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FOXBORO - There's an undercurrent of uncertainty just lurking under the surface of all the dazzling productivity of the New England Patriots' offense.

The theme: What's the deal with Laurence Maroney?

The second-year veteran running back from Minnesota was a non-entity in the first half of last Sunday's game at Gillette Stadium against Philadelphia, not taking the field at all until the second half.

Once in the fray, Maroney gained 31 yards on 10 carries and scored a touchdown. But he posted only a 3.1-yard average per carry and was part of a 48-yard total output for the Patriots' rushing offense, one of its lowest of the year.

Asked where Maroney was in his first-half game plan last week, Patriots' coach Bill Belichick spoke only of the general result and not of the individual player. "We had the ball three times in the first half," Belichick said on Monday. "We took it down the field and scored three touchdowns every time. One of them got called back. We were in a proactive mode, we were moving the ball, so we stayed with it."

Kevin Faulk spent most of the first half in the backfield, primarily as another receiver in the Patriots' spread offense. But he may not be able to repeat that role this week; Faulk has missed practice all week with a thigh injury, leading many to believe that the Patriots will have no choice but to hook their wagon to Maroney this Monday night in Baltimore (8:30 p.m.; ESPN, Ch. 5) if they want any sort of ground game.

Maroney echoed the company line, saying that his first-half inactivity was dictated by the game plan and the defensive alignment the Eagles had on the field.

"We all practice the same plays, but Kevin is our passing guy," Maroney said. "He's that situation part of the team. Kevin is the passing running back. When we're in that passing formation like that I'm in some of them, he's in some of them, but Kevin is the guy.

"It's just like saying, 'I'm the running guy and if I'm healthy they're going to use me to run the ball.' That doesn't mean Kevin can't run the ball because we all know Kevin can run the ball. But Laurence is the running guy, Kevin the passing guy and we know the roles," he said.

Still, it sounded as if Maroney was just as surprised to be totally ignored in the first half as other observers were.

"I don't know what happened," he said. "I was just over there pacing and being ready for whenever they do call me."

Maroney dismissed notions that he sat out the first half as a result of some sort of disciplinary action.

"Uh-uh. Most definitely not," he said. "Why would I be disciplined? I'm not a bad guy. I don't do things to get them mad at me or discipline me. I wouldn't give them a reason to."

Maroney has 467 yards on 105 carries and two touchdowns this season. He has been hampered by a series of minor injuries - the latest being a foot injury that removed him from the mix in the second half of the Buffalo game. But it was not seen as a serious injury, and Maroney's presence was not needed in the second half of a blowout win. Even so, he has yet to confirm that he was the right man to replace the productivity that Corey Dillon provided in the past. The Patriots' offense has become heavily slanted toward the pass - a league-leading 310.2 yards per game toward the league-leading 434.5-yard average for total offense.

The Patriots' rushing game still checks in at seventh overall at 124.2 yards per game, but as the weather turns colder, it's suggested that the team could use more productivity there.

"The weather is still all right for the passing game to show off their thing," Maroney said. "Be ready, that's my whole thing for the last couple of games. Be ready for whatever they ask you to do and then go do it."

But the fact that Maroney hasn't done it yet raises questions in a lot of minds whether he is indeed ready to assume a larger role - or capable of it.

He admits to some disappointment over the numbers he has posted in his second year, including a rushing total that's almost 150 yards fewer than after 11 games last season.

"It's different," Maroney said. "I envisioned I wouldn't play that much last year and I played more than what I thought. You never know what the deal is, but I learned from Corey to be patient."

Patience goes both ways, to an extent. Belichick has appeared to be patient with his running back because the need to post big numbers just hasn't been there.

"It is what it is," Maroney said, borrowing his coach's favorite saying. "I'd like to do a lot of things more, but it ain't needed for me right now. Like I say all the time, my time is coming."

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com