Are You Ready To Take The Maroney Plunge?

That’s the question ESPN’s Matthew Berry is asking:

Make no mistake, he is not for the weak-hearted. If you thought last week’s pickup column was threadbare, wait until you see this list of junk. So it’s appropriate that we start with Maroney, who has killed more fantasy teams than Tom Brady’s knee, Mike Shanahan’s running back rotation and Al Davis’ existence combined. But when Sammy Morris went down for his annual injury, Maroney picked up the slack. He looked healthy, with 19 touches for 133 yards and a score in Week 6. I like the fact that he caught three balls out of the backfield, that he’s on an offense that can get even Brian Hoyer fantasy points and that his coach is a vindictive jerk, er, a guy who enjoys the competitive spirit of the game until the final seconds of the game. On the road (In England! The olde one!) against a terrible Tampa Bay run defense, I’m expecting a big game from him Sunday. Realize there is no rhyme or reason to the Pats; they plan for each game’s opponent, so you are playing with fire here. But in a week with six teams on byes, it gets ugly quickly.

Now that both Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris are out with injuries, Maroney seems to be the guy in New England. But be warned: knowing the Pats, Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis or Kevin Faulk could easily emerge as the biggest fantasy scorer out of their backfield next week. Don’t take the Maroney plunge lightly.