Re: BJGE does NOT have practice squad eligibility.
Cutting Maroney would increase the Pats cap. There is no advantage of cutting Maroney except for the roster space. He has teased too much his ability to play like an elite back to give up the roster spot IMHO.
Besides, it is silly to say that Ben Jarvis-Green Ellis has shown you more than Maroney. BJGE has rushed for over 100 yards once and has had a game over 4.0 YPC once (well twice if you count a game where he rushed for 9 yards in two carries). Maroney has shown more than BJGE in the last 5 or 6 games of 2007 than BJGE has shown in his entire rookie season.
Now that doesn't mean Maroney hasn't been a disapointment or BJGE hasn't shown a lot of promise. But Maroney has shown flashes of being an elite RB granted they have been few and far between. Let's not overstate how bad Maroney has been and how great BJGE has been just because Maroney is a first round pick and BJGE is an undrafted free agent. If BJGE was drafted in the first round, he would be called a bust right now and if Maroney was undrafted, he would be labeled a steal.
Since there is no cap advantage in releasing Maroney, I think that gives him the upper hand. Maroney is still a better back than BJGE. Let's not forget that BJGE had only 31 rushing yards the last 7 games of the season and was a healthy scratch for many of them.
BJGE is a product of a player with absolutely no expectations who performed outstanding for a couple game stretch. Maroney is a product of extremely high expectations that were far from met.
Don't forget a lot of people had Mike Cloud being the next Priest Holmes after a game where he excelled a few years back.
Yeah, I was trying to 'blend' my argument a little more, and not make it so one-sided, but I guess my bias for BJGE overtakes that. I obviously agree, and fully understand the cap implications, and do agree that Maroney would be kept. I stated that was the odds on favorite, I was just giving my personal view on how Green-Ellis stepped in with no problem, excelled making no obvious mistakes, etc. He seemed to provide some shiftiness, and quickness, without so much hesitation that Maroney has brought. For what he was asked, I think he deserves more of a look, and if the cap hit implications weren't favoring keeping Maroney, I feel BJGE would've had a better chance.
That said, the important thing is that whatever happens, it's one more position that seems to have a better look--with more competition. Someone who is still pretty darn good will have to be cut on a lot of our positions, and that is the general idea, to provide as much competition and depth as possible. I think that's why we see so many castoffs go to other teams. But yeah, you are right in your assessment of Maroney. But it is this yr or bust for him, and that's just not my opinion. He's as close to a bust as I wanna have at this point, and his possible #4 spot on the depth chart proves this. He certainly isn't any better than a #3--maybe a rotational #2, depending on his training camp.
EDIT: No, the more I think about it, he should and will--have the chance to compete for the starting role. It will be a limited starting role, however, with the addition of Taylor, the emergence of Morris as a bruiser, and the 3rd down role of Faulk. I wonder what would happen however, if we drafted a burner high, and he really stepped up in camp. I could only imagine the possibilities, and I really think that BB likes the running back by committee theory, it keeps everyone a little fresher for the stretch run come Dec.-Jan.
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