Something to Prove: Lamar Miller
By Josh McSwain
Replacing the Texans all-time leading rusher in Arian Foster is no small task. It is handed to the 25 year old Lamar Miller, who burned the Texans last season in their trip to Miami as a member of the Dolphins.
Miller is an interesting player for sure. More than just what he does on the field, he fed rats to snakes in order to pay for his first car. But that aside, he has started to blossom over the last couple of seasons.
He has reached the end zone eight times each of the last two years and ran for 1,099 yards in 2014. That season he carried the rock 216 times, averaging over five yards per carry. This past season his carries went down to 194, for some strange reason.
In 2015 he rushed for just 874 yards, an average of 4.5 per carry. Many say that he was underused in Miami, and I agree. However, I’m not sure he’s the solution either.
On the surface, there seems to be no reason for him not to be a top flight back. He has good size at 5-10 and 225 pounds and he has breakaway speed that allows him to break off 80 yard touchdown runs. He also is a good receiver out of the backfield with almost 400 receiving yards last season–so why did the Dolphins not use him more?
The truth is he is incredibly inconsistent. You know that player on your fantasy team that is feast or famine every week? That’s what Miller is.
He had six games last season where he averaged less than three yards a carry. He also had six where he averaged over five yards per carry. Almost half of his rushing yards last season came in three games–against the Titans, Texans and Ravens.
What’s even more surprising is that he ran for 31 yards on 15 carries…against the Colts. A team with a notoriously weak run defense absolutely shut him down. He will face the Colts twice next season, let’s hope for better results.