Week 4 Patriots vs Dolphins: Who gets the game

ball for New England’s 38-7 win? After two straight losses to fall to 1-2 Isaiah Wynn Jerseys 2019 , the New England Patriots appear to be back on track thanks to a dominant win over the visiting Miami Dolphins. The 38-7 victory saw some big performances in all three phases, but the players that stood out the most are up for this week’s game ball vote.RB Sony MichelAfter two up-and-down performances to start his NFL career, Sony Michel was dominant as a runner today – thanks in part to some outstanding run blocking, but also due to his vision and patience coming out of the backfield. Overall, the first-round rookie finished the day with 25 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown. Michel played a key role in the Patriots establishing an early rhythm and controlling the tempo of the game all day long.LB Kyle Van NoyHe likely will not win the vote, but Kyle Van Noy is still on this ballot to represent a Patriots defense that has looked much improved against an explosive Miami squad. The veteran also made one of the game’s biggest plays in the second quarter: Van Noy, who had three tackles and a quarterback hit on the day, reacted quickly to a bad Dolphins snap and was able to jump on the football for a recovery. Only one play later, the Patriots were in the end zone and up 17-0.RB James WhiteMake no mistake about it: James White is one of the most important players on the Patriots roster, and against Miami he once again proved why. Not only did the 26-year old lead the team with eight receptions for 68 yards, he also had eight carries for 44 yards – and he scored two touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air. In short: it was a vintage performance by the former fourth-round draft pick.With all that in mind White Sony Michel Jerseys , who is your choice for this week’s game ball? Read more: Patriots fans like the Mike Pennel signing, are more critical of the wide receiver acquisitions"WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementNFL Free AgencyPatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots Free Agency CoverageRecapping the first week of free agency from the Patriots’ perspectiveNew,3commentsRead more: Patriots fans like the Mike Pennel signing, are more critical of the wide receiver acquisitionsEDTShareTweetShareShareRecapping the first week of free agency from the Patriots’ perspectiveIsaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY SportsDuring the season, Monday is usually the day to look back and assess what happened in the NFL over the course of the weekend. And while the 2019 regular season will not open until early September, there are still plenty of opportunities to analyze what is going on around the league — especially now, that the first week of free agency is in the books. Let’s quickly recap it to see what the New England Patriots did or did not do.Free agents re-signed by the PatriotsNew England entered the offseason with 17 players headed towards unrestricted free agency. So far during the process, the reigning world champions brought only three members of their 2018 roster back into the fold:Despite starting slowly into his first season with the Patriots, Jason McCourty carved out a role as a starting cornerback opposite All-Pro Stephon Gilmore and played some outstanding football late in the year. Phillip Dorsett and John Simon, meanwhile, were predominately role players. That being said, they were still valuable rotational members of New England’s 2018 team and could see their roles grow next season.Free agents signed by other teamsWhile New England re-signed three players Sony Michel Jerseys 2019 , double that left the team via free agency. And considering some of the contracts they were handed, the club should see at least two compensatory draft picks headed its way in 2020:The biggest names on the list of free agency losses are undoubtably Trey Flowers and Trent Brown, who joined the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders, respectively. Given the size of their contacts, the two will likely net New England two third-round picks next year — all while leaving big holes to fill at their positions, however.The rest of the group consists of de facto starting defensive tackle Malcom Brown, kickoff returner and depth wide receiver/running back Cordarrelle Patterson, primary swing tackle LaAdrian Waddle, and oft-injured cornerback Eric Rowe. Brown’s contributions will likely be replaced by the recently acquired Mike Pennel, while the roles of Patterson and Waddle have no clear-cut successors yet. Rowe is the least worrisome loss of the six.Free agents still on the open marketThe biggest group among New England’s free agency class are the players still unsigned as eight man have yet to join a team. Some of them are prime candidates to return to the Patriots at one point:While Chris Hogan and Danny Shelton have reportedly been in discussion with other clubs, the remainder of the group is having a quiet free agency period so far. Of course, two of the players — punter Ryan Allen and kicker Stephen Gostkowski — are prime candidates to return to New England soon.Outside free agents acquired by the PatriotsAs usual Byron Cowart Jersey Boys , New England headed into free agency rather slowly before making a flurry of moves further down the line. In total, six players were brought in:As noted above, Mike Pennel is expected to help fill the role formerly held by Malcom Brown — which in turn could make him the free agency acquisition with the biggest potential to make an impact early on. The others, meanwhile, are mostly depth and special teams options: ex-Patriot Brandon Bolden and Terrence Brooks project as core members of the kicking game units, withBruce Ellington and Maurice Harris fighting for jobs at wide receiver. Matt LaCosse, meanwhile, could fill the role as the club’s top blocking tight end formerly held by Dwayne Allen.Players traded for by the PatriotsWhile the Patriots were not as busy on the trade market as last year, they still made one transaction:Acquiring Bennett was first announced before the legal tampering period even began one week ago, but the move was not made official until Wednesday — that’s when the market opened. The 33-year-old will help the Patriots replace Trey Flowers’ production and role as a starting edge defender.Restricted free agents tenderedBefore the start of free agency, New England also tendered both of its restricted free agents:Jonathan Jones saw inconsistent playing time in 2018, but proved himself a valuable chess piece during the Patriots’ playoff run. Josh Gordon White Duke Dawson Jerseys , meanwhile, was also tendered despite his future still in doubt: the wide receiver, who served as one of New England’s top-two when available last year, remains indefinitely suspended. However, it seems as if the club has him in its plans for at least the 2019 season.Contract options exercisedNew England had one player on its roster who had an option clause in his deal heading into 2019, and it was — to nobody’s surprise — picked up:Slater appeared in all 19 of New England’s games in 2018 and was on the field for 67.5% of the club’s special teams snaps. Once again proving himself one of the best gunners in all of football, he finished the season with 14 tackles and fielded multiple kicks to give the Patriots’ defense good field position — twice that happened during the club’s playoff run. Seeing the club pick up his option was just a formality.