Miami Dolphins First Half Grades: RB

Continuing our Miami Dolphins grading of the first half of the season we turn to the running backs. The most consistent part of the Dolphins offense has been the running game and while they are no longer averaging over five yards per carry the team as a whole is averaging just under that five mark. Led by the legs of Lamar Miller the Dolphins rushing attack has been a solid staple of the teams offense.

In the first quarter we gave the running back group an A- and had this to say about the next four week.

"What to expect in the next four weeks:More Miller – With Knowshon Moreno out for another four weeks, according to him, the workload is going to continue to fall on the shoulders of Miller. Miller can run away with the starting job if he can continue his forward momentum and Moreno may find himself the back who spells Miller. Yes, Miller is playing that well and you can’t simply move him aside if that continues. The question really comes down to is this Lamar Miller or is his production the product of a much improved offensive line? The answer lies somewhere in between and that is where you want it to be."

Static: Miller has been the tentpole runner for the team since Moreno went down for the season his first game back. Miller has not stopped running hard and has become a leader on the team. Miller has developed into the kind of running back the Dolphins were hoping for when they traded up to the top spot in round four three drafts ago. There has not been elite improvement in his game since the first four weeks but he is starting to produce more touchdowns.

"Passing game – I would love for Miami to get their backs more involved in the passing game as receivers. I simply think there are too many options that open with that ability and game planning."

Static: The Dolphins still are not using the running backs as much as they could in the passing game but we are seeing more and more options to do that. Daniel Thomas has been playing well of late and he has been involved in the passing offense of late as has undrafted rookie Damien Williams. While use of the backs has seen a slight increase it’s still not enough to justify a full improvement yet and is something I would like to see the team work on over the next seven weeks of the season.

"Turnovers – It doesn’t matter if there are three turnovers or two the Dolphins need to stop turning the ball over from their backs. Moreno added one in week one which gives the Dolphins four total on the season. The Dolphins will eventually lose more than field position by turning the ball over. So far they have been pretty lucky that the turnovers haven’t been game costly."

Improved: I almost hate writing this for fear of jinxing the team but the Dolphins have very much improved in not turning the ball over. Especially the running backs. There is no question that a lot of the Dolphins success over the last four weeks can be attributed to keeping the ball under control. The next four weeks will have some tough opponents so this will need to continue.

First half grade: A  Slight improvement overall from an A- to an A and I believe that despite the dip in yardage the continued improvement although subtle in the passing game and the lack of turnovers makes the improvement of the unit justified.

Next quarter:

I will be fine if the Dolphins maintain what they are doing with the running backs if it is followed by success on the field. I would like to see more integration in the passing game as legit options and would like to see  improvement from Damien Williams and Daniel Thomas but to be honest that is being nit-picky. The reality is Daniel Thomas has run well since his return and is improving week to week. He will never be a featured running back but he is providing a valuable role as a back-up and change of pace runner.