Chicago Bears WR Anthony Miller 2017 Review: Weeks 8-9
In part 7 of the season-long Anthony Miller breakdown, Anthony Miller takes on Tulane and Tulsa
This series has been a running diary of essentially every notable thing Anthony Miller did on a football field during the 2017 season. In part one, we looked at his first two weeks against UL-Monroe and UCLA. In part two, he took on Southern Illinois. Part three was a recap of Anthony Miller against Mike Hughes and UCF. Part four was Anthony Miller vs UConn in a bounce-back performance. In part five was Miller against Navy and part six was Miller against Houston.
Now, like the first two games, we caught a two-week span that could be summarized quick enough for one post. So, how did Anthony Miller fare against Tulane and Tulsa?
Week 8
Anthony Miller had six receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown against Tulane. Miller caught two early crosses where he was given plenty of space. One was a first and 25 where he turned up free space into 21 yards.
Between two crossing routes and two outs, Miller hauled in four passes for 58 yards. He caught a screen for two yards, and hauled in his highlight of the game, a 16-yard touchdown pass, shown below.
Miller is able to turn his body and track the ball. Most important, he hauls in a contested pass. This has been known to be an inconsistent part of Miller’s play, but there are enough positives moments to cancel out the negatives.
Riley Ferguson was 6-8 targeting Miller in this game. He sailed one pass well over the head of Miller and while another pass landed a bit short, it did put Miller in yet another contested catch spot. Miller broke up the interception, but the contested pass fell incomplete.
It is also worth noting that one game after having all but one target come from the outside, four of his eight targets in game eight came from the slot. In week nine, 10 of his 12 targets were in the slot.
Week 9
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Week nine was a rather quiet 6 receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown. This game saw some good and some bad from Miller, but the stand out moments were the versatility.
versatility
The play below has been something we have tracked since week two. Memphis has rarely gone to it, but it is intriguing to see Anthony Miller lined up flexed as a tight end to run routes. In the first four attempts of this play, they have flared Miller out into the flats. However, in this design, he is running a post over the middle.
You can see some confusion pre-snap followed by Miller running across the seam for an easy touchdown. Not so fast, Miller was overthrown. Still, while Memphis is 2-5 calling this play in 2017, Matt Nagy has to think it will be more successful with Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback.
Miller added onto his versatile nature by slinging a pass in this game as well. On a reverse, Miller was able to find space, set his feet, and haul a pass 40 yards down the field. His receiver had to wait under it, and it cost him a touchdown, but that is something that Miller is used to as a receiver with a Division One quarterback in Riley Ferguson.
Good
As for the good, his only pass that traveled over 10 yards in the air went for a touchdown. Miller is able to sell the route all the way down the field. The cornerback opened his hips and Miller gave a quick fake inside to get all of the open space he needed outside. From there, it is track, dive, and score.
Over the past two games, Ferguson is 12-19 when targeting Miller. However, only one and arguably two of those incompletions can be placed on Miller. That would depend if you blame him for the contested drop above vs. Tulane.
Bad
However, Miller did see an ugly drop over the middle in this game. He does have some issues with the contested passes, but it seems as though once per game he is good for the easy drop as well. As mentioned, you can usually off-set these with the good.
On top of that, Anthony Miller only 18 yards after the catch in week 8 and only 17 yards after the catch in week 9. His 35 combined yards after the catch in two weeks is a far cry from his weekly average of 38.4 coming into this game.
Routes:
Screens: 26-33, 186 yards
Curls: 5-7, 49 yards
Post: 6-13, 198 yards 1 TD
Go: 7-19, 149 yards, 6 TDs
In: 2-2, 24 yards, 1 TD
Cross: 9-12, 109 yards 2 TD
Slant: 3-7, 71 yards
Comeback: 4-5 39 yards
Out: 5-8 61 yards
304 yards after the catch