Monday Night Football Fantasy Preview: Lamar Miller Should be Huge

Oct 27, 2013; Foxborough, MA, USA; Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller (26) is tackled by New England Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard (37) during the third quarter at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Dolphins 27-17. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

If you are a fantasy football nut like I am, even a horrible Dolphins-Buccaneers Monday Night Football game has significant interest factors.

Namely for this game, I’ll be paying close attention to the running back position, where Lamar Miller has recently broken out, as has his counterpart tonight, Tampa Bay’s Mike James.

Miller and James both had very good performances in their week nine matchups, but neither was able to muster up a touchdown. That should change this week as the volume of carries/overall touches for both players will likely go way up. Miller has established himself as the number one back for the Dolphins, earning 41 touches in the Dolphins’ last two games and showing some nice big play ability.

James got off to a slow start replacing Doug Martin, but he’s really picked it up and averaged just under six yards per carry last week with 166 yards rushing.

With two suspect run defenses going in this game, it’s not out of the question to expect both Miller and James to make a big impact on the game, but we could see some fireworks in the passing game.

Vincent Jackson is a target monster for Mike Glennon and the Buccaneers’ offense, and with the injury to Mike Williams, you ought to be even more confident in his ability to put up points week after week.

For the Dolphins, you’re getting a clear boom or bust with Mike Wallace, who is barely worth putting in your flex spot most weeks unless you are absolutely desperate.

You just never know when Wallace is going to come up with that big play in the passing game, or when he’s going to lay a complete egg for your team.

If you are starting either Mike Glennon or Ryan Tannehill in your league this week, either you are desperate, you have another guy on a bye week, or you play in a league that uses multiple QBs. Either way, someone in this game has to make plays, and it could very well be one of those guys so if you took a flier, it might turn out to be a solid gamble for you this week.

Neither team gets consistent targets to any specific tight end, although Charles Clay and Tim Wright are owned in many leagues at this point. If you play in a really deep league, Tim Wright of the Buccaneers is worth a look. He’s gotten 28 targets this season and is on the rise.

For fantasy players, it should be an exciting Monday night game. For general NFL fans, this game is kind of a major dud.