Eager to get things running

Healthier Maroney carries momentum into opener

Kevin Faulk holds on tight as fellow running back Laurence Maroney attempts to knock the ball loose during morning practice. (Robert E. Klein/For the Globe)

FOXBOROUGH - When the Patriots opened the exhibition schedule last year against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, running back Laurence Maroney didn't play. Still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, he missed the first game.

"And the second one," chimed in Maroney.

This year, a healthy and more mature Maroney is benefiting from participating in training camp without a red noncontact jersey, and is building on the momentum he created last season. After a disappointing start, he ended up rushing for 835 yards - 90 more than his rookie season - and six touchdowns, all of which came in the final seven games of the season.

There is no comparison between where he was at this time last year and now.

"I wish I was a little bit farther, but I can't complain," said the third-year running back. "I'm a lot farther than I was last year. I put myself in a better position than I did last year, so I'm definitely feeling good. I'm not far off. I ain't quite there yet, but I'm not that far away from it."

Maroney said he's looking forward to getting a few carries Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens.

"Yeah, just to go back out there and build off of how I finished last year, and just to get back into the swing of things," said Maroney. "I've been practicing against my team for a lot of days now, so just to get a chance to go out there and go against somebody new and see what I've got is definitely going to make me feel good."

Maroney said the biggest change since this time last year is that he's established a more symbiotic relationship with the offensive line.

"Now, I've got a feel for how they're going to block, and they've got a feel for how I'm going to run," said Maroney. "We both know each other, and we know how things are going to play out on certain plays. So, I trust them a lot more. They trust me a lot more to make the right reads. I trust them to make the right blocks, so now I'm running with more confidence and more patience."

Lineman Welbourn signs on
With right guard Stephen Neal still on the physically-unable-to-perform list, left tackle Matt Light missing from practice since Sunday, and reserve tackle Ryan O'Callaghan absent again yesterday, the Patriots made a move to bolster their offensive line, signing veteran John Welbourn.

To make room, the team released rookie defensive lineman Chris Norwell.

Welbourn, 32, has played nine seasons in the NFL, the last four with the Kansas City Chiefs, who released him in February. The 6-foot-5-inch, 310-pounder started all 16 games at right guard for the Chiefs last year, and made 23 starts at right tackle for KC from 2004-06. He has started 95 of the 103 career games he's played in.

Welbourn twice has served suspensions for violating the NFL's steroids policy - the first four games in 2005 and six games in 2006. He was technically "retired" during the second suspension, but he unretired after the six games were up.

Spann used as safety valve
Antwain Spann, who has played a total of nine games the last two years - all on special teams - has gotten a look at safety, with James Sanders out since last Tuesday. Spann has been released by the Patriots four times since 2006 and signed five times, but he doesn't let that discourage him. "This is the NFL. Some of the greatest players who ever played this game went through more than what I'm going through right now," said Spann. "You just have to be grateful for each and every opportunity that you get out here. That's all I'm doing, is trying to show them that I deserve to be out here, and as long as I keep doing what I'm doing and keep getting better every day, the sky is the limit." . . . Rookie cornerback Jonathan Wilhite was forced to leave the evening practice, which was held inside Gillette Stadium, as he came up hobbling after covering Wes Welker in the left corner of the end zone. Wilhite walked off the field under his own power, but clutched at the back of his right leg, in the area of his hamstring. Trainers stretched him out on the sideline and he returned to jog end-of-practice sprints.

Not much to say
It will be interesting to see whether the Patriots employ the new defensive coach-to-player in-helmet communication system Thursday against the Ravens. When asked about the system, which was adopted this year in part as a response to the Patriots' signal-stealing saga last season, coach Bill Belichick said he had not assigned two players to wear the special helmets, and overall he sounded less than enthused about the rule. "Well, we haven't used them yet," said Belichick. "It is not really a high priority right now. We need to just go out there and learn how to play good defense and learn our assignments. We will get to the other stuff when we get to it." . . . Belichick said he has spoken to linebacker Junior Seau, but he did not make it sound as if Seau's return were imminent . . . Belichick had high praise for reserve guard/center Russ Hochstein, who likely will get time at right guard with Neal hurt. "The best compliment you can give a lineman like that is you don't really realize when he is in there," said Belichick. "He is a solid guy, and the last game he played in, he played well, and that was a big game [Super Bowl XLII]. He has been a very dependable guy for us with great inside versatility." . . . Players not on PUP who missed both the morning and evening practices were Light, Sanders, O'Callaghan, safety Rodney Harrison, cornerback Jason Webster, and fullback Kyle Eckel.