right now), so I can understand why the Dolphins were forced to abandon the running game. That’s obvious. What doesn’t make sense, though, is the play-calling. I’ll let Cian Fahey explain:

If opponents have issues stopping a sure-fire feature back who continues to play well, why would you want to stop giving him the rock? It just doesn’t make sense, and it seems like the Dolphins are deviating too far from what helped them last season. They’ve lost their balance on offense, and that’s a pretty big deal.

Pro Football Focus’s Nathan Jahnke tweeted out the Dolphins snap counts at RB after the game, and it’s hard to fathom how Lamar Miller out-snapped Gray 44-16 but was out-carried 9-7. I understand that Miller is the three-down back and will obviously be preferred on passing downs, and, again, I understand that the Dolphins needed to throw in order to try and get back in the game.

What I don’t understand is why the Dolphins didn’t allow Miller to move the ball on the ground more often when he was actually out there. With just ten carries per game, Miller is on pace for 160 carries this season, and that’s simply not acceptable. The Dolphins are more of a passing team due to their weaknesses in the secondary and their offseason pass-catching additions, but that doesn’t mean they should suddenly stop using a guy who averaged over 5.0 yards per carry and ran for more than 1,000 yards in the 2014 season.

Sep 13, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller (26) carries the ball past Washington Redskins outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan (91) in the first quarter at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Maybe Miller’s ankle injury is giving the Dolphins pause, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. Miller and the Dolphins will have to face a tough test against the New York Jets next week, and even though it’s almost impossible to run on Damon Harrison and Co., the Dolphins will have to find some balance if they want to succeed through the air against Darrelle Revis and friends.

Tannehill threw three picks against the Bills, so the result won’t be pretty if he is forced to do too much against a Jets secondary that has been busy forcing turnovers. Ryan Mathews had some success on the Jets on the ground yesterday, so maybe Miller can do the same. The Dolphins run blocking won’t help him, but, again, Miller has always shown that he can get more real estate than what’s provided for him.

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