Maroney mystery
Link|Comments (0) By Christopher L. Gasper, Globe Staff November 26, 07 01:16 PM
Laurence Maroney was a spectator during the first half of the Patriots' 31-28 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The second-year running back didn't take a single snap in the first half, as the Patriots stayed in a spread look that had third-down back Kevin Faulk on the field.
The Patriots, who threw the ball 54 times last night and ran in 16, called just one designed run in the first half -- Heath Evans' 1-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. They threw the ball 25 times in the first half. Was that the game plan?
"We had the ball three times in the first half and we took it down the field and scored ...every time," said coach Bill Belichick today. "We were in a productive mode. We were moving the ball."
Would he like to see more balance?
"I'd like to see us score touchdowns when we have the ball," he said. "That's what I like to see. That's what the offense is out there for -- to score touchdowns, to score points. That's the only reason they go on the field, is to score points."
But what about Maroney, who had all 10 of his carries (for 31 yards), including the winning touchdown, in the second half. Why wasn't he a part of the first-half game plan? Belichick pointed to his previous answers about the offense's job being to score points.
"I just answered that question," he said, when asked about Maroney.
In other news:
-- It seems pretty safe to say that Rosevelt Colvin's injury is to his arm and not his foot. Colvin left the game in the third quarter with what the Patriots announced as a foot injury, even though the medical staff seemed to be attending to his arm.
"It was announced as a foot?" asked Belichick when told of the discrepancy. "Then we'll leave it at that."
-- Belichick also said the team will make a decision tomorrow on wide receiver Troy Brown, who is still on the physically unable to perform list. With his 21-day practice window set to expire tomorrow, the Patriots must either clear space for Brown on the 53-man roster, release him, or put him on IR, ending his season and possibly his Patriots' career.
