Patriots head coach Bill Belichick gave a spirited defense of RB Laurence Maroney on his weekly radio show, saying that he has no problem with his leading rusher's performance to date. "Well, every player can improve, but Laurence has done a pretty good job running the ball for us," Belichick said on WEEI. "I really don't have a lot of problems with Laurence. What I'd like to see is for us to open bigger holes to create some space for these guys and allow them to run. … (Maroney) can do a better job, but we can block better and hopefully design more plays to create space and get some yards." The offensive line has not been consistently great this season, failing to dominate most opponents in the run game. Even the Buccaneers, who used an aggressive front, were able to stifle Maroney and BenJarvus Green-Ellis for the most part. Belichick's point on Maroney was clear: He's happy with what he has and wanted to send a direct message to the fans who are as hard on the running back as anyone on this team.

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