Scotty Miller Doesn’t Believe Bigger Means Slower
July 12th, 2022
Scotty Miller
When thinking of Scotty Miller, Joe thought of an old-school sports figure and here’s why:
There is no coach/manager in sports that Joe respects more than Hall of Fame baseball manager Whitey Herzog.
If baseball had a genius, Herzog was it. He knew how to perfectly use a player’s skills, sometimes limited, to full effect, sort of like how Bill Belicheat likes to say, “Don’t tell me what a player can’t do, tell me what he can do.”
For those who swallow analytics whole, Herzog was on the cusp of that. Joe remembers sitting at Herzog’s desk one Sunday morning watching him do flyball charts from the previous night’s game. This was before Joe ever knew a word like “analytics” existed. A word Joe now considers to be a pox on baseball.
Herzog was also the first guy Joe ever heard repeatedly say “Speed kills.” His teams were jackrabbit-fast. Herzog maintained you couldn’t replace or duplicate speed, and that speed not only is a weapon but it can dig you out of holes and cover for mistakes. No truer words were ever spoken.
Joe was reminded of Herzog’s “Speed kills” mantra when Joe interviewed Miller last month. Miller boasted that he added 15 pounds of muscle this offseason.
Miller was drafted in 2019 and is on the Bucs’ roster primarily for his speed, to take the top off the defense. So why monkey with the trait that gave him the lifestyle of an NFL player and the riches that come with it?
Miller was clear and blunt with Joe: The muscle he added has not affected his speed and may have helped his mobility. So no, Miller said, the weight is good.
“If anything I got more explosive,” Miller told Joe. “I’m not overweight. I’m still pretty small. More explosive I would say.”
Joe admits Miller looked fast as always on the practice field in underwear football, but the eyeball test is not the same as a stopwatch. Separation will still be the key to Miller’s game.
Joe guesses adding 15 pounds was a risk worth taking for Miller. He wants to be on the field more, not just to be more valuable and hopefully make more of an impact, but to make more money, too. Remember, Miller is in a contract year.
If the extra muscle does indeed slow Miller down, he can always shed it for 2023, whether with the Bucs or some other team.
If the gamble pays off, well, that’s a win for the Bucs and a win for Miller in many, many more ways than one.
July 12th, 2022 at 4:22 am
I like it. It will protect him from future injuries and help him off the line of scrimmage. Rooting for Scotty this season
July 12th, 2022 at 6:42 am
I’m with WesternBuc on this one. Scotty was listed as being 5’9″ & 174 lbs on the Bucs’ team chart. Heck, the football equipment he has to wear weighs almost as much as that. Putting on 15 lbs of muscle gets him into the range of Antonio Brown (5’10” & 185 lbs) and Tyreek Hill (also 5’10” & 185 lbs). Both of them carry that weight OK.
Scotty will be fine. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him have his best year yet. Bucs need him to be that deep threat to open up the field for ME13, Gage & Godwin when he returns.
July 12th, 2022 at 6:42 am
He won’t make the team this year
July 12th, 2022 at 6:46 am
Fish hawk Buc- that’s the dumbest post I’ve read in a while
July 12th, 2022 at 7:09 am
Cleanhouse
Now do this comment you made previously when bucs signed brady
“Brady is a bust”
A). Dumb
B). Mindblowingly dumb
3). Dumbest of all time
July 12th, 2022 at 7:37 am
Nope it doesn’t mean that, he is bigger now and just as slick. The question is the same as his rookie year, can he play in the NFL?
So far he is the fans favorite blind squirrel, one or two nuts each season.
July 12th, 2022 at 7:53 am
Listened to an interview w/Scotty about a month ago and Miller let it be known he had core muscle surgery shortly after SB-LV, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the weight gain transpired between him getting the procedure, prepping for the 2021 season, getting turf toe and now trying to bounce back from all that this offseason. Nothing wrong with putting some weight on to make yourself more durable, as it can potentially help extend his career somewhere down the line. Now we can run that “Scoot”-around drawn up for Miller that we flash once in a blue moon.
July 12th, 2022 at 8:08 am
Wow! Whitey Herzog! Blast from the past Joe. Well played.
July 12th, 2022 at 8:19 am
sure hope he put on some strength, to go with the extra weight.
July 12th, 2022 at 8:34 am
Herzog was great, but Billy Martin was just as good a Manager.
Looking forward to Miller having a great bounceback season.
July 12th, 2022 at 9:11 am
Miller vs. Thompkins – we will see who the coaches like best…
I’m cheering for Miller but I hear Thompkins is looking very impressive during the underwear practices.
If Thompkins can stay healthy and win the punt returner/kick returner job it could spell doom for Scooter…
July 12th, 2022 at 9:45 am
Miller is a proven pro and has come through in crunch time (see the Todd Bowles Bowl, 4th quarter, 4th down and other plays in that quarter as well). Scotty still on his rookie deal and has also proven himself as a gunner. Brady loves him. Scotty makes the team unless he has developed a case of the dropsies.
Look for Thompkins on the practice squad.
Lok for Dardung to be speaking Canadian.
July 12th, 2022 at 9:51 am
Goat… I hope you are right
But
That doesn’t mean I think you are right
We’ll know soon enough
July 12th, 2022 at 10:01 am
@ Goat
That is a possibility for sure.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Darden. It is rare for GM Licht to give up on draft picks so quickly but the competition for the 6th WR spot will be intense…
Darden, Miller, Thompkins, Grayson and a few others all battling for one spot. I really like having that level of competition at the WR this season after what happened last year.
July 12th, 2022 at 10:09 am
They were VERY similar. Same idea about how to play the game but Herzog took that to the extreme.
Both of those guys were briefly teammates. And both worshipped Casey Stengel.
Joe would suggest Martin had more talent to work with than Herzog. That 1987 Cardinals team had no business being in the World Series much less going seven games.
July 12th, 2022 at 10:54 am
That 1987 Cardinals team had no business being in the World Series much less going seven games.
That was a fun team to watch- Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, Jack Clark. And Todd Worrell in the bullpen. And those Royal teams that Herzog managed were great.
I’d put Earl Weaver up there, too , as great Managers of that era.
July 12th, 2022 at 11:06 am
Wow, old time baseball talk. Joe I think you could bring up a site once a week about baseball back when it was baseball, 80’s back, and some of us old guys could talk all day. Brett against the Goose came into my mind as soon as I saw Whitey Herzog.
July 12th, 2022 at 11:41 am
It appears he is working on all aspects of his game and sure hope it shows in the slot ……. He just isn’t twitchy quick and doesn’t have the knack for making the first guy at least 1/2 miss to go forward that 4 or 5 yards that is so vital …….. Humphries made a ton of money because he was more twitchy quick vs super fast and he always got past the 1 st defender and got the four or 5 yards for the first or to create great down and distance ….. Scotty doesn’t have that, he gets swept or single arm tackled every time and gains a yard …….. He has to get better at not being arm tackled and getting partially by the defender and up field in order to have much slot value …….. If he can do that he can be murdersome staying on the field ( more than one down) and have an ability to blow by safties and # 3 corners but he has to get that 4 or 5 yards YAC to be on the field and not one dimensional !!
July 12th, 2022 at 11:46 am
Chris Tucker@Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa Says:
July 12th, 2022 at 8:19 am
Uuhh, duuh… no, he just ate extra ice cream and sat on the couch. 🙄
July 12th, 2022 at 12:20 pm
Bucs WRs
1. Mike Evans
2. Chris Godwin
3. Russel Gage
The next four depend on situation so in no particular order
Miller, Grayson, Perriman, Johnson
Yes I think the Bucs keep 7 to start the year.
Dardung is toast and the best of the other UDFA guys make the practice squad.
July 12th, 2022 at 12:45 pm
@ Goat
I agree… Injuries will also play a part.
Has Perriman ever played a full season?
Johnson and Darden are meh…
And Miller and Grayson had injuries last year.
July 12th, 2022 at 2:01 pm
15 lbs of muscly won’t slow him down.
15 lbs of fat would.
Let’s wait and see the results.
July 12th, 2022 at 3:43 pm
Perriman had better improve those hands ,, very streaky hands and Brady won’t have much of it !! Dam good player if he can catch it !! Size and tremendous speed !! Slightly below avg hands !!
July 12th, 2022 at 4:12 pm
I’m not a believer in Miller. Extra weight won’t help his catch radius, or his poor route running. Defensive backs play through the guy. In order to be effective, he needs a free release to get up to top speed. He’s very fast, track speed. But his game has too many deficiencies that weight alone can’t fix. He also can’t stay healthy. If he gets hurt in camp, he’s a definite cut candidate. We’re talking about the 208th pick. Many here drastically overvalue him.
July 12th, 2022 at 5:20 pm
Both Brown and Hill have something I haven’t seen Miller do yet and that is run awesome routes.
Too bad 15lbs of muscle doesn’t help that!!
I will say I think Scotty has MORE than we have seen and he obviously believes that. I’m rooting for him and because of injury, this is basically like year 3 for him, where you see MOST receivers blossom.
July 12th, 2022 at 5:57 pm
Why would added muscle make you slower? Added fat might slow you down but not muscle. I don’t think Scotty looks like a body builder yet. All sprinters are muscular. That’s old thinking forty or fifty years ago Joe. GOBUCS!
July 12th, 2022 at 6:10 pm
Before the last few weeks, I’ve NEVER read about Scotty having route-running issues
July 12th, 2022 at 6:27 pm
Billy Martin and John Tortorella a lot alike as coaches.
That intense knowledge and style to make sure that guys are doing their job the right way. I do think that players tend to hate these guys after a number of years though. They get tired of that hard ass style year after year.