Laurence and the Pats

Although Reggie Bush’s first NFL action will be stealing some headlines this weekend, I was more intrigued by the performance of another rookie – Patriots’ running back Laurence Maroney.

Maroney rushed for 66 yards on nine carries, including a 27-yard run and Corey Dillon finished with 27 yards on five tries in New England’s 26-23 loss to Atlanta. As it stands, Dillon and Maroney will be splitting carries this season but you have to like Maroney’s youth and potential over Dillon’s aging legs.

Dillon was a major disappointment season, averaging 3.5 yards per carry after getting 4.7 yard per attempt in 2004, but he did score 12 times.

I have a rule against drafting Patriots players not named Tom, but I would make an exception if Maroney fell far enough to me this season. Yeah I know the whole not owning Patriots players is irrational, but I don’t care.

The Patriots spread the ball around way too much for my liking and you can’t predict what they’re going to do. They throw touchdown passes to defensive players on the one-inch line and Brady finds so many different receivers a game that it’s tough for one player two pile up stats.

Also adding fuel to my ridiculous theory, the Patriots haven’t seen a 1,000 yard receiver since 2001 (Troy Brown) and no player has caught more than 78 passes the last three seasons.

If you have any irrational “rules” during drafts like my Patriots rule, I’d like to hear them.