There needs to be an acknowledgement by both sides there:
Christian Michael should not be starting.
He leaves yards on the table. He isn't as dependable in short yardage because he hesitates at the line. He isn't tremendously physical at the point of contact.
However, he is an exceptional back-up RB.
So for all the people piling on him, we are lucky to have him. Our starter was supposed to be Rawls.
What he is, is a threat to get more than 4 yards. He doesn't hit many, if any, home runs but it is not entirely out of the question for him to rip off a 20 yd or even a 30 yd run in a game either.
And he catches and blocks well, as both the eyes and the OP make clear.
We cannot just put our focus on our rushing attack with Michael like we did with Rawls, but he is good enough that we don't have to abandon it either. And he must be coachable in some way, vs the sentiment, because he seems to be getting better and getter.
Finally, his ability to work with the passing game means we don't have to pull him out during the passing, so we are not stuck with a tell like we have had in years past.
We got really lucky to get him back because we don't have a whole lot in the wings without him. He isn't a starter but he made a big difference in keeping us upright when we lost our starter.
