Some Fantasy Value at Toledo
Toledo scored 30 points or more in seven of their eight Mid-American Conference games. And the one time they did not was in week two before the offense was in full stride. This year the non-conference schedule is pretty brutal with trips to Ohio State and Syracuse surrounded by home games against New Hampshire and Boise State. Facing the Ohio State and Boise State defenses will not be good for any fantasy player. The problem with Toledo is their dual-quarterback situation. Both Austin Dantin and Terrance Owens are expected to take snaps for the Rockets and Coach Tim Beckman is not opposed to playing a situational quarterback game. That leaves both signal callers out of the fantasy realm in any league.
However, Dantin and Owens will throw to the same guy. Eric Page is one of the most talented players in the MAC and caught 99 passes for 1,105 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He is also a superb returner if you are in a league that rewards points for kickoff and punt returns. Page is constantly double teamed, but it does not matter. He was last year, he will be this year, but Dantin and Owens will still find him. A few more trips to the end zone and Page would be a top ten fantasy receiver. And with the slightly tougher non-conference schedule, Toledo may be forced to throw a little more often and that could benefit Page.
That will not benefit Adonis Thomas quite as much. However, the running back was second on the team in receiving, catching 31 passes for 372 yards. His ability to get involved in the passing game is an added bonus, but this offense will again go through Thomas on the ground. As a junior in 2010 he carried the ball 175 times for 1,063 yards and eight scores. At 5-10 and 185 pounds, Thomas is not really a goal line back and many of his would-be rushing touchdowns instead went to the 6-2, 200 pound dual-threat Dantin on quarterback sneaks or sweeps. However, as long as he stays healthy, Thomas is pretty much a lock to gain 1,000 yards again. If Toledo sticks to their game plan, he should get more carries this year and if he can again average over six yards every time he touches the ball, Thomas will be a steal in the middle rounds in most fantasy leagues.
Read the in-depth football preview for this team
