Will Laurence Maroney be the opening day starter in 07'

[Patriots4Ever]

With some strong play coming to us in 2006,Lomo was for the most part,The first rounder that we had all hoped he would be.Granted,He shared most of his carries With Clockkillin Dillion.But As far as I can see,Dillion was not as Clockkillin this year as I would have liked.Maroney seems to have the Endurance to play as a full fledged starter.Injuries did play a part later on in the season,But I think He will back back stronger for us next year.So,In conclusion..Should He be named the starter? Would you sit the Aging Dillion in Favor of the shifty back and let Dillion back HIM up?

 

[skaIownsIyou]

depending on camp goes, maybe, but i think dillon will be the starter, maybe towards the second half of the year, he'll become the starter...but from what i've seen lately dillon is running batter than maroney

 

[BradyManny]

Maroney has to be less selective in his running, IMO, he was getting too picky for holes down the stretch.

Of course, I still think they should be tailoring runs to him and getting him outside. It seems sometimes they just plug him in and run the same plays they run Dillon, BB admitted as much, which seems odd to me.

 

[SeanBruschi54]

Dillon cant handle the whole load. While Maroney can, Dillon will be used in the Bettis situations.

 

[Seneschal2]

Maroney has to be less selective in his running, IMO, he was getting too picky for holes down the stretch.

He was only looking for one hole...you know, the one that's suppose to be there. Then he looks for ANY HOLE...and of course we know the rest of the story...:bricks:

Of course, I still think they should be tailoring runs to him and getting him outside. It seems sometimes they just plug him in and run the same plays they run Dillon, BB admitted as much, which seems odd to me.

I agree wholeheartedly about designing plays to suit his strengths -- otherwise we're wasting his skills. But I wouldn't run him exclusively outside. Two of his strengths are explosiveness through the hole (oh that again)...and his vision past the LOS. Run him off tackle.

Our OL as a group is very adept at pass blocking (for obvious reasons). Now with Maroney on board, looks like the OL will be seeking to provide more balance to the offense. Can't wait...

 

[pats63]

With the offseason work load will be a fasternand stronger Maroney...What is the sitution with Corey???retire or come back???What about Faulk???I thought with Faulk was healthy we would had a better chance last weekend...I know we got to move on...

 

[mtbykr]

I think he will be simply becuase Dillion won't be here. One of the reporters (boston guys) after the game said "see you around" to Dillion while they were all walking out to the bus after the game and Dillion responded with a "doubt it"

Who knows, but I would prefer to keep the same setup as this year. Dillion was def more productive, while Maroney resembled a first year curtis martin....once he learns to be a little more decisive and hit a hole as soon as he sees it then he will get a lot better.

 

[BelichickFan]

I think he will be simply becuase Dillion won't be here. One of the reporters (boston guys) after the game said "see you around" to Dillion while they were all walking out to the bus after the game and Dillion responded with a "doubt it".

LOL, you could well be right but I wouldn't read too much into that. Dillon loves those surly answers. I think he'll probably be back for another year with the split moving much heavier towards Maroney who should be stronger after a good few months in the offseason conditioning program. We might even have some bigger holes for him if we get a little better receiving threats.

 

[patsfan13]

I think the load will be split, as to starter, who cares it will depend on the opponent, gameplan and the health of each player.

 

[jrpatsfan]

I agree with an earlier post. I think we'll see a similar theory that Pittsburgh used with Willie Parker and Bettis. Maroney will start and Dillon will pound when needed.

 

[DarrylS]

I don't see a big change, Maroney was obviously hurting in the end of the season... like the way we used him, got him used to the rigors of the NFL schedule. Dillon will hopefully restructure and all will be good in Pats land.

 

[satz]

As the season went on Dillon got stronger.When maroney was hurt dillion carried the load so i think the status quo will stand if dillion redoes his contract.His cap numbers jump from 2.1 to 4.6 this year.

But on the other end how many times in a game you see dillion popped for a loss of yard compared to maroney Not a lot.
He is a down hill bruiser who is best fit to run against faster but lighter defences as it is going to take 2 guys to bring him down maroney jumps around alot.

Dillon is better on blitz pickup and also remember first engagement in offence is about reading the defences first game plan and then trying to solve it and for that you need a bigger /expericed back to protect your QB incase of a protection breakdown.

 

[oldskool138]

Dillon's going to command 4.4 million on the cap next year (up from around 2 million). Unless he restructures his contract, the Pats are going to have cut him. He has lost his break-away speed but, in his defense, he does pick up hard yardage. His blitz pick-up is still good...but due to his cap-heavy number and age, I think they let him go or he retires.