Laurence Maroney Had Broken Bone in Shoulder Last Season

I've often argued -- unoriginally -- that, in general, NFL teams should avoid using first-round picks on running backs. Salary-cap friendly alternatives can often be found later in the draft, and other, harder-to-address needs -- like offensive line or wide receiver -- can be targeted in the early rounds.

There are exceptions: most recently Adrian Peterson, Steven Jackson and LaDainian Tomlinson. But the NFL scrap heap is littered with former first-round backs who never panned out. It's too early to classify Laurence Maroney as such, but his three-year career has, so far, been underwhelming.

Moreover, the Patriots, who drafted Maroney 21st overall in 2006, could have taken guard Davin Joseph or wideout Santonio Holmes. Maroney has been serviceable (1,673 yards in 30 games, 12 TDs), but it's about opportunity costs.

Since evil genius Bill Belichick has yet to get his hands on a time machine, New England is stuck with Maroney, who has started just nine times in three seasons, and fans and media have periodically questioned his toughness. In 2008, he played in just three games before landing on injured reserve, and he was sharing carries before his season ended prematurely. Turns out Maroney had a good reason. Via the Boston Globe's Christopher Gasper:

[Recently] Maroney revealed that the shoulder injury that limited him to three games last season was a broken bone. He injured the shoulder against the Jets during the second game of the season, sat out a week, then came back against San Francisco Oct. 5, but looked tentative, refusing to lower his right shoulder for a first down. After the game, Maroney said he had "issues."

Maroney continued: "I had a broken bone and I was trying to play with it ... It's kind of hard to sit here and play and not tell people what is going on. Everybody is going to think one way because they don't really know what's going on. I dare anybody in this crowd to play football with a broken bone in your shoulder and you tell me how long you're going to last out there."

I can see why a football player might take exception to being called soft. And I fully endorse the idea that somebody from the stands should try running for a first down with a broken bone in their shoulder. You know, for science.

So Maroney is understandably bitter, but he also says his shoulder feels "great." Which means he's one more weapon at Belichick's disposal in '09; Tom Brady should be at full strength when training camp starts, and newly signed Fred Taylor will join Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk and Maroney in the backfield. There's a chance the 2009 Patriots offense will be more explosive than the '07 version, which is good news for that defense, and bad news for the rest of the league.