Now who is made of glass? - Health of RBs in 1st round

[Vern]

For all those suggesting Maroney is a bust or "made of glass" for missing 5 games so far over his first two seasons. Lets just take a look at the other first round running backs of the last few draft classes:

2004 Draft
S. Jackson - missed 7 games over first three years
C. Perry - missed 19 games over first 3 years
K. Jones - missed 10 games over first 3 years

2005 Draft
Ronnie Brown - IR, will miss 10 games this year (missed 4 total over his first two years)
Cadillac Williams - IR, will miss 12 games this year, (missed 4 over his first two years)
Cedric Benson - missed 8 games his first two years, (with NO starts)

2006 Draft
Bush - no missed games, starter most all games
Maroney - missed 5 total games over first two years, 3 starts.
DeAngelo Williams - missed only 3 games over two, but NO starts.
Joe Addai - no missed games, 8 starts

2007 Draft
Adrian Peterson - out for at least a few weeks, (possibly to IR) in his rookie season
Marshawn Lynch - another "we'll see" situation developing for a rookie suddenly injured.

Really, the conclusion from the above should be that Addai was a steal, and 2006 was an unusually durable RB class overall. Maroney has been above average in terms of health compared to the other first round running backs in their first few seasons and only seems lower in comparison to other backs of 2006.

You may now continue you're previously scheduled ranting.

 

[borg]

Parcell's said it best last night on the ESPN gossip hour, you DO NOT invest 10's of millions of dollars on RBs with an average shelf life of 4 years.

 

[patchick]

Great work, really shows how tough it is to stay healthy when you get tackled that many times a game.

But...Addai did miss a game this year! So every single back has missed time with injuries.

 

[psychoPat]

Nice data workup, Vern!

 

[JJDChE]

[danny88]No, no, no, it's all lies! Maroney is a bust! He can't stay on the field![/danny88]

 

[Flying Fungi]

[danny88]No, no, no, it's all lies! Maroney is a bust! He can't stay on the field![/danny88]

stats don't lie!

i don't care about stats!

 

[Arrrr]

Addai missed a game this season. The Tampa Bay game before the bye.

Edit: Doh! Should read the thread better.

 

[iapatsfan]

I'm not saying he's a bust. I'm just saying he's an average to below average RB. Supposedly he's explosive - When is the last time you saw him break one? Cinci 06? To quote Parcells; "He is what he is". Not explosive and fragile aren't things you want associated with your RB. The fact is last year he was outplayed by an aging vet, and this year he was being outplayed by a Miami castoff. With the passing attack we currently have, there is no reason our RB can't bust a long one now and then.

 

[Nordy]

I'm not saying he's a bust. I'm just saying he's an average to below average RB. Supposedly he's explosive - When is the last time you saw him break one? Cinci 06? To quote Parcells; "He is what he is". Not explosive and fragile aren't things you want associated with your RB. The fact is last year he was outplayed by an aging vet, and this year he was being outplayed by a Miami castoff. With the passing attack we currently have, there is no reason our RB can't bust a long one now and then.

Maroney was not outplayed by Morris. This BS which is continually spouted by some people without anything to back it up needs to stop.

And 4.7 YPC is below average? No way buddy.

 

[National Sports Advisors]

I'm not saying he's a bust. I'm just saying he's an average to below average RB. Supposedly he's explosive - When is the last time you saw him break one? Cinci 06? To quote Parcells; "He is what he is". Not explosive and fragile aren't things you want associated with your RB. The fact is last year he was outplayed by an aging vet, and this year he was being outplayed by a Miami castoff. With the passing attack we currently have, there is no reason our RB can't bust a long one now and then.

Exactly. You are 100% right.

 

[iapatsfan]

Maroney was not outplayed by Morris. This BS which is continually spouted by some people without anything to back it up needs to stop.

And 4.7 YPC is below average? No way buddy.

You're going to base your argument on YPC? Are you kidding me? 0 TD's compared to 3, season long run of 19 yds compared to 49. Morris's YPC was 4.5 which isn't a big difference, and he ran the ball a lot harder. Here's a list of RB anyone would take over Maroney:

A Peterson
Willie Parker
Joseph Addai
M. Lynch
B. Westbrook
L. Tomlinson
Ronnie Brown
Marion Barber
Larry Johnson
Frank Gore
S. Jackson
M. Jones-Drew

There are several others I left off which are questionable (F Taylor, B Jacobs, J Norwood, W. McGahee). LIke I said, average to below average. No team in the NFL fears Lawrence Maroney, I promise you.

 

[RussFrancis]

Parcell's said it best last night on the ESPN gossip hour, you DO NOT invest 10's of millions of dollars on RBs with an average shelf life of 4 years.

I will quote this to no end up to the point when NE does NOT draft Darren McFadden at next year's draft. Great quote.

 

[spacecrime]

Nice try, but you're letting your mind get clouded by facts. Embrace the negative. Moroney is made of glass. Jackson and Meriweather are busts. We're doomed. This is obviously a re-buioliding year.

For all those suggesting Maroney is a bust or "made of glass" for missing 5 games so far over his first two seasons. Lets just take a look at the other first round running backs of the last few draft classes:

2004 Draft
S. Jackson - missed 7 games over first three years
C. Perry - missed 19 games over first 3 years
K. Jones - missed 10 games over first 3 years

2005 Draft
Ronnie Brown - IR, will miss 10 games this year (missed 4 total over his first two years)
Cadillac Williams - IR, will miss 12 games this year, (missed 4 over his first two years)
Cedric Benson - missed 8 games his first two years, (with NO starts)

2006 Draft
Bush - no missed games, starter most all games
Maroney - missed 5 total games over first two years, 3 starts.
DeAngelo Williams - missed only 3 games over two, but NO starts.
Joe Addai - no missed games, 8 starts

2007 Draft
Adrian Peterson - out for at least a few weeks, (possibly to IR) in his rookie season
Marshawn Lynch - another "we'll see" situation developing for a rookie suddenly injured.

Really, the conclusion from the above should be that Addai was a steal, and 2006 was an unusually durable RB class overall. Maroney has been above average in terms of health compared to the other first round running backs in their first few seasons and only seems lower in comparison to other backs of 2006.

You may now continue you're previously scheduled ranting.

 

[JJDChE]

Maroney has looked pretty good when he's been in there. Belichick seems to be intent on limiting his carries to 16-18 per game. Maybe he's worried he can't handle the load, or maybe he's being cautious because it's a big dropoff if Maroney goes down.

Personally, I think Maroney will get more carries as the season goes on. I don't think they're going to use him much in the 2nd half when they're up by 20+, though. They want him there when they need him.

Minus the Miami game where he only had 6 carries, he's had between 14-20 per game. 16.6 on average, which would give him 265 carries for a full season. That's a light load for a #1 RB, but still fairly substantial.

The first three games when Maroney and Morris were both healthy Maroney was getting 62% of the carries and was averaging slightly more ypc (4.7 vs. 4.6 for Morris).

 

[JJDChE]

You're going to base your argument on YPC? Are you kidding me? 0 TD's compared to 3, season long run of 19 yds compared to 49. Morris's YPC was 4.5 which isn't a big difference, and he ran the ball a lot harder. Here's a list of RB anyone would take over Maroney:

A Peterson
Willie Parker
Joseph Addai
M. Lynch
B. Westbrook
L. Tomlinson
Ronnie Brown
Marion Barber
Larry Johnson
Frank Gore
S. Jackson
M. Jones-Drew

There are several others I left off which are questionable (F Taylor, B Jacobs, J Norwood, W. McGahee). LIke I said, average to below average. No team in the NFL fears Lawrence Maroney, I promise you.

What if he rushes for 100 yds in five of the remaining 7 games?

Then everyone's tune changes.

It's too early to say he's a below average back. He certainly hasn't done anything to show that he's below average. He hasn't done anything to show he's elite either, but that's the point, he hasn't played enough to call him one thing or the other.

 

[Nordy]

You're going to base your argument on YPC? Are you kidding me? 0 TD's compared to 3, season long run of 19 yds compared to 49. Morris's YPC was 4.5 which isn't a big difference, and he ran the ball a lot harder.

What is with you idiots who act like Morris running for a 1 yard TD makes him a better runner? Morris has a 49 yarder and his YPC is STILL below Maroney's even though they have roughly the same amount of carries. Not to mention Morris got to start against two horrendous run defenses, one of which had to play with only one LB. Maroney has been better, period, and the stats show it.

 

[iapatsfan]

What if he rushes for 100 yds in five of the remaining 7 games?

Then everyone's tune changes.

It's too early to say he's a below average back. He certainly hasn't done anything to show that he's below average. He hasn't done anything to show he's elite either, but that's the point, he hasn't played enough to call him one thing or the other.

History says he has better odds of missing 5 out 7 vs. running for 100 yds in 5 of 7. The guys dancing style is pathetic to watch. Bottom line is Lawrence Maroney is soft! Why is everyone in denial on this?

 

[spacecrime]

Maroney has looked pretty good when he's been in there. Belichick seems to be intent on limiting his carries to 16-18 per game. Maybe he's worried he can't handle the load, or maybe he's being cautious because it's a big dropoff if Maroney goes down.

Personally, I think Maroney will get more carries as the season goes on. I don't think they're going to use him much in the 2nd half when they're up by 20+, though. They want him there when they need him.

Given that the last two playoff years we were done in by the lack of a runnng game, I heartily endorse going easy with Maroney, especially not playing him in the second half of blowout games (which of course is almost all of them)

 

[Oswlek]

History says he has better odds of missing 5 out 7 vs. running for 100 yds in 5 of 7. The guys dancing style is pathetic to watch. Bottom line is Lawrence Maroney is soft! Why is everyone in denial on this?

Maroney has not danced at all in the past few games. Why are people still clinging to this? He tip-toed too much last year and started a little slowly this year vw. NY and SD. But since then he has been excellent.

You do realize that NE leads the league in rushing on 1st down, right? Much of that is Maroney. Also, I will admit that Laurence runs upright a little too much (even he admits to this) so he has been working hard on altering that with more body lean. This will diminish some of his natural instincts until the new style itself becomes instinctive.

But the guy is running extremely well of late.

 

[iapatsfan]

What is with you idiots who act like Morris running for a 1 yard TD makes him a better runner? Morris has a 49 yarder and his YPC is STILL below Maroney's even though they have roughly the same amount of carries. Not to mention Morris got to start against two horrendous run defenses, one of which had to play with only one LB. Maroney has been better, period, and the stats show it.

The issue is this. Everybody agrees Maroney is not a "move the pile" type runner. Well, if he is not an explosive / slasher type runner and not a "move the pile" runner, what is he? Answer - an average to below average RB.