There's PFF for ya.... We always had a high YPC, because we only ran on 3rd and longs !

 

It's more a reflection of just how pass wacky the offense got. Opposing teams were surprised any time we ran the ball.

 

I don't really have any idea how those guys get their grades, but Lamar Miller was one of the most effective RBs in the league last season, he was just badly underused. 13th most rush yards in the league, even though he had 50+ fewer carries than most of the others in the top 10.

 

We used Miller to his strengths.. if we used him like a workhorse whose dependable in short yardage he wouldn't have a high average nor stayed healthy. We couldn't depend on our running game, ever. The statistical success is purely situational, just like Miller's suited role. He probably had by far the highest rate of runs NOT resulting in first downs.. it's easy to run for 5-6 yards on 3rd and 8. I'm excited to have Ajayi take over and be able to convert a 3rd & short!

 

You do know that Miller was very successful in short yardage right?

 

Another PFF head scratcher, as a team we were 32nd in ATT, 23rd in yards, 16th in TDs and 9th in YPA.

I guess where they're getting their grade is efficiency, because considering we were 32nd in ATT, those other numbers are good, so I wouldn't argue based on efficiency, but that doesn't make you the 6th best rushing team.

They should call it rushing efficiency grades, that would be more precise.

 

Or, just nicely organized bull**** with a official looking veneer.

 

#1 in pass attempts in the NFL # 5 rushing ......hmmmm..that's peculiar.

 

It was clearly a weakpoint in this offense. The o-line, especially interior line was a major factor in this, but we all know Miller is a better player outside the tackles, in space. Sure he's amazing inside... On a draw/delay when the LBs are on theyre heels.

You've broadened the spectrum saying " short yardage " when I was specifically speaking of 3rd (&4th) & short. Philbin and his play callers were pretty darn bad, but they must have thrown 70+% of the time in these scenarios... and surely there's some reasoning behind that..... The small sample of Miller's carries that qualify probably came in favorable spots like when we were trailing because: We never could run when the defenses expected it. We couldn't close out games, or score in the redzone unless Tannehill had time and made a perfect throw.

Do you remember the element Knowshon added? Did you see Ajayi shedding tacklers behind the line, smashing into defenders and bouncing off of them with a nose for the redzone? I don't see how we could talk so much about about how Tannehill limits the offense; but not acknowledge how having L.miller as a primary back would.

 

I'll see if I can find the stats that showed Miller picked up 3rd and short very well. Actually I have no idea where to find that info, I just know he was not as bad as some think.

 

I'm not sure about the state you're referencing, but he was 2nd in the NFL in yards after contact. My gut instinct says he did really well in those situations, including goal line.

 

I found the stats on 3rd and 4th down with 1 to 2 yards to go. Last year he had 12 attempts and gained 46 yards for a 3.8 yard per average.

On 3rd or 4th down with 3-8 yard to go he only had 2 carries all year and averaged 7.5 yards on those carries

It is sad how under used he was in those situations.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/splits/_/id/14886/lamar-miller

 

I fixed that for you, haha.
Even sadder how we just let him walk out the door. A guy from the area, went to the U, then was a Dolphin and played well...didn't resign him. Bad move, IMO.

 

And he's so young to boot. Barring a career ending injury, he'll likely be playing well for many more years.

 

Agreed. This is the worst move of the offseason by far. He was young, not overworked, and was really moving on his own. He started to block well, catch well enough out of the backfield and most importantly, cause missed tackles in the open field.

Plus he was a danger for a long play every time he touched the ball.

 

Is this the same Lamar Miller that can't break tackles and doesn't block well on passing downs that's
being sugar coated in this thread? Houston did Miami a favor, you will see what he is now.....

 

I think he runs for 1300-1500 yards this year, and catches 50+ passes. Arguably the biggest mistake in letting a player walk away in free agency in team history.

 

He only had 5 fumbles in his entire career here, that is impressive. And as someone pointed out he was in the top 2 in yards after contact (that means he broke tackles)

 

Yeah, but look at those stats a bit closer.

It says for 3rd or 4th and 1-2 yards to go, his longest run was 30 yards. Remove that and you have 16 yards in 11 attempts, or just about 1.5 yards per carry. Not saying the 30 yard run doesn't count, but saying the average is 3.8 yards suggests he probably made a 1st down most of the time. But with 1.5 yards per carry (except for one case where he obviously got the first down) it suggests he made a 1st down around half the time, which isn't that great.

Similarly for the 3rd or 4th and an average of 7.5 yards in 2 carries. His long was 15 yards, meaning he got 0 yards on the other carry, so once again a 1st down half the time.

Of course, that's for 2015, but the story is similar in 2014. For 3rd or 4th and 3-8 to go he got 11 yards in 4 carries, but his long was 11 yards!! Meaning he almost certainly (unless there was a huge negative yarder) didn't get the first down 3 out of 4 tries. Or with 1-2 yards to go the average is 4.8, but totally skewed by one run that was 41 yards. Take that away and the average is just over 2 per carry. We don't have all the stats there but if there is even one more half-way long run, then the remaining carries probably average less than 2 yards.

The story is the same with his 2012 and 2013 stats: either his average is low at 1 YPC or he had one big run that skewed the stats and he made a 1st down at most 50% of the time.

So I don't think Miller was that good in those situations just looking at the stats.

 

Well if you give him what, 8-9 yards per catch, that's another 400-450 yards. I honestly think 2,000+ AP yards is a real possibility if he stays healthy.

 

but, it wasnt his play fault it was the blocking and play calling :)

 

I may be in the minority here but I was never a huge fan of Miller. Just something about him to me seemed off. I also think within 2 years he's hurt for extended time. I think we will be fine and I think J-train will surprise alot of people this year with a better oline as well. Hes not as fast as Miller but much stronger. If drake is healthy he will provide a great speed option. I see Ajai as a Matt Forte back for us.

 

Over the last 3 seasons, Miller had 34 rush attempts on 3rd or 4th and 2 yards or less. He converted 21 of those runs for a first down, or 61.7%. That's not bad, but not up among the best. DeMarco Murray and Adrian Peterson converted over 80%. Cam Newton was the best at 84%, but I don't think you can compare a QB straight up against RBs. But there were "power" backs with similar conversion rates to Miller's -- Eddie Lacy (60%), Jeremy Hill (62.5%), Chris Ivory (66%), LeGarrette Blount (62%), etc.

 

I saw him ranked as the 13th highest player for fantasy football this year. I know that doesnt mean anything, but others think he is a player.

 

In my league, he was the #4 RB last season. Using their projections in my scoring system, he ranks #6 for this year, but they don't account for the bonus points I give, which drove him higher a year ago.

 

Average for non-QB's for 3rd or 4th and 2 or less in the last 3 years is 66-67%, so Miller's a bit below average:
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2016/2015-short-yardage-results

 

Think what he could do with a real OL :)

 

That's pretty consistent with what I see, but its all really small sample size for any given player and OL and other factors come into play as well. With those sample sizes, I'd tend to see everyone in the 60-70% range to be in the same general "about average" category.

Interestingly IAQ has a 100% conversion rate and a 17 ypc average on 3rd and 4th and 2 or less. 2 carries for 34 yards. :lol:

 

I'd rather not.. he's no longer on our team.

 

Miller was soft folks... Live in the now. :up:

 

soft? how many games did he miss for injury?

 

While you can argue that miami let Miller walk.... There's was an obvious plan to replace him with someone who most feel is a better back, CJ Anderson... That didn't work out, but you can see the change in philosophies occurring at certain positions on this team and the requirement for a different brand of athlete. They want more than he can provide. Miller's few carries in short yardage situations came only when it was sensible. It was never early in the game. Only late against prevent defenses protecting leads. Even Ajayi showed that miller is very replaceable....and while fast, reliable... He doesn't offer what most backs do, not when you need a few tough yards. You don't need a minuscule sampling of data to tell you what we all see. We were a stronger team with a tougher runner ahead of miller.

 

I do not agree that "most" think CJ Anderson is a better back.

He is a really good back at a better price, I will give you that.

 

I think that Anderson has the potential to be good, but that Miller could be great. Right now, all we can do it hope that Ajayi can be as well.

 

When stats go wrong... Should be a legit shot for Ajayi. Hope he crushes it.

 

Losing Miller will definitely hurt but I really think Jay Train is going to surprise a lot of people. He's supremely talented.

 

I hope that he's terrific, but after those first two games last season, our opponents mostly stopped him cold. If you look at his college game logs, most of the time when Boise St played a big conference team, Ajayi was average or below average, and he doesn't have that top gear. Right now, its mostly just hope as far as he's concerned. I want him to do well, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

 

#1 in passing attempts???

#1 Philip Rivers 661
#2 Drew Brees 627
#3 Tom Brady 624
#4 Eli Manning 618
#5 Matt Ryan 614
#6 Blake Bortles 606
#7 Matthew Stafford 592
#8 Ryan Tannehill 586

 

Lamar had a scary bad season if you removed that Hou game