Lamar Miller breaking out in his third year in the NFL

Written by Luis Sung at 9:30 PM EST | Twitter: @FLSportDebater

Back in 2012, the Miami Dolphins brought in a talented young running back out of the University of Miami to watch and learn from current Detroit Lions running back Reggie Bush. Much like Bush, Miller showed talent as a speedster who could burn the defense and be used in the passing game similarly to how Bush should have been used.

In 2013, Bush headed to Detroit and Miller was given the starting job, eventually getting into a platoon with fellow running back Daniel Thomas. Unfortunately, Miller and Thomas both struggled to run behind a mediocre offensive line and poor play calling by former offensive coordinator Mike Sherman.

After all that, the Dolphins brought in veteran running back Knowshon Moreno, who despite not being healthy for the majority of training camp and the preseason, all but took the starting job away from Miller with his power running ability that was such a huge factor in the Dolphins week one victory against the New England Patriots.

Unfortunately for Moreno, he got hurt again and Miller was pushed back into the starting job, where he again struggled against the elite Buffalo Bills defensive line. The next week however, something clicked inside of Miller.

Versus the Kansas City Chiefs, Miller managed to put together what was possibly his greatest performance ever, running for 108 yards on only 15 carries, and then against the Oakland Raiders, he gained 64 yards on 12 carries, including 2 touchdowns.

Perhaps something happened to Miller when Moreno went down for the count, but ever since that time, Miller has stepped up and shown exactly what prompted the Dolphins to let Reggie Bush walk in the first place.

"He’s proven to be durable. He’s answered the bell every single time we’ve asked him to. He’s had good productivity so far. I think he’s off to a good start. I think he can even improve." said head coach Joe Philbin. "I think there are more things he could do, make some more people miss and those types of things. I think there is more there that we can tap into.”

Miller will have the opportunity to show what else he can do on Sunday when the team heads up to Jacksonville to face a Jaguars squad that - while they are improving - is still struggling to win games and is now without some of their top defensive players. If there was ever a time for Miller to show what he can do, now is the time.

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