I went to the bar to watch the early games, so I taped this game to get a good look at several players, Miller included.
Miller did nothing wrong. Most plays he took what was there... and several times he was hit in the backfield with no chance to do anything. There was no room for him to cut or juke anybody, he was always gang tackled (so power was not really relevant)... Cleveland played good run D, and Miami created no room at all. Miami had two runs designed for Miller to come across the QB like some run option/sweep hybrid, and it looked terrible with multiple defenders all over Miller within a half step of receiving the handoff. The problem with this play is that Miller had no chance to do anything except follow the play design; half the field was cut off from the play, if that makes sense. If Miami could power block, maybe there might be the option to cut through a hole or go wide, but that wasn't happening. If Miller took the handoff from behind the QB as is normal, he could go left or right, wide or inside, follow the play or cut back. Those two runs looked bad and he lost 3 yards each time. I will say that there were two other runs where he seemed a bit hesitant, but even on those plays more decisiveness would not have helped gain any yards. Miller had one play where he got outside the tackle, juked a tackler and got 6 yards, but it was (rightfully) called back by holding.
Dan Thomas looked very ordinary. I don't think he is as bad as most on this board think, but he is very much Just A Guy. He had a couple of okay jump cuts, but does not have the explosion or speed to make anything out of them. His TD dive was pretty solid.
After watching every offensive play of the game, I am not worried about Miller's talent. The game did not show him to suck, he just did not get a chance to show anything. I am worried about Miami's Oline. Cleveland has some defensive talent, but NOTHING was there on the ground all day for Miami, and they practically abandoned the run. We'll see if they can make any adjustments against the Colts next week. If it is more of the same against a weakish Colts D, then it may be time to panic.
