Who is Laurence Maroney?

[Deus Irae]

Fred and Steve gave one of the best analysis of him I have seen with tape on NE tailgate. They showed where he was stopping and then hopping, having both feet off the ground at the same time. They also said that he had his best game in the snow because he couldn’t change direction. I hope he watched. He could be great if he would just run and stop thinking and trying to get the big one. One he gets through a hole he is incredibly dangerous. He just has to realize the D in the NFL is too fast and his best chance is to run straight rather then let folks peruse him while he is hopping in the backfield.

Fred and Steve have been reliably wrong when it comes to Maroney, and BB has gently pointed that out by calling out the o-line. The very thing people call 'dancing' is known as 'patience' when the pause taken allows the o-line to open a hole. Because the Patriots' run blocking has struggled since trying to convert to a zone blocking system, the holes have frequently not opened up.

What Maroney does is the same thing that pretty much every non 'bruiser' rb does. People who follow the Patriots and then post on message boards or call radio talk shows should take the time to watch other teams play football. They'll find that LdT, MJD, and runner after runner will 'dance' when the holes aren't there.

 

[mayoclinic]

Fred and Steve have been reliably wrong when it comes to Maroney, and BB has gently pointed that out by calling out the o-line. The very thing people call 'dancing' is known as 'patience' when the pause taken allows the o-line to open a hole. Because the Patriots' run blocking has struggled since trying to convert to a zone blocking system, the holes have frequently not opened up.

What Maroney does is the same thing that pretty much every non 'bruiser' rb does. People who follow the Patriots and then post on message boards or call radio talk shows should take the time to watch other teams play football. They'll find that LdT, MJD, and runner after runner will 'dance' when the holes aren't there.


P.S. Where's all the clamor for BJGE?

Thank you.

Give Maroney a lead fullback and some decent power blocking and he would be a top 10 back in the NFL. Give him a ZBS that doesn't open up holes and no fullback and he's a dancer behind the LOS.

 

[Patspsycho]

Yes I. Some variation thereof to negative the TE. Meriweather or McGowan is going to be playing Harrison this week.

It's hard to predict what defense BB will throw against the Colts. Intellectually speaking, BB always gets up for the Colts, and in regard to this I am frequently wrong more often than not in trying to predict what defense we throw at them.

Wasn't there one game, in fact, where we went with no linemen?

 

[Rob0729]

I enjoy your posts, and think that you are quite knowledgable, however I respectfully disagree here on a few points.

1) I think that we need to define the Colts D a little better. Yes, they are undersized and quite fast. What they are not, is agressive. Rex Ryan D's are agressive. Jim Johnson's defenses were agressive. Wade Phillips defenses were agressive. While the Colts are a single gap defense, they are not agressive. In fact, with the exception of the pinching slant play they ran during their championship run, they are very much so a reactionary defense. They're just exceptionally fast so they look agressive.

Different agressiveness. Still agressive. The Jets are agressive because they run a lot of blitzes and overload the line of scrimmage. The Colts' d-line is a very aggressive line and does rush with a lot of reckless abandoned. They just don't blitz a whole bunch. The second and third level do play a zone defense. But because of that there are holes in it. Same with any zone.

2) If you're good at the screen game (and NE is the best team in football at running screens) you can pretty much screen anyone. However, the NE bread and butter perimeter screens are blown up by pursuit. Specifically, lateral pursuit. No matter what defense you run, the screen is going to put hats on the intitial players. The arriving pursuit is what dictates how far the play is going to go (assuming a backer, safety or corner doesn't make an exceptional play). With the team speed they have, the screen game will be swarmed quickly.

Again, the Pats have been very successful with the short passing game vs. the Colts. They usually set up the shor

3) The concept of the cover-2 is to remove the deeper stuff as well as the mid to deep crossing routes/seam stuff. However, if you are going to conceptually remove the deeper stuff, you need to build a unit under it that is world class in pursuit. Defenses aren't designed to have simple weaknesses in them, and just because it is avertised to be a big play stopper, does not mean that it is incomplete. It's a get off the field defense, and accordingly is not designed to allow an offense to pass for 4-6 yards everytime they drop back.

The Tampa 2 is a bend don't break defense which means they are exactly a defense that allows short gains. When you bend don't break, you let teams get yards in the center of the field, but you can stop them in the red zone because the zones tighten up because their are less field to work with. If you look at the Colts' defense when it good, it usually gives up its fair share of yards, but usually has a very good red zone defense.

4) The defense is a pass defense. This is understood both by the primary coverage designations, and by the players needed to execute the scheme. The problem with the cover 2 stuff is that you need very specific players to execute the defense. Players who simply are too small to effectively defend against the run. Specifically, the linear, directional run game. These guys are highly disciplined, and their speed enables them to recover quite well from the occasional overpursuit. You have to line up and attack the Colts head on, force them through run game attrition to bring the safeties down, then exploit the over route and hope for a clean release. Against these defenses, you need to force them to adjust outside of their normal comfort level, anticipate the call, and catch them for the quick strike when the opportunity presents itself.

Yes, the Tampa 2 is most suseptible vs. the run (hence why in 2006 the Colts had the worst regular season run defense in history). But that isn't the only way to attack it. There are many ways including there being holes deep up the middle for Moss to exploit since the safeties have so much of the field to cover deep. If you can send Moss and Tate deep as decoys, there will be a lot of holes in the short passing game because the Tampa 2 is designed to stop the deep passing game. If the defense doesn't bite on the deep passes and they can keep Freeney and Mathis off of Brady, Moss can have a huge game like in 2007 where the short passing game tired out Freeney and Mathis and allowed Brady to make two big plays in the fourth quarter.

 

[DaBruinz]

His biggest test is next week,He MUST produce yards on the ground and keep Manning off the field,the running game is key to winning this game,if this game becomes a shootout,our chances of winning will go down.

Keep Manning off the field and you have a very good chance of winning,no one has really been able to do that yet - How I wish Fred Taylor was back,he usually played well against the Colts as a Jaguar

It doesn't matter if it is the running game or the passing game, the best way to defeat Manning is to not let him touch the ball. As for the Pats chances of winning go down if its a shoot out, why do you say that?

The Colts secondary is a MASH unit. Their two best players back there were Jackson and Sanders and they are gone for the year. Kelvin Hayden is probably out for that game as well. I think a shoot out favors the Pats more than the Colts because Brady is hitting his stride now, while Manning is having trouble.

BTW, Houston won the time of possession game today. They had 34+ minutes to the Colts 25+ minutes.

 

[ALP]

It doesn't matter if it is the running game or the passing game, the best way to defeat Manning is to not let him touch the ball. As for the Pats chances of winning go down if its a shoot out, why do you say that?

The Colts secondary is a MASH unit. Their two best players back there were Jackson and Sanders and they are gone for the year. Kelvin Hayden is probably out for that game as well. I think a shoot out favors the Pats more than the Colts because Brady is hitting his stride now, while Manning is having trouble.

BTW, Houston won the time of possession game today. They had 34+ minutes to the Colts 25+ minutes.

how much does TOP really matter? i would imagine the colts have horrible TOP throughout the season, and are still 8-0

 

[RayClay]

The very thing people call 'dancing' is known as 'patience' when the pause taken allows the o-line to open a hole.

Thank God he was impatient this week.

 

[MetalBleachers]

Maroney's a second- or third-round back who got drafted in the first. He too often lets his confidence wane due to injury and/or lack of production and displays immaturity when he focuses on his sideline celebrations.

And, on occasion, he's a solid NFL back who hits the hole after one decisive cut and fights hard for extra yardage. He didn't do that vs. Tampa.

The Titan game looked like an aberration because of the snow. That kept Tennessee in check and allowed Maroney to dawdle behind the line of scrimmage waiting for a gap to open. His shuffling paid off in a couple of big gains. I was much happier with his performance Sunday in that he found the gap on a consistent basis and moved the pile vs. a successful run-defending team, not a winless team that gave up upon the first snowflake.

I can't believe I'm getting involved in this debate. Why is it so tempting to talk about Maroney? It's like messageboard crack: just one, and then never again. Okay, maybe one more...

 

[Synovia]

I can't believe I'm getting involved in this debate.

It would have been better if you didn't, because absolutely nothing you said even approaches the truth.

 

[patchick]

Give Maroney a lead fullback and some decent power blocking and he would be a top 10 back in the NFL.

The fascinating thing is that he was drafted by a team that doesn't even carry a fullback on the roster.

I've long felt (and said) that the seething anti-Maroney sentiment here is all about his draft status -- something which was out of his hands. Pre-draft in 2006, a lot of fans & observers thought Maroney was a top talent who wasn't a natural fit for the Pats' offense. After they drafted him, we heard a lot of quotes out of the Pats' personnel team saying "He can be our kind of back, wait and see. Minnesota just didn't ask him to do that."

3 years later, it still looks like Maroney is a top talent who isn't a natural fit for the Pats' offense. Go figure.

Then again, the PatsFans community was mostly divided between Manny Lawson and Bobby Carpenter camps, while dreaming impossible dreams of A.J. Hawk. So perhaps we're not perfect either?

 

[NYCPatsFan]

It would have been better if you didn't, because absolutely nothing you said even approaches the truth.

rofl...

10 char

 

[Deus Irae]

Thank God he was impatient this week.

He was patient on more than on run.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

Maroney is refusing to go down without a fight. Tis a nice change. I think I actually saw him throw a punch on someone who was trying to tackle him.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

I actually didn't think he ran well against Tenn, he seemed to be tentative but luckily the Titans had no penetration.

I think yesterday may have been the first time he's felt really healthy in awhile, and he was looking for people to run over. Just like the end of '07. He was also really partying on the sideline. It was great to see him get his mojo back. I think he's a terrific back.

 

[Deus Irae]

I'd suggest that people listen to the Belichick interview that he's currently holding on WEEI for some insight on his thoughts/feelings about Maroney.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I'd suggest that people listen to the Belichick interview that he's currently holding on WEEI for some insight on his thoughts/feelings about Maroney.

Just tuned in- what'd I miss?

 

[Deus Irae]

Just tuned in- what'd I miss?

Amnorix transcribed an approximation of it in a separate thread. I'd suggest you read that for now, because he wrote it closer to the point and time of it being said, and then go back and listen to the interview to pick up Belichick's tone of voice when he answers the Maroney question.

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/10/291395-bb-kinda-kills-oline-eei.html

Enjoy!

 

[Leave No Doubt]

My post from another thread: http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...-kinda-kills-oline-eei-page2.html#post1584803

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Bill also touched on the changes to the Colts Tampa 2 in the post Dungy era, said they are more agressive and tend to run some man. Also said (basically) Bullitt is a poor mans Sanders though neither was particularly great in coverage.

He also said after ten seasons the days of confusing Peyton are essentially over. The only way to beat him is to execute on both sides of the ball and not waste limited opportunities.

 

[farn]

He's a private dancer, a dancer for money...

If he were to run for 123 yards/week, people would be bashing Brady for not throwing the ball. Let's face it - NE has been a throw first team since early in the decade with the exception of the Dillon year-one steamroller. And that is the way we want it. Best players on the team, in order : TFB, Moss, Welker... therefore, why even bother developping a Carolina-type running attack ? We really want to take the ball wawy from those three to give it to Law Firm ? I don't. And don't bother talking about balance... truth is the numbers show it's a decent balance.