Masscrastination

To say Laurence Maroney’s first three years in the league have been frustrating is an understatement.

The 6-foot, 220-pound bruiser has battled injuries in each season of his young career. Last season, one which Maroney only saw three games of action, had Patriots critics everywhere questioning the 24-year-old’s toughness. During a frustrating season that saw veterans like Tom Brady and Adalius Thomas go down, fans were not as forgiving to Maroney who was absent on a weekly basis. In typical Bill Belichick fashion, Maroney’s injury was kept quiet, leading many to think that maybe Maroney wasn’t injured— just soft. First, it was a week five play in San Francisco where Maroney ran out of bounds short of the first down marker rather than take the hit. Then it was the Patriots off-season pickup of veteran back Fred Taylor. The writing was on the wall.

Turns out Maroney is a lot tougher than most think.

It was not a lack of toughness, effort, or talent that limited Maroney; it was a fractured shoulder that kept him out of action. Maroney tried his best to play thought the injury, but the hardest part might have been having to bite his tongue.

“I had a broken bone, I was trying to play with, and it’s kind of hard to play and not tell people what’s going on,” Maroney said to the Boston Herald. “I challenge anybody in this crowd to try and play football with a broken bone in your shoulder and you tell me how long you are going to last out there…Reporters have a job to report stories, whether it’s good or bad. I can’t get mad at them because they’re just doing their job. It was my job not to say nothing at the time.”

The injury happened in a week two game against the New York Jets. Maroney did not see any action in week three against the Dolphins, and following a bye week Maroney tried to give it a go against the 49ers. In the game Maroney rushed for 26 yards on 10 carries—a sub par performance in the eyes of fans, but a valiant effort from Laurence’s perspective.

“Doing it the second game and still trying to play, I feel like it still shows my toughness and my dedication to the team and how much I really want to contribute,” Maroney explained to reporters before a charity softball game.

While Maroney certainly gets a pass for last season, things wont be as forgiving this year. Maroney needs to prove he can stay on the field, or his fourth season could be his last at as a Patriot. With the stellar play of Sammie Morris last season and the acquisition of Fred Taylor, one more injury could have Maroney on the outside looking in. This pressure, however, does not effect his outlook on the upcoming season.

“I’ve been gone too long,” he said. “The legs are feeling fresher than ever. Going back out there I know that I’m going to have a lot of critics. It’s just going out there and proving everybody wrong. I think there are a lot of people that are counting me out and doubting me, but it’s just going out there and having fun again.”

And as for his relationship with Taylor?

“I talked to him a lot already,” said Maroney. “Great guy. Another mentor. I look at him as the replacement of Corey Dillon, somebody to just learn from and a great guy to be around.”

No word yet if Taylor took the Dillon comparison as a compliment or not.

-Casey