Miami Dolphins put Lamar Miller on ice again

DAVIE - Lamar Miller thought last Sunday's game against the St. Louis Rams would be his opportunity to showcase his growth, but the Miami Dolphins kept the rookie tailback on ice for another week.

With Daniel Thomas sidelined by a concussion it was expected that the former University of Miami standout would spell Reggie Bush for a couple of series.

But the Dolphins’ fourth-round pick, whose 5.5 yards per carry average leads the team, only played in four offensive snaps against the Rams, and one of them was whipped away because of a penalty.

Miller didn't get one carry in the Dolphins' 17-14 win, but Miami's coaches have a good excuse for those who think Miller could have helped the Dolphins gain more than 19 rushing yards on 18 carries.

"Usually we are up in the 70 [plays], so I don’t think that Reggie ever got gassed enough to get another back in there enough," coach Joe Philbin said. "That’s probably what happened.”

Offensive coordinator Mike Sherman said the offense was limited to 48 plays.

“We never really established our running game, so we didn’t really get anybody off to give Reggie (Bush) a rest necessarily,” Sherman said. “It was nothing specific that I can speak of, other than a result of not a great offensive day and not a lot of snaps…..I don’t lack confidence in his ability to [pass block]. That’s not a reason why he didn’t play the other day.”

With Bush nursing a left knee sprain, and Daniel Thomas still recovering from his concussion, its likely that the Dolphins will give Miller an opportunity to showcase himself during the bye week.

We'll see if that means more snaps in coming games.


(sun-sentinel.com)