everlong

Jackson and Maroney remind me of each other quite a bit.

Remember Jackson was a guy that if Wilfork hadn't fallen to us we probably would have grabbed him. Also remember that he was splitting time with Faulk his first two years much like Maroney with Dillon.

Check out not only his rushing progression but also receiving.

http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/492963

Now look at LM

http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/432895

I think the numbers are very similar and remember although Jackson has better numbers in terms of yards per rush and catch his team had a much better receiving corps that year and a better run blocking line especially behind Pace.

Also do a search on Stephen Jackson and something like "inability to hit the hole", the Rams fans were killing him for that his rookie year.

I think Maroney had a great rookie year and has a ton of room to grow. If he was able to progress to Jackson's 2nd and then 3rd year we would have a star. I don't think he could have given us too much more his rookie year and I think BB handled him perfectly.

Give the kid time he's going to be special like Jackson.

__________________
"When Peyton Manning was a kid he used to go to bed at night and dream about throwing the winning touchdown for the Saints in the Superbowl. And on Sunday he did."

There's only two conclusions for Patriots fans on rookies. They are either a bust or being fitted for their bust in Canton.


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Brownfan80

Good post.

Maroney showed flashes, and plenty of them. But wasn't consistent. Taking into account that he was a rookie, I think that is not only understandable, but to be expected. The fact that he showed as much potential as he did has to be considered a positive for the future. I think he's a rising player in the league.

SeanBruschi54

Nervousness and Cautions i can understand. But Maroney was a rookie and was splitting time with Dillon so it really cut into his learning ability. At times he showed all the burst and power you want in a RB. But its hard to keep that going, when your a first year player not only learning the ropes of the NFL but splitting time as well, to get a real feeling for each individual game.

Maroney by all scout accounts has been labeled one of the best RB's to come out of college.

Other scouts have said if Reggie Bush didnt declare himself eligible for the draft Maroney would have been gone top 6 or 7.

Thats impressive to say the least.

dtbrks

I think Jackson is a more powerful running back, but Maroney seens more capable of outrunning people

BelichickFan

Jackson is more powerful although in the next two years I expect to see Kool Aid add 10 pounds of muscle and he'll be fairly powerful himself. Still, a 4.3 YPC average for a rookie is nothing to laugh at.

everlong

Jackson is a bigger back in terms of size but I think once Maroney puts on 5-10 pounds of muscle and learns to run with a lower pad level he can be just as powerful or close to it with better burst.

__________________
"When Peyton Manning was a kid he used to go to bed at night and dream about throwing the winning touchdown for the Saints in the Superbowl. And on Sunday he did."

There's only two conclusions for Patriots fans on rookies. They are either a bust or being fitted for their bust in Canton.


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SVN

its really difficult to compare any pats skill players with other team's players. Our gamplans change to such extremes that maroney or dillon may not even run the ball 8 times in a game because we go 5 wide all the time. We did this more than once this yr. not many if any teams do this kinda drastic change in approach week to week.

cstjohn17

Lets hope, Jackson had over 2300 from scrimmage and 16 TDs (90 catches!)
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/6783/career

My impression is that Jackson is more powerful, I expect big things from Maroney next year. The key for running backs is to stay on the field, any half decent start that can stay healthy should produce 1100-1300 yards, the problem is the beating they take most RBs cannot withstand the abuse. Lets hope Maroney can stay on the field.

Fanfrom1960

Everybody is giving Maroney a pass for some reason. Joseph Addai was also a rookie and a lot of people thought he should have been MVP or co-MVP for the SB. Yesterday I was trying to think of a RB in the playoffs that didn't look better than Maroney, or at least Maroney in the second half of the year. I couldn't think of anybody. He jukes and jives and doesn't hit the hole unless it's five yards wide. As for being a rookie, again, even running in college is not a whole lot different, and he did play 3 years at Minnesota. OK, he did average 4.3 YPC this year, but he just didn't look good down the stretch. Running with the football is so instinctive and reactive that I'm not sure how you work with him on this either.

BelichickFan

You have to remember that Jackson has Torry Holt taking the pressure off the run game plus he plays in the mediocre NFC. We'll see a better Maroney in 2007, though, as he gets more carries and is stronger from a good offseason. Also, the entire offense should be better at home now with the field turf and not playing half the home games on ***** like they did last year.