Thoughts on Maroney so far?

[BradyManny]

I've yet to see a Maroney related thread.

I noticed Reiss made mention of sharing the sentiments of some of his readers that Maroney was hesitating to hit holes.

He's certainly a more patient style runner than Morris, but isn't that what zone blocking is all about? He had a great run in the second half where he was able to cut back and get a hefty gain due to his patience. I'm going to re-watch the game soon as I feel I didn't really get to process whatever Maroney did the other nite due to the sheer awesomeness of Moss, Thomas, etc., overshadowing all other aspects of the game.

Still, while 35 for 149 through 2 games ain't bad, he hasn't appeared as explosive quite yet, to me at least, as he did early on last season. I'm curious to see what others thought.

 

[TheBaronPatriot]

I agree with your assessment about hesitation in general.
But I think he's just getting used to and adjusted to the new blocking scheme...

 

[PatsFanSince74]

thanks. a football post!

yeah, i agree. on sunday night i found myself rewinding the DVR and looking at a couple of his runs during hte commercials and he seemed to be doin an awful lotta dancin before he'd hit the line. morris on the other hand was squared shoulders and damn the torpedos.

 

[Deus Irae]

I also thought he was playing 'scared/tentative/gingerly', if you know what I mean, coming off the injury. It seemed to me that he had a big run in the second half that really got him rocking and rolling and may have gotten him over that hump. Sometimes you just need to be convinced that everything is alright, and I think that may have occurred there. I'm looking forward to seeing if that's the case this week.

 

[TheBaronPatriot]

Have we run that stretch play that the colts run so successfully with Addai/E.James?

I think I can recall seeing it 2-3 times over our first 2 games...

 

[nowayback]

he ran much better in the second half...1st was tentative

 

[BritPat]

4th quarter he was much much better. Really hit the holes with authority.

He'll get a chance to do that this coming weekend, for certain.

 

[Fogbuster]

.



There are times to be patient and times to just plough ahead. Maroney's got to learn that 70% of the time it's plough time. The Pats have not been known for their running prowess in recent years, so the Bony one has got to show that he can bust in there, as all dominant runners do. If he can't do that, he'll have to resign himself to splitting time with a guy who does. So far Morris has been the one.

Maroney improved significantly in the second half, due to a weary Bolts D-line, and an injured Jamal Williams. If he can run as he did in the second half, he'll be OK. If not ...




//

 

[BradyManny]

thanks. a football post!

yeah, i agree. on sunday night i found myself rewinding the DVR and looking at a couple of his runs during hte commercials and he seemed to be doin an awful lotta dancin before he'd hit the line. morris on the other hand was squared shoulders and damn the torpedos.

Morris has certainly been impressive so far. Maroney has shown flashes, but hasn't been as consistent. Again, I chalk this up to Maroney sometimes looking for holes that aren't there...he has to take what he can get sometimes b/c there isn't going to be an opening on every rushing play.

 

[Phokus]

Zone block running requires "One cut and run" style running... you can't dance around and wait for holes to develop.

 

[Bostonian1962]

I've yet to see a Maroney related thread.

I noticed Reiss made mention of sharing the sentiments of some of his readers that Maroney was hesitating to hit holes.

He's certainly a more patient style runner than Morris, but isn't that what zone blocking is all about? He had a great run in the second half where he was able to cut back and get a hefty gain due to his patience. I'm going to re-watch the game soon as I feel I didn't really get to process whatever Maroney did the other nite due to the sheer awesomeness of Moss, Thomas, etc., overshadowing all other aspects of the game.

Still, while 35 for 149 through 2 games ain't bad, he hasn't appeared as explosive quite yet, to me at least, as he did early on last season. I'm curious to see what others thought.

Great question. Answer: When he prances and dances, I don't like him. When he reads the play and hits the hole, he's very effective. Then in the open field he can dance for extra yards. Dancing behind the line of scrimmage in the NFL is usually fatal. He'll learn, and then will be the ultimate weapon.