Buffalo Bills: Early predictions for standout Bills players in 2018
By Matt Karas
Comeback player
To be labeled as a “comeback player,” the individual must have enjoyed some semblance of past success immediately followed by a season mired in futility. See: John Miller.
Upon being drafted to play for (then) head coach Rex Ryan, Miller became an immediate favorite of the polarizing figure. “I’m ecstatic with Miller,” Ryan told Vic Carucci. “I think Miller’s handled it. I think he’s a 10-year vet out there. He doesn’t make mental mistakes, and he’s an athletic guy.” Miller’s reward was securing the team’s starting right guard spot almost immediately and registering 28 starts in total of the course of his first two NFL seasons.
Alas, Miller’s 2017-18 season was a considerable step in the wrong direction. A new regime coupled with a new zone blocking and the team’s bizarre level of comfort with a mostly inadequate Vlad Ducasse, and Miller saw himself downgraded to a depth guard that yielded a meager total of four starts.
As of the first day of this year’s training camp, it looks like the third-year guard from Louisville is starting to move the needle on impressing head coach Sean McDermott. “He looks like, since the time he has come back in the spring, he is focused,” said McDermott in an interview shared on Bills.com. “He understands what is expected. I appreciate the way he handled last season. I think he’s in a good place mentally. I’m anxious to see him more.”
With offensive coordinator Brian Daboll installing a more fluid blocking scheme than his predecessor, all signs are pointing to Miller recapturing the right guard position and having a solid bounce back season. This would be music to the team’s ears, given the offseason departures of elite interior linemen, Eric Wood (retired) and Richie Incognito (kinda retired).