Patriots RB snapshot

Was looking forward to reading these snapshots. But what a terrible format.

Tough to organize this info in tabular context but it's good info. This is Maroney's make or break year.

Heath? Are you blaming Heath Evans or did someone forget to read the post before putting it up?

The Red Sox use pitch counts and four day rotations to manage their pitchers over a long season. BB seems to be ready to do the same with running backs -- strictly limiting each back's carries per week, carrying a great number of serviceable backs.

The RB situation ranks well down the list of needs and priorities as BB and Co. have proven since 2001. They can get the job done with patchwork and middle of the road talent. Anything else is gravy

I want to blame Maroney's lack of 1st round production on health, but a major part of it is also a hesitancy to hit the hole hard (thus the dancing). His speed and agility remind me of Curtis Martin, but Martin also hit the hole hard.

Dump the ball out into "the flat" or play action and give Maroney the rock with some room and he'll gain for you - he's not a pound the ball type of runner and I think BillB realizes that but wants to run threw the tackles anyway. Maybe it's time to change into a two back formation more often and have Maroney, Talylor and Morris alternate according to the specific's of the situation

Where is the button for "doesn't like to be hit and would rather play playstation and collect his check"

This area is really the least of the Patriots worries along with receiver. They will be adequate and the Patriots will score points. Someone will produce when needed just as we saw with BenJarvus Green-Ellis last year. There really isn't much to discuss. They always find someone to stick in there even when players are hurt

I just rewatched the 2007 regular season game with Indianapolis. Lo Mo was a stud in his first game back after a groin injury. I believe he can do it, he just needs to keep from being injured.

Even though Maroney has 2 yrs left until he is a free agent, he needs to produce this year. I believe Fred Taylor will get the most of the carries especially in playoffs.

Where is the button for "delete ignorant poster comments"?

Maroney is a bust due to injury. its unfortunate

How does the phrase go? "You can't make the club from the tub"? Or something like that. If Mauroney doesn't stay healthy enough to play a whole season then he is done. I don't care if he runs like Curtis Martin back in the day during the first half of the season. If he can't stay healthy then I think the Pats are going to have had enough and let him go.

These snapshots are terrible and probably take ten minutes to compile. Would like to see a greater emphasis on analysis, even at this point in the preseason, to whet our whistles prior to September. Give Mazz, Kilgore, or Fluto some time with this column and we'd see insight or column innovation that would pump us up for the coming season.

Maroney is a sad case of talent but injuries are derailing his career with his age though and what the Patriots expect from him I think we overvalue him.

06-Split carries with Dillon and was hurt but wasnt suppose to carry the load
07-Was given the job and started out well and ended well but missed games due to an injury.
08-Hit with a injury broken shoulder

In none of these years the Pats didnt want him to carry the load. Maroneys job is to spell the offense and Bill has confidence in Maroney or else he wouldnt have fed him the ball the way he did in certain 07 games and in the playoffs.

Bill believes in Maroney and thats all I care about.

This is Maroney's make-or-break year. If we don't get at least 14 productive games out of him, then you can slap B-U-S-T on the back of his jersey as we ship him out of town. He keeps saying he feels great and this is his year, etc, etc, but if he

looks like he's injury-prone,
plays like he's injury-prone,
misses games like he's injury-prone,

...then guess what?

doesn't hit the hole quik enough!to much dancing!! he should go on So U Think U can Dance he'd probably win!!!

I agree with Gandalf, Maroney always seems to dance at the line waiting for the big hole that will launch him to a forty yard gain. When it does open up, he's lost all momentum and cannot accelerate fast enough to get through the hole before it closes back up. At least when Morris gets ball, I know he will hit the hole hard. If no hole opens up, he'll at least get two or three yards, instead of Maroney's minus two or three yards.

Has he got the tools? He sure does, no doubt about it.

Does he have the head for it? He's got to work on that. When I first read a few years back that Maroney said he didn't mind sharing roles with other backs "...if that's what they want me to do" I was very troubled. With an attitude like that its no wonder he's always hurt. I remember Willie McGuiness having a few years like that. But when he wanted to play ball he was hell on cleats. Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris get busted up, but they're back playing ASAP. Laurence needs to pick up on their intensity and desire.

Ben
You are a complete moron.. Let the door hit you in the butt on the way out... Tool

What's with the critisism of the snapshots? I'm an engineer, and the comments like 'it's hard to organize this info in tabular context but it's good info" are pretty entertaining even from my perspective. How is is hard to organize the data in the table? I think it's done effectively. Would you prefer prose that gives the same information but does so in a much larger space? If so, you're an idiot. And Ben, you want someone who doesn't know as much as Mike to come up with some blather to wet your whistle? Well, what would you suggest to write about? Be patient and there will be good stuff to write about, but right now is the most quiet time in the nfl. Easy buddy!

Honestly, quit criticizing a professional because you have a lot of time on your hands hanging out in your mom's basement.

As frustrating as it's been to watch a guy with so much athletic ability under-perform, I shake my head at how they have tried to use him. Hey, I wish he ran like Marion Barber too...but he just doesn't. It also didn't help that whenever he seemed to be in the backfield, a running play was called about 85% of the time. Why not throw the ball to the guy? He's much more dangerous in space than he is running between the tackles..

If you had a broken shoulder you probably wouldn't want to hit the hole hard either. The news that he broke his shoulder early in the season last year didn't come out until about 2 months ago so most of the yahoos out here don't even know about it. Bottom line is we haven't seen the real Maroney yet. We've seen flashes here and there but we haven't seen a healthy and confident MAroney in a while. He's still very young so don't give up on him yet.

He does not have a lot of wear and tear so if he stays healthy then he could have a couple of extra years? IF!

who gives a crap. the Tour D'France is on.

Lo Mo is way, way, way too tentative to ever be a productive, healthy, every-down back. I'd expect 4-8 carries per game for 10 to 40 yards and no TDs. Rushing yardage and TD prediction:

Taylor: 800 yds, 4 Tds
Morris: 550 yds, 6 Tds
Maroney: 400 yds, 2 Tds
Faulk: 200 yds, 1 Td

I feel he could be great and really open up the offense to a point of unfairness for opposing defenses but you have to give a back like Maroney 20 - 25 carries per game so that he can better read defenses and defenders and then take advantage of them in the third and fourth quarters.

Just because he's picked in the first round doesn't mean he's expected to carry the ball 30 times a game and average 120 yards for six straight years. The Patriots pick players that can play a role and do a job, regardless of the round. When he's been healthy, he's been decent. I think he's a good cog in what should be a productive group of backs. That's good enough, regardless of what his draft number was. I don't trust him in the clutch, but that's another story

I believe Maroney is on shakey ground. Being in the Pro Shop at the stadium his number #39 was on the discounted rack. I bought one for $25.00 This does not bode well for him.

He runs too upright to play in the NFL and he is having trouble adjusting his style.

guy played NFL running-back with a BROKEN shoulder.

All you remote-control know-it-alls have no clue.

too bad he is a cutback type of runner, on an offence made for power running.

great comment Manny. That is exactly the problem. Bill doesn't have the patience to give it to 1 guy 20 times waiting for him to bust 1 loose. BB knows what types of plays he wants to run ahead of time and when you lose yards looking for a hole on 1st down he isn't likely to keep fedding it to that person.

I think the Pats realize the pounding that RBs take every year, and especially after all the injury that ran train on their backfield last year, they realize you can't have too many runners. WIth Taylor, Morris, Faulk, Maroney and Green-Ellis, they have 5 running backs that can play solidly, have had proven success, and can step in for eachother when one (or two, or three) enevitablly get hurt

Once again, the Pats are ahead of the curve of the NFL. They realize that you can't only use 1 rb...you can't only have 2 either, you need at least 3, and the patriots have 5

The obvious answer to me is health but left out is the bigger question....Has he been constantly injured because of plain old bad luck in the hard hitting NFL or has he been constantly injured because he's physically to fragile to handle the hard hitting NFL? Big difference.

I think 39 is a good back. Cassel was not a good qb when he got hurt. He was running into 11 man fronts when he got hurt last year. His really bad games in 07 were agaisnt great defenses pit, phi, NYG. He avgs 4.5 yards a carry and doesn't fumble. He is only 24. Lets not write him off yet

Seems to me his first instinct when he gets the ball is to STOP...Then assess his options. This will never work in the NFL. He often stops and immediately gets swallowed up by defenders.

He needs to learn that plowing ahead for 3 yards is often a good option. He's trying to hit a home run on every play.

didn't the pats have an option to take deangelo williams instead of maroney in thats years draft? or is joseph adai? - misspelled im sure...

If he was really good, we'd know by now. Running backs seldom get better with time. They are as good as they are going to be the first or second year. He also may have a "heart" problem.