SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - One got the distinct feeling Wednesday that Laurence Maroney believes he was born for this moment.

Asked if the buildup to Super Bowl XLII was intimidating the Patriots' running back said, "It's definitely not. This whole week has been fun. I hope I get my opportunity to show the world that I can run the ball on this type of stage. There's no better stage.

"You know everybody in the world is going to be watching," he added. "This is a good game to set the foundation for the run game."

Maroney, speaking before a collection of reporters and cameramen during the media availability period at the team hotel, the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa, smiled broadly and appeared to be in the big-game spirit of things as he promised to put forth his best effort Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium against the New York Giants.

"The last five weeks I've been establishing myself in the run game and letting everyone know that I have some ability to run the ball in the NFL," the second-year veteran from Minnesota said. "I just want to continue it and make it better on this stage."

Maroney would seem to have the numbers to back up his bravado. After a sputtering start, three games missed through injury and a gradual period of reassertion, Maroney started piling up the yards in the last weeks of the regular season. He had 104 yards on 26 carries against the Jets and 156 on 14 totes against the Dolphins, then followed that with two 122-yard efforts in the playoffs, on 22 carries against Jacksonville and 25 against San Diego.

The only blip on the screen came in the middle of that - 19 carries for just 46 yards in the regular-season finale against the Giants Dec. 29 in the Meadowlands, although the bulk of those yards came late in the game to make the clock work in the Patriots' favor.

"They did a good job, as far as brining a safety down into the box," Patriots' offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said Wednesday. "They got some penetration in the backfield. That is something we always stress to our team, that you can't let anybody into the backfield. We have to let the runner get going, get him to the second level and let him try to break tackles, whether that be the secondary or the linebackers.

"We have to do a better job of making sure we have the line of scrimmage secure, which we didn't do a good job of in the first game," McDaniels added. "And, we have to avoid that penetration they got. Some of that was from blitzing and others were because they have good players that made good plays in that game. This is something we have been working really hard on the last two weeks, and hopefully it shows up in the game this time."

Maroney also pointed out that both tight ends, Benjamin Watson and Kyle Brady, were either limited in their snaps or missing altogether from that game through injury, thus ripping more than a few pages out of the Patriots' game plan. Also absent were the starting right-side linemen, Stephen Neal and Nick Kaczur, replaced by Russ Hochstein and Ryan O'Callaghan.

"It's kind of hard to run the ball without the tight ends," Maroney said. "They have a tough defense and they have two of the best defensive ends on the edge. Hopefully we'll be a little bit better. We have our tight ends back and we're a little bit fresher. Hopefully we can establish the run game against the Giants."

"You miss guys who have been starting for you all year," McDaniels said. "There is a difference. I thought Ryan and Russ played pretty well in that game. They did what we asked them to do, for the most part. They allowed us to do a lot in that game, because we also pass protected pretty well and threw the ball well.

"Hopefully those two guys, who have been starting most of the year, will have an impact in this game and play to the caliber that we feel like they are ready to play to, and then help us improve in the running game in the Super Bowl," he added.

Maroney excelled in short-yardage situations against the Giants, scoring on runs of 6 and 5 yards, which may be a sign that the coaching staff has more confidence in his ability to pick up tough yards in traffic. "It lets me know that they believe in me," he said, "and it allows me to get the ball down there when we're in the red zone. They have faith in me that I can punch the ball in. It lets me know that they believe and do have trust in me.

"That's all anybody can ask for, is an opportunity," he added.

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