Joe Philbin talks about the running game without Knowshon Moreno

Written by Matthew Cannata | Twitter: @PhinManiacs
Knowshon Moreno’s stay in Miami ended almost as quickly as it started and it’s safe to say that he spent more time on the sideline than he did on the actual playing field. When OTAs first began back in May, he showed up out of shape and ran with the third team. Then, he needed surgery on his knee. After coming back in time for Week one and running wild against the New England Patriots, he injured his arm against the Buffalo Bills and saw his first action since then on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. Now, his season is finished but Joe Philbin isn’t panicking.

“We’re going to run our offense. As I tell the team all of the time, you get about 1,200 reps in OTAs, you get about 17-1,800 reps in training camp and now we’re five games into it. So we’re not changing what we do. This is our offense, this is what we do. Let’s face it, he only really played one game, the second game he played in he had one carry I think. He played sparingly the other day. It’s unfortunate. You hate to see a player get injured. We’ll be fine.”

Ryan Tannehill echoed Philbin’s sentiments and said that the team has plenty of guys who can step up and fill the void, just as they did when he got injured in the game against the Bills.

“It’s tough and on such a crazy play. It didn’t look like much out there, but sometimes that’s just the way it goes. It’s a tough loss, but I think we have guys who can step up. I think we saw that during the time Knowshon missed after the Buffalo game. We have guys who can step up and fill that void. It’s a tough loss. He’s a great guy to have in the huddle, but I feel confident in the guys that we do have and the plays they can make.”

One of those guys who filled the void very well and will need to continue to step up is Lamar Miller. Currently, he’s averaging 5.24 yards per carry and will look to continue that success against the Chicago Bears.

“He’s done a good job. I think his vision has improved. He’s had a little bit more patience,” Philbin said. He’s seeing some holes maybe open up that early on his career maybe he missed by being a little too impatient. I think his patience is better now. One thing that’s evident is he’s got some speed and he can get out in space and, once he gets out there, at times, he can out run a linebacker or break a tackle and gain some additional yardage for you. That’s big. He also demonstrated an ability to do some things out of the backfield catching the ball, too.”

With Moreno out of the picture and Miller now assuming lead back duties on a full-time basis, the others behind Miller – Daniel Thomas and Damien Williams – will need to step up even more as well so they are able to produce when their number is called.