Turnaround time

Maroney gives big boost to Pats’ offense

NFL. What a difference a week makes.

Seven days ago, the Patriots were coming off a preseason loss to Tennessee. It marked the second of two games where their offense had looked spotty and inconsistent — of its 22 offensive drives through those two games, New England had scored touchdowns on just four. Patriots quarterbacks had been sacked five times, and had more interceptions than touchdown passes.

Fast forward to last Friday, when the Patriots utterly dominated Carolina in their third game of the preseason. Of its first seven drives, the New England offense scored touchdowns on three of them — and the only reason it missed out on a fourth was because Ben Watson lost control of a pass in the end zone and the Patriots had to settle for a field goal. Tom Brady was nearly perfect, going 17-for-22 with 167 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions.

“The receivers, the tight ends, the backs — it was a solid effort offensively, even though we left some points out there on the field and some plays and some yards on the field that I think we should’ve had,” said Head Coach Bill Belichick. “Like the rest of the team, it was another step towards our preparation for the regular season.”

So what made the difference Friday night? Two major things:

One, the return of Laurence Maroney. Maroney, who underwent offseason shoulder surgery, shed his red non-contact jersey for the first time all summer in the days leading up to the game and saw his first on-field action of the preseason against the Panthers. He was tested early and responded well — the second-year running back got the ball on New England’s first seven plays from scrimmage. He ended up playing on 19 first-half snaps, finishing with 15 carries and 58 yards on the night.

Belichick said there was not necessarily a concerted plan to use Maroney as much as they did, but he did indicate that with the regular season loooming, they were anxious to see progress in the running game.

“We wanted to put some emphasis in the running game, and we did that by calling more running plays,” Belichick said of the rushing attack, which included big nights from Sammy Morris (27 yards) and Heath Evans (58 yards) to nearly double its overall preseason production from the two previous games (160 total rushing yards in the first two games, 148 rushing yards Friday).

“Some of it was better and some of it … there’s certainly room for improvement.”

Two, the overall play of the offensive line. The Patriots’ offensive line appeared to struggle in pass protection the first two weeks, but had no issues Friday. Against one of the best defensive fronts in the NFL — the Panthers had 41 sacks last year, sixth-best in the league — the New England offensive line did not allow a single sack.

“I think that we showed some improvement from the previous week,” Belichick said of the offensive line play. “I think we still have a way to go, but we ran the ball with more consistency and that helped the passing game, like it usually does, when you create some kind of balance in your offense. It kept some of the third-down situations shorter and more manageable.

“I just thought overall we had a better balance and more consistency on offense, and certainly the line deserves credit for that.”

One thing that could bode well for the offensive line is the appearance that things have begun to stabilize at right tackle. One of the only spots on the offensive side of the football where there was a real position battle, it has become evident Nick Kaczur has secured the No. 1 spot, beating out Ryan O’Callaghan. Kaczur got the start Friday, and was with the starting offensive unit for all 48 snaps. Every successful offensive line needs to establish continuity, and if Kaczur settles in, the New England line could receive the boost of cohesiveness it needs to be successful.