Staff photo by TOM KING Patriots rookie running back Sony Michel was all smiles after rushing for 112 yards in Sunday's 38-7 rout of Miami.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Sony Michel had a huge grin in front of his Gillette Stadium locker on Sunday afternoon.

And why not? The New England Patriots rookie running back, who missed all of preseason with a nagging knee injury, finally showed by the Patriots took him in the first round of this year’s draft with 112 yards on a touchdown on 25 carries in his team’s 38-7 rout of the Miami Dolphins.

“I would say I’m blessed,” Michel said. “You sometimes go thorugh times that aren’t the brightest. … I’m blessed to say I had those times.”

And got through it. Michel said he had full support of his teammates after struggling the last couple of weeks since finally being able to play.

“My teammates do a great job of complimenting me to keep my confidence up,” he said. “I’m around a great group of guys, so it’s amazing. I’m blessed to be around guys like James White, the offensive line and Tom (Brady). It’s amazing.”

Patriots veteran back James White said he wasn’t surprised at what Michel did on Sunday.

“He’s a tough runner, he can catch the ball, he can block, he can pretty much do it all,” White said. “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 and attack the day from the first play. He played really well.”

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Controversial receiver Josh Gordon played in his first game as a Patriot and made a minor impact with two catches for 32 yards. It’s clear the Patriots are going to bring him along slowly, then unleash him at some point.

“It took a lot of effort and time and work put in studying,” Gordon said after the game in a brief three question-allowed press conference. “All around, just a concerted effort from the training staff and what I could do on my end and try to make it work. But, it was an awesome experience and I really enjoyed it and a great opportunity.”

Gordon says he’s here to stay.

“I have no doubt I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity,” the former Cleveland Brown said. “I’m more than blessed. I’m extremely grateful to be put in this scenario. I think the only thing right for me to do is take full advantage of it. I’m loving it, I’m enjoying it, the guys here are great, it’s a real home environment and I feel as comfortable as ever here.”

Gordon also said he feels he’ll fit in well with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

“I mean, it’s awesome, just period, catching a pass from Tom at any point in time. He’s been rooting for me, and it’s been awesome to have his support and his love, as well as the rest of the teammates and staff here. You know, Tom’s a passionate guy and I love that, and I love the game of football and I think we’re going to mesh just fine.”

Brady, who celebrated with Gordon after his first catch as a Patriot, agreed.

“He’s put in a lot of work, a lot of time trying to understand where to line up and what to do,” Brady said, “and he came up with some big plays today. He kind of got us going in certain areas.”

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The Patriots now have just three days to prepare for the Indianapolis Colts, coming to Gillette on Thursday night. Indy is 1-3 after losing to Houston on a last second field goal in overtime on Sunday.

“It’s a team we don’t know very well at all,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “They have a lot of new players. This is a new coaching staff (headed by Frank Reich) with a lot of new players from the last time we played them. … We’ll have a lot of work to do there.”

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Former Patriots offensive lineman Matt Light was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame on Saturday, and honored at halftime Sunday. Light started 173 of 175 games and only one player has started more Super Bowls than Light – Tom Brady.

Light said the main thing he’s realized is “We can all take this for granted. This organization is the greatest organization in all of sports. I’ve been blessed.”

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The Julian Edelman Ban is over. The wide receiver’s suspension is up, and you can bet the Patriots will be glad to see him on Monday.

“You know,it will be great to have him,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. “I mean, we haven’t seen him in four weeks, but know he’ll be ready. And it’s a short week, so I’m sure he’ll be in here ready to go. Everyone loves

Jules and loves having him back.”

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Robert Kraft got his 300th victory as the team’s owner, the fastest time (432 games) any owner in NFL history has reached that milestone…

New England is now 82-23 (.781) in regular season AFC East games since the beginning of the 2001 season…

Inactives for New England Sunday were DB Eric Rowe, TE Jacob Hollister, defensive linemen Keionta Davis, Geneo Grissom and Derek Rivers, and offensive linemen Ted Karras and Cole Croston…

Belichick became the third NFL coach to get as many as 280 wins. He trails Don Shula (347) and George Halas (324).

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