Laurence Maroney (1 Viewer)

[Real Man of Genius]

I actually thought Dillon ran with a lot of power. When he left the game, he was moving his shoulder around. Considering it's week 1 of the pre-season, he could've been removed for a large spectrum of possible injuries, and most of them are not serious ones.I do think, however, that Maroney will get his carries this season, and I may downgrade Dillon for that.

I still think Dillon is the man in NE until injured. If you are predicting an injury for Dillon, by all means draft Maroney. People on this board are WAY to excited about rookies this year.

Coach B does what it takes to win....there is no clear cut starting WR with the Pats...do you think Bill would not do the same with the RBs if it means winning? Someone said Bill will stay loyal to Cory....Bill will stay loyal to winning, plain and simple. He won't keep Maroney off the field if it helps the game. I think you are going to see a lot more of the running game this season.

He looked great last night. Which in turn now means he and Dillon are nothing more than 4th or 5th round picks because they will be splitting carries.

Hey Thumper,I would love for you to elaborate on this a bit. Frankly nothing we saw last night says one way or another what Belichick has planned. If Dillon is healthy, it wouldn't be out of character at all for Bill B to use Maroney strictly as a backup. And to that point, if Dillon holds onto the short yardage job (he had 13 TDs last year), he's easily worth a TON more than a 4th or 5th round pick even if he divvies up yardage with Maroney.Please, please, please don't overvalue what you see in the first couple of preseason games; particularly as it relates to projecting playing time and roles. If you were to do that for every player, you would have to logically presume that every starting QB in the NFL is going to play about 5% of the snaps.

This is true, but both RB were running with the Pats 1st team against the Falcons 1st team, and it is hard to deny that Maroney looked better than Dillon, even though they both had success.

 

[redman]

I actually thought Dillon ran with a lot of power. When he left the game, he was moving his shoulder around. Considering it's week 1 of the pre-season, he could've been removed for a large spectrum of possible injuries, and most of them are not serious ones.I do think, however, that Maroney will get his carries this season, and I may downgrade Dillon for that.

I still think Dillon is the man in NE until injured. If you are predicting an injury for Dillon, by all means draft Maroney. People on this board are WAY to excited about rookies this year.

Coach B does what it takes to win....there is no clear cut starting WR with the Pats...do you think Bill would not do the same with the RBs if it means winning? Someone said Bill will stay loyal to Cory....Bill will stay loyal to winning, plain and simple. He won't keep Maroney off the field if it helps the game. I think you are going to see a lot more of the running game this season.

He looked great last night. Which in turn now means he and Dillon are nothing more than 4th or 5th round picks because they will be splitting carries.

Hey Thumper,I would love for you to elaborate on this a bit. Frankly nothing we saw last night says one way or another what Belichick has planned. If Dillon is healthy, it wouldn't be out of character at all for Bill B to use Maroney strictly as a backup. And to that point, if Dillon holds onto the short yardage job (he had 13 TDs last year), he's easily worth a TON more than a 4th or 5th round pick even if he divvies up yardage with Maroney.Please, please, please don't overvalue what you see in the first couple of preseason games; particularly as it relates to projecting playing time and roles. If you were to do that for every player, you would have to logically presume that every starting QB in the NFL is going to play about 5% of the snaps.

I agree. Aside from Maroney's explosive performance, what I found most notworthy was that Belichick did not play Dillon and Maroney sequentially like most coaches do as they work their way down a depth chart, but instead opted to alternate them during most of the first half. Unless this is some grand deception plan by Belichick, it's hard not to think that this would more or less be the way that they would be used during the season, no?

 

[SSOG]

It's a solid combination. I don't think he's superstar material, but he's a likely top 15 RB in future seasons. My guess is that he'll be starting in 2007. Given New England's track record of evaluating talent and the fact that Maroney is arguably the 2nd best back in this class, I think he's a clear top 3 rookie pick.

I think he's arguably the 1st best back in this class. Shanahan, the man himself, has gone on record saying that in a couple of years he firmly believes that Maroney could be the best RB in the NFL. If Denver hadn't traded up for Cutler, I can practically guarantee that they would have snagged Maroney with the 15th pick this year.

Why would they "waste" a first rounder on a RB when they can plug in an undrafted FA? They have the RB friendly system and the egos to go along with it. Can't see Shanahan ever using an early pick on a RB.

That's what shocked me so much when Shanahan said it. He's shown an EXTREME aversion to spending heavily on the RB position, so when he said that he would have taken Maroney with the #15 overall pick, I sat up and took notice. Shanahan has a *REALLY* high opinion of this kid.

With Portis though, he had a first round grade and fell to the second which was great value. Tatum Bell was a reach at the time and I think Shanny regrets the pick at this point. I think he's learned from his mistake and won't take a back high again unless it's great value.

I *HIGHLY* doubt that Shanny regrets the Tatum Bell pick. Tatum's already won several games for the Broncos, and has been an incredibly effective tool in his role. Just because a player didn't become a stud doesn't mean he was a bust. A huge percent of draft picks never amount to anything, and Tatum Bell has already amounted to something very effective.Now, I don't think Shanahan's going to give Bell a fat contract, but for a 2nd round pick and a relatively cheap contract, I suspect Shanny's been very satisfied with TBell's performance.

Didn't Shanahan say Barlow was the best back in that draft as well? Also, Maroney can't hold Bush's jock. And I like Maroney. But he doesn't have the proprioception of Bush.

And didn't Shanahan Draft Clarett and name Dayne the #1 RB before preseason and trade away Clinton Portis. Shanny gets way to much credit for knowing RB talent. He has a great system for rbs to succeed but doesn't seem to have a clue which rbs have the most talent.

Yup. Shanahan traded away Clinton Portis, and as a result Denver had the best rushing season of his coaching career last year. Also, remember that Shanny was the one that drafted Portis in the first place, and was going on and on about how he was shocked that Portis fell, since he was the best RB in the draft.Also, Clarett failing out had nothing to do with how talented he was or was not. Clarett has clearly demonstrated that he has issues. I think it's hard to blame Shanny for Clarett's issues any more than you can blame Callahan for his center going AWOL the night before the superbowl.I'd easily say that Shanahan has been the most successful evaluator of talent at the RB position in the NFL.

Didn't Shanahan say Barlow was the best back in that draft as well?

Don't you remember how good Barlow looked before his team let go all of its WRs, its QB, most of its OLine, and most of its defense? He's no all-pro, but he's also not as bad as he's looked the last couple of years.

 

[Ozymandias]

It has been interesting to see the concatenation of Maroney, Bush and the Denver RB situation.

 

[Phlash]

Maroney - ar = Money

 

[IGKYA!!!]

Maroney - ar = Money

Good info here.

 

[oukurt]

I actually thought Dillon ran with a lot of power. When he left the game, he was moving his shoulder around. Considering it's week 1 of the pre-season, he could've been removed for a large spectrum of possible injuries, and most of them are not serious ones.I do think, however, that Maroney will get his carries this season, and I may downgrade Dillon for that.

I still think Dillon is the man in NE until injured. If you are predicting an injury for Dillon, by all means draft Maroney. People on this board are WAY to excited about rookies this year.

Rookies that can step in and become the starters in NE, IND, CAR is good reason to get excited. Especially considering how fragile/unproven the players in front of them are. Unless I am mistaken, these types of very friendly running environment situations have not been there for rookies in recent years past.

 

[Jason Wood]

I actually thought Dillon ran with a lot of power. When he left the game, he was moving his shoulder around. Considering it's week 1 of the pre-season, he could've been removed for a large spectrum of possible injuries, and most of them are not serious ones.I do think, however, that Maroney will get his carries this season, and I may downgrade Dillon for that.

I still think Dillon is the man in NE until injured. If you are predicting an injury for Dillon, by all means draft Maroney. People on this board are WAY to excited about rookies this year.

Rookies that can step in and become the starters in NE, IND, CAR is good reason to get excited. Especially considering how fragile/unproven the players in front of them are. Unless I am mistaken, these types of very friendly running environment situations have not been there for rookies in recent years past.

Since when is Corey Dillon fragile or unproven?

 

[oukurt]

I actually thought Dillon ran with a lot of power. When he left the game, he was moving his shoulder around. Considering it's week 1 of the pre-season, he could've been removed for a large spectrum of possible injuries, and most of them are not serious ones.I do think, however, that Maroney will get his carries this season, and I may downgrade Dillon for that.

I still think Dillon is the man in NE until injured. If you are predicting an injury for Dillon, by all means draft Maroney. People on this board are WAY to excited about rookies this year.

Rookies that can step in and become the starters in NE, IND, CAR is good reason to get excited. Especially considering how fragile/unproven the players in front of them are. Unless I am mistaken, these types of very friendly running environment situations have not been there for rookies in recent years past.

Since when is Corey Dillon fragile or unproven?

You are aware he broke down last year right? I would consider about to turn 32 and coming off a injury riddled season as FRAGILE.

 

[Team Legacy]

2005 Bryant Westbrook - missed 4 games

Who is this guy??

 

[Bri]

I actually thought Dillon ran with a lot of power. When he left the game, he was moving his shoulder around. Considering it's week 1 of the pre-season, he could've been removed for a large spectrum of possible injuries, and most of them are not serious ones.

I do think, however, that Maroney will get his carries this season, and I may downgrade Dillon for that.

I still think Dillon is the man in NE until injured. If you are predicting an injury for Dillon, by all means draft Maroney. People on this board are WAY to excited about rookies this year.

Rookies that can step in and become the starters in NE, IND, CAR is good reason to get excited. Especially considering how fragile/unproven the players in front of them are. Unless I am mistaken, these types of very friendly running environment situations have not been there for rookies in recent years past.

Since when is Corey Dillon fragile or unproven?

You are aware he broke down last year right? I would consider about to turn 32 and coming off a injury riddled season as FRAGILE.

maybe you missed the G columnhttp://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/DillCo00.htm

 

[BGP]

Dillon...fragile...not fragile...you guys clearly are arguing semantics...you're both correct in your own contexts...move on.

 

[Kub]

Add me to the list who think most people are counting out Corey Dillon too soon. The guy has been a horse most of his career, managed to put up passable numbers even though he was dinged up most of last year, and has a large chip on his shoulder.

I look for Dillon to be the guy in NE this year. I would guess that he gets the lionshare of the carries in '06 and, provided they like what they see out of Maroney, they cut/trade him in the offseason to allow Maroney take over in '07.

 

[Crimedogg32]

I think the reason to be down on Maroney's value this year is because he just flat out wont be the goaline back unless Dillon gets hurt. I watched every Gophers game and when the game was on the line and we needed a few tough yards id hope Gary Russell would be in the game and usually he was (or Marion Barber a few years back) I think he has the potential to be good in short yardage situations but atleast in college he didnt seem to get it done or atleast not as well as others on the roster.

 

[redman]

I don't understand the defense of Dillon in here. He's missed 8 games in the last 3 seasons, which is more than in the entire rest of his career (his first 6 seasons), combined.

He's averaged 269 carries and 25 receptions, or 295 touches per year for 9 years, so there's a lot of mileage. His career high in carries occurred in 2004, which is the wrong part of his career for that to happen.

He's 32 years old and he had a career low yards per attempt average (3.5), which is almost a full yard below his career average (4.3). He also "looks slower" to everyone who's watched him.

Help me out here, but I'm just not seeing a lot of room for underestimation of his skills right now.

 

[my man otis]

I don't understand the defense of Dillon in here. He's missed 8 games in the last 3 seasons, which is more than in the entire rest of his career (his first 6 seasons), combined. He's averaged 269 carries and 25 receptions, or 295 touches per year for 9 years, so there's a lot of mileage. His career high in carries occurred in 2004, which is the wrong part of his career for that to happen. He's 32 years old and he had a career low yards per attempt average (3.5), which is almost a full yard below his career average (4.3). He also "looks slower" to everyone who's watched him. Help me out here, but I'm just not seeing a lot of room for underestimation of his skills right now.

32 just isn't an age to count on a RB. Curtis Martin was 32 last year, look what he did, even one year removed from leading the NFL in rushing. And now he might be done. Once 32, 33 hits it's downhill.I see a decent comparison between those two. Unfortunately the Jets let Jordan go a year early...

 

[snogger]

Again..

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Being his ADP currently is around 88, I've got him targeted late 6th, early 7th round.

Please.. don't hype him any more.

TIA

 

[Bob_Magaw]

his build & running style remind me a little of robert smith... not sure if his top end speed is as good, but he is pretty fast...

 

[Boston]

*It was a small sampling but I was very pleased with what I saw from Dillon. He looked far more like the 04 model than the 05 model. He had a nice burst and was physical. IMO his tenaciousness is the key. That's what makes him a tough runner and he was looking for contact unlike in 05. He did appear to ding his shoulder and did not play after that but it appears to be a non-issue.

*Could not be happier with the first look at Maroney. IMO you can usually tell if a RB has it pretty quickly (Curtis Martin was like that with the Pats). Maroney looks like he has the potential to be a big time player. He appears to be at top speed with the first step and isn't shy about getting hit. He's going to bring a lot of giddyup and enthusiasm to this offense which was definetly missing last year. Also, he was very aggressive with his blocking. He'll still need to work on it but if he's willing it will not be an issue.

*For those who are trying to figure out what's going on here the answer is both RBs will play a lot...with a nice dose of Kevin Faulk as well. My guess is the Pats will run more this year than they ever have under BB. The O line is healthy and poised for a very good year. I think both Dillon and Maroney can be productive fantasy players. On the flipside (and I don't see anyone talking about this) is Brady's numbers could be somewhat effected, especially in the yardage department. If the Pats can grind it out on the ground it will definetly help a D that appears on paper to not have a ton of front 7 depth. It will also take pressure off of a questionable WR unit.

 

[cstu]

his build & running style remind me a little of robert smith... not sure if his top end speed is as good, but he is pretty fast...

He also ran with more power than I expected since I thought he was ran a little soft at Minnesota.

 

[Bob_Magaw]

i thought maroney's highlights in college were very impressive, but i have a lot of gaps in my knowledge of his entire body of work...

at his best, though, even though i agree he gets to high speed quickly (if not top speed), i think he has the kind of stride that gets even faster the further he gets downfield... when he was in the open, he had the speed to explode past DBs even in the open field...

he also had some other good traits in my limited, abbreviated look at him (ie - highlights)...

he looked to already haved advanced ability for young RB (some never get it) to be patient & let blocking develope... also seemingly good vision & instincts which are also highly correlated to success if RBs have all the other requisite physical attributes, triangle numbers, etc...

not sure what distribution of carries will be (probably belichick isn't yet), but i think dillon will get bulk of carries if he plays like he did in 2004 (captain obvious observation)... but if he has slight drop & maroney continues to play as well as he looked in debut, i could see close to a split with maroney maybe even getting more than half later in the season...

i think it is more contingent on what dillon does than anything else, & agree the fact that OL is much healthier (at this point anyway) than last year should be viewed as a positive for dillon... of course, it could be for maroney, too.

 

[BGP]

Yah I drafted this guy in round 9 last nite. He's my 4th RB. Not expecting anything major. The thing is, its a keeper league and I don't really have stud RBs. (Julius Jones, Kevin Jones, Warrick Dunn). Its possible he could break out this year, but I can protect him if he's the starter by 07.

 

[Routilla]

I got LM and Addai in my draft yesterday. Needless to say I am very happy about it. DeAngelo was just out of reach or I would have grabbed him too.