New England Patriots: 4 takeaways from Week 4 victory against Miami Dolphins

1. Offensive identity

As long as Tom Brady is the quarterback, you can expect the New England Patriots to be a pass-first offense. However, coming into this year with only three traditional pass catchers (Gronkowski, Hogan and Dorsett) the offense tried to balance themselves out.

Michel and White have been attempting to carry the load on the ground but to no avail, as there has been little to no running game for the Patriots. Burkhead has been the only running back who has been able to get off the blocks when he rushed for 64 yards against Houston, and that is it. They have tried with Michel as the top running back but it has not worked for the last two weeks.

Against Miami’s defense, the running game flourished in a big way. Michel rushed for over 100 yards with one touchdown and White rushed for 44 yards and a touchdown as well. The offense was very balanced as a result of this, with Brady completing 23 of 35 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns. White, Dorsett and Cordarelle Patterson were the recipients on those.