11-25-2016, 11:59 PM
In the end, it finished where it was predicted. Western was supposed to be the clear cut favorite, and they were. Toledo was supposed to be a close, but not quite close enough, and they were.
Pluses and Pleasant Surprises: Woodside's progress from two years ago, to this season was phenomenal. I saw the potential when he was on the road in Cincinnati, but he was still a rough. What an awesome season for him. The running backs all lived up to the hype. It is rare for a mid-major to have the quality of depth of Toledo. Roberts at tight end was a great surprise. He was supposed to be good, but he turned out to be a great weapon, and it had been awhile since Toledo had a consistent threat at tight end. The wide receivers made plays consistently. On defense, Woodley was tremendous. I can't imagine how horrid the defense would have been without him. Also, Swift was pretty solid. We may not know how great he was, because of how weak the front seven were.
Minuses/disappointments: The O-Line was underwhelming. Maybe there was too much of an expectation, because almost all of them returned from last year. Maybe we've been spoiled by recent O-lines. I'm not saying they were bad, but they never became dominant. The defensive line was underwhelming. Hester was solid, but the rest of line lacked much in terms of speed, athleticism, and overall effectiveness. They were there, but that was about it. I expected more out of Moore, and there were injuries at linebacker. In the end it was a defense that only really returned 2 starters from last year. However, it did make me wonder where the future playmakers were going to come from. I didn't really see anyone, who looked like future all MAC material.
On to bowl season. Hopefully Toledo draws a Sun Belt team, kicks the crap out of them, and then can recruit players who can play defense. Last season was the closest I have seen Toledo to actually having all around depth on defense. The numbers may not have always reflected it, but it was a unit with depth, speed and athleticism. Why is it so hard for Toledo to create an effective defense? It has been that way forever. Why do we suck against system teams, when we know what is coming? Had NIU been a smidge better, Toledo would have lost to the same system it had been losing to over that last several years.
Oh well, On to the next.
Pluses and Pleasant Surprises: Woodside's progress from two years ago, to this season was phenomenal. I saw the potential when he was on the road in Cincinnati, but he was still a rough. What an awesome season for him. The running backs all lived up to the hype. It is rare for a mid-major to have the quality of depth of Toledo. Roberts at tight end was a great surprise. He was supposed to be good, but he turned out to be a great weapon, and it had been awhile since Toledo had a consistent threat at tight end. The wide receivers made plays consistently. On defense, Woodley was tremendous. I can't imagine how horrid the defense would have been without him. Also, Swift was pretty solid. We may not know how great he was, because of how weak the front seven were.
Minuses/disappointments: The O-Line was underwhelming. Maybe there was too much of an expectation, because almost all of them returned from last year. Maybe we've been spoiled by recent O-lines. I'm not saying they were bad, but they never became dominant. The defensive line was underwhelming. Hester was solid, but the rest of line lacked much in terms of speed, athleticism, and overall effectiveness. They were there, but that was about it. I expected more out of Moore, and there were injuries at linebacker. In the end it was a defense that only really returned 2 starters from last year. However, it did make me wonder where the future playmakers were going to come from. I didn't really see anyone, who looked like future all MAC material.
On to bowl season. Hopefully Toledo draws a Sun Belt team, kicks the crap out of them, and then can recruit players who can play defense. Last season was the closest I have seen Toledo to actually having all around depth on defense. The numbers may not have always reflected it, but it was a unit with depth, speed and athleticism. Why is it so hard for Toledo to create an effective defense? It has been that way forever. Why do we suck against system teams, when we know what is coming? Had NIU been a smidge better, Toledo would have lost to the same system it had been losing to over that last several years.
Oh well, On to the next.