How many of you wish we had Addai instead of Scrap Iron Maroney last weekend?

[spacecrime]

All of their teams are happy with who they have. We should be as well.

Welcome to New England.

 

[Joker]

so I'm watching the game this weekend and this guy sitting near me is stabbing red hot metal skewers in his eyes and screaming "damn my eyes!!!"...so I tapped him on the shoulder and said "hey guy...by any chance are you National Sports Advisors?"..

"....yes!...yes I am!!! aaarrgghhh!"

he then proceeded to douse himself in gasoline and struck a match....I went to run for a fire extinquisher but in my haste I pulled a quad and didn't make it.

oh well...

 

[Terry Glenn is a cowgirl]

There has been multitudinous discussion on Maroney this year, with a vocal minority trashing him. Comments such as "He is a bust" "Made of glass" "Anyone who would rather have him than Addai is an idiot" etc.
After this weekend, Maroney IMO played very, very well. He ran hard, with authority, was used in a large role, and made a bunch of plays. I saw very few yards left on the field on his touches. Addai looked medicore vs SD.
Where do all the Maroney is a bust, Addai is headed to Canton people stand now?
My son and I have nicknamed Maroney (one of his favorite Pats) Scrap Iron, based on the way he plays. The Scrap Iron reference comes from the old Fat Albert show when there was a kid who came to the junkyard once in a while called Scrap Iron. One of the Fat Albert kids would say "Your a cool dude, Scrap Iron". Somehow that thought popped into my head, and my son and I adopted it as Maroney nickname.
In my house when Maroney breaks through the line, you hear "SCRAP IRON", when Brady throws to Moss you hear "Mooooooooooooooooooooosssssssssssssss", etc. For some reason I havent figured out yet, one of my sons favorite players is Gostkowski. I think its because last year was his first year being really, really into the Pats, and he was fascinated with the rookies, so he like gostkowski, Maroney, and Chad Jackson (although he has kinda forgotten about him).

Well he must be fresh from all of that time off...

 

[Rawky77]

First let me ask what other running back in the league would even be in the top ten at RB in an offense as pass oriented as the Pats?

That being said one of the differences i noticed in the Jax game was the design of the runs Maroney was executing.

Maybe i am blind but i had not seen the outside run where Maroney fakes running up into the tackle hole and then bounces it outside. It was a designed to be run that way because of the blocking present when he bounces it outside. Jax had no answer for this all game, very effective and an excellent use of his skills and speed.

 

[indycolts685]

Addai wore down by week 10 of the regular season.

Maroney is legitimate home-run threat on every play. The zone blocking/read system works very well with his style.

I think the Colts really missed Rhodes, if we still had him then Addai would have been more fresh. But I agree, that Addai isn't ready to carry the load for an entire season by himself for the most part.

 

[RayClay]

Addai was better than I thought and he'll be a good running back. Having said that, I always thought Maroney had better upside.

Once it gets to this point, desire, toughness and coachability/persistence will separate the men from the boys.

I think they'll both be good, albeit with different styles.

I also think they'll both be good receivers, which is a bonus when they stack the line. Addai is Faulk like smooth, but maroney is brutal in the open field and we should work that more.

 

[chowder]

We got Maroney 9 picks ahead of Addai. Some here thought (though not at the time, and not in the past few weeks,) that we got the weaker of the two talents. I don't think you ever evaluate a draft pick based on less than 3 years.

What he'd already shown at the time of the most vocal complaints, is that he could consistently get yardage. What he's shown recently is what many of us have been saying for a long time: he has a lot of upside. Seeing a thoroughbred padding around from side to side is not so exciting. Seeing what happens when he's running free is another story... I think there's a combination of better line play, Maroney "getting" NFL running, and more designed outside runs and screens involved... but I never thought it wouldn't happen.

This kid's our future at running back. The detractors were much more concerned about the past, in the form of draft day 2006 and the career of Corey Dillon.

Know what else is the future at running back? Platoons. Not good for your fantasy team, very good for fresh legs come the playoffs. Learn it, live it, love it.

PFnV

I agree. It kinda reminds me of how everyone thought that Eli Manning was a bust early on and Rivers was the better QB, but lately Eli has been playing very well. I still consider both to be good QBs but Eli has taken more time to show his true potential. I think Maroney will just continue to get better and better, although i still think Addai is a good back too.

 

[BritPat]

Something I haven't noticed mentioned yet which I think people forget - Maroney is almost 2 years younger than Addai, and had a year less in College.

I do think at this point in their careers Addai is a slightly better back, but I wouldn't swap Maroney for him.

 

[DarrylS]

Thought all along that they were not trying to run him into the ground, the whole marathon and not a sprint thing, and save him for the playoffs.. when Morris went down, they still did not use him as much as there was reliance on the passsing game.. now he looks fresh and is running with the attitude of Marion Barber.. he is hitting the hole squarely and is incredibly fast.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

That's one of the things about picking and choosing your uses for a back. Use to be we had to wear down Dillon's tread keeping the ball out of the hands of Manning and the like... too few big threats to make us "always be in the game." So the solution was to keep the ball.

Now that the weather's turned, we have that guy and that balanced attack.

I always think I know this team's "personality," but I have to keep reminding myself that half of BB's genius is knowing how to use every little edge he has. So -- do you force feed Maroney, when you can save the tread? Evidently he had all the confidence in the world in the kid (and probably it was building week by week). But with games not in doubt, (of course,) he did the right thing.

I love how it's always clear in retrospect with this team. I've watched plenty of teams where it's clear as it's happening every week, no question. In DC, they talk about running straight at the other team every play as "Redskins Football," as in, "we need to get back to Redskins Football."

"Patriots Football" usually means one or another sportstradamus is sitting there scratching his head, and long-time fans just have a quizzical, unexpectedly pleased look on their faces. And of course, the other team is pouting and explaining how they're better even though they lost.

PFnV

 

[zoostation]

Maroney is playing great now, because he's fresh and he is attacking more, but Addai had 226 total yds and a TD against the best team of all time (us), so he doesn't suck, either. They are both very good backs. Anyone who prefers Addai isn't crazy. Addai clearly ran out of gas at the end of the season, and Maroney is getting the benefit of having not run much early in the season.

75 of those yards were on a broken play.

 

[BelichickYourself]

My son and I have nicknamed Maroney (one of his favorite Pats) Scrap Iron

i like that better than his real nickname of "koolaid", but it would make a less hilarious bling necklace:

http://kissmesuzy.blogspot.com/2007/06/koolaid-maroney-wants-u-to-wash-u-ass.html

 

[ClevTrev]

Know what else is the future at running back? Platoons. Not good for your fantasy team, very good for fresh legs come the playoffs. Learn it, live it, love it.
PFnV

True. With a healthy Sammy Morris, the platoon is in force. What the Pats do that's different is that they play to their opponents' weaknesses. Even if they could force the run, they won't if the pass is a better option. We've seen them use the short pass in place of the run this season many times.

What this does is keep the RBs healthy, because they are used only when it's essential and when the RBs and O-line have a clear advantage over a team whose weakness is run defense. Maroney's freshness at the end of the season and in the playoffs is no coincidence.

Interesting you cite the 'Skins as an example of having traditional between the tackles tendencies and desires. I've lived in No. VA since the mid 80s and have marveled at the fans in this area thinking that if only the team could develop a power running game ala Riggo and the Hogs, they'd be back in the big time. Since when has that game been effective? Oh well, the Patriots are demonstrating how to play in today's NFL every game with a diverse playbook and skills to match, and Maroney (Scrap Iron) is going to be a big part of that scheme for many years. Now that's exciting!

 

[chowder]

Thought all along that they were not trying to run him into the ground, the whole marathon and not a sprint thing, and save him for the playoffs.. when Morris went down, they still did not use him as much as there was reliance on the passsing game.. now he looks fresh and is running with the attitude of Marion Barber.. he is hitting the hole squarely and is incredibly fast.

yeah, LoMo reminds me of a faster and more explosive Marion Barber.