FOXBORO — The Patriots began life without Laurence on Wednesday.

Laurence Maroney, who was the closest thing the Patriots had to a traditional feature back for most of his tim in New England, was dealt to Denver on Tuesday for a fourth-round pick in 2011, bringing down the curtain on an eventful four-year run with the Patriots.

At his best, he brought a big-play capability to the New England backfield that few running backs could match. But his inconsistency, injury issues and a run of bad fumbles late in the 2009 season ultimately caused Bill Belichick to decide to “move on,” the coach said Wednesday morning.

“I have a lot of respect for Laurence,” Belichick said. “[He was] here for four years, worked hard. I think he improved a lot. Helped us a lot as a player. I think he would have helped us this year. I just felt like it was time to move on. I felt like we got good value on the trade. We made it in the best interest of the football team.

“I’m sure he’ll do well for Denver. I think he’s a good player, and I think he’ll work hard for them.”

Since the running back was taken in the first round out of Minnesota in 2006, Belichick and Maroney had built a relationship. Late last season, Maroney talked about the film sessions the two had, and the coach publicly backed the running back, even as it became clearer he was sliding down the depth chart.

“It’s tough any time you have to do that,” Belichick said of the decision to deal Maroney. “In the end, we try to do what we think is best for our football team.

“I think the conversation with Laurence was positive; I’ll leave it at that. I drafted him, brought him in here. I think he worked hard, tried hard, had a lot of production for us, but in the end we’re going in a different direction here.”

While there were other issues with Maroney, from a statistical standpoint, what may have ultimately finished him with the Patriots was an inability to convert in the red zone, according to Mike Tanier of Football Outsiders.

“He had a rep as a good goal-line runner — well, Maroney had 43 red zone carries last year, more than all the other [Patriots] backs combined. He scored nine touchdowns, but overall he was a below average red-zone runner,” Tanier said. “He was stopped three times in the red zone for no gain on 3rd and 1, lost fumbles at the two-yard line and 1-yard line. He had one series against the Jets were he needed three tries to punch it in; given three tries, any back is going to punch it in.

“Maroney reminds me of Herschel Walker. He has exceptional talent, and he’ll have a few plays where he’s the greatest force on the field. Then, he’ll go into his own little world and start falling down instead of pass blocking. I don’t think the Patriots will miss him much, but the Broncos may get a spark if Maroney comes in with a ‘something to prove’ mentality.”

Every positional grouping on the Patriots is a close-knit unit, and the running backs are no exception. Throughout the offseason, the group insisted on working out together, and away from the field, they’ve been known to break bread at each others’ house on several occasions. Veteran Kevin Faulk said he had a chance to speak with Maroney Tuesday night after the trade was announced, and said it was a difficult conversation.

“We’ve been together 4 1/2 years — of course I talked to him,” Faulk said. “I talked to him for about 30 or 40 minutes [Tuesday] night. Wished him the best of luck, and it was great playing with him. But he has a new chapter in his life right now, and he has to move on.

“No matter how long me and him have been together — no matter how long anyone of us in this locker room have been together — I’ll do the same thing. That’s just being a teammate. That’s being a good person.”

Faulk said Maroney sounded “confused” when the two spoke on Tuesday.

“Think about it. Put yourself in his shoes. You go to work and your boss tells you you’ve been traded or let go,” Faulk said. “It’s confusing, but at the same time, that’s life. You’ve got to move on. And he was a little confused, but at the same time, he knew he had a fresh start. He’s going somewhere where he’s familiar with the offense. He’s familiar with the coaches and stuff. So it’s a good situation for him.”

Going forward, the Patriots will not drastically change their offensive game plan, but will now rely on 34-year-olds Fred Taylor and Kevin Faulk, 33-year-old Sammy Morris, and 24-year-old BenJarvus Green-Ellis.

“The Patriots biggest issue in replacing Maroney is getting the snaps to replace him rather than the right back,” said Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus. “Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris and Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis are more effective ball carriers than Maroney, but have issues with injuries (Morris and Taylor) or fumbles (Green-Ellis).

“Considering the quality of the Patriots run blocking up front, his yards per carry average last year was poor overall and through each point of attack. He only averaged over five yards per carry through one point of attack (6.0 between the center and left guard) and averaged below four in four points of attack (3.4 off left end, 3.1 off left guard, 2.8 between center and right guard, 3.3 off right guard).

“The Patriots’ three remaining backs all averaged over four yards per carry. None are gamebreakers, but would appear to make better use of what the line gives them. If Kevin Faulk continues to see most snaps as expected as the third down/shotgun back, then these three backs will never need to be anything more than a foil to the passing game, so replacing Maroney’s hesitancy with a combination of these three should prove beneficial.”

While Taylor has clearly moved into the starting role — he finished with 71 yards in 14 carries on Sunday — and Morris will fill the role of backup, as well as acting as an occasional fullback, one player who will likely benefit from the boost in playing time is Green-Ellis.

Belichick said Wednesday that Green-Ellis has always been able to run the ball, but has made “big improvements” in other areas like the passing game and special teams.

“I think Benny has improved a lot. He was a good player when he got here,” Belichick said. “[He had] a couple thousand-yard seasons in the SEC – a very productive player, but he’s improved in the passing game. He’s improved in his blitz pickup. He could always run the ball and he can still run the ball. He gets a lot of positive yardage.

“But I think his big improvements have come in the passing game,” added Belichick. “There are not a lot of backs that are as good all-around players as he is. I think he brings a lot to our football team in both phases of the game.”