Lamar Miller leads Miami Dolphins' running back battle

One of the more intriguing position battles this offseason is taking place in the Miami Dolphins' backfield.

Right now, it seems like Lamar Miller is the runaway leader to get Reggie Bush's old touches.

"Everybody's mindset is to start," Miller said Wednesday, via the Miami Herald. "We've just got to come out here and compete every day and get each other better, so whoever gets into a starting position, just help this team win."

Miller is getting the bulk of the snaps with the first team over Daniel Thomas, Mike Gillislee, Jonas Gray and Marcus Thigpen.

On Wednesday, coach Joe Philbin defined the competition as "wide open" and warned not to make too much out of who is getting reps with which unit.

"We're going to watch the tape and see how our players pick up the blitz, run routes, see how they run the ball when they have the opportunity and go from there," Philbin said.

It is interesting Philbin mentioned pass protection first. As the Herald points out, Miller's struggles in protecting the quarterback probably kept him off the field toward the beginning of the 2012 season. If he shores up his blocking, he might end up seeing the majority of snaps this year.


(nfl.com)