Gridiron_Guru
Footballguy
Who has the upper hand and why has Maroney been out of practice Monday and Today for "undisclosed reason".
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Maroney vs. Dillon (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Gridiron_Guru
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Gandalf
Footballguy
Belicheck addressed the media at Gillette Stadium today. BB answered questions about Dillon and Maroney. It sounds to me like a lot is up in the air (see bold below). I'm not sure why Maroney hasn't practiced.
Here's the link:
http://www.patriots.com/mediacenter/index....799&pcid=85
Here's the Q&A pertaining to the RBs:
Q: [Laughter] When you have two good running backs like you do this year with Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney, how do you approach splitting carries? Is there something philosophical? Is there a predetermined plan?
BB: No. We'll just see how it works out. I'm not sure I could answer that question right now. We'll just see how it goes. That might change from week to week too. I don't know. I think all of our backs have shown some skill and some ability to make plays. How all of that works out, we'll just have to see. Again it could change from week-to-week.
Q: How concerned, if at all, were you about Corey making that adjustment just because he has been basically 'the guy' here?
BB: Well, I think on any team, you better have more than one back. We've seen that the last couple of years. You see it every year. Sometimes that works, but it is hard to count on that. You better have somebody else. It's a tough position to play. Those guys take a lot of hits. There's a lot riding on their shoulders depending on how many times they're carrying it. You better have more than one.
Q: How appealing was it to you that Maroney had done that in college, splitting carries?
BB: I don't think you can worry too much about what other circumstances a player has been in. Whatever they are, they are and you just have to take that for what it's worth. Laurence has done both. He's carried the ball 40 times a game. He's split carries with [Marion] Barber. He's played in the backfield. He's played out of the backfield. He's returned kicks. You look at all of the things a player has done and you evaluate it and you wait until you get him into your system to try to have a real, true, defined evaluation of, not what he did somewhere else, but what he actually does with what you ask him to do and he's done well.
Q: Is there a reason why you see more of those two-back systems now?
BB: I don't know. I really don't know. I think as a coach you want as many good players as you can get. If you have good players then you want to try to give them the opportunity to be productive, whether that is Barber and Maroney, whether it is Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown, Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson, if you have a couple of good players you try to keep them involved.
Here's the link:
http://www.patriots.com/mediacenter/index....799&pcid=85
Here's the Q&A pertaining to the RBs:
Q: [Laughter] When you have two good running backs like you do this year with Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney, how do you approach splitting carries? Is there something philosophical? Is there a predetermined plan?
BB: No. We'll just see how it works out. I'm not sure I could answer that question right now. We'll just see how it goes. That might change from week to week too. I don't know. I think all of our backs have shown some skill and some ability to make plays. How all of that works out, we'll just have to see. Again it could change from week-to-week.
Q: How concerned, if at all, were you about Corey making that adjustment just because he has been basically 'the guy' here?
BB: Well, I think on any team, you better have more than one back. We've seen that the last couple of years. You see it every year. Sometimes that works, but it is hard to count on that. You better have somebody else. It's a tough position to play. Those guys take a lot of hits. There's a lot riding on their shoulders depending on how many times they're carrying it. You better have more than one.
Q: How appealing was it to you that Maroney had done that in college, splitting carries?
BB: I don't think you can worry too much about what other circumstances a player has been in. Whatever they are, they are and you just have to take that for what it's worth. Laurence has done both. He's carried the ball 40 times a game. He's split carries with [Marion] Barber. He's played in the backfield. He's played out of the backfield. He's returned kicks. You look at all of the things a player has done and you evaluate it and you wait until you get him into your system to try to have a real, true, defined evaluation of, not what he did somewhere else, but what he actually does with what you ask him to do and he's done well.
Q: Is there a reason why you see more of those two-back systems now?
BB: I don't know. I really don't know. I think as a coach you want as many good players as you can get. If you have good players then you want to try to give them the opportunity to be productive, whether that is Barber and Maroney, whether it is Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown, Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson, if you have a couple of good players you try to keep them involved.
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Gridiron_Guru
Footballguy
I appreciate the response and the press conference link. I personally think that Dillon will play hard to try to hold the young guy off but he seems to get knicked real easy these days. I'm thinking by week 5 the bulk of the carries will be in Maroney's hands.
Gandalf
Footballguy
That's kind of what I'm thinking too, but as a Maroney owner, I also appreciate that I'm biased. I'll keep an eye out in the Boston press for something on Maroney's absence.
cantrell
Footballguy
Hope you're right.
Noahs Troopers
Footballguy
I'm sure you are right. I have Tiki, Willis, Foster and Maroney, so I'm sure he'll start just to make my weekly decisions on who to start harder. Bastards...
Lemmiwinks
Footballguy
Well, that's simple. If Maroney takes over, you simply rape the guy who used to be starting Dillon in a trade! Get Chad Johnson or Carson Palmer for Moroney because that guy will be desperate.I have solved one of your problems. Unfortunately you are still holding McGahee. Nothing I can do for you there!I'm sure you are right. I have Tiki, Willis, Foster and Maroney, so I'm sure he'll start just to make my weekly decisions on who to start harder. Bastards...
tombonneau
Footballguy
FWIW, Mike Reiss, Pats beat guy for the Globe, pretty in-tuned with the team, actually a decent writer who gets good info ... anyway, in his Q&A chat today, when asked how he saw it going, he said after ATL (wk 1 pre-season), he saw Dillon getting majority of carries & Maroney spelling him.
Now after the last two games, he says he honestly sees it more like a 50/50 split.
As a Pats homer, I tend to agree. I wouldn't be worried about Maroney playing sparingly last week and sitting out this week. I think BB knows what he has in Maroney and doesn't want to risk an injury.
I really could see this being total RBBC with both near 1000 yds, and CD maybe a few more TDs.
That said, I think Maroney is a real value pick if you can get him in the 6th. If CD goes down, he is top 10 forward easy.
Now after the last two games, he says he honestly sees it more like a 50/50 split.
As a Pats homer, I tend to agree. I wouldn't be worried about Maroney playing sparingly last week and sitting out this week. I think BB knows what he has in Maroney and doesn't want to risk an injury.
I really could see this being total RBBC with both near 1000 yds, and CD maybe a few more TDs.
That said, I think Maroney is a real value pick if you can get him in the 6th. If CD goes down, he is top 10 forward easy.
