People have been looking to label Maroney's running style, and I'd say it's distinct, with elements of several good runners. He does resemble Edgerrin James, with the shorter, choppier steps he takes, especially behind the line. He's not a long strider. He gets up to full speed fast like James, too, and that same style of running before he hits the hole, what I call cannonball running. He'll stay behind his blockers, watch for a hole, and once it appears, it's like he's shot out of a cannon and up the field, through the hole. No wasted effort. He also resembles Clinton Portis, again with the shorter strides, but more knee lift, like Portis or pre-injury James. He has the same shiftiness as Portis, in his shoulders, and his cutback moves. And he has a little Tony Dorsett, in the way he runs through the line. He can make himself thin, then get his shoulders squared fast, swivel his hips, and quickly accelerate after his cut to outrun converging defenders on both sides, and he has good leg strength and the instinct to kick his legs out to avoid being brought down by arm tackles. He doesn't have Dorsett's high leg kick while running, or the agility Dorsett had though, but a simliar style of "power" runs. If Maroney can turn his talent into production, he could be a player in the class of any of the three, which is pretty exciting.
