Is his shoulder burden?

Maroney didn't run with his usual authority

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Laurence Maroney proved he could shoulder the load down the stretch last season, but after an indecisive and uneven performance against the 49ers last Sunday, the question is how much is Maroney's shoulder weighing on him heading into Sunday night's game against the Chargers?

Maroney, who injured the shoulder against the Jets Sept. 14 and missed the Miami game, had limited participation in practice yesterday after having full participation Wednesday. The shoulder could be one reason Maroney looked tentative against San Francisco, rushing 10 times for 26 yards.

Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was asked about Maroney's hesitation hitting the hole.

"I think there were some situations in the game where there wasn't much there on a few plays and then there were some other plays, not just singling out Laurence, that there was more yards," said McDaniels. "There is always that in the running game. When you carry the ball 43 times, there are going to be plays where there are more yards than you gained and there are going to be other plays where maybe you didn't gain as much as you blocked it for. I didn't really notice much difference. He practiced fine [Wednesday]. The backs are all running the ball well and we expect that to go forward."

Still, it was tough not to notice running backs coach Ivan Fears spreading his arms in exasperation a few times last Sunday, when Maroney came to the sideline after one of his circuitous carries. McDaniels said such in-game interaction is routine.

"Hopefully, he is getting a lot of instruction on every play. We look at the pictures to see how it was blocked or where the cut or hole might have been, or how they are playing a certain technique on defense, and try to coach our guys on every play," McDaniels said. "Some of that was directed toward Laurence.

"We all get instruction. All the players get instruction and, hopefully, we can go back out there and if we see the same look again, we can make that correction that we tried to do on the sidelines and make it work better."

Tough to miss

Stephen Gostkowski will return to the scene of his most important kick as a pro Sunday. Gostkowski nailed a winning 31-yarder with 1:10 remaining in the Patriots' playoff win over the Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium two seasons ago.

Gostkowski said that kick is in the past. Presently, he's enjoying the best streak of his pro career. He has started the season 10 for 10 on field goals and has made 17 straight regular-season kicks.

"I don't think about it. I mean, I never try to miss," said Gostkowski. "I don't go out there and say, 'Oh, I need to get a miss out of the way.' You never try to think about that. You just try to make as many in a row as you can, and when you miss, start another streak. 'Miss one, don't miss two.' That's my philosophy.

"Things have been going good so far, and if I just keep working at it, hopefully it will stay the same. You can't get too high or too low in my position. You can be humbled real quick. You can look at the number of times when guys have been going really good and then you miss one kick and then you're the goat, so you just put it out of your mind."

Doing without

Tight end David Thomas sat out practice with flu-like symptoms. The team also practiced without running back LaMont Jordan (right calf), wide receiver Kelley Washington (right ankle), and linebacker Eric Alexander (hamstring), all of whom were absent Wednesday as well.

Maroney, Gostkowski (right thigh), and Lewis Sanders (hamstring) had limited participation.

For the Chargers, LaDainian Tomlinson (turf toe) practiced on a limited basis after sitting out Wednesday, but both linebacker Jyles Tucker (hamstring) and wide receiver Chris Chambers, who hurt his ankle last week against Miami, sat out for the second straight day. Wide receiver Vincent Jackson (knee) did not practice, and cornerback Antonio Cromartie (hip) only practiced on a limited basis.

Positive feedback

McDaniels was asked if the team had taken the reins off quarterback Matt Cassel against the 49ers. "He's getting better every week," said McDaniels. "We try to do every single week what we think our players are capable of doing. He did a really good job in the running game. We ran the ball a tremendous amount of times and he got us in the right play every time. We used some check-with-me's and he handled those exactly the way we would have wanted. He's getting better every week, and with that game experience and play experience he's gaining on a weekly basis, I think that he is growing and maturing."