Lamar Miller may have bigger role in Dolphins' offense

Lamar Miller played the best football of his life in 2014, setting career highs in rushing yards, yards per carry and touchdowns. The biggest question that came out of this breakout performance was why he didn't see the ball more.

Miller never had more than 19 carries in a game last season. He had nine games where he had 14 carries or less. Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said he's comfortable with giving Miller more a workhorse role in 2015.

"I would tell you I've never been in a meeting where I've said to (offensive coordinator) Bill (Lazor) or (running backs coach) Jeff Nixon or the offensive line coaches have said 'Lamar can't carry the ball 20 times a game. He can't do it,'" Philbin told ESPN.com. "I've never heard that. That's never come out of my mouth."

"I would tell you, if he's cranking and he got it 24 times a game and he's healthy and he's fast and he's explosive, it doesn't bother me one bit," Philbin said. "But I think sometimes it's not taken into account what our run game is all about.

Philbin explained that a lot of Miami's play calls are options. There are called running plays for Miller, but it's not the typical nature of the offense.
"I think that cuts into the carries a little bit," the coach said.

Miller is entering the final year of his contract and a bigger role could set him up well in free agency. He spent the offseason building his body for a bigger workload -- putting on 15 pounds of muscle. He's a player to watch on a compelling Miami team.


(nfl.com)