Who Is Sony Michel?

[archstanton543]

More like "why?". I understand he was drafted in the first round and all that but...he's not helping. He hasn't helped most of the the games he's played it. Why are the Pats afraid to pull him?

I understand Rex got hurt again but throwing to him twice in a row in the Red Zone late was just ridiculous. I hate to say it but Lawrence Maroney was more useful than this guy in the early part of his career.

 

[Pessimistic Pete]

Sony Maroney

 

[catent]

I think Michel has looked relatively good in his limited amount of action.

The struggles of the offensive line in run blocking, and the overall struggles of the team have masked his seemingly positive contributions. He has quick feet, good vision, and power to finish runs. He appears to get yards when there are seemingly none to get.

I've liked what I've seen, although it seems that isn't a universal opinion.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

When he enters the game they run the ball.
When White or Burkhead enter the game they pass,

 

[HailHydra]

When he has space, he can run. But, when the DLine is crashing down every single play and leaving very limited holes, you can hardly expect even the best RBs to get things done. This is true especially when the Patriots had 0 threats at WR so Detroit can fully commit to the run. With the weapons the Lions have, could we have done the same thing? No. It's a trickle down effect. Michel looked good after halftime though. The main problem was the gameplan of feeding him 11 times in the first half without even jumpstarting the passing offense, making it easy to defend.

 

[BradyFTW!]

When he enters the game they run the ball.
When White or Burkhead enter the game they pass,

After his drops tonight, it isn't hard to see why.

 

[FCB02062]

Looks like another wasted first round pick.....the hits just keep on coming

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

When he enters the game they run the ball.
When White or Burkhead enter the game they pass,

They threw to michel a couple times problem is he can’t catch.

As for the run game I place most of the blame on the line. No push on any of those quick hitters.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I was not crazy about the pick of this guy in the draft - I was already worried about his knee problems in college and now he has a poor blocking offensive line to run through

 

[HailHydra]

To all those that say he's a wasted first rounder, look at Rex Burkhead against the Texans week 1. Was he doing any better rushing? Even last year, our RBs struggled early on, until it started to gain steam in the 2nd half. Furthermore, when teams need to respect the passing offense, the rushing offense flourishes. This kid wouldn't be getting 15 carries if he wasn't good. I trust Belichick enough to recognize that.

 

[archstanton543]

Michel looked good after halftime though. The main problem was the gameplan of feeding him 11 times in the first half without even jumpstarting the passing offense, making it easy to defend.

Did he when he dropped two passes in a row?

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I was not crazy about the pick of this guy in the draft - I was already worried about his knee bone problems in college and now he has a poor blocking offensive line to run through

 

[catent]

When he enters the game they run the ball.
When White or Burkhead enter the game they pass,

This has been an issue for awhile. The offense telegraphs their play-call based on personnel far too often. I'd like to see them run multiple plays from the same formation more often. That alone would go a long way towards increasing unpredictability.

 

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

More like "why?". I understand he was drafted in the first round and all that but...he's not helping. He hasn't helped most of the the games he's played it. Why are the Pats afraid to pull him?

I understand Rex got hurt again but throwing to him twice in a row in the Red Zone late was just ridiculous. I hate to say it but Lawrence Maroney was more useful than this guy in the early part of his career.

He hasn't helped in most of the games he's played? You mean the 2?

 

[ahmed]

Someone who has compromising pictures of Josh.

He looks like he has some talent but I have never seen Pats try to force the ball to a rookie who is not ready like this. Usually, they would bring him along slowly.

 

[catent]

Did he when he dropped two passes in a row?

Those were obviously low points for him tonight but it ignores the rest of the game. I think people are unfairly and prematurely piling on Michel.

Let's give him time.

 

[archstanton543]

Those were obviously low points for him tonight but it ignores the rest of the game. I think people are unfairly and prematurely piling on Michel.

Let's give him time.

I agree but the offense has other players on it but they seemed determined to get him involved when the defense was geared towards stopping him and he showed no flashes of trying to fool them with his running...almost Antowain Smith-like running.

 

[JPsPats]

Should the Chargers have quit on Melvin Gordon when he didn’t light the world on fire his rookie season?

Michel missed a ton of reps from his injury and is playing catch up. Maybe we should look at our 10 million a year guard mason who got ragdolled tonight and burned in the Super Bowl that caused the strip sack on Brady.

 

[catent]

I agree but the offense has other players on it but they seemed determined to get him involved when the defense was geared towards stopping him and he showed no flashes of trying to fool them with his running...almost Antowain Smith-like running.

I agree that the play-calling was extremely questionable and did no favors for Michel. They certainly didn't put him in optimal situations to succeed, a so-called hallmark of Belichick's (and, to a lesser extent, McDaniels') teams.

I hope and expect that the return of Edelman and the integration of Gordon into the offense will open up opportunities for Michel to thrive. He showed some ability running the ball, but as you accurately identified, he wasn't put in ideal situations.

 

[supafly]

Someone who has compromising pictures of Josh.

He looks like he has some talent but I have never seen Pats try to force the ball to a rookie who is not ready like this. Usually, they would bring him along slowly.

This team is in desperate need of a running game and since the injury to Hill, they don’t really have any other options.

Burkhead should’ve been able to provide a one-two punch, but he’s always injured.