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Laurence Maroney Hoping ‘Rough’ Hairstyle Translates Into Aggressive Running Game

FOXBORO, Mass. – Laurence Maroney has sported some — well — interesting hair styles during a couple of the team's training 2010 camp practices.

The dreadlocked Patriots running back has showcased a pigtailed do, most recently during Friday morning's walkthrough, which hasn’t exactly drawn rave reviews.

After Friday morning's practice, Maroney dropped the hair down, ponytail style, and said he thought that was a better look for him

"This is probably going to be my new style for the year — rough," Maroney said. "It's my statement. Rough, that’s how I've got to be on the field, rough. I can't go out there being all pretty because then you're all going to say I'm dancing, tap shoes."

Standing just a few feet away from fellow running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Maroney was also asked who had the better dreads.

"Mine is longer," Maroney said. "His probably looks better at this particular time period because he had his done before camp, and I didn’t feel like getting it done because this is camp. I didn’t want any part in trying to look pretty for camp."

Anyway, the Patriots probably wouldn’t care if Maroney showed up looking like Carrot Top or Marge Simpson, so long as he improves upon last season's rushing output. Maroney totaled 757 yards and nine touchdowns, and he also had the best six-game stretch of his career, when he tallied 420 yards and eight touchdowns.

However, Maroney succumbed to a fumbling epidemic midway through the season that landed him on the bench. While he took a lot of steps in the right direction, he also found a way to move backward, and he enters 2010 with as many question marks as ever — none of which truly involve his hair.

"I felt like I ran the ball harder than I ever ran it last year," said Maroney, who is entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. "I felt comfortable running the way I ran last year. I had some good success in games running the way I ran last year. It's basically taking what I did last year and taking it to this year and improving on it."