Correct, Miller is not as competitive in traffic as Duke Johnson or Dallas Crawford. Nor Damien Berry, a limited player who shared carries with Miller in 2010 with the Canes.
Miller basically hasn't changed since the first time I saw him at Killian High School maybe 5 years ago. He's effective outside when the angle is there. He can turn the corner and rip off several more yards than appear available. Normally he's also reliable taking it the distance on plant and cut runs off tackle. I was twice surprised this season when Miller wandered around and looked around on long runs, finding his best Ronnie Brown imitation.
Miller's limitations are blatantly obvious when you watch another Canes back like Frank Gore. The speed may be gone but wow is he instinctive, finding the hole and weaving perfectly to maximize yardage. Gore also lowers and finishes, while Miller is content to lay down as softly as possible.
It's funny, but I've never seen Miller fail to hit a hole when it was there. Last year in his brief time he looked like a natural at running the zone play, almost like he was a Denver Bronco in Shanahan's glory years. Lamar Miller got more holes in ten carries against the Raiders last year than he has had all year.
Lamar Miller is not and never will be an elite back, but I find it funny that a guy averaging 4 ypc with few breakaway runs to pad that is the biggest problem. We have an almost historically bad offensive line in pass protection, and why anyone doesn't think they have the same effect on the running game would be beyond me. The team has put together rushing efforts of 20, 22, 2, and 14 yards in an entire game. To me, thats pretty obviously on the line, because even a street FA running back could get that type of yardage in a few carries merely by running through a hole. There were none, and on top of the line being bad, we had no reliable blocking fullback or tight end, and even when guys were put back there to fill that role, they failed miserably (a la Egnew on the safety in Tampa). The running backs are constantly facing a crowded defensive front, not because teams don't respect our passing weapons, but simply because the line is so bad that they way you beat the passing attack is not through coverage, it's at the LOS. Teams can spoil the run and pass with us through the same tactic.
On top of our talent deficiencies, Sherman and Philbin are simply terrible at feeding the run game enough for it to be successful, or even going away from it when it has been successful, and to top it all off they run the ball from formations and plays that are simply not conducive to steady rushing gains. Running shotgun sweeps or draws works well if you are spreading out the defense or forcing them to stay back. We simply don't do that, and when the defense is stacking the line and getting more of a running start than our own running back, it is almost impossible for a running back to be successful. Scarcely half of our run plays, if even that, are run from these formations. Although that makes sense considering we kept no fullback on the roster, though isn't that the staff's fault too? The offensive coaches come from a Green Bay system that has had a lot of success at times running the ball and other times with an epically bad rushing game. And this was with a HOF QB in Favre and mvp caliber Aaron Rodgers to take pressure off.
Yes, I expect us to bring in some other talent at RB, but that's only because Philbin and Sherman need an excellent RB to have any success in their joke of a running game. I think the staff has failed their RB's (and their team as a whole by extension) far more than their RB's have failed them.