"Coach Josh McDaniels was direct in describing how he felt his running backs performed Sunday in the Broncos' season opener at Jacksonville.

"We felt like we left a lot of yards on the field in the running game," McDaniels said. "Either we blocked well and didn't see it exactly the way we needed to see it, or could have blocked it better."

McDaniels didn't say which of his two running backs he wanted more yards from, but Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter should have received a clear message Tuesday that more is expected after the Broncos acquired running back Laurence Maroney from the New England Patriots. The deal involved swapping late- round draft picks, with McDaniels sending a 2011 fourth-round pick to his mentor and former boss Bill Belichick and the Broncos getting the Pats' 2011 sixth-round selection.

It's possible that within a week or two, the Broncos will have a tailback rotation of Moreno and Maroney.

Maroney was the Patriots' first-round pick, No. 21 overall, in the 2006 draft. At the time, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan also coveted Maroney, who was a classic, one-cut, downhill zone runner at the University of Minnesota. Instead, Shanahan traded up from the No. 15 slot to No. 11 and selected quarterback Jay Cutler.

Strange how one decision can change All Things Broncos.

McDaniels was the Patriots' offensive coordinator and Maroney's coach from 2006-08. Maroney was the Pats' top rusher in 2006-07, but he has battled injuries and expectations pretty much from the time he joined New England and did not play Sunday in the Patriots' rout of Cincinnati.

It's unclear whether Maroney didn't play because of a thigh injury or because of demotion behind Fred Taylor and Kevin Faulk on the depth chart.

McDaniels has been looking for a No. 3 running back who could compete for the 1B role since the first day of training camp, when 1A back Moreno and 1B Buckhalter went down with injuries."