Chargers’ Miller Quiets Critics With Big Day

Maligned all season for dropping passes, Anthony Miller on Sunday finally showed off the talent that made him a two-time Pro Bowl player.

Miller took advantage of the Rams’ single coverage to catch a season-high seven passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. But he refused to take advantage of a perfect opportunity to blast reporters, who have chronicled Miller’s problems.

“I’m kind of mad anyway,” he said. “Everybody’s been criticizing me all year. I don’t have any control over a lot of things. When you’ve been hurt all year, it’s kind of hard to talk now.”

Miller relented for a minute as he answered a television reporter’s question. But before he got too chatty, Miller called it quits for a final time when a couple other reporters asked him a question.

“Talk to (receivers coach) Charlie Joiner,” he muttered. “I just don’t have anything else to say.”

But Joiner, who understood how Miller might be disenchanted with reporters, had a lot to say about Miller’s performance.

“He played a hell of a game,” Joiner said. “No doubt about it.”

Miller’s seven receptions were only five less than he had during the Chargers’ first six games and his 149 yards were just 12 short of his season total.

Joiner said he can empathize with what Miller has experienced this season.

“He hasn’t gone through nothing that anybody in the league didn’t go through,” said Joiner, who played 18 seasons in the NFL. “You’re going to have some bad times. I had bad times. The thing you have to do is work yourself out of it.

“Anthony is seeming to come around. He’s going to have dropped balls. Any receiver in this league is going to drop a pass. It’s not physically possible to catch every pass. Nobody is perfect.”

Miller was nearly perfect Sunday. But he did mix in one drop for old times--a five-yard sideline pass from Friesz went through his hands.

Miller mostly was seen running free through the Rams secondary. His first catch went for a 30-yard touchdown play after he badly beat a Rams defensive back on a corner route.

On the Chargers’ second scoring drive of the first quarter, Miller came up big again. He pulled in a perfectly thrown pass from Friesz on a crossing pattern and gained 26 yards before he was tackled.

In the Chargers’ third scoring drive Miller and Friesz hooked up twice. Once for 16 yards and the second time for 43 yards.

Friesz caught the Rams in man-to-man coverage on Miller, who ran by cornerback Darryl Henley on a fly pattern. Miller caught the ball on the five and was tackled on the one.

The pass play was Miller’s longest since 1989.

“He’s got his confidence,” Joiner said. “He’s going to have a lot more good games this year.”

Then again, Joiner said he may have another bad one.

“He’s going to have another down period,” Joiner said. “You have to keep working though. He can’t think that he’s out of the woods.”