Minnesota Fan Here

[Hendrix]

I've watched almost every game of Maroney's in the past 3 years. His first year I kept thinking how great he was and how much better than Marion Barber III he was.

Seriously, you guys got the best back after Bush. And actually, you might think it's blasphemic, but Maroney has the potential to be better than Reggie Bush.

Minnesota's OL was excellent I have to admit...but they can only do so much after they make a hole. You still have to get away from the secondary and the LBs.

I mean, Maroney put up about 130 yards on 25 carries against Ohio State and their 3 defensive standouts, including a 50 some yard run I think.

People think he's just one of those guys who can only run in holes..it's so much more than that. he can do cuts, he can stiff arm, he can carry 3 guys on him for 5 more yards, he can hurdle over players.

I mean, his first year he had to compete with Marion Barber and Terry Jackson Jr and still got 1100 yards and minimal carries. The next year he competed w/Barber again and got 1300 yards. He wasn't even a starter his first two years.

His third year (last year) he got about 1500 yards even though he didn't play against Michigan State, and he got taken out in like the 1st quarter of a few games. The Tulsa game, he didn't even play the 4th quarter and still got 203 yards.

He had 43 carries and 258 yards in one game against Wisconsin too..not to count 46 carries and 217 yards against Purdue earlier..he's a workhorse.

I'm sure you've already seen it, but http://www.frales.com has some good highlights of games he's in.


But I'm sure of this: if Maroney had stayed his final year, he would have easily been a top 10 pick.

You guys got a steal. Last year I was a half fan of you guys since you took a guy from the school I attend (Ellis Hobbs from Iowa State) and now I'm going to have to be a full on fan because of this pick. Maroney is extremely exciting to watch.

 

[patsfan55]

I've watched almost every game of Maroney's in the past 3 years. His first year I kept thinking how great he was and how much better than Marion Barber III he was.

Seriously, you guys got the best back after Bush. And actually, you might think it's blasphemic, but Maroney has the potential to be better than Reggie Bush.

Minnesota's OL was excellent I have to admit...but they can only do so much after they make a hole. You still have to get away from the secondary and the LBs.

I mean, Maroney put up about 130 yards on 25 carries against Ohio State and their 3 defensive standouts, including a 50 some yard run I think.

People think he's just one of those guys who can only run in holes..it's so much more than that. he can do cuts, he can stiff arm, he can carry 3 guys on him for 5 more yards, he can hurdle over players.

I mean, his first year he had to compete with Marion Barber and Terry Jackson Jr and still got 1100 yards and minimal carries. The next year he competed w/Barber again and got 1300 yards. He wasn't even a starter his first two years.

His third year (last year) he got about 1500 yards even though he didn't play against Michigan State, and he got taken out in like the 1st quarter of a few games. The Tulsa game, he didn't even play the 4th quarter and still got 203 yards.

He had 43 carries and 258 yards in one game against Wisconsin too..not to count 46 carries and 217 yards against Purdue earlier..he's a workhorse.

I'm sure you've already seen it, but http://www.frales.com has some good highlights of games he's in.


But I'm sure of this: if Maroney had stayed his final year, he would have easily been a top 10 pick.

You guys got a steal. Last year I was a half fan of you guys since you took a guy from the school I attend (Ellis Hobbs from Iowa State) and now I'm going to have to be a full on fan because of this pick. Maroney is extremely exciting to watch.

thanks for your insight
let me tell you, that we really appreciate it

as for the ohio state game, i looked it up and it was a 53 yd run

let me ask you something though: how quick is he to the hole? like once he gets the ball in his hand how fast does he get up to and past the line of scrimmage? thanks again

 

[Hendrix]

he's fast as hell to the hole..i just saw this in another topic, but it's a small highlight video of him

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwBbBY0tf6E

 

[patsfan13]

Thanks for the info, Hobbs is very popular around here, hopefully Maroney will be just as popular.

 

[Hendrix]

A few more things worthy of pointing out:

1) Minnesota didn't have much of a passing attack. Opponents KNEW they'd be running the ball and stacked up their defense, but Maroney still ran right through it.

2) Guy who recruited him out of HS also recruited 5 time Pro Bowl WR Mike Quick and Dana Stubblefield. He told a paper Maroney has hall of fame talent and is the best player he's EVER recruited in his 30+ years of recruiting.

 

[shmessy]

Thanks, Jimi. That's some great video.

Some observations I have from watching much of that is that Maroney sure is fast for his size. His can cut on a dime. I 'm not sure he "loves" to bang the defenders like Dillon does - he doesn't seem to like to hit them like Corey does, but is more of a Barry Sanders cutter (altho' much bigger than Barry). Some of those blitz pickups by him looked a bit half-arsed. He was asked about it on Saturday by the media here and he was refreshingly honest, saying he knows he needs to work on that aspect of the game. After all, we can't let him be out there endangering our Hope Diamond.

Re: Ellis Hobbs - - the kid really endeared himself to us Chowderheads last year. Great smarts, great attitude and fabulous speed. During last year's draft many of us were down on the fact that he lacks height (we have had a smurf convention in our secondary for a few years) but he overcame that first impression. He is a favorite here already.

 

[Hendrix]

awesome re: Hobbs..I kind of heard that, but wasn't sure how much of a favorite he was. Earlier this year they had a 5-10 minute ceremony for him at halftime..crowd went wild and i think he was wearing Ty Law's jersey but I'm not sure.

But Maroney..he was seriously the main reason I kept up w/U of Minnesota once I came down here.

 

[Hendrix]

So here are some stats from his sophomore year..keep in mind he was splitting time with Marion Barber:

Penn St.: 25 carries 144 yards
Michigan: 19 carries 145 yards
Iowa: 19 carries 156 yards (4th ranked rush defense in the nation)
Alabama: 20 carries for 110 yards


What's so special about the Alabama game was he was the ONLY RB in the entire nation to get 100+ yards against Bama last year

 

[Remix 6]

can you explain what happened last year vs Penn State and Iowa?

 

[patsfan55]

Thanks, Jimi. That's some great video.

Some observations I have from watching much of that is that Maroney sure is fast for his size. His can cut on a dime. I 'm not sure he "loves" to bang the defenders like Dillon does - he doesn't seem to like to hit them like Corey does, but is more of a Barry Sanders cutter (altho' much bigger than Barry). Some of those blitz pickups by him looked a bit half-arsed. He was asked about it on Saturday by the media here and he was refreshingly honest, saying he knows he needs to work on that aspect of the game. After all, we can't let him be out there endangering our Hope Diamond.

.

i dont think he has the same style of running as sanders at all
i put him in the same style of running as ricky williams, shaun alexander, ladanian tomlinson, clinton portis
guys that are pretty strong, but rely on their vision and balance most of all

 

[Hendrix]

can you explain what happened last year vs Penn State and Iowa?

I didn't see the Penn State game, I think he just plain got shut down there.

The thing w/the Iowa game was it was the first game back from sitting out the Michigan State game due to a little knee injury. I believe the knee thing started up there and he came out about 3/4 thru the 1st quarter. I went and verified it on ESPN and his last carry was with like 3 minutes left in the 1st quarter.

 

[bamor5229]

Little more info

My two cents-

Penn State - Pozluszny and company were dominating the line of scrimmage and Maroney got no room to run. PSU shut down a lot of teams last year in addition to gophers.

Iowa - He injured his ankle in the Indiana game and played only about the first half. He missed the next game as he couldn't make any cuts on the turf at the Dome. The Iowa game was pretty much over before it started with Iowa jumping out to a 35-0 lead. Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge were killing the gophs early and then it turned into a throw on every down kind of game.

 

[jimmyjames]

Thanks, Jimi. That's some great video.

Some observations I have from watching much of that is that Maroney sure is fast for his size. His can cut on a dime. I 'm not sure he "loves" to bang the defenders like Dillon does - he doesn't seem to like to hit them like Corey does, but is more of a Barry Sanders cutter (altho' much bigger than Barry). Some of those blitz pickups by him looked a bit half-arsed. He was asked about it on Saturday by the media here and he was refreshingly honest, saying he knows he needs to work on that aspect of the game. After all, we can't let him be out there endangering our Hope Diamond.

Re: Ellis Hobbs - - the kid really endeared himself to us Chowderheads last year. Great smarts, great attitude and fabulous speed. During last year's draft many of us were down on the fact that he lacks height (we have had a smurf convention in our secondary for a few years) but he overcame that first impression. He is a favorite here already.

You raise a good point here Schmessy. Many Maroney highlights remind me of Corey: Able to make the juke, but given the choice he'd rather run someone over, drag them a few yards or better yet put his hand on the defenders face mask and stiff arm him. I think Corey and Maroney are going to compliment each other quite nicley.

 

[stcjones]

thanks for taking the time....

I've watched almost every game of Maroney's in the past 3 years. His first year I kept thinking how great he was and how much better than Marion Barber III he was.

Seriously, you guys got the best back after Bush. And actually, you might think it's blasphemic, but Maroney has the potential to be better than Reggie Bush.

Minnesota's OL was excellent I have to admit...but they can only do so much after they make a hole. You still have to get away from the secondary and the LBs.

I mean, Maroney put up about 130 yards on 25 carries against Ohio State and their 3 defensive standouts, including a 50 some yard run I think.

People think he's just one of those guys who can only run in holes..it's so much more than that. he can do cuts, he can stiff arm, he can carry 3 guys on him for 5 more yards, he can hurdle over players.

I mean, his first year he had to compete with Marion Barber and Terry Jackson Jr and still got 1100 yards and minimal carries. The next year he competed w/Barber again and got 1300 yards. He wasn't even a starter his first two years.

His third year (last year) he got about 1500 yards even though he didn't play against Michigan State, and he got taken out in like the 1st quarter of a few games. The Tulsa game, he didn't even play the 4th quarter and still got 203 yards.

He had 43 carries and 258 yards in one game against Wisconsin too..not to count 46 carries and 217 yards against Purdue earlier..he's a workhorse.

I'm sure you've already seen it, but http://www.frales.com has some good highlights of games he's in.


But I'm sure of this: if Maroney had stayed his final year, he would have easily been a top 10 pick.

You guys got a steal. Last year I was a half fan of you guys since you took a guy from the school I attend (Ellis Hobbs from Iowa State) and now I'm going to have to be a full on fan because of this pick. Maroney is extremely exciting to watch.

to provide such great and upbeat insight.....I hadn't seen all that much of Lo Mo during his college career to be quite honest, however have become very pumped up after watching his highlight/game videos that are online. But in all seriousness, it does make a fan feel alot better when they get first hand insight from a fan of the college where the player comes from....so hats off to you!!! and let's hope he has a long and successful career in the NFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ps who do you follow professionally? Vikes? thanks again for your time!!

 

[Hendrix]

yea..vikings are my favorite team.

 

[stcjones]

just noticed this......

I've watched almost every game of Maroney's in the past 3 years. His first year I kept thinking how great he was and how much better than Marion Barber III he was.

Seriously, you guys got the best back after Bush. And actually, you might think it's blasphemic, but Maroney has the potential to be better than Reggie Bush.

Minnesota's OL was excellent I have to admit...but they can only do so much after they make a hole. You still have to get away from the secondary and the LBs.

I mean, Maroney put up about 130 yards on 25 carries against Ohio State and their 3 defensive standouts, including a 50 some yard run I think.

People think he's just one of those guys who can only run in holes..it's so much more than that. he can do cuts, he can stiff arm, he can carry 3 guys on him for 5 more yards, he can hurdle over players.

I mean, his first year he had to compete with Marion Barber and Terry Jackson Jr and still got 1100 yards and minimal carries. The next year he competed w/Barber again and got 1300 yards. He wasn't even a starter his first two years.

His third year (last year) he got about 1500 yards even though he didn't play against Michigan State, and he got taken out in like the 1st quarter of a few games. The Tulsa game, he didn't even play the 4th quarter and still got 203 yards.

He had 43 carries and 258 yards in one game against Wisconsin too..not to count 46 carries and 217 yards against Purdue earlier..he's a workhorse.

I'm sure you've already seen it, but http://www.frales.com has some good highlights of games he's in.


But I'm sure of this: if Maroney had stayed his final year, he would have easily been a top 10 pick.

You guys got a steal. Last year I was a half fan of you guys since you took a guy from the school I attend (Ellis Hobbs from Iowa State) and now I'm going to have to be a full on fan because of this pick. Maroney is extremely exciting to watch.

"and now I'm going to have to be a full on fan because of this pick. "

Welcome aboard man!!!.....great to have you as a pats fan....Big fan of Hobbs too......guy is an amazing athlete.....seems like Iowa State has been producing alot of top notch talent lately!!!

Look forward to talking football with you.......

 

[Hendrix]

haha yea we've produced some alright talent..nothing special yet.

Anyway..I can't wait to watch Maroney in the pros

 

[chunkypony]

I was at the Penn State game, and PSU flat out didn't respect the Minn passing game. The defensive line dominated the line of scrimmage, and Penn State was constantly having 7 or 8 guys in the box to stop the run. PSU realized that Maroney was the only threat, and focused on him. Obviously, with their defense, they were going to stop the guy they were keying on. To do that, the defense had to do it at the LOS.

Basically, the Penn State DL dominated the Minn. OL. I think it was less Maroney's fault and more because of the lopsided outcome at the line.

I'm a big Penn State fan, and Maroney was the guy I was most afraid of all year. With an effective passing game I think he will fit in great here.

 

[the taildragger]

two runs that sum him up

2 great runs in this video with LoMo as a freshman: http://www.mfroehle.com/videos/03/SUNBOWL2003.WMV

2:40 mark: makes Oregon secondary look goofy -- cuts across entire width of field.

9:50 mark: If he doesn't get this 1st down they lose the Bowl...phenomenal complete stop and cut back at the LOS...surely gave every gopher fan in that stadium a heart attack.

add to these examples the fact that he can also run through guys on the goal line.

funny to watch the fan reaction to the LoMo pick from Foxboro on the latest "patriots today" clip -- they were all disappointed.

is it possible to be more excited about the potential of our offense right now?