We've reached the halfway point of our season, and that means it is time for some reflection and self-evaluation. The team's performance, to date:
Code:
Record: 5-3
Winning Pct.: .625
Tucson Toros Team Rank
Rushes 244 15
Rushing Yards 960 18
Yards Per Carry 3.93 14 (T)
Pass Attempts 242 26
Completions 155 16 (T)
Passing Yards 1777 21
Yards Per Attempt 7.34 13
3rd Down Conversions 46.2 12 (T)
Points Per Game 21.0 16
Turnovers 5 1 (T)
Turnover Margin +2 12 (T)
Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 210 7
Rushing Yards 766 8
Yards Per Carry 3.64 9
Pass Attempts 277 21
Completions 151 15 (T)
Passing Yards 1713 10
Yards Per Attempt 6.18 4
3rd Down Conversions 40.3 10 (T)
Points Per Game 17.2 3 (T)
Turnovers 7 27 (T)
Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
4 Hogan QB 242 155 1777 7.34 13 4
**Team --- 242 155 1777 7.34 13 4
Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
42 Holliday RB 171 650 3.80 4
22 Bradley RB 57 277 4.85 1
**Team --- 244 960 3.93 5
Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
82 Torres TE 49 37 358 9.6 98 4
89 Armitage WR 59 30 374 12.4 40 4
80 Higginbotham WR 31 23 381 16.5 47 0
26 Jeffries FB 18 15 119 7.9 75 1
22 Bradley RB 19 11 83 7.5 39 1
87 Sheehy TE 17 9 115 12.7 28 0
88 Ramirez WR 11 8 82 10.2 16 1
42 Holliday RB 9 8 41 5.1 16 1
**Team --- 240 155 1777 11.4 394 13
Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
52 Wash ILB 48 18 0.0 1 0 5
58 Watford OLB 41 9 0.0 1 0 1
46 Bloch S 26 9 0.0 0 0 0
31 Enoch S 24 13 0.0 0 2 9
37 Rosenberry CB 24 2 0.0 0 1 8
70 Neubauer DT 24 14 0.5 4 0 0
90 Jarrard ILB 21 7 0.0 0 0 0
95 Stoltzfus DT 20 2 0.0 8 1 0
25 Minahan CB 20 10 0.0 0 0 1
32 Hartung S 17 6 0.0 0 0 4
96 Stansell DT 17 9 2.5 7 0 0
72 Bernard DE 16 11 1.5 2 0 0
29 McCloskey CB 15 6 0.0 0 0 0
55 Trujillo OLB 14 7 0.0 1 0 3
75 Grier DE 13 6 4.0 4 0 1
33 Mirer S 13 3 0.0 0 1 3
40 Biggs CB 10 2 0.0 0 0 9
**Team --- 403 139 10.0 35 6 44
We sit tied for 2nd in the division with a respectable 5-3 record. We're not too far off from where I thought we'd be at this stage - I envisioned us being either 5-3 or 6-2. However, in no scenario did I see us losing to Santa Cruz. That was simply unacceptable, and may prove costly down the road. If not for the steaming pile of poo my players called their "effort" in that game we'd be tied for 1st in our division. Alas.
The Offense
Offensively, our team has been pretty pedestrian this season. In part that is because of our problems with protection on the O-line, and in part it is due to a few individual performances that have been below expectation. Drew Holliday is one such culprit, who started off the season with a bang, but has been very ordinary since. His last game was downright pathetic. He'll have to step it up if we're to maintain any hopes for the postseason.
Sydney Armitage was brought in to inject some life into the passing game, but hasn't proven to be much more effective than the guy he replace (Carl Markey - who is inexplicably having a career year with Oregon). I expected nothing less than a 1000 yd season from him, but he's on pace to have just 750 yds receiving. Disappointing.
"Colonel" Hogan, however, has continued his solid performance from last year, and currently sports a QB Rating of 97.0. TE Anthony Torres has settled nicely into the starting role, and Demetrius Higginbotham has chipped in nicely as a secondary option in the passing game. But perhaps the most pleasantly surprising aspect of our offense has been our unwillingness to surrender the ball: just 5 turnovers committed so far this year, which is best in the league.
Grade: C+
The Defense
The "D" has been getting the job done in
almost every respect, and is a huge reason why we have a winning record. We're 9th in rushing ypc, 4th in passing ypa, and 3rd in points allowed. While it is hard to complain about that performance, it would be nice to see them improve on forcing turnovers and getting more pressure on the QB. Hopefully Stoltzfus will help in both regards.
I mentioned before that Keven Biggs is having a great season (when healthy), and it should be clear why: 9 PDs in just 4 games, only 6 completions allowed. Those 9 PDs tie him for the team lead with Mitchel Enoch, who also has 2 INTs to his credit. Grant Wash is our leading tackler at the moment, but that is only because SLB Joseph Watford has missed the last 3 games. Once we get him back, he'll probably reassert himself as the leader of the defense. Stoltzfus has begun to settle in, and while he has 8 pressures and an INT(!) he has no sacks to his credit yet. He is likely a big reason for the improvement in our run defense.
On the not-so-good side, DT Kenneth Neubauer signed a huge contract in the offseason, and has responded with predictably poor season. Ray Minahan has also been disappointing this year - he may not like how he's been yanked into and out of the starting lineup. Toughen up, wuss.
Grade: B+
The Special Teams
K Rubin Castorena is in serious jeopardy of getting cut in the offseason. He's barely made 50% of his kicks this year (11/20), and has missed several makable attempts this year, including a chip-shot 25 yarder that was blocked in his last game. He's never been great on kickoffs, so his main asset has been his ability to kick long field goals. However, if he can't even make the short ones I'm not sure he has any value whatsoever.
P Edward Winters has improved markedly from last year. His net average is up nearly four entire yards (42.6 vs. 38.8 last year), and he's continuing to drop a third of his punts inside the 20. The scouts think he might be capable of improving even more. We'll see, but I'm happy with him right now.
Primary punt returner Darryl Bradley has done well, sporting an 11 yard average on 9 returns. Kick returns, however, have been another story. We continue to struggle here, with primary returner Brent Garcia making several boneheaded decisions to take the ball out of the end zone (and do little in the process) and averaging just 21.8 yards per return. Mack Ramirez hasn't done any better at 21.1 ypr. I'd really like to improve this area of the team in the offseason.
Grade: C-
Overall Evaluation: B-
We've done okay this season, but we could be a lot better. We'll have to improve considerably on offense over the last half of the season to make any nosie come playoff time. I'm looking at you, Drew.