Sports Buzz: The curious case of Lamar Miller | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Sports Buzz: The curious case of Lamar Miller

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### Lamar Miller has produced a very solid third season, climbing to 12th in the NFL in rushing and ninth in per-carry average among running backs.

But his season has been somewhat strange in this regard: He hasn't been given as many carries as most of the other backs who rank among the league leaders. And when he is given a heavier workload, his production seems to tail off.

On his first through 10th carries, Miller has averaged a robust 5.4 yards: 134 for 718.

But on carries 11 through 20, his average drops to 2.4: 44 for 111.

That’s not typical of some of the league’s best backs. Of the players who rank in the top five in rushing, four had comparable averages on carries 1 through 10 as carries 11 through 20: Dallas’ DeMarco Murray (4.7, 4.9), Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell (4.7, 4.7), Philadelphia’s LeSean McCoy (4.2, 4.3) and Baltimore’s Justin Forsett (5.6, 5.4). Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch’s average dips from 4.8 to 3.9.

So why the dropoff for Miller? “I don’t have any idea,” he said.

In each of Miami’s past three losses, Miller’s production tailed off significantly after halftime, though in the case of the past two games, lack of opportunity was a major contributing factor:

### Against Denver, he ran six times for 52 yards in the first half but just six times for seven yards in the second half.

### Against Baltimore, he had 9 carries for 47 yards before intermission, but his three second-half attempts yielded just six yards.

### Against New England last Sunday, he had 13 carries for 51 yards in the first half but lost four yards on three carries in the second half.

In Miller’s defense, he had such few carries in the second half against the Ravens and Patriots that it’s difficult to get into a rhythm. And it would be interesting to see what Miller would do if the Dolphins gave him 20 carries. (He has had just two games with more than 15 carries: 18 vs. Chicago and 16 in Sunday's Patriots game.)

The diminished production as the game wears on is surprising, partly because Miller said his weight gain from 212 to 220 last offseason made him more physical and “harder to bring down.”

That has helped in short yardage, even though he was stopped short on a third-and-three early in the second half against the Patriots.
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Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/#storylink=cpy
 
I like Miller. I would like to see him get a few more carries. He has had a nice year. Another back to compliment him (or vice versa) is essential next year.
 
there are times in the 2nd halves we've played where the run is called and it just shouldn't be.
play calling seems to go flat...i dunno.
 
miller has been solid I prefer him as a backup to a heathy MORENO BUT HE IS definately much better than Danielle Thomas.
He is a sold back having a solid year
 
when has dude EVER had 20 carries?? seems they always give him 11.. then come 2nd-half, TWO! maybe 3.. but 20?!! nah, c'mon.. serious? 17-20 is usually when good backs bust one big - even to it.. betcha he don't go past 14 either these last couple games
 
Its really stupid they can't give him the ball more. 11-14 is too low. We all know we abandoned the run last year. I like miller but we need to let him get in rythym and get more carries.
 
I don't think the second-half drop off is his fault at all, I really want them to start giving him more carries.
 
SoCal Finatic said:
Hard to pick up carries when you need to score points in a hurry. Second half collapses have led to less handles. Miller is decent though.
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You realize Miami has one of the highest 3rd quarter points per game in the NFL right?
 
I can't really blame the coaching staff for not giving him the ball more because we just can't the run the ball consistently enough. We have too many runs for 1 or 2 yards (or even minus 1 or minus 2) which puts us in obvious passing situations. Also our running backs do not break long runs.
 
He's definitely better than Daniel Thomas, but he is still very average. I'd like to see an upgrade at running back next year, assuming Knowshon isn't back or healthy.
 
we abandon the run to early and it kills the offense. I don't get it. when we stay steady running and not one dimensional we are hard to stop. play calling is crap
 
JC said:
You realize Miami has one of the highest 3rd quarter points per game in the NFL right?
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That stat is old and meaningless. We have scored 19 points in the last 5 games in the 3rd quarter...and 3 in the last 3 games.
 
In the second half, we are mostly running when the defense knows it's coming, so they stack the line.
 
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