One year ago, he was the Miami Dolphins' next Reggie Bush. Now, people are discounting him completely. Why is everyone giving up on Lamar Miller?

Others are simply glossing over the situation by saying that Miller is incapable of being an every-down back and Miami just needs to go get someone else.

Is that really it? Are we saying that after a one-year trial run on that offense is all Miller gets?

The offensive line was arguably one of the worst in NFL history. Fifty-eight sacks was bad, but trying to watch them open up holes along the middle of the line was even worse.

Tannehill couldn't get the pass game going because of that line, and teams really only had to pay (a little) attention to Mike Wallace down the field.

Other than that, I'm sure defensive coordinators were more than okay with how they stacked up against Miami's offense. Former second-round pick Daniel Thomas was brutal as a complementary back, and has no place on the Dolphins' offense.

One can also just look at Miller's game-by-game statistics to see the inconsistencies in his workload, especially over the second half of the season.

Starting with a Week 7 loss to Buffalo, here are Miller's attempts week-by-week: 9, 18, 16, 7, 4, 10, 22, 6, 15, 3, 17.

How is a young running back (or an offense, for that matter) supposed to get into any type of rhythm with such inconsistency?

Combine that with the well-known struggles of the offensive line and the fact that this was Miller's first season as the lead back, and it's no wonder that he didn't exactly light up score sheets.

Although he may not have done as poorly as people thought. He still averaged 4.0 yards per carry, and caught 26 passes for 170 yards while only fumbling the ball once.

No, Miller will not be a do-it-all workhorse of a back. He can't take 20-25 carries every single game and be effective.

And yes, he can sometimes be hesitant when hitting holes and isn't a great short-yardage back. He definitely [b]needs a power back to complement his explosiveness and speed.[/b]

Mike Sherman also displayed some of the worst play-calling ability that Miami fans have ever seen. His inability to adjust during games was excruciating to watch.

He also seemed to not understand how to establish any type of run game. He came out and defended abandoning the run after the Bills catastrophe in Week 16, but his logic made no sense.

The Bills had arguably the best pass-rush in the league, and one of the worst run defenses. Sherman should have came out and pounded the ball down their throats, but he inexplicably just played right into Buffalo's hands.

There were also reports about Miami players questioning Sherman after his inept play-calling came to a head in Miami's fourth straight loss in Week 8 against the Patriots.

This is pretty much all you need to know about Sherman, per a report by Dan Hanzus:

The Dolphins ran the ball 22 times for 120 yards in the first two quarters, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The team ran just six times as the game quickly went from 17-3 to 17-17 in the third quarter.

There's no excuse for that kind of stupidity, and Sherman is a big reason that Miami's run (and pass) offense was among the worst in the NFL in 2013.

every team needs 2 quality backs, so we draft one and use them together.

I dont think he is going to be cut or traded at this point, but I really do not think we have some hidden gem.

When I see that track star speed show up at this level I might jump on the bandwagon. But as of now I am hoping for someone else to get excited for...

When a defense is playing deep most of the time because the o line cant block the front 4 its harder to break huge runs. Now he isnt a 4.3 guy but thats rare and safeties having a head start like they did will make it harder for big runs. Now tell me this in the open field how many times dID Miller get caught from behind?

He is on a rookie deal for 4 years, he will have more chances... Not sure where the idea comes from that he is being "given up on" anyway, maybe some fans are not impressed, but last I checked we have not even contacted a FA running back...

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2013092203/2013/REG3/falcons@dolphins/watch#menu=highlights
Its at about :10 into it, he hits the hole at the line, gets to open space and was trying to avoid the db in front of him when half of the falcons caught him from behind...

Now it may not have been his shining moment of decisions, but I just do not see the speed factor. Just my 2 cents... Was a fan of his at the U as well, so hoped he would transition..

Someone like Tre Mason early on

I'd prefer Carlos Hyde out of OSU.

Keep Mr. Miller as our running back and find a bulldozer that can gain that 3rd and one everytime, a guy that has powerful legs and is solid as a rock and not afraid to ram through the wall.

Miller will get exactly what he deserves, which is a shot to compete for the starting job this season. You can make excuses for the kid all day (whether valid or not), .

Its not an excuse when its valid, its a reason. Miller avg. 4.0 YPC when normally his first move was to avoid a defender in the backfield. Miami actually should be encouraged by this IMO. They do not a big back for the tough yds.

Miller's not a guy who at this point can help alleviate O-line deficiencies. The guy needs clean holes all the time. I hope they bring somebody else in here to compete via FA or the draft. We need it.

I'm usually a member of the patience brigade when it comes to a lot of these guys but even I saw nothing from Miller that got me excited. I've actually yet to see any analyst say anything positive, and they even acknowledge how awful the o-line was.

If he was a receiving/blocking specialist he'd be perfect to pair with a physical back. But my last memory of him blocking was actually running into Tannehill while trying to pick up a blitz (think it was the last game of the year).

Latest rumor I read was Hickey has his eye on a couple of prospects and will turn to FA if he misses out on them.

If a rb doesnt have an oline he will rarely succeed I mean idk how many rs look good with bad run blocking lines. If Hickey is really saying that then doesnt that say that he trust his current rbs way more the the fa rbs?

If you say so, we havent had a good oline to show what Miller can do with it but if you think you already know and he wont get better then ok. I still havent seen a rb succeed with a bad offensive line other then true Hall of Famers and that isnt what a team desperately needs to succeed just get rbs who can gt short yardage, long yardage,block and catch. Moreno is a 3rd down specialist? He had over 1500 yards last year soooooo yeah he isnt great but a 3rd down specialist can't even get a thousand yards total because of lack of playing time. Finally, Moreno doesnt have to sign because its now about finding the best short term deal but if he was really highly regarded as a need rb he'd have more then 1 visit at this point ijs

I'm having a hard time understanding your post. You seem to disagree that Moreno's role going forward is more than a 3rd down specialist or complimentary guy, but then say that if he was that good he'd have more visits lined up. Doesn't that contradict itself? In Miami he'd get a shot to compete but they seem to be after his ability to block and be a receiving threat.

As for Miller, I know you are going to defend him til the end but I'm just not seeing any evidence that the brass is sold on him. He may very well earn the right to be Miami's starter next year and that would be great for him. But nothing he has accomplished so far will stop the GM from pursuing alternatives. Its why Moreno visited, its why they studied Tre Mason heavily at the combine and its why we keep reading articles about Miami needing to upgrade.

My feeling is that if Hickey subscribed to what this article is suggesting then you wouldn't hear these rumors and there wouldn't be a source from inside the organization saying that there were worries among the staff about how hesitant Miller is. I'm not an expert by any means, just going off the evidence. Its why I asked in the other thread if people think Miller will be designated an Ireland mistake and eventually cut at the end of the summer after Hickey/Philbin bring in their own guys.

The defense wasn't in the backfield on every play nor was the o-line incapable of opening a hole here or there. Its like blaming all 58 sacks on the o-line for Tannehill when he himself was responsible for probably a dozen. Miller hesitates way too much and RS is correct, unless he has a darn good o-line in front of him that style isn't going to work. So why would Hickey use a square peg in a round hole approach? Find a more bruising back to combine with a someone who pass blocks/receives.

I don't think the rumors about Hickey say anything regarding trust. Just means he's not going to pay a 3rd down specialist like Moreno 3 million dollars when he might be able to get that in the draft for a fraction of the cost.

And the same goes for Moreno. Why would he take a discount deal in Miami when a more desperate team could offer more after the draft? Its all money/value at this point.

Wow smh Morenos numbers and then lack of interest to me says what I have basically said that rbs are interchangable. I've said many times I want 3 rbs that can all play because I dont see the huge need in great ones when you can find rbs ANYWHERE if you have an offensive line that does its job. I havent defended Miller but I have told the truth that the o line sucked and nobodys going to look great with it especially when Miller himself isn't great. Now Moreno visited because he's cheap, he's young, he can block and he can catch........... what team wouldnt be interested in a 1 year 3-4 mill player who does what you need on every team?