Maroney disclosure doesn’t change injury past

Former Patriots fullback Heath Evans calls Laurence Maroney one of the best natural running backs he’s ever seen. He hopes the oft-injured halfback stays healthy in the years ahead so he can prove it to fans, media and teammates.

Maroney disclosed this week that while he was being criticized in the press and on fan sites for not hitting holes hard and for not playing through pain he was actually fighting a broken bone in his shoulder.

That explains the poor play last season and the appearance on injured reserve after playing in just three games during what was supposed to be his breakout season. But it doesn’t explain his career-long propensity for getting hurt.

During the first two years of his career, Maroney played in 13 and 14 games. His rookie year he shared time with Corey Dillon. In December he missed two games after tearing rib cartilage. He missed three games in 2007 with a groin injury – and was really the second best running back on the team that year to Sammy Morris, even though Dillon was released in the offseason.

I really like Maroney. He teamed with Marion Barber III at the University of Minnesota to provide one of the most entertaining running back tandems in my alma mater’s history. I’d like to see him succeed in the NFL as well.

But while in lieu of his broken shoulder revelation he may deserve a bit of a reprieve on the accusations of being soft, he still has to prove himself in terms of being durable enough to A) make it through an entire season and B) be the main guy in the Patriots’ or some other team’s running attack.

He sounds driven to prove he can be “the man.” But until he plays 16 games and puts up numbers resembling those of a number one back, fans and fantasy players should count on Maroney for nothing more than time-sharing.