He'll never be confused with Sir Laurence Olivier, but Laurence Maroney was the star yesterday as he filmed a commercial for Reebok and Modell's Sporting Goods at Madison Park High School in Roxbury.
"I just wanted to go with it and see how it would be," Maroney said. "I always told myself I wanted to go to Hollywood someday. This is my first shot at it."
The question is, will Maroney be able to play a leading role in the Patriots backfield next season?
The second-year running back had offseason shoulder surgery, and his participation in last week's mandatory minicamp was limited. Take Maroney out of the picture and suddenly those Super Bowl plans don't look so certain no matter who is lined up at wide receiver.
Maroney preemptively stiff-armed any direct questions about the status of his shoulder, but he did say he feels he'll be physically capable of shouldering an increased workload with the de parture of Corey Dillon.
"Yeah, most definitely," he said. "We've got a lot of good players on this team and I still don't feel like with Corey being gone and me moving up to the starting running back that the pressure is going to be on me because we still have 10 other people on this [offense] that are going to have to carry their load. I'm going to have to carry my part and we're all going to come together and put it together as a team effort."
Maroney said he was able to benefit by taking mental reps during minicamp, but was noncommittal about taking real ones by the start of training camp July 27. "Everything is looking on pace to me," he said. "I don't have a projection. I'll be out there, hopefully, when I get out there, but until then, I'm going to work hard every day to get better."
One possible indication that Maroney's shoulder is progressing is that the Patriots have not had recent contact with free agent Chris Brown, the best available running back. Agent Wynn Silberman said he hadn't spoken with the Patriots about his client in a few weeks. A return to the Tennessee Titans remains a strong possibility for Brown, although Chicago, Green Bay, Miami, and Indianapolis have shown interest.
Normally, durability would not be a concern for a running back who played in 14 games and was the NFL's third-leading rookie rusher, as Maroney was. Maroney missed two games after he was injured in the first quarter of a 28-21 victory over the Detroit Lions Dec. 3. He returned for the final two games of the regular season and finished with 745 yards on 175 carries and seven touchdowns (six rushing).
But after averaging 4.3 yards a carry during the regular season, Maroney ground to a halt in the playoffs. He rushed 31 times for 87 yards, a 2.8-yard average, and zero touchdowns. Against San Diego and Indianapolis, he rushed a total of 13 times for 18 yards.