HOUSTON (AP) — after what he calls a disappointing 2017.It was then that the Houston Texans running back decided to take the advice of two former Miami Hurricanes running backs with a combined 25 years of NFL experience.Edgerrin James http://www.lionscheapstore.com/austin-bryant-jersey-cheap , a four-time Pro Bowler who spent 11 years in the NFL, and Frank Gore, a 35-year-old who made the Pro Bowl five times and is in his 14th season shared their secret for NFL longevity: weight loss.“They were just telling me that every year they tried to play lighter and lighter because as you get older they say you lose a step … and all that weight is not good,” Miller said.“So just having guys like that to give you some knowledge on some of the things that helped them throughout their career, I just felt like it would help me. So that’s something I tried to focus on this offseason was to lose some weight.”Gore called Miller his “little brother” and said he’s a big believer in running backs getting lighter as they age.“I used to play at 217, 218 when I was younger,” he said. “Now I try to play lighter than that.”That led the 5-foot-10 Miller to shed about 7 pounds, dropping from 225 last year to 218 this season.Though he didn’t make the change until this season, his transformation was about three years in the making.Gore, who Miller has long looked to for advice, first brought up that he started playing a bit lighter every year as he aged before Miller’s first season in Houston in 2016. But Miller was just 25 at the time and thought he was too young to worry about something that helped older players.So, he went the other way and gained a few pounds before that season because he thought it would help him carry a bigger rushing load.He had a good year, rushing for 1,073 yards with five touchdowns, before a 2017 season where he finished with 888 yards rushing and never ran for more than 75 yards in a game all season.And when he spoke with James this offseason and he shared the same thing as Gore and suggested Miller should slim down, too, he decided to give it a try.“I thought: ‘They had success doing it so why can’t you http://www.packerscheapstore.com/rashan-gary-jersey-cheap ,'” Miller said.It’s a change he believes has made a big difference.“I can feel it,” he said. “I feel lighter when I’m running and stuff and overall my body feels good. I think it’s helped me. So far, I’ve been doing good. I don’t really see how it hasn’t (helped).”The numbers back it up. Miller had 103 yards rushing last week for his fourth 100-yard game this season, and with five regular-season games left he needs just 13 yards to eclipse last year’s rushing total.Coach Bill O’Brien has been impressed with Miller’s improvement this season.“He really wanted to come in this year and have a good year for us and that’s what he’s done,” O’Brien said. “I think we’ve managed him pretty well and he’s done a great job of, in the offseason, training and then having a good training camp. He’s always been a consistent performer for us.”The thing that disappointed Miller most about his numbers last year was that he averaged a career-low 3.7 yards a carry.“That was bad,” he said. “My whole career I was averaging 4 yards or better, so that was a big drop-off for me.”This season he’s boosted his average to 5 yards a carry, which is second only to the 5.1 yards he averaged in 2014 when he ran for a career-best 1,099 yards in Miami. Miller ranks sixth in the NFL in yards rushing and has the longest TD run in the league this season after he rumbled 97 yards for a score in Houston’s win over Tennessee on Nov. 26.That run made him the only player in NFL history to have two TD runs of 95 yards or longer after he also had a 97-yard touchdown run in 2014 while with the Dolphins.Houston defensive end Jadeveon Clowney said that Miller looked like a rookie on that run and Miller, who was a sprinter on Miami’s track team along with playing football, said he heard similar things from many old friends after that touchdown.“People were saying: “oh you still have your speed and stuff,'” Miller said. “So just hearing it from a lot of people that I grew up with was good.”Gore was among those who delighted in seeing Miller break that long run and he raved about his work this season.“He’s balling,” Gore said. “He’s taking advantage of his opportunity. I hope he gets in the Pro Bowl.”Miller knows the solid play of Houston’s offensive line and his focus on being more decisive have also contributed to his success this season. But he’s sure the weight loss gave him a boost and that’s why he’s going to follow in the footsteps of his fellow former Hurricane friends for the rest of his career.“I’m back in a rhythm,” he said. “I’m doing some positive things to help this team win and that’s always a good thing. So, I’m going to keep that formula to try to keep losing weight as I get older.” ALAMEDA Darnell Savage Jr. Jersey , Calif. (AP) — Antonio Brown’s credentials were well established long before he arrived in Oakland as the Raiders new No. 1 receiver.Brown posted six straight 100-catch seasons for the Steelers with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and was the NFL’s most prolific receiver before he forced his way out of Pittsburgh to join the Raiders in March.Those impressive credentials mean little to coach Jon Gruden, who is pushing Brown as hard as any of his other receivers as Oakland begins preparations for the 2019 season. It’s a similar approach to the one Gruden took during his first stint in Oakland, when he inherited future Hall of Fame receiver Tim Brown and then added the game’s most productive receiver ever in Jerry Rice.“He challenged me from the meeting room to the field,” Brown said Tuesday of Gruden. “Lining me up at all kind of positions, hurrying up the offense’s tempo to see if I’m able to mentally pick up what I’m doing, where I’m lining up really fast. So, it’s never a dull day with coach. Always challenging, always high energy and always detailed and fundamental in regards to our assignment.”While Gruden is holding Brown to a high standard, Brown does the same to his fellow receivers on the roster. He has instituted a fine system for dropped passes in practice and wants to set an example with his strong work ethic for the rest of the players in the receivers’ room.Gruden had been enamored with Brown since his days as an announcer, calling him the hardest working player he had ever seen. Now the rest of the Raiders are seeing what Gruden meant.“He’s showed that when he’s been out here,” offensive coordinator Greg Olson said. “If you’re in that group, especially if you’re in that wide receiver group, you’re going to have to jump in and follow his lead. Again, he doesn’t ask them to do anything that he doesn’t do. That’s what’s real impressive about it. He hadn’t backed off a bit even though his experience in this league has been so long, he still practices at a very high level.”Brown has been one of the league’s most prolific players. He was an All-Pro four straight years from 2014-17 and is the first player with at least 100 catches and 1,200 yards receiving in six straight seasons. His 686 catches and 9,145 yards since 2013 are the most for any player in a six-year span.But despite that production http://www.packerscheapstore.com/elgton-jenkins-jersey-cheap , he wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh and was acquired by Oakland in March for picks in the third and fifth round of the 2019 draft.Brown was benched by coach Mike Tomlin for the regular-season finale last year after the receiver went radio silent in the final 48 hours before the game. Brown arrived in a fur coat, hung out for a half and then disappeared from view until well after his teammates had cleaned out their lockers following a 9-6-1 finish that left Pittsburgh on the outside of the playoffs for the first time since 2013.He then publicly criticized Tomlin and Roethlisberger, eventually forcing his way out in the trade. He then got a new three-year contract worth $50.125 million from Oakland.“I’m extremely excited to be here,” Brown said. “Obviously, it was a challenge. I’m embracing the new. Excited about opportunities to put my condition on display, work on my mentality with learning the plays and take it all in.”Carr has worked hard to build a rapport with Brown and the rest of an almost entirely new receiving group. There are only three wide receivers on the roster who even got a single pass from Carr last season in Marcell Ateman, return specialist Dwayne Harris and Keon Hatcher. Those three combined for only 22 catches last season and don’t figure to have a major role on the offense this season.Instead, Carr’s main targets will likely be Brown, big-ticket free agent Tyrell Williams, Ryan Grant, J.J. Nelson and rookie Hunter Renfrow. Carr held many offseason throwing sessions in local parks with some of his new wideouts this offseason and tried to build a rapport off the field as well by hanging out in his free time. That was appreciated by Brown.“It’s tremendously important to have a relationship off the field because playing football you get mentally tired, you get frustrated,” he said. “You always want to have that respect for a guy, to know where he is coming from, know what he stands for and know what is important to him, so you guys can be on the same page and do what you desire to do. You desire to win.”