I think Maroney can be a good back but it's hard to be consistent when the Pats O-line is soft and doesn't run block well. In addition, I don't like how the Pats coaches lose faith in him after a fumble when he gets blasted right after he gets the football. A great example of this was against Indy on Monday night near the goal line. I'm not sure who blew their assignment, but it was ridiculous seeing him get annihilated near the goal line which pretty much would've iced the game. In fact, all the momentum shifted right back to the Colts.
Guys like Corey Dillon, Sammy Morris and Antowain Smith did well briefly because they couldn't go anywhere else but forward. They were RB's that aren't going to win a track race or juke you out of your shoes. However, Dillon and Morris showed some good wiggle from time to time.
Their game was to run people over and they did that well. But in the end, these types of back wore down considerably.
Take Corey Dillon's monster 2004 season to 2005. The only addition to the offense was Logan Mankins which wasn't the reason why his numbers declined. 2006 was much better
but you just knew it was a matter of time before it was time to let him go. The home game against the Jets where Dillon was caught from behind and ended up running out of bounds before the defender was close to him was a perfect example that he didn't have much left in the tank.
Sammy Morris did well in 2007 but got injured. He was doing well in 2008 but got injured. Then he was in and out of the lineup in 2009. Don't understand why people prefer him overMaroney.
As for Antowain Smith? His numbers declined every season. He had a fluke year in 2001 which I gladly appreciate but I wasn't shocked it didn't continue.
I've said this before, but if we ever want to
see Maroney succeed, the Pats need a better O-line and/or better commitment to the running game. I'm also not a fan of giving RB's timeouts when they fumble or get stuffed at the line because their O-line clearly can't block consistently.