Ugh....
He dances. He really does. His dancing has lessened the past couple of weeks - that's a good thing. Sure the media piles on - but when jocks turned mediots say the same thing - eh, there is some truth the criticism. As much as you say the Maroney "haters" have blinders on - so don't the Maroney "lovers."
I understand your argument. No one is saying that the o-lines run blocking is superb....but Maroney isn't superb either. I think therein lies the issue for many of us fans. If Maroney was a third or fourth round pick - he would be considered decent and a good value. However, he is a first round pick and expectations are high. He has not met, nor will he meet, the expectations that people have for a first round pick.
Sorry, but did you ever stop to think that Maroney "dances" because :
1) Defenders are in the backfield with him
2) He sees the hole that he's supposed to hit closing just before he gets there, even though he's there when he's supposed to be
3) The hole Maroney was supposed to hit never opened up to begin with.
Now, one of the issues that has arisen is that most of the people down on Maroney claim that the O-line hasn't been the issue. I've been saying the O-line's been a major part of the issue going back to the middle of the 2007 season. And BB is saying that the O-line is the issue now.
As for people' expectations, its those expectations that are the problem. 99% of the time they are so friggin whacked that not even guys like Jim Brown or Barry Sanders could live up to them.
So many of the people down on Maroney have ignored some pretty important facts. Like that Maroney had only played College ball for 3 seasons compared to 5 for Addai. That Maroney was 21 going on 22 compared to Addai who was 24. That the Minnesota offense was a run heavy offense and that NONE of the RBs were getting 300+ carries, though Maroney DID increase the number of carries he had in each of his years there. That Minnesota's offense didn't have much of a passing game and that their RBs weren't really apart of it. Not because the RBs couldn't catch the ball. But because the coaches up there didn't use them in that capacity.
Probably the BIGGEST fact that many of the Maroney haters have misunderstood is the idea that Maroney was some kind of POWER RUNNING BACK ala a Brandon Jacobs or Corey Dillon when Maroney came out of college. That is the farthest thing from the truth. Maroney, coming out of college, was considered a cut-back runner who could run with power.
Has it hurt Maroney that he missed almost the entire season last year? Yes. In the eyes of the fans, anyways. The same fickle fans who have the "what have you done for me in the last hour" attitude.
What should the expectations of Maroney have been? A player who would develop into a consistent starter who could get 15-20 carries a game and put up 1000+ yards in a season rushing and some in the passing game. Is Maroney there yet? Nope. Is he close? Sure looks like it.. He ran well against Tennessee, who had a very good run defense and he's run well against Miami. And that was with Dan Koppen going down and not returning.