{"id":52652,"date":"2018-11-04T00:24:38","date_gmt":"2018-11-04T04:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=52652"},"modified":"2021-12-28T21:33:05","modified_gmt":"2021-12-29T02:33:05","slug":"sony-michel-questionable-packers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2018\/11\/04\/sony-michel-questionable-packers\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Patriots Sony Michel Still Questionable Against Green Bay Packers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Two weeks after a nasty knee injury forced <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/category\/patriots\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New England Patriots<\/a> running back <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/M\/MichSo00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sony Michel<\/a><\/strong> out of the Week Seven game against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/bears\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chicago Bears<\/a>, the young rookie has made progress towards a return to the turf but is apparently still questionable for the game against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/packers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Green Bay Packers<\/a>. Needless to say, his potential absence won&#8217;t make or break the game, but it could push the Patriots to utilize their passing skills more than usual.<\/p>\n<h1>New England Patriots Won&#8217;t Have To Rely on Sony Michel Against Green Bay Packers<\/h1>\n<p>Let&#8217;s say Michel does suit up Sunday night. Before the game against Chicago, Michel ran for nearly or more than 100 yards and a touchdown in three consecutive games.\u00a0Coming off an injury like his, with two weeks of rest and a few practice sessions, it seems unlikely that he&#8217;ll rush for his typical gains. Best case scenario, it&#8217;s far more likely that he&#8217;s used on occasional early down runs.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Video: Sony Michel relays he feels \u201cvery fortunate\u201d to have a chance to return to action after his knee injury Oct. 21. He hopes that return comes Sunday. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/q1e7WtgFS7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/q1e7WtgFS7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MikeReiss\/status\/1058423131130548224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 2, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters after practice on Friday, Michel said he felt &#8220;pretty good&#8221; after his injury. &#8220;You\u2019re going to go through times when it\u2019s not going so good. You\u2019ve just got to keep fighting, keep pushing. That\u2019s life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Head coach <strong>Bill Belichick<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bostonherald.com\/sports\/patriots\/2018\/11\/sony_michel_in_running_to_return_for_patriots\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">spoke on Michel&#8217;s injury<\/a> and his <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2018\/10\/28\/new-england-patriots-running-back-depth-concerning\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">dwindling availability of running backs<\/a> earlier in the week, saying &#8220;That\u2019s one of the things we\u2019re going through. But it\u2019s a consideration, and I\u2019d say it\u2019s a concern.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>No Michel Doesn&#8217;t Spell Doom for New England<\/h2>\n<p>Michel was on pace for a 1,000-yard rookie season, a line that is still within reach if he does hit the field soon. Still, the Patriots have been productive at the rushing position even without him. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=WhitJa02,WhitJa20&amp;search=James+White&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James White<\/a><\/strong> is on pace for a prolific season, racking up nearly 500 receiving yards, just over 200 rushing yards, and eight total touchdowns.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Leading the AFC in receptions?<\/p>\n<p>That&#39;s running back <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SweetFeet_White?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SweetFeet_White<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GRVTs24pGw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/GRVTs24pGw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; New England Patriots (@Patriots) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Patriots\/status\/1058728514969579522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 3, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>White&#8217;s dual-threat abilities have been a nightmare for most opposing defenses this year. Green Bay happens to have one of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/statistics\/team\/_\/stat\/receiving\/position\/defense\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">lower ranked rushing defenses<\/a> in the league. Of course, football isn&#8217;t just a numbers game. Considering White has been used as a receiver for the majority of this season, if Michel can&#8217;t play, the official &#8220;run game&#8221; will fall on the shoulders of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BarnKe00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kenjon Barner<\/a><\/strong>. Barner, in four games, has rushed for all of 18 yards.<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t doubt that White will be effective in the rushing and receiving game. If anything, I think like most teams, the Packers will likely have <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2018\/11\/01\/new-england-patriots-week-nine-gameplan-first-down-defense-crucial-to-slowing-green-bay-packers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">some trouble containing him<\/a>. Still, the Patriots options are more limited without a productive runner like Michel. White hasn&#8217;t been shown to be a power runner. His &#8220;sweet feet&#8221; may break some (or many) ankles, but his strengths lie elsewhere on the field.<\/p>\n<h2>Last Word on New England Patriots Rushing Game Against Green Bay Packers<\/h2>\n<p>Should Michel take the field against the Packers, don&#8217;t expect much production out of him. The team will likely take their time reintroducing him to field action, instead opting for the multitool capabilities of White. However, if White can&#8217;t contribute straight down the middle through the defensive line, the Patriots ground game could be largely non-existent against the Packers, instead leaving most of the responsibility to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BradTo00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tom Brady<\/a><\/strong> and the team&#8217;s scrappy group of wide receivers.<\/p>\n<p>After all, this game isn&#8217;t about ground action. It&#8217;s about two of the league&#8217;s best quarterbacks facing off for what is likely the last time. Two of the most prolific passers in the game facing off in an epic shootout, each armed with a more than capable pool of receivers.\u00a0For more on the potential of New England&#8217;s receiving threats this week, <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2018\/11\/01\/attacking-the-pack-new-england-patriots-wide-receivers-week-nine-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">check out Stephen McGuire&#8217;s piece<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"cfc0xgFOQfVEXrBKNQPQVw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1045822812\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'cfc0xgFOQfVEXrBKNQPQVw',sig:'jvsu4cy7UNlKB62Km78qEvw9ZzaxmFgWSgw2bhL4iaU=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1045822812',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sony Michel&#8217;s potential absence won&#8217;t make or break the game against the Green Bay Packers but could push the New England Patriots to focus on the pass.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2508,"featured_media":52679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,54],"tags":[61,955,38,40,3645],"class_list":["post-52652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots","category-editorials","tag-football","tag-james-white","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-sony-michel"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2508"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}