Next step for rookie RB Sony Michel? Stacking success

FOXBOROUGH — The message in the locker room for Sony Michel the last day or so at Gillette Stadium was simple: Nice job, kid. Now do it again. And again. And again.

Michel rushed for 112 yards last Sunday against the Dolphins. It was not only a measure of vindication for the rookie running back, but for the rest of the roster, which stood by Michel after two rough weeks at the start of his NFL career. His work played a major role in the win over Miami.

“He belongs in our locker room,” veteran Matthew Slater told me when asked about Michel. “He’s family to us. And you protect your family. You protect your little brother if something goes down. We’re really appreciative of the way he’s approached this whole thing. Appreciative of his humility above all things.

“Good things happen to good people. And I’m happy to see him have the success he had (Sunday).”

“He’s a tough runner,” said fellow back James White. “He can catch the ball, he can block. He can pretty much do it all. I mean, he missed preseason, so he didn’t get a lot of those reps. So, the more he plays, the better he’ll get, and he wanted to come out there (Sunday) and attack the day from the first play. He played really well.”

Watching the arc of the rookie out of Georgia has been a pleasure for former Patriots running back Kevin Faulk. In his first two games in the NFL, Faulk had 15 carries, but averaged less than two yards per opportunity and lost a fumble, so he knows about rough starts. Faulk told Bostonsportsjournal.com Michel now has his first real test as a pro — being able to take the criticism with the praise, set it all aside, and put in the work.


“Last week, you had people saying he was the worst running back in the NFL. Now, he’s got a shot to make it. Now, he has to be consistent,” Faulk said. “I watched him in college and he has everything he needs to be able to be a good back. He has all the traits to be great. He has vision, power and explosion. All of that.”

Now, the real work starts for Michel. It’s a battle to go from being a one-off star to being the sort of guy the Patriots’ can rely on a regular basis.

“I think for all of us, consistency is something we have to strive for,” said Slater when asked what’s next for Michel. “It’s human nature when you have success to exhale and say, ‘OK.’ But I think all of us have to strive for consistency.”

Michel did have some rookie moments on Sunday. One of the things he needs to work on? The ability to create something from nothing. Against the Dolphins, there were several occasions where he appeared to be bottled up at the line of scrimmage. A veteran back will be able to anticipate and think a step or two ahead, something that could very well come with time when you consider the fact Michel is still in the infant stages of his career.



On a conference call with the media on Tuesday, Bill Belichick spoke to that briefly, saying “not every play is an 80-yard touchdown,” and that there are several things that come into play with that sort of thing.

“There are some incomplete passes and some runs gain less than others,” Belichick said. “You hope that you stay with it and in the end, you have production in that overall phase of the game.”

“I think if there’s a stalemate at the line of scrimmage, a back can make a couple yards,” added the coach. “But, if the play gets blown up or he doesn’t really have a chance to get back to the line of scrimmage and be able to push the pile and hit the gap, then not necessarily. I mean, you’ve got to at least create a stalemate on the line of scrimmage to give the back a chance.”

Ultimately, Michel has now been thrust into a vital role, especially when you consider New England only dressed two backs on Sunday, Michel and White. While Michel’s role figures to vary from week-to-week, the goal is to continue trending in the right direction. What happened on Sunday is an excellent first step in that process.

“I had a college coach tell me one time, ‘You want to be consistently good, not occasionally great,’” said Slater. “And I think all of us are trying to strive to do that around here, including Sony.”