Lamar Miller says increased touches led to his huge numbers
When Dan Campbell took over as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, few expected the turnaround that the team has experienced through two games.
They're undefeated under Campbell, and more impressively, they lead the NFL in points scored over the past two weeks en route to two blowouts. Not only has the offense erupted, but the defense has played extremely well, too.
One player who's given the offense a big lift, though, is Lamar Miller. He's always been seen as a very talented back, but never seemed to have a large enough workload to sustain success. In the first four games of the season under Joe Philbin, Miller never eclipsed 15 touches in a game. In two games under Campbell, he's touched the ball 21 times and 17 times, respectively.
Not only is his workload increasing, but his numbers are, too. On Sunday against the Houston Texans, Miller had 236 yards from scrimmage on 17 touches at halftime -- 175 of which came on the ground. Miller credits the huge statistics to an increase in touches, thanks to Campbell.
"Earlier in the year, I was worried about how many opportunities I was going to get," Miller said via Walter Villa of the Miami Herald. "I wasn't getting the ball that much. So every time I got it I was trying to make a big play, and I wasn't reading my keys."
It's easy to understand Miller trying to do too much under Philbin, seeing as he didn't know when his next carry would come. Now with Campbell at the helm, he can expect a larger dosage of carries, allowing him not to press on every rush attempt.
