"Coach Bill Belichick offered a spirited defense of his team's starting running back yesterday, saying he has no problems with the way Laurence Maroney is producing.

During his weekly appearance on WEEI, Belichick said the issues with the running game should not be placed solely on Maroney's shoulders.

"Well, every player can improve, but Laurence has done a pretty good job running the ball for us," Belichick said. "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."

Maroney had 43 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries Sunday in London. He's averaging 4.3 yards per carry this season and had a 123-yard outburst in a home rout of Tennessee.

The Patriots, who did not practice yesterday, are 14th in the NFL with 115 yards rushing per game. Maroney's backfield mate, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, also struggled against Tampa Bay, gaining 6 yards on seven carries. The Pats threw some reverses and different looks at the hard-charging Buccaneers, but not because Maroney was faltering.

"There wasn't a whole lot of room to run," Belichick said. "We felt like the reverses and the play-actions would be able to take advantage of their aggressiveness in the running game. It wasn't more to take it off the running backs.""