A few trends I don't like

[Ring 6]

NOT CONVERTING THAT SHORT YARDAGE SITUATION YESTERDAY WASN'T MARONEY'S FAULT. Please let's try to live in, ya know...the WORLD. That was on the OG and Heath Evans. That was an inexcusably TERRIBLE job by the blockers. The ONE guy, literally the ONE, you really need to account for, and you let him slip into the backfield in an instant. Ridiculous.

Blaming LoMar for that is similiarly ridiculous.

You cannot pine for a 'power runner' and use an example of a play call that was designed to go outside the tackle.
It wasnt a 'power run' that was called.
Ultimately, I disagree with the call to begin with against the Colt D, because their objective is penetration. We had to get outisde 4 guys trying to penetrate, and ultimatley what happened was the brought Sanders up and had 3 guys in a space we had 2 blockers. I don't thin Maroney would have been brought down by a diving sanders if he didn't have more congestion in front of him, at the edge to deal with. Run it over the G and we get the first down. (I was really expecting a QB sneak there)

 

[carolinatony]

Maroney was a #1 pick. If he can't play most of the plays than he is NOT the runner we thought he was. I am a bit disapointed so far with him.

 

[sebman2112]

My complaint wasn't simply that I'd like to see him get more touches. I hope people understand that one of my main complaints is that the Patriots are being to predictable with Maroney, and to much smaller extent Faulk.

When Laurence is in the game you can pretty much say that he'll be rushing for the majority of those snaps. When Faulk is in the game he's mostly going to be catching passes and blocking for other Brady passes.

What I'm saying is that they need to mix it up with Maroney a bit more. Give him two or three passes, especially on downs when you'd normally bring in Faulk. Partly because the other team expects you to run with Maroney in, and partly because he's better at receiving than some might realize.

Also, they hardly ever leave Maroney in the game when down by the goaline. This has been something I couldn't understand from the beginning of the season. Sorry, but Maroney is a much better RB than Heath Evans, and I can't for the life of me understand why they are constantly using him on goaline situations instead of Maroney.

The funny thing is that even with the Patriots being so predictable with Maroney, he's still proven to be a very effective RB. The next time some moron wants to tell me he dances to much.....

 

[Deus Irae]

There was no criticism intended in my post. It was a play on "Manny bein' Manny," and how the Red Sox rested him prior to the playoffs.

In that case, my sincere apologies. I've just gotten to the point where I have no patience with the idiots harping on Maroney as if he's the one calling the plays and only giving himself 15 carries. If the Patriots have him on their version of a 'pitch count', I think that's a very smart move given this team's talent in the passing game.

 

[The_Dragon]

You cannot pine for a 'power runner' and use an example of a play call that was designed to go outside the tackle.
It wasnt a 'power run' that was called.
Ultimately, I disagree with the call to begin with against the Colt D, because their objective is penetration. We had to get outisde 4 guys trying to penetrate, and ultimatley what happened was the brought Sanders up and had 3 guys in a space we had 2 blockers. I don't thin Maroney would have been brought down by a diving sanders if he didn't have more congestion in front of him, at the edge to deal with. Run it over the G and we get the first down. (I was really expecting a QB sneak there)

I assume you were replying to me AJ? I was referencing that one play to illustrate that where you'd normally expect a power run to gain the one or two yards we didn't see to have/take that option and if we had I wouldn't have been overly confident of it being successful. Morris gave us this option - I don't think Maroney yet does. Currently we'd probably use Evans if we did try it.

 

[carolinatony]

Also, they hardly ever leave Maroney in the game when down by the goaline.

Please explain why we can't have our #1 RB in at the goal line.
This is why I loved Corey when he played. He would get those 2/3 yrds!!!

 

[FilPats]

Anyways, I think the Patriots need to start using Maroney more, and not just as a RB. He can catch the ball out of the backfield just fine, and has the ability to get extra yards after the catch, so hopefully they start using the full extent of his ability.

This is something to look forward to this January, in the Colts rematch. God willing.:rocker: Go pats

 

[PatsFan37]

My complaint wasn't simply that I'd like to see him get more touches. I hope people understand that one of my main complaints is that the Patriots are being to predictable with Maroney, and to much smaller extent Faulk.

I get what you're saying and don't mind hearing your comments, even though you know less about football than the coach.

Just as they have Moss in on every play because it affects the defensive coverage, having Maroney in on more plays would make them less predictable. OTOH, the Colts have the most effective pass rush the Pats have seen and Faulk is (a) much better at blitz pickup, (b) much better at being a hot read / checkdown receiver, and (c) more in tune with Brady on when to cut loose from the pocket to catch a pass. So maybe it's just for the Colts.

 

[kriskanos]

The Patriots are almost only bringing Maroney into the game when they plan on using him to run. He was only in on 23 out of a possible 58 offensive snaps, and NE used him on 15 of those 23 snaps. I don't like this as it's basically telling the opponent "Maroney's in the game, so he's going to run"

That being said I thought he did a good job for the amount of carries NE gave him, and he ran much better against that Colts D, than he did in the AFCCG.
For comparison, if he had run the ball 24 to 25 times Sunday, his projected rushing totals would have equaled out to something like 93-97 yards rushing.

Anyways, I think the Patriots need to start using Maroney more, and not just as a RB. He can catch the ball out of the backfield just fine, and has the ability to get extra yards after the catch, so hopefully they start using the full extent of his ability.

Exactly I have been shouting this from the rooftops. What I would do is dump off or screen pass to Maroney about 5 times a game. I think he could be dynamic if that was done. He is so quick and elusive in the open field.