Arch-Rival Rocket Blog Swap....

For the first time ever, we have arranged a blog swap with the bloggers at Let's Go Rockets, a UT blog.  We asked them the following 5 questions, and we answered five of theirs.  Here are their answers to our questions (note how civilized everyone was.  Can't we all get along?)


1. The Rockets are assured of at least a .500 season, which would be their first non-losing season after 4 straight losing seasons. What kind of a difference has Tim Beckman made at Toledo?

Coach Beckman has brought back the desire to compete. Competitions are held all year round and it has started to make an impact on the field. Mix that in with highly successful recruiting and a new training facility and you have a recipe for success.


2. You are playing a lot of young players. Looking back on the Amstutz years, was the problem talent, coaching, or both?

Amstutz did pretty well for a few years. The talent on those teams were able to shine, but as everyone in the MAC knows, if you drop a few years in the recruiting race, you’re bound to have a few bad years. Towards the end of his tenure, the play calling left a lot to be desired and translated to less success on the field and less talent in the pipeline.

3. Austin Dantin is injured and has been replaced by backup Terrance Owens who has a higher efficiency rating than Dantin did. Tell Falcon fans about what to expect from Owens.

Owens and Dantin competed all spring for the starting position. From what we’ve seen of Owens so far, he appears to be a little more accurate than Dantin, but Dantin is a more capable runner, when needed. Dantin has more experience in tight situations and that appears to be the biggest difference between the two right now (something that will be corrected, obviously, with time) Owens has a strong arm and is able/willing to take a few more shots down the field than Dantin. The offense has confidence in both the QBs, so we’d expect to see Owens become more comfortable and effective down the stretch.

4. The Rocket defense last season was a serious achilles heel. Discuss the improvement of this year's defense, and how far it has to go. Do you think that Beckman, as a defensive coach, is having any special influence?

Last season, the Rockets brought in a new defensive scheme and the personnel just couldn’t keep up. This season, aided by some returning starters who have stepped into the role of defensive leaders, the defense has enjoyed significant improvement which has allowed the offense more time to get into sync. That being said, the defense still has a ways to go before they shut opponents down -- probably one or two years away from really clicking on all cylinders. Beckman’s past defensive experience has definitely helped guide the Rockets in the right direction and get them on the path to success.

5. You have BG and CMU coming home. One win and you should be in a bowl. Any preferences?

That’s a tough one -- obviously, the rivalry with BGSU means that we’d always like to bag that W whenever we can, but after CMU being dominant the last few years, it’d be nice to get a little payback and show them how it feels to be on the other side of those outcomes. If we only get one of those, we’d have to take the BGSU win over a CMU win.