"After seeing his rushing yardage drop 80 units from Week 6 to Week 7, many were questioning the ability of Laurence Maroney as the New England Patriots' starting running back following Sunday's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They should be questioning another part of the offense, according to Pats coach Bill Belichick. During his latest appearance on WEEI, the coach deflected the criticism of No. 39: "Well, every player can improve, but Laurence has done a pretty good job running the ball for us. I really don't have a lot of problems with Laurence. What I'd like to see is for us to open bigger holes to create some space for these guys and allow them to run. [Maroney] can do a better job, but we can block better and hopefully design more plays to create space and get some yards." Can't argue with the final result from Sunday, and the Pats O-linemen have an extra week to get themselves together before the Dolphins visit in Week 9 (ESPN)."
To me the problem is not Maroney or the offensive line it is the play calling. Hold on...calm down, let me explain. Over the past 2+ season the Patriots ahve basically been a passing team. The offensive line is so used to passing protecting that I think they have lost some of their upfield push needed for a running game. So far this season I haven't seen Maroney go east and west too much, or hesitate in the backfield, so I really think it is more of an issue of running more to get the offensive line comfortable with running plays.
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