Re: Why isn’t anyone talking about Maroney’s fumble?
Interesting thoughts from an intelligent gentleman with a questionable sense of humor. I especially enjoy the way you attack my intelligence and character. Lord knows that a messageboard is a great way to meet and judge people (eye roll). Lighten up, Alice!
I do not like Maroney's skills set at RB, obviously....but there's nothing knee-jerk about my reaction. I've been singing this song for a while now. I do find your over-the-top defense of Maroney curious...and I have come to my own conclusions about that.
Anyway, that fumble of his was awful and untimely....but as I had stated in another thread, that's not why we lost. Although - gosh, it would be nice to have a decent running game in order to keep the defenses honest. I mean, if that fourth and 2 call meant that BB does not trust the defense (which I do not agree with) than I suspect that the 3-2 call meant he does not trust the running game. Just sayin'.
Go back and read the sequence of posts. I'm not defending Maroney, I'm simply pointing out all the other events that had greater impact on the loss than either turnover. Neither of which led to points for the Colts.
A long time ago I opined that Maroney was an ill concieved pick for a team unable to commit to run blocking. You don't draft a thoroughbred to pull a plow. But Bill has chosen to live with that pick and that is not Maroney's fault. He's been injured repeatedly in the process, and that is not his fault either.
Corey Dillon at his most motivated was able to run behind this line when due to the alternatives it was mandatory this team be able to. That is why he was selected to replace Smith. Bill knew the status quo was not going to cut it in a league where if you aren 't getting better you're getting worse because everyone else is adjusting and adapting to stop you and your system QB throwing to smurf WR's in part because your TE's are always dinged up from blocking or they struggle to sight adjust and catch the ball. Unfortunately after one year of carrying the load, Dillon was TOAST. 2005 is like the forgotten season here...
Maroney was brought in to add another dimension to the run game in hopes Dillon could rebound somewhat and provide thunder to his lightening in split reps. Only problem was the blocking scheme the HC had determined he wanted to employ, one designed for home run hitting in the ground game, proved to be one this OL could not master absent wholesale substitutions that were too unwieldy to manage from the sidelines per the man himself. So they continued with the power blocking and run game for that season as they also dealt with the loss of Branch and Givens, and in the end Dillon was a shell and tapping out at the most inoportune times and Maroney was playing hurt as a result of misuse and Reche Caldwell was our #1WR which would prove to be an unfortunate turn of events in the AFCC since as our defense was collapsing down the stretch our offense was unable to cover for that already recurring theme (that some of Bill's former players seem to have disremembered...). 2005 and 2006 are as much a part of this teams defensive history as 2003 and 2004 are...
Too many here assumed when they drafted Maroney that the goal was for him to replace Dillon. Ergo he has never lived up to their expectations. That was fairly obviously in hindsight never Bill's intention. He saw the 2 back trend as the way of the future and he preferred those backs provide alternate and complimentary skillsets. Power and breakaway speed. Pick your poison. Morris was brought in not because of Maroney but because they CUT Dillon and needed to replace what he was intended to provide in short yardage.
Kinda like the situation Bill created in 2007 when he signed the ultimate deep/outside threat and what turned out to be the ultimate underneath/slot receiver. You can stop one thing or another on defense. You can't stop it all. To cover for an aging, injury prone defense he had not yet been able to find a way to transition beyond, Bill Belichick's best defense became an overpowering offense. It might have worked except that Morris, who was brought in to replace what a toasted Dillon could no longer remotely provide in short yardage situations, was lost early on and while Maroney was able to shoulder the load come playoff time, the OL got thoroughly manhandled in pass protection in the one game that mattered most and the overpowering offense fizzled while the defense again collapsed down the stretch.
Then speaking of shoulders, Maroney's broke early in the 2008 season. Damn him... Why couldn't he be durable and dependable like Dillon and Morris and the guy he brought in as insurance against loss or ineffectiveness in another season from the other two, Taylor...oh wait...:ugh:
We were unable to win a Superbowl with Brady's much maligned backup stepping in from week 1 on. This was clearly due to Maroney being made of glass.
To underscore that for anyone who still had doubts, for the hell of it Bill canned the FB altogether in Brady's comeback season. And chose to pass on 3rd and 4th and 2...
All of this is clearly Maroney's fault. Everything is.
