Lamar Miller caught up in numbers game

A lot of people have wondered about rookie running back Lamar Miller being inactive last week. Dolphins coach Joe Philbin gave an official answer Wednesday; I’ll try to read between the lines.

For those who want to get the bottom line right away, here it is: it’s tough to justify carrying Miller on the 46-man gameday active roster because his role can be filled by more valuable players. That’s even considering Miller, the University of Miami alum, has 145 yards on 27 carries, an average of 5.4 yards per carry.
Here’s my view of things:

Starter Reggie Bush (150 carries, 662 yards, 4.4 ypc) occupies Miller’s role – No. 1 option in the running game. Bush has been durable, he’s a veteran, and he’s doing a decent job. Miller won’t take playing time from Bush.

So now you go to the other running backs on the roster. They each have a specific role that Miller can’t fill.

Daniel Thomas (86 carries, 306 yards, 3.7 ypc) is the hard-nosed runner and the best pass blocker. He’s also useful in the red zone, and he’s showed he can sometimes be an effective first- and second-down runner. Miller won’t take playing time from Thomas.

Jorvorskie Lane (13 carries, 13 yards, 1.0 ypc) is the fullback. That’s not Miller’s role. No playing time there.

Marcus Thigpen is the kickoff and punt returner. He’s got a role, and it doesn’t include plays from scrimmage so that doesn’t help Miller get playing time.
That’s four active running backs on a team that’s averaging 56 plays per game the last four weeks. If the Dolphins were getting 70 plays per game maybe they’d need another running back. But for the way things are right now, defensive backs and wide receivers are more of a need.

That might be more of a truth this week when the Dolphins host New England, which averages an alarming 37 points per game. The Patriots’ proficiency at passing means you’ll need defensive backs. And their tendency to take leads, forcing teams to pass to catch up, means wide receivers are needed, too. It could come down to Miller vs. tight end Jeron Mastrud, but Mastrud is a good blocker who plays in goalline offense.

This has turned into a year of learning for Miller. There have been three games among the Dolphins’ 11 in which he was inactive or didn’t play. He’s been inactive for Seattle and Houston, and he was the only player on the active roster that didn’t play in the 30-9 victory against the New York Jets.

The active gameday roster, including the seven inactive players, is usually turned in 90 minutes before kickoff. Here’s what Philbin said Wednesday when asked about Miller:

“Really, when push comes to shove, an hour-and-a-half before the game and during the course of the practice week, you make a decision on the 46-man roster based on what guys that particular week are going to give you the best chance to win that game.

“There’s a host of factors that go into that decision and this week we decided with the 46 guys that he was not going to be one of them. But it isn’t necessarily an indictment of him or what he did or didn’t do.”

My interpretation: Miller didn’t have a role in the Dolphins’ gameplan against Seattle because the Dolphins thought if Bush was injured, Thomas could do the job well enough.

That could be the case again this week against New England. I believe the last part of what Philbin said, that Miller being inactive last week wasn’t “necessarily an indictment of him or what he did or didn’t do.”

I don’t think Miller being inactive necessarily means the coaches don’t like him, or don’t trust him, or, perhaps the worst offense of all, that they fail to recognize his talent.

The truth is probably simple: It’s tough justifying having Miller on the 46-man active roster on Sundays.


(sun-sentinel.com)