Maroney: If he gets hurt who will carry the rock? (1 Viewer)

[acme]

The thinking is Maroney will be fine.

Lets start by wishing him all the good luck in the world and may he be blessed this season.

Lets just SAY though, that maybe he isn't fine to start the season, or he perhaps re-injures his shoulder in game #2, or possibly he sprains his knee, or God forbid he comes up hobbled with turf toe, or even more unlikely; he pulls a Pac-Man Jones or is implicated in a dog-fighting ring.

Who do the Patriots rely on? Morris or Faulk?

Realistically, they rely more on Brady and the full stable of receivers (personally, I'm in LOVE with Wes Welker this year -- but Moss and Stallworth will get theirs too...) but conventional thinking says they still have a RB in the backfield (almost) every play.

Who will be that RB?

I'd throw in my 2¢ but I really have NO idea what they'd do here so I may as well flip a coin and tell you what came up.

If you have a THOUGHT on the hypothetical situation, I'd appreciate it.

In any event, have a great season.

 

[David Yudkin]

Here's what I think I know on this . . .

First on Maroney. I was in contact with my source close to the team yesterday and was informed that Maroney will probably sit the beginning of trainng camp and we may not see him on the field much between now and September. This is a precautionary move and the team is confident that he'll be ready to go and the shoulder is healing. Don't buy into the sky is falling panic that may occur when we don't see him doing anything or any highlights of him from training camp or in preseason games.

More on Maroney. I don't see Maroney getting more than 275 or so carries. I suspect the team will give him a somewhat lighter workload to try to keep him fresh for the season. Predicting his TD will be tough, but I would guess 10-12. I'm not buying into the 15-20 predictions (although I suppose that that could happen).

If Maroney were to get hurt: I think there will not be a primary back and this would be a RBBC with Morris, Faulk, Hairston, and Evans.

 

[Mr. Peterson]

What about that rookie Justise Hairston? How's he looking so far? Anyone think he would be able to make an impact if Maroney goes down?

 

[Bob Henry]

I'm with Yudkin on this one: RBBC consisting of Faulk, Morris and probably even Hairston and Evans to some extent.

 

[KnowledgeReignsSupreme]

Sammy Morris is being severely misunderestimated. He could beat out the other scrub backups on the Pats should Maroney go down.

 

[Boston]

I think it would be a RBBC involving Morris, Faulk and a bit of Evans. The Pats really like Morris. He's going to be a factor in this offense even if Maroney is healthy but they also value him in a big way on special teams as well. As for Faulk calling him a scrub is very far from reality. He's a fantastic third down back who is loved by both his teammates and the coaching staff. He can both run and catch and his blocking is first rate. The Pats are not afraid to use him in very big situations and he has delivered in the past. If he didn't get hurt (injuries are a concern with him) in the Indy game last year the Pats chance of survival would have been much greater. Evans is a guy the Pats aren't afraid to use but he's limited. As for Hairston he's a complete unknown and until we see him in live action you really can't speculate on him be it good or bad although you have to look at him as a longshot right now.

Fantasywise I believe Morris would have the most value because he would probably get the most touches. Yet, the key for him to be a real viable fantasy performer should Maroney go down will be whether he's the goalline RB.

 

[munchkin]

Sammy Morris is being severely misunderestimated. He could beat out the other scrub backups on the Pats should Maroney go down.

If Maroney goes down for an extended period of time Sammy Morris will likely get the majority of carries. Evans is ok as a part time utility back and Faulk has not been successful when give extended opportunities to carry the ball. On the face of it having Morris as a full time back is not a good situation for the Pats, but who knows, if the line plays consistently he may do better than anticipated. Justice Hairston is likely a practice squad player and a potential wild card. He has not caught the ball well in camp but it is early yet and he may improve with more practice time.Maroney needs to heal. If it means using him less this year and extending his time in the league than that is a good trade off for the team and for his long term fantasy value. He was useless in the playoffs last year. He never recovered from his rib and shoulder injuries.

 

[duaneok66]

I think Dillon comes out of retirement if Maroney misses any real time in the regular season . . .

 

[Sabertooth]

I'm really high on Maroney this year, but I have to agree with the committee thing if he were to miss time.

 

[munchkin]

I think Dillon comes out of retirement if Maroney misses any real time in the regular season . . .

Dillon's done. He wasn't good for more than a few carries per game last year. He had nothing left after about 8-10 carries against both SD and Indy. Put a fork in it. He's done with the Pats.

 

[Tough As Nails]

Committee...with none of them really having much of an impact. The guy that would benefit the most (from a fantasy standpoint, that is) would be Tom Brady. The Pats would lean heavily on Brady, who's one of the best decision makers around the goal line, to put the ball in the endzone.

 

[AB in DC]

This seems like an obvious RBBC situation.

 

[red]

This seems like an obvious RBBC situation.

but the question to me is who gets the goalline carries. many of dillon's TDs last year came within the 5 yd. line, IIRC. and the NE RB is good for 12-15 TDs. if maroney is healthy, i see him getting these TDs, if he goes down early, then who? morris b/c he's bigger, stronger, reliable? could be a good handcuff, especially in TD heavy leagues.

 

[David Yudkin]

This seems like an obvious RBBC situation.

but the question to me is who gets the goalline carries. many of dillon's TDs last year came within the 5 yd. line, IIRC. and the NE RB is good for 12-15 TDs. if maroney is healthy, i see him getting these TDs, if he goes down early, then who? morris b/c he's bigger, stronger, reliable? could be a good handcuff, especially in TD heavy leagues.

Passing down?

 

[red]

This seems like an obvious RBBC situation.

but the question to me is who gets the goalline carries. many of dillon's TDs last year came within the 5 yd. line, IIRC. and the NE RB is good for 12-15 TDs. if maroney is healthy, i see him getting these TDs, if he goes down early, then who? morris b/c he's bigger, stronger, reliable? could be a good handcuff, especially in TD heavy leagues.

Passing down?

true, especially with the addition of moss and his favorite 2 yd fade to the corner. but, i still think that BB likes to pound it in IF he has a reliable back who won't fumble and can take the pounding...

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

Faulk will still have a role to play (he's actually a decent inside runner despite his reputation as more of a 3rd down scatback), but Morris is the guy that would get 20-25 carries when the Pats are in control of a game. Morris did post 25/123/1 2/39 on the Pats last year when the Dolphins beat them 21-0. Morris had 18 carries in the 2nd half, 10 in the 4th quarter, including a key 4th down conversion when the score was 6-0, the TD on 3rd and goal from the 3 that increased the lead to 21-0 and some nice carries on 1st and 10 in the 4th quarter that set up the Dolphins to eat up the clock with easier situations on 2nd and 3rd down. Do you think that game stuck in the Pats minds when they went looking for a new backup RB? I do.

 

[tomarken]

Anytime I get a chance to vote for everything - I do so.

 

[David Yudkin]

Morris is the guy that would get 20-25 carries when the Pats are in control of a game.

I don't agree on this one. From what I've seen and heard, Morris might do the heavy lifting in a single game environment but if Maroney were out for an extended time I doubt that they would give him the ball a ton.FWIW, the Pats have been interested in Morris for several years as another option out of the backfield and a guy that could give someone a blow now ang again. But I again don't think he would get major carries if Maroney went down. IMO, the team would spread the carries around and go back to the dink and dunk passing attack to cover up the fact that Maroney was out.

 

[ltaylor]

Does anyone have any new input on who the handcuff to Maroney would be if he were to go down for a significant amount of time?

Has training camp and preseason made this picture clearer?

 

[Keith Lewis]

Does anyone have any new input on who the handcuff to Maroney would be if he were to go down for a significant amount of time?Has training camp and preseason made this picture clearer?

Sammy Morris.

 

[Woz]

Does anyone have any new input on who the handcuff to Maroney would be if he were to go down for a significant amount of time?Has training camp and preseason made this picture clearer?

Sammy Morris.

agreed. Faulk is a third down specialist and I see no reason why he'd become an every down back. They'll use Morris like they did Dillon and bring in Faulk for special packages.

 

[[icon]]

IF maroney goes down Faulk becomes a RB2 in all PPR leagues.. otherwise I'd cut my losses and stay the hell away from the Patriots Running game.

 

[Borat]

It would be some combination of Morris and Faulk, with Evans also getting an increase in touches. I think Morris will get more touches than most people are expecting anyway (especially inside the 5), even if Maroney stays healthy.

Barring a whole lot of injuries, I don't think Hairston has any value any time soon.

 

[bigfoamfinger]

Faulk is a 3rd down back and that is all. He has proven his worth in that role and his worth when asked to do more. Morris will play the role of Dillon this year.

 

[acme]

Guess it doesn't matter who the RB is... they're so good thru the air they may not even need one.