NE Running Game - 2 dozen threads merged (1 Viewer)

[Bri]

what's the point in drafting them? or is there a point?

the best two seem to be 40 years old.

The most talented either doesn't know how to use all his talent or finds a way to make you feel like you fumbled the ball by drafting him.

The one that's most fun to root for, truly isn't very talented but has a great work ethic and attitude.

The coach is one of a few that could go into a fantasy football hall of fame for annoying FFers about injury info and "committee" type fantasy woes.

What are your thoughts on the Pats RBs?

 

[bostonfred]

Maroney put up solid RB2 numbers down the stretch until he got benched for fumbling at the end of the year. Fred Taylor is 34 and in danger of being cut*. He is probably the last starting running back taken in fantasy drafts, and he is on an offense where he could be a RB2 again and could be a legit RB1 if things pan out well for him. He is being drafted late enough that you can get him as your RB4. If he breaks out this year, he will be very keepable.

* ignore the recent headline that Taylor was "taking snaps with the first team". The news item wasn't that he was the first team running back, it was that he was allowed to play with the first team for a couple snaps when he was potentially the odd man out this year. That was one of the most misleading headlines I've seen all year.

 

[David Yudkin]

Mike Reiss mentioned recently that Morris was the best performer in camp so far. Bottom line, this situation is a fantasy mess. If/when Maroney gets into the situation like last year (everyone else hurt), he would be a decent fantasy option. But short of that occurring, none of them will be worth much unless there are injuries to likely two of them at once.

 

[renesauz]

I've been stashing Maroney on a ton of rosters this year as a low-cost high upside pick. If given the chance full time, I think he'd be a pretty solid RB2.

Unfortunately, David's got it right...there's a real good chance that none of them are worth much unless injury hits a couple others.

 

[TheLastDispatch]

High upside pick, IMO, with little risk at his current ADP.

 

[bostonfred]

I have a lot of respect for Yudkin. His viewpoint seems to be that Maroney only did well last year because Morris and Taylor were injured. And maybe that's the case, since Maroney seemed to be in a RBBC at the start of the season. But here are a few things that make Maroney a solid backup and a great sleeper candidate:

- The Patriots have been top ten in the league in rushing attempts in each of the last four years, and top five twice. They like to run the ball.

- The Patriots didn't bring anyone else in to compete for the job.

- The three backs who are competing with him for time (including Taylor who may not even make the roster) are over 100 years old combined.

- Morris had two games with double digit carries last year. Taylor also had two. Maroney had 10 double digit carry games in the first 15 games last year, the same as 2006 and 2007, and it prorates to the same in 2008 as he had two of his three games with double digit carries until he was injured.

- Maroney had 175 carries as a rookie, 185 the following year, and 194 last year, when he was on pace for 220 or so until his end of season fumbles.

- Morris looks good, but he's 33 and has never started more than 8 games in a season. In fact, he's only played 16 games in a season three times in his ten year career - in seasons when he had 20, 2, and 16 total carries, respectively.

- Kevin Faulk has only missed three games total in the last four seasons - but that's because he averages a little under 60 carries/year during those seasons.

- Taylor looks done and may get cut.

- This is Maroney's contract year, and he appears to have improved in pass protection, ball control, and running style: http://subscribers.footballguys.com/apps/n...php?id=MaroLa00

Nobody's saying he's a sure thing, top 10 back. During his 10 games stretch last year, he had 636 yards rushing and 9 TDs and another 11 catches for 83 yards - that prorates to a little over 1000 yards rushing, 17 catches for 125 yards receiving, and 15 TDs. Those are solid RB2 numbers and they seem very repeatable, and there's even some upside if he's improved in the areas that have been reported. If Morris goes down, you'll know he's startable. He's a reasonable bye week fillin regardless. I don't think that he's a superstar, but considering where he goes in drafts, he's a nice addition to your lineup.

 

[David Yudkin]

I have a lot of respect for Yudkin. His viewpoint seems to be that Maroney only did well last year because Morris and Taylor were injured. And maybe that's the case, since Maroney seemed to be in a RBBC at the start of the season. But here are a few things that make Maroney a solid backup and a great sleeper candidate:

- The Patriots have been top ten in the league in rushing attempts in each of the last four years, and top five twice. They like to run the ball.

- The Patriots didn't bring anyone else in to compete for the job.

- The three backs who are competing with him for time (including Taylor who may not even make the roster) are over 100 years old combined.

- Morris had two games with double digit carries last year. Taylor also had two. Maroney had 10 double digit carry games in the first 15 games last year, the same as 2006 and 2007, and it prorates to the same in 2008 as he had two of his three games with double digit carries until he was injured.

- Maroney had 175 carries as a rookie, 185 the following year, and 194 last year, when he was on pace for 220 or so until his end of season fumbles.

- Morris looks good, but he's 33 and has never started more than 8 games in a season. In fact, he's only played 16 games in a season three times in his ten year career - in seasons when he had 20, 2, and 16 total carries, respectively.

- Kevin Faulk has only missed three games total in the last four seasons - but that's because he averages a little under 60 carries/year during those seasons.

- Taylor looks done and may get cut.

- This is Maroney's contract year, and he appears to have improved in pass protection, ball control, and running style: http://subscribers.footballguys.com/apps/n...php?id=MaroLa00

Nobody's saying he's a sure thing, top 10 back. During his 10 games stretch last year, he had 636 yards rushing and 9 TDs and another 11 catches for 83 yards - that prorates to a little over 1000 yards rushing, 17 catches for 125 yards receiving, and 15 TDs. Those are solid RB2 numbers and they seem very repeatable, and there's even some upside if he's improved in the areas that have been reported. If Morris goes down, you'll know he's startable. He's a reasonable bye week fillin regardless. I don't think that he's a superstar, but considering where he goes in drafts, he's a nice addition to your lineup.

My concern for Maroney (AGAIN) is that he has had multiple times over multiple years to become the bell cow running back. But he hasn't evolved into that. More troubling, THE PATS don't seem to think that he's that either, as he perpetually is in a RBBC or is not #1 on the depth chart.Most recently, Maroney got benched at the end of the year for fumbling. In the Pats final regular season and post season games, his carries were: 5, 0, and 1.

Going into Year 5, Maroney STILL hasn't been annointed the featured back/starter and has had trouble beating out a bevy of 30 year old foggies. If that isn't a warning sign, I don't know what is.

I do agree that in the right set of circumstances, Maroney could be fantasy relevant. But I have concerns that he once again is not THE GUY heading in to the season.

Long story short, I think we have seen what Maroney will do in New England and not much has changed. He only did as well as he did last year because of his TD opportunities. Without those, he would have been a run of the mill fantasy back. So unless Maroney gets the goal line love, he's not that great an option.

 

[bostonfred]

My concern for Maroney (AGAIN) is that he has had multiple times over multiple years to become the bell cow running back. But he hasn't evolved into that. More troubling, THE PATS don't seem to think that he's that either, as he perpetually is in a RBBC or is not #1 on the depth chart.

The Pats didn't think he had evolved into that last year, either, and he still had a ten game stretch where he was a strong RB2. This year is his contract year and there are news articles suggesting that he's improved in the areas that will get him on the field more - especially pass protection.

Most recently, Maroney got benched at the end of the year for fumbling. In the Pats final regular season and post season games, his carries were: 5, 0, and 1.

That's overstating things. He got benched after the fumble in week 16. In week 17, they left him on the bench in a meaningless game. He was not benched in the playoff game against the Ravens. The Ravens got out to a giant lead in the first couple minutes and the Pats were playing catch up the rest of the way. Maroney got in the game, but none of the backs did much because the Pats were mostly just throwing the ball at that point. It was mostly Kevin Faulk time. I agree that it's concerning that he didn't get carries, but that game was an anomaly. Not many teams get out to huge leads against the Pats like that.

Going into Year 5, Maroney STILL hasn't been annointed the featured back/starter and has had trouble beating out a bevy of 30 year old foggies. If that isn't a warning sign, I don't know what is.

That's not totally relevant to this year, when the youngest guy he's competing with is 32 and has never started for a full season in his career. I agree that that's a huge warning sign for him in dynasty leagues. This year is his last chance to be relevant on the Pats. At 25, he may still get an opportunity for another team where he'd be a better fit if they decide to part ways, but it would be an uphill battle for him to get carries.

I do agree that in the right set of circumstances, Maroney could be fantasy relevant. But I have concerns that he once again is not THE GUY heading in to the season.

And I agree that in the wrong set of circumstances, Maroney may not be fantasy relevant. But that's true of almost all of the guys being drafted around him. He's going as RB47 and the #125 player overall according to the most recent ADP info on this site: http://subscribers.footballguys.com/apps/adp.php . You're not drafting him expecting him to start for your team every week. He's a fine spot starter with upside and he's really cheap.

Long story short, I think we have seen what Maroney will do in New England and not much has changed. He only did as well as he did last year because of his TD opportunities. Without those, he would have been a run of the mill fantasy back. So unless Maroney gets the goal line love, he's not that great an option.

I mostly agree that we've seen what he can do. And what he can do is be a legit fantasy starter. And while I agree that it's touchdown dependent, but the Pats get a lot of touchdown opportunities.

 

[Eradicator]

I'm curious how he became so non-descript. He looked like such a stud in limited work his rookie year and was drafted very high in our league the next year. He promptly fell flat and has been mediocre at best since. Given that this is now his 5th year, I'm skeptical that he's going to recapture that magic rookie-yr look.

Any Pats fans have any opinions? I don't think he's had any major injuries.

 

[bagger]

what's the point in drafting them? or is there a point?the best two seem to be 40 years old.The most talented either doesn't know how to use all his talent or finds a way to make you feel like you fumbled the ball by drafting him.The one that's most fun to root for, truly isn't very talented but has a great work ethic and attitude.The coach is one of a few that could go into a fantasy football hall of fame for annoying FFers about injury info and "committee" type fantasy woes.What are your thoughts on the Pats RBs?

pass.

 

[DawnBTVS]

I'm curious how he became so non-descript. He looked like such a stud in limited work his rookie year and was drafted very high in our league the next year. He promptly fell flat and has been mediocre at best since. Given that this is now his 5th year, I'm skeptical that he's going to recapture that magic rookie-yr look.

Any Pats fans have any opinions? I don't think he's had any major injuries.

It's mostly been a lot of little things like fumbling and blitz pickup when he was first in the league. Since then, he's lacked consistency about hitting the hole fast and hard. There are series and games where he looks, to be frank, like he could be a 250 carry bell cow that the Patriots haven't had since Dillon. Then there are other series and games where he dances in the hole and struggles to get maybe 2-3 yards on a play. So in comes a Fred Taylor or Sammy Morris and they're not only hitting the hole harder (obvious just from a fans' perspective) but also getting more yards.He seems to be ideal around the goal line where he immediately hits the hole hard cause he knows he has to get in the end zone. Now it's just a matter of him doing that 100% of the time on every single carry regardless of field position.

 

[renesauz]

My concern for Maroney (AGAIN) is that he has had multiple times over multiple years to become the bell cow running back. But he hasn't evolved into that. More troubling, THE PATS don't seem to think that he's that either, as he perpetually is in a RBBC or is not #1 on the depth chart.Most recently, Maroney got benched at the end of the year for fumbling. In the Pats final regular season and post season games, his carries were: 5, 0, and 1. Going into Year 5, Maroney STILL hasn't been annointed the featured back/starter and has had trouble beating out a bevy of 30 year old foggies. If that isn't a warning sign, I don't know what is.I do agree that in the right set of circumstances, Maroney could be fantasy relevant. But I have concerns that he once again is not THE GUY heading in to the season.Long story short, I think we have seen what Maroney will do in New England and not much has changed. He only did as well as he did last year because of his TD opportunities. Without those, he would have been a run of the mill fantasy back. So unless Maroney gets the goal line love, he's not that great an option.

I understand this analyses...it's well considered and quite possibly dead on. WHere I take issue is that it neglects the insane value Maroney presents. Right now, Maroney is being drafted BELOW what his previous production dictates he should be worth. In that regard, even if you disagree with his upside, he still presents value as a late RB3 or RB4 (as his ADP is now). This is ESPECIALLY true in redraft.MARONEY = VALUE in 2010.

 

[Born to Run]

Value with NE RBs depends on the league format. In redraft there is practically no value unless in is a really deep league. Maroney has some value (late flyer) in dynasty. The format that works here is the increasingly popular best ball. Maroney and Morris are both worth a flyer. Between benchings and injuries you can not count on either of them week to week, but they will put up some good numbers on multiple weeks during the season; maybe enough to get you to the next elimination round.

 

[wormburner]

Any chance BenJarvus Green-Ellis gets a chance to step up this year? He filled in nicely, as I recall.

 

[Routilla]

I rarely see a NE game from start to finish so I'll ask the forum. Does any NE RB get enough carries in succession to even find a rhythm? Seems the coaches don't leave anyone in there long enough to give them a chance.

 

[David Yudkin]

I don't have the time or the energy to rehash the same info from threads from other season. THe environment is the same, the players are essentially the same, so expect similar results as in the past.

 

[TWP]

BJGE looks like he has a reasonable chance of being cut. Maroney is the only play here. I like him though.

 

[slayer666]

The only one I'd draft would be Laurence Maroney and possibly Law Firm if I had extremely DEEP rosters.

 

[bostonfred]

I don't have the time or the energy to rehash the same info from threads from other season. THe environment is the same, the players are essentially the same, so expect similar results as in the past.

And with the exception that he's competing with two guys who were both injured last year and are 32 and 34, he's in a contract year, and he's had positive press out of camp, and he's going with an ADP of RB47 pick 125, you're right, but I'd be thrilled if I had a pick that late that gave me last year's production when he was on a 1150 total yard, 15 TD pace until a couple of uncharacteristic fumbles at the end of the season ended him up in the doghouse at the very end.

 

[SSOG]

what's the point in drafting them? or is there a point?the best two seem to be 40 years old.The most talented either doesn't know how to use all his talent or finds a way to make you feel like you fumbled the ball by drafting him.The one that's most fun to root for, truly isn't very talented but has a great work ethic and attitude.The coach is one of a few that could go into a fantasy football hall of fame for annoying FFers about injury info and "committee" type fantasy woes.What are your thoughts on the Pats RBs?

pass.

I thought they cut Patrick Pass after the 2006 season...

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

My concern for Maroney (AGAIN) is that he has had multiple times over multiple years to become the bell cow running back. But he hasn't evolved into that. More troubling, THE PATS don't seem to think that he's that either, as he perpetually is in a RBBC or is not #1 on the depth chart.Most recently, Maroney got benched at the end of the year for fumbling. In the Pats final regular season and post season games, his carries were: 5, 0, and 1. Going into Year 5, Maroney STILL hasn't been annointed the featured back/starter and has had trouble beating out a bevy of 30 year old foggies. If that isn't a warning sign, I don't know what is.I do agree that in the right set of circumstances, Maroney could be fantasy relevant. But I have concerns that he once again is not THE GUY heading in to the season.Long story short, I think we have seen what Maroney will do in New England and not much has changed. He only did as well as he did last year because of his TD opportunities. Without those, he would have been a run of the mill fantasy back. So unless Maroney gets the goal line love, he's not that great an option.

I understand this analyses...it's well considered and quite possibly dead on. WHere I take issue is that it neglects the insane value Maroney presents. Right now, Maroney is being drafted BELOW what his previous production dictates he should be worth. In that regard, even if you disagree with his upside, he still presents value as a late RB3 or RB4 (as his ADP is now). This is ESPECIALLY true in redraft.MARONEY = VALUE in 2010.

I don't see it. Maroney is an RB that is unlikely to be a startable RB if current conditions hold, but with injuries ahead/beside him on the depth chart, he could be very valuable because he has flashed good talent and production in the past. There are about a dozen or two RBs that you can say that about that are available around or after Maroney is.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

I'm curious how he became so non-descript. He looked like such a stud in limited work his rookie year and was drafted very high in our league the next year. He promptly fell flat and has been mediocre at best since. Given that this is now his 5th year, I'm skeptical that he's going to recapture that magic rookie-yr look.

Any Pats fans have any opinions? I don't think he's had any major injuries.

haha...unless you count a broken shoulder.like yudkin said, this has already gotten a lot of discussion every year, so I'll try to recap --- this is from vague memory, so corrections are welcome, as always.

2006 - he was the #2 rb as a rookie behind dillon.

2007 - I think this was the year everybody scrambled to draft him with dillon out of the way.

came into the season off some kind of surgery --- maybe shoulder subluxation?

think he had kind of mediocre results early on, then picked up some other injury --- maybe ribs, or something like that.

probably sat out a couple games while morris took over, then was forced back in when morris broke a bone.

there were a couple mystery games later in the year where he seemingly sat for no reason, but I think one or two of those were just scheme and circumstance, and this is about where there was supposedly a box of diapers in front of his locker --- rumors were he was in the doghouse, but I think he had also been pulled early from a previous game with some sprained ankle, or something, so the situation was murky.

late in the year and in the playoffs he was RB1 material --- he absolutely buried that san diego playoff game, but of course it's a team sport.

2008 - can't remember when, but one of the first three games, I think, he broke a bone in his shoulder and tried to keep playing anyway.

IR'd early on.

2009 - this one's probably still fresh in everybody's minds, so I'll leave it to the readers to judge.

bottom line is there's been this constant fog of rumors floating around him, about him being in the doghouse, playing soft, dancing, blocking poorly, fumbling, etc --- how much of it is true or not would be pretty hard to say, but I thought he ran decently last year, if not as well as people had hoped, and a featured back on the pats is in a good spot for td production, as evidenced by his 9 last year.

belichick even came out at one point and said the o-line wasn't opening holes for the backs to run through, but you have to take all that stuff with a grain of salt.

people will come on this board telling you to stash every player in the league on the hope of some future value, but the reality is you just can't take all these projects because of roster limits.

I think he's got good upside, but you might need a little luck to realize the potential --- of course, as soon as this happens it'll be too late to get him.

if belichick really hated him so much you'd think he would've drafted a rb this year.

 

[David Yudkin]

I don't have the time or the energy to rehash the same info from threads from other season. THe environment is the same, the players are essentially the same, so expect similar results as in the past.

And with the exception that he's competing with two guys who were both injured last year and are 32 and 34, he's in a contract year, and he's had positive press out of camp, and he's going with an ADP of RB47 pick 125, you're right, but I'd be thrilled if I had a pick that late that gave me last year's production when he was on a 1150 total yard, 15 TD pace until a couple of uncharacteristic fumbles at the end of the season ended him up in the doghouse at the very end.

OK, if you really are going to drag me into this . . .In no particular order:From the reports I have seen, Morris has been the best back in camp and Maroney looked no different and no better than ever and was actually behind the other guys.The projections I have seen have the Pats keeping all 5 RBs again for the third season in a row.The Pats are not only a pass happy team, their draft picks and signings were on receiving threats.With Mankins holding out, the OL is now down two starters.Maroney was unceremoniously benched and was a non factor down the stretch and in the playoffs.His competition this year is no better or worse than in prior years when he only had to beat out a rundown Corey Dillon, a less than stellar LaMont Jordan, His ypc was worse than the other guys mentioned throughout his time in New England.He doesn't catch passes. 40 catches in 45 career games.He's missed just as many games as the other guys on the roster, so the hope that he is a poster boy for health while the others are going to shatter is wishful thinking.He's never had 200 carries. Or 850 rushing yards. Or double digit TD. Or 25 receptions.Last year, his fantasy value was mostly derived from scoring TD when the other backs were out. Maroney had not been a goal line back in the past and only rarely got the ball on the goal line. He had 9 TD with the other guys out, but without the TD his yardage numbers were pretty meh.He;s had a very unexciting 3.8 ypc over the past two seasons.He's had 20 carries 6 times.He has never earned the starting job and THE TEAM keeps giving the ball to other players. At what point do we believe the organization that he won't be a bell cow back and they don't plan on using him that way?He's still got happy feet, dances too much, and often plays soft and at times has avoided contact.Let me think of more.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

The Pats are not only a pass happy team, their draft picks and signings were on receiving threats.

they run the ball a lot more than you think.check the stats.

 

[David Yudkin]

The Pats are not only a pass happy team, their draft picks and signings were on receiving threats.

they run the ball a lot more than you think.check the stats.

When they are winning and to ice the game they run a lot. Last year when they were behind or in close games . . . not so much.Also to be noted Brady another year from surgery, so I don't see how they pass less with a healthier Brady.Forgot to mention, in football the contract year = better numbers theory is an urban legend. There have been studies that showed that over all, there were just as many pleyers that did better, worse, or the same in contract years as in any other year. Given that a player could be cut at any time, EVERY year is a contract year in the NFL.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

The Pats are not only a pass happy team, their draft picks and signings were on receiving threats.

they run the ball a lot more than you think.check the stats.

When they are winning and to ice the game they run a lot. Last year when they were behind or in close games . . . not so much.Also to be noted Brady another year from surgery, so I don't see how they pass less with a healthier Brady.

yeah, that also probably means they're winning and icing more.brady was pretty healthy in '07 when they were tied for 5th in rush td, and 10th in attempts.

here are last year's top 9 teams in rushing td's:

(from here: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2009/)

miami - 22

balt - 22

jets - 21

saints - 21

pack - 20

jax - 19

titans - 19

PATS - 19

vikes - 19

(average 13.4)

stats are stats -- break it down any way you want.

they were also 10th in attempts.

miami, balt, and the jets are hardly what I'd call 'pass happy' and they managed just a couple more rushing td's than the pats.

 

[David Yudkin]

The Pats are not only a pass happy team, their draft picks and signings were on receiving threats.

they run the ball a lot more than you think.check the stats.

When they are winning and to ice the game they run a lot. Last year when they were behind or in close games . . . not so much.Also to be noted Brady another year from surgery, so I don't see how they pass less with a healthier Brady.

yeah, that also probably means they're winning and icing more.brady was pretty healthy in '07 when they were tied for 5th in rush td, and 10th in attempts.

here are last year's top 9 teams in rushing td's:

(from here: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2009/)

miami - 22

balt - 22

jets - 21

saints - 21

pack - 20

jax - 19

titans - 19

PATS - 19

vikes - 19

(average 13.4)

stats are stats -- break it down any way you want.

they were also 10th in attempts.

miami, balt, and the jets are hardly what I'd call 'pass happy' and they managed just a couple more rushing td's than the pats.

All that's great and wonderful provided a couple of things. 1) that one Pats running back gets all the carries and production and 2) that Maroney is the goal line back.It's been a few years now at the Pas have shown no interest in overloading one guy with the ball. The rare exception was the Corey Dillon year.

I haven't seen anything to suggest that they will do anything different this year, especially given that they have the same personnel as ball carriers. Had they drafted Spiller or Mathews, then a better case could be made that they were going in a different direction and would change up what they were doing.

I still don't see where the Pats and BB have jumped on the Maroney train. He is the best RB on the roster . . . but he's been that for 4 years already. He's had two productive stretches in his career but has never been able to sustain that from Weeks 1-16 in a season. I'm not sure we will see that now after all this time.

In the movies, Saw 1-4 didn't win any Oscars, why would we think Saw 5 would?

 

[Fantaholic]

I feel like a broken record with regards to my take on the pats running game/Maroney every year. You can argue and over analyze as much as you'd like. However, the answer is and still remains simple. As long as the cast remains the same, and it looks like it will this year, you can expect the same result. There is no Pats running back worth spending a high draft pick on. Belichick could care less about giving any one back the bulk of the carries. Whoever is healthy and has the hot hand will be given the ball in any given game. There is NO WAY to predict Belichick's tendencies with his current RB stable. Draft at your own risk and be frustrated if you wish.

 

[bostonfred]

I don't have the time or the energy to rehash the same info from threads from other season. THe environment is the same, the players are essentially the same, so expect similar results as in the past.

And with the exception that he's competing with two guys who were both injured last year and are 32 and 34, he's in a contract year, and he's had positive press out of camp, and he's going with an ADP of RB47 pick 125, you're right, but I'd be thrilled if I had a pick that late that gave me last year's production when he was on a 1150 total yard, 15 TD pace until a couple of uncharacteristic fumbles at the end of the season ended him up in the doghouse at the very end.

OK, if you really are going to drag me into this . . . I wasn't really trying to drag you into this. I mostly agree with you that his situation is similar to years past but I thought we should point out the notable exceptions from last year and reiterate that I don't think last year's production was bad for a guy you can get in the double digit rounds. But if you're going to give me line items to rebut, then let's get it on. In no particular order:

From the reports I have seen, Morris has been the best back in camp and Maroney looked no different and no better than ever and was actually behind the other guys.I've heard positive things about all of them, and I agree that I've heard that Morris has looked the best so far. He has a much better YPC in New England than Maroney, and he's the kind of guy Belichick likes, but he's also 32, has never had a healthy season, missed most of last season, and seems most likely to be limited in his carries. Similarly, Tomlinson has been the talk of camp, but nobody predicts him to get 300 carries.

The projections I have seen have the Pats keeping all 5 RBs again for the third season in a row.I've seen the same, and I've also seen running back discussed as one of the bubble spots. I'm sure you've seen the same.

The Pats are not only a pass happy team, their draft picks and signings were on receiving threats.They were a pass happy team each of the last four years, and the Pats were in the top ten in the league in rushing attempts. In 2007, when the Pats had their most pass happy year, Maroney had 951 total yards and 8 TDs in 13 games, the Patriots were 9th in the league in rushing attempts and fifth in rushing TDs.

With Mankins holding out, the OL is now down two starters.This is a very good point.

Maroney was unceremoniously benched and was a non factor down the stretch and in the playoffs.You keep mentioning this, but he was benched for uncharacteristically fumbling four times on the season including on the goal line. Prior to those fumbles, he had run the ball over 400 times with only one fumble in his career. It's understandable that he was benched for the rest of that game, that he was left on the bench during their meaningless week 17 game, and that the team went to Faulk in the Baltimore drubbing after the Pats had a half dozen offensive plays and were down four scores in the first quarter.

His competition this year is no better or worse than in prior years when he only had to beat out a rundown Corey Dillon, a less than stellar LaMont Jordan, Actually, it is a little worse, in that Morris is 32 instead of 31, and coming off an injury, and Taylor is 34 instead of 33, and coming off an injury.

His ypc was worse than the other guys mentioned throughout his time in New England.You're right that his YPC doesn't look as good. That's why they like to use the old guys on the roster with better YPC. Maroney is able to handle more carries than the other backs. He led the team in carries in 2007 and 2009 and had 175 his rookie season to Dillon's 199. He seemed to be hitting the hole a little quicker a little more often last year, and while the injuries helped his cause, he did a pretty good job scoring TDs last year, so there's reason to hope that his YPC improves.

He doesn't catch passes. 40 catches in 45 career games. That's true. His value is lower in PPR. But his total yardage pace during his 10 game startable stretch last year was more than acceptable.

He's missed just as many games as the other guys on the roster, so the hope that he is a poster boy for health while the others are going to shatter is wishful thinking.Maroney was healthy all last year, and put up his best season. He had more attempts, more yards and more touchdowns than Morris has ever had in any season of his career, and I'll repeat that Morris has never played a full season in his entire career.

He's never had 200 carries. Or 850 rushing yards. Or double digit TD. Or 25 receptions.He had 949 total yards his rookie year, 951 the following year, and 856 last year, and he's had 6, 7 and 9 TDs those seasons. By comparison, Mike Sims-Walker had 869 total yards and 7 TDs last season.

Last year, his fantasy value was mostly derived from scoring TD when the other backs were out. Maroney had not been a goal line back in the past and only rarely got the ball on the goal line. He had 9 TD with the other guys out, but without the TD his yardage numbers were pretty meh. His TDs have gone up every season - in his previous seasons he had 6 and 7 TDs. So it's not like last year was some huge outlier.

He;s had a very unexciting 3.8 ypc over the past two seasons.He had a 3.9 YPC last year, was hurt in 2008, and had YPCs of 4.3 and 4.5 in the two seasons before that. Not sure where 3.8 is coming from, unless you count the three games of the season he got injured. LaDainian Tomlinson has four seasons of 3.9, 3.8, 3.6 and 3.3 YPC, a 4.5 and a 4.3, and only three seasons better than 4.5. So it's not like his YPC has been attrocious.

He's had 20 carries 6 times. And four of them were last year. And he's had 19 three times. And he's had 15+ carries in 17 games. I'm not sure why 20 is the magic number here, but his 175-195 rush attempt per year during his healthy seasons seems like a better way of describing it.

He has never earned the starting job and THE TEAM keeps giving the ball to other players. At what point do we believe the organization that he won't be a bell cow back and they don't plan on using him that way?THE TEAM keeps giving him 175+ carries per year and didn't bring in anyone to compete with him, so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be upset about with the 125th pick in the draft.

He's still got happy feet, dances too much, and often plays soft and at times has avoided contact.He seemed to make some improvements in that area last year, and his numbers, while disappointing for a guy taken with the 30th pick, have been fine for a guy you can take with the 125th, so I'm not sure why this is different from talking about his YPC.

Let me think of more. Let me know if you do. I'll be here.

 

[bostonfred]

The Pats are not only a pass happy team, their draft picks and signings were on receiving threats.

they run the ball a lot more than you think.check the stats.

When they are winning and to ice the game they run a lot. Last year when they were behind or in close games . . . not so much.Also to be noted Brady another year from surgery, so I don't see how they pass less with a healthier Brady.Forgot to mention, in football the contract year = better numbers theory is an urban legend. There have been studies that showed that over all, there were just as many pleyers that did better, worse, or the same in contract years as in any other year. Given that a player could be cut at any time, EVERY year is a contract year in the NFL.

Your first two points seem to contradict one another. If they're winning, they'll run more, but if Brady improves, it will take away from the running? Does that mean that, all things being equal, if Brady has better weapons, the team will win less? Or that when they pass more, that the team will run less? That didn't happen in the pass happiest of pass happy years, 2007, when the Pats were top ten in the league in rushing attempts like they have been every year since Maroney was drafted. And that was Maroney's best year rushing, with 835 rush yards / 951 total yards / 6 TDs. And you're absolutely right that the contract year could mean that he will do better or that he will do worse. But if you keep asking the question, what's changed, then you can't just ignore that some things have changed. I think we'd agree that the change might be for better or worse, but that is an example of a change.

 

[David Yudkin]

Hey, I'm not saying Maroney isn't worth picking up at the spot it takes to get him, but I am saying that expecting him to be fantasy relevant for 16 games is very unlikely to happen.

My general point was that if the other guys are healthy, Maroney won't get the workload, the receptions, or the goal line looks for him to be worth playing in most fantasy leagues.

While some will argue that he did well last year for a stretch (he did), the Pats have not given him that workload and he hasn't sustained that workload or production level intentiaonally. He did it with other guys hurt and then Plan B or Plan C has been Maroney.

I'd be all over Maroney if the team finally said it's his world and the other guys can sometimes come visit him in it, but they haven't.

And I wouldn't be so quick to want to overlook what happened at the end of the year for Maroney. You would think that if they were so in love with him, they would have kept playing him. In the games you said either didn't matter or he was resting, the other guys were in there playing almost the whole game. Just ask Welker.

I suspect that without the fumbling issues, Maroney would have had big workloads in all those games down the stretch to get him in a rhythm for the post season. Even against the Ravens in the playoffs, I still think if he were out of the doghouse they would have tried using him more despite the early scores by the Ravens.

Either way, we are where we are now, and Maroney is still not the main man in the backfield. He's not a terrinle fantasy pick, and as you said, given the right set of conditions he could be a fantasy asset. Without the right set of circumstances, he's mostly useless in that particular week.

 

[David Yudkin]

The Pats are not only a pass happy team, their draft picks and signings were on receiving threats.

they run the ball a lot more than you think.check the stats.

When they are winning and to ice the game they run a lot. Last year when they were behind or in close games . . . not so much.Also to be noted Brady another year from surgery, so I don't see how they pass less with a healthier Brady.Forgot to mention, in football the contract year = better numbers theory is an urban legend. There have been studies that showed that over all, there were just as many pleyers that did better, worse, or the same in contract years as in any other year. Given that a player could be cut at any time, EVERY year is a contract year in the NFL.

Your first two points seem to contradict one another. If they're winning, they'll run more, but if Brady improves, it will take away from the running? Does that mean that, all things being equal, if Brady has better weapons, the team will win less? Or that when they pass more, that the team will run less? That didn't happen in the pass happiest of pass happy years, 2007, when the Pats were top ten in the league in rushing attempts like they have been every year since Maroney was drafted. And that was Maroney's best year rushing, with 835 rush yards / 951 total yards / 6 TDs. And you're absolutely right that the contract year could mean that he will do better or that he will do worse. But if you keep asking the question, what's changed, then you can't just ignore that some things have changed. I think we'd agree that the change might be for better or worse, but that is an example of a change.

The other thing that changed, and likely not for the better, is the defense. Unless you think this cast of characters and youngsters is on pas with other Pats SB teams. Since I would say they have slipped on defense especially against good teams, they will need to pass more to stay in close games or simply stay in games period.My biggest concern for NE overall is that their playcalling last year was horrible. I mean out and out terrible. If they don't address that, they are in for a world of hurt.

 

[doubletrouble]

Dude your arguing about Maroney...move along there is nothing to see here!

 

[Iwannabeacowboybaby!]

I've been stashing Maroney on a ton of rosters this year as a low-cost high upside pick. If given the chance full time, I think he'd be a pretty solid RB2.

Unfortunately, David's got it right...there's a real good chance that none of them are worth much unless injury hits a couple others.

It's tough to draft any one of them but on a weekly basis, the guy that looks like he's the guy for whatever the reason, could be a decent start. You can either take a stab in the last round or 2 of your draft at one of these guys and hope to get lucky or just stay informed and try to nab one of them on waivers. When all else fails........Kevin Faulk.

 

[Balance]

I don't have the time or the energy to rehash the same info from threads from other season. THe environment is the same, the players are essentially the same, so expect similar results as in the past.

And with the exception that he's competing with two guys who were both injured last year and are 32 and 34, he's in a contract year, and he's had positive press out of camp, and he's going with an ADP of RB47 pick 125, you're right, but I'd be thrilled if I had a pick that late that gave me last year's production when he was on a 1150 total yard, 15 TD pace until a couple of uncharacteristic fumbles at the end of the season ended him up in the doghouse at the very end.

OK, if you really are going to drag me into this . . . I wasn't really trying to drag you into this. I mostly agree with you that his situation is similar to years past but I thought we should point out the notable exceptions from last year and reiterate that I don't think last year's production was bad for a guy you can get in the double digit rounds. But if you're going to give me line items to rebut, then let's get it on. In no particular order:

From the reports I have seen, Morris has been the best back in camp and Maroney looked no different and no better than ever and was actually behind the other guys.I've heard positive things about all of them, and I agree that I've heard that Morris has looked the best so far. He has a much better YPC in New England than Maroney, and he's the kind of guy Belichick likes, but he's also 32, has never had a healthy season, missed most of last season, and seems most likely to be limited in his carries. Similarly, Tomlinson has been the talk of camp, but nobody predicts him to get 300 carries.

The projections I have seen have the Pats keeping all 5 RBs again for the third season in a row.I've seen the same, and I've also seen running back discussed as one of the bubble spots. I'm sure you've seen the same.

The Pats are not only a pass happy team, their draft picks and signings were on receiving threats.They were a pass happy team each of the last four years, and the Pats were in the top ten in the league in rushing attempts. In 2007, when the Pats had their most pass happy year, Maroney had 951 total yards and 8 TDs in 13 games, the Patriots were 9th in the league in rushing attempts and fifth in rushing TDs.

With Mankins holding out, the OL is now down two starters.This is a very good point.

Maroney was unceremoniously benched and was a non factor down the stretch and in the playoffs.You keep mentioning this, but he was benched for uncharacteristically fumbling four times on the season including on the goal line. Prior to those fumbles, he had run the ball over 400 times with only one fumble in his career. It's understandable that he was benched for the rest of that game, that he was left on the bench during their meaningless week 17 game, and that the team went to Faulk in the Baltimore drubbing after the Pats had a half dozen offensive plays and were down four scores in the first quarter.

His competition this year is no better or worse than in prior years when he only had to beat out a rundown Corey Dillon, a less than stellar LaMont Jordan, Actually, it is a little worse, in that Morris is 32 instead of 31, and coming off an injury, and Taylor is 34 instead of 33, and coming off an injury.

His ypc was worse than the other guys mentioned throughout his time in New England.You're right that his YPC doesn't look as good. That's why they like to use the old guys on the roster with better YPC. Maroney is able to handle more carries than the other backs. He led the team in carries in 2007 and 2009 and had 175 his rookie season to Dillon's 199. He seemed to be hitting the hole a little quicker a little more often last year, and while the injuries helped his cause, he did a pretty good job scoring TDs last year, so there's reason to hope that his YPC improves.

He doesn't catch passes. 40 catches in 45 career games. That's true. His value is lower in PPR. But his total yardage pace during his 10 game startable stretch last year was more than acceptable.

He's missed just as many games as the other guys on the roster, so the hope that he is a poster boy for health while the others are going to shatter is wishful thinking.Maroney was healthy all last year, and put up his best season. He had more attempts, more yards and more touchdowns than Morris has ever had in any season of his career, and I'll repeat that Morris has never played a full season in his entire career.

He's never had 200 carries. Or 850 rushing yards. Or double digit TD. Or 25 receptions.He had 949 total yards his rookie year, 951 the following year, and 856 last year, and he's had 6, 7 and 9 TDs those seasons. By comparison, Mike Sims-Walker had 869 total yards and 7 TDs last season.

Last year, his fantasy value was mostly derived from scoring TD when the other backs were out. Maroney had not been a goal line back in the past and only rarely got the ball on the goal line. He had 9 TD with the other guys out, but without the TD his yardage numbers were pretty meh. His TDs have gone up every season - in his previous seasons he had 6 and 7 TDs. So it's not like last year was some huge outlier.

He;s had a very unexciting 3.8 ypc over the past two seasons.He had a 3.9 YPC last year, was hurt in 2008, and had YPCs of 4.3 and 4.5 in the two seasons before that. Not sure where 3.8 is coming from, unless you count the three games of the season he got injured. LaDainian Tomlinson has four seasons of 3.9, 3.8, 3.6 and 3.3 YPC, a 4.5 and a 4.3, and only three seasons better than 4.5. So it's not like his YPC has been attrocious.

He's had 20 carries 6 times. And four of them were last year. And he's had 19 three times. And he's had 15+ carries in 17 games. I'm not sure why 20 is the magic number here, but his 175-195 rush attempt per year during his healthy seasons seems like a better way of describing it.

He has never earned the starting job and THE TEAM keeps giving the ball to other players. At what point do we believe the organization that he won't be a bell cow back and they don't plan on using him that way?THE TEAM keeps giving him 175+ carries per year and didn't bring in anyone to compete with him, so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be upset about with the 125th pick in the draft.

He's still got happy feet, dances too much, and often plays soft and at times has avoided contact.He seemed to make some improvements in that area last year, and his numbers, while disappointing for a guy taken with the 30th pick, have been fine for a guy you can take with the 125th, so I'm not sure why this is different from talking about his YPC.

Let me think of more. Let me know if you do. I'll be here.

You are trying WAY WAY WAY too hard here.

 

[TWP]

We're talking about a late round pick. You want a guy with high upside. Maroney is a guy with high upside and more value than others with a similar ADP. Bloom seems to disagree with that statement, bostonfred obviously agrees with it strongly. David, you initially seemed to be disagreeing but your latest posts seem more to agree or be neutral? Nobody is saying he is a great back or will be startable for 16 weeks. Not even bostonfred. But do you agree that he is a good value pick at his ADP and that you would target him in late rounds?

 

[David Yudkin]

We're talking about a late round pick. You want a guy with high upside. Maroney is a guy with high upside and more value than others with a similar ADP. Bloom seems to disagree with that statement, bostonfred obviously agrees with it strongly. David, you initially seemed to be disagreeing but your latest posts seem more to agree or be neutral? Nobody is saying he is a great back or will be startable for 16 weeks. Not even bostonfred. But do you agree that he is a good value pick at his ADP and that you would target him in late rounds?

I wouldn't mind getting Maroney, but I wouldn't go out of my way to make sure I got him. He could be ok if, like last year, he has a few wekks where he's the only healthy back. But couldn't you say that about most backups? Relistically, if another team had their RB1 and RB2 get hurt, wouldn't their RB3 be fantasy relevant?My point wa smore about expecting Maroney to be a fantasy starter for 16 weeks with bell cow type numbers. I don't see that happening, but sure, based on where he is getting drafted he's not a terrible investment. Just be aware that many weeks he could be useless.

 

[Anthony Borbely]

The only thing I can say is that Maroney has finished as a top 30 RB in all 3 of his full seasons. I realize he is not the greatest RB in the world and can't really be counted on, but his ADP is RB47 and based on his history, that is some very good value. I'd gladly take him as my RB4.

 

[Stinkin Ref]

Dude your arguing about Maroney...move along there is nothing to see here!

with all the RBBC going on these days....discussions like this are most certainly fantasy relevant.....

 

[TWP]

We're talking about a late round pick. You want a guy with high upside. Maroney is a guy with high upside and more value than others with a similar ADP. Bloom seems to disagree with that statement, bostonfred obviously agrees with it strongly. David, you initially seemed to be disagreeing but your latest posts seem more to agree or be neutral? Nobody is saying he is a great back or will be startable for 16 weeks. Not even bostonfred. But do you agree that he is a good value pick at his ADP and that you would target him in late rounds?

I wouldn't mind getting Maroney, but I wouldn't go out of my way to make sure I got him. He could be ok if, like last year, he has a few wekks where he's the only healthy back. But couldn't you say that about most backups? Relistically, if another team had their RB1 and RB2 get hurt, wouldn't their RB3 be fantasy relevant?

My point wa smore about expecting Maroney to be a fantasy starter for 16 weeks with bell cow type numbers. I don't see that happening, but sure, based on where he is getting drafted he's not a terrible investment. Just be aware that many weeks he could be useless.

This is the thing that I'm not really understanding. You keep saying that he's only fantasy relevant if two guys get hurt. But that's not the way I see it. I think he is definitely fantasy relevant if the other guys get hurt. But he is possibly fantasy relevant even if they don't. That's why I see him as being very good value compared to other guys who certainly need injuries to get on the field for a meaningful number of carries.

 

[David Yudkin]

We're talking about a late round pick. You want a guy with high upside. Maroney is a guy with high upside and more value than others with a similar ADP. Bloom seems to disagree with that statement, bostonfred obviously agrees with it strongly. David, you initially seemed to be disagreeing but your latest posts seem more to agree or be neutral? Nobody is saying he is a great back or will be startable for 16 weeks. Not even bostonfred. But do you agree that he is a good value pick at his ADP and that you would target him in late rounds?

I wouldn't mind getting Maroney, but I wouldn't go out of my way to make sure I got him. He could be ok if, like last year, he has a few wekks where he's the only healthy back. But couldn't you say that about most backups? Relistically, if another team had their RB1 and RB2 get hurt, wouldn't their RB3 be fantasy relevant?

My point wa smore about expecting Maroney to be a fantasy starter for 16 weeks with bell cow type numbers. I don't see that happening, but sure, based on where he is getting drafted he's not a terrible investment. Just be aware that many weeks he could be useless.

This is the thing that I'm not really understanding. You keep saying that he's only fantasy relevant if two guys get hurt. But that's not the way I see it. I think he is definitely fantasy relevant if the other guys get hurt. But he is possibly fantasy relevant even if they don't. That's why I see him as being very good value compared to other guys who certainly need injuries to get on the field for a meaningful number of carries.

If all the NE RBs are healthy, Maroney won't get (m)any receptions, he won't get a huge workload, and he won't get (m)any goal line looks (so very few TD).Over the years, there have been very few times when all the guys suited up and Maroney had a big fantasy week. I'm not saying that it hasn't happened, but fantasy wise I would pass on Maroney unless the other guys were nicked up.

Put another way, Maroney could have played in 64 games in his career. He has scored 10 or more fantasy points in 22 of them. He may not have hit 10 fantasy points for any number of reasons (injury, other guys playing, etc.).

I don't think anyone is arguing that Maroney isn't worth playing fantasy wise when other players are hurt (I'm certainly not). The question becomes if he is worth taking up a roster spot when historically he has only been a decent option 1 every 3 weeks.

So to summarize, yes, he is worth drafting at his ADP (although he's been going way earlier in the drafts that I have followed). But I still don't see him being the primary option from week to week and he is still in a RBBC.

 

[bostonfred]

I was agreeing with almost everything you were saying until the 1 out of 3 games thing. Aaron Rodgers has scored 10 or more fantasy points in only 31 of his 80 possible starts, whether for injury or somebody playing ahead of him or whatever. I still think he's worth a roster spot.

 

[David Yudkin]

I was agreeing with almost everything you were saying until the 1 out of 3 games thing. Aaron Rodgers has scored 10 or more fantasy points in only 31 of his 80 possible starts, whether for injury or somebody playing ahead of him or whatever. I still think he's worth a roster spot.

Basically, to summarize, yes, if Maroney is starting because others are out = great fantasy option. Maroney with all the other backs playing = meh. Maroney banged up or hurt himself = taking up roster space that week.

 

[bostonfred]

I was agreeing with almost everything you were saying until the 1 out of 3 games thing. Aaron Rodgers has scored 10 or more fantasy points in only 31 of his 80 possible starts, whether for injury or somebody playing ahead of him or whatever. I still think he's worth a roster spot.

Basically, to summarize, yes, if Maroney is starting because others are out = great fantasy option. Maroney with all the other backs playing = meh. Maroney banged up or hurt himself = taking up roster space that week.

Pretty much. He's a fantasy RB3 or RB4 guy, he's a decent but unspectacular bye week filler, and if he turns it on this year or if any of the AARP crowd gets cut or hurt, he becomes very startable. Hardly someone to build your draft plan around, but pretty good for the 125th pick in the draft.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

I was agreeing with almost everything you were saying until the 1 out of 3 games thing. Aaron Rodgers has scored 10 or more fantasy points in only 31 of his 80 possible starts, whether for injury or somebody playing ahead of him or whatever. I still think he's worth a roster spot.

Maroney is still in the same basic situation that caused him to only be fantasy relevant in 1 out of 3 games, Rodgers not so much.

 

[bostonfred]

I was agreeing with almost everything you were saying until the 1 out of 3 games thing. Aaron Rodgers has scored 10 or more fantasy points in only 31 of his 80 possible starts, whether for injury or somebody playing ahead of him or whatever. I still think he's worth a roster spot.

Maroney is still in the same basic situation that caused him to only be fantasy relevant in 1 out of 3 games, Rodgers not so much.

Really? He's hurt for all but three games this year?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

I was agreeing with almost everything you were saying until the 1 out of 3 games thing. Aaron Rodgers has scored 10 or more fantasy points in only 31 of his 80 possible starts, whether for injury or somebody playing ahead of him or whatever. I still think he's worth a roster spot.

Maroney is still in the same basic situation that caused him to only be fantasy relevant in 1 out of 3 games, Rodgers not so much.

Really? He's hurt for all but three games this year?

With Maroney there were a few other factors besides injury during many of those weeks.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

I was agreeing with almost everything you were saying until the 1 out of 3 games thing. Aaron Rodgers has scored 10 or more fantasy points in only 31 of his 80 possible starts, whether for injury or somebody playing ahead of him or whatever. I still think he's worth a roster spot.

Maroney is still in the same basic situation that caused him to only be fantasy relevant in 1 out of 3 games, Rodgers not so much.

Really? He's hurt for all but three games this year?

With Maroney there were a few other factors besides injury during many of those weeks.

Maroney has played in 45 games during the regular season. So if he's scored 10+ points in 22 games, that means he is "fantasy relevant" ~50% of the time he is playing.

 

[Ray_T]

I have a lot of respect for Yudkin. His viewpoint seems to be that Maroney only did well last year because Morris and Taylor were injured. And maybe that's the case, since Maroney seemed to be in a RBBC at the start of the season. But here are a few things that make Maroney a solid backup and a great sleeper candidate:

- The Patriots have been top ten in the league in rushing attempts in each of the last four years, and top five twice. They like to run the ball.

- The Patriots didn't bring anyone else in to compete for the job.

- The three backs who are competing with him for time (including Taylor who may not even make the roster) are over 100 years old combined.

- Morris had two games with double digit carries last year. Taylor also had two. Maroney had 10 double digit carry games in the first 15 games last year, the same as 2006 and 2007, and it prorates to the same in 2008 as he had two of his three games with double digit carries until he was injured.

- Maroney had 175 carries as a rookie, 185 the following year, and 194 last year, when he was on pace for 220 or so until his end of season fumbles.

- Morris looks good, but he's 33 and has never started more than 8 games in a season. In fact, he's only played 16 games in a season three times in his ten year career - in seasons when he had 20, 2, and 16 total carries, respectively.

- Kevin Faulk has only missed three games total in the last four seasons - but that's because he averages a little under 60 carries/year during those seasons.

- Taylor looks done and may get cut.

- This is Maroney's contract year, and he appears to have improved in pass protection, ball control, and running style: http://subscribers.footballguys.com/apps/n...php?id=MaroLa00

Nobody's saying he's a sure thing, top 10 back. During his 10 games stretch last year, he had 636 yards rushing and 9 TDs and another 11 catches for 83 yards - that prorates to a little over 1000 yards rushing, 17 catches for 125 yards receiving, and 15 TDs. Those are solid RB2 numbers and they seem very repeatable, and there's even some upside if he's improved in the areas that have been reported. If Morris goes down, you'll know he's startable. He's a reasonable bye week fillin regardless. I don't think that he's a superstar, but considering where he goes in drafts, he's a nice addition to your lineup.

My concern for Maroney (AGAIN) is that he has had multiple times over multiple years to become the bell cow running back. But he hasn't evolved into that. More troubling, THE PATS don't seem to think that he's that either, as he perpetually is in a RBBC or is not #1 on the depth chart.Most recently, Maroney got benched at the end of the year for fumbling. In the Pats final regular season and post season games, his carries were: 5, 0, and 1.

Going into Year 5, Maroney STILL hasn't been annointed the featured back/starter and has had trouble beating out a bevy of 30 year old foggies. If that isn't a warning sign, I don't know what is.

I do agree that in the right set of circumstances, Maroney could be fantasy relevant. But I have concerns that he once again is not THE GUY heading in to the season.

Long story short, I think we have seen what Maroney will do in New England and not much has changed. He only did as well as he did last year because of his TD opportunities. Without those, he would have been a run of the mill fantasy back. So unless Maroney gets the goal line love, he's not that great an option.

You both bring up good points.I am thinking Maroney may be a RB2 that could be had for the price of a RB3.

and the fact that the competition is another year older likely plays to his advantage. Fragile Fred is the biggest threat, but he is now 34 years old (I think) so I cannot see him turning back the clock at this age.

I think that Maroney is the guy just simply because there is nobody else.

I would never draft this guy in the first 4 or 5 rounds, but as a late round sleeper I'd give him a shot. At that stage of the draft, the potential upside is worth the risk.

 

[Couch Potato]

Hey, Pats expurtz --

Chris Taylor is on the roster. He's just 26 and had a few moments late in the year a few seasons back in Houston. Is he just a camp body or is there any sleeper value possible here?