Careless whispers

DARTMOUTH -- The Dartmouth football team has heard your complaints.

While the Indians were busy building a perfect 10-0 regular-season record last fall, the pundits screamed about the team's soft schedule, both inside and outside of the Old Colony League. While Jordan Todman was piling up his 2,219 rushing yards and scoring a Division 1-best 28 touchdowns, the critics surmised that he'd wilt against a quality opponent.

Predictably, they said, Dartmouth fell to Brockton in the first round of the playoffs.

What's conveniently glossed over is the fact that Dartmouth came within inches -- on multiple occasions -- of edging Brockton, and that Todman did not fade, unless piling up 195 yards on 26 carries and scoring a pair of touchdowns is your definition of failure.

Watch the video. After Brockton scored early in the fourth quarter to pull within a point, the Boxers brazenly elected to go for a 2-point conversion. The Indians had Vaughn Askew in their grasp before Brockton's junior quarterback was able to unload the ball to classmate Sharrief Hall on a reverse and the wide out sprinted to the far pylon with what proved to be the winning score.

Dartmouth even hada 30-yard field goal attempt with under 30 seconds to play that sailed wide preserving Brockton's victory.

But despite the fact that Dartmouth brings back much of its pure talent this fall, the pundits have already started up again. The whispers are the Indians won't breeze so easily in the OCL this year as Bridgewater-Raynham and Taunton have reloaded. Even if Dartmouth does capture the league title, they say, there's still no way they're getting past Brockton.

"Sure, we've got a lot of new guys, but I think we look pretty good," said junior tight end Artie Fontaine. "I think we can be better than last year."

Dartmouth, which climbed as high as No. 3 in last year's Globe top 20, debuts at No. 9 on this year's preseason rankings. But can this year's squad live up to Fontaine's hype and actually be better than a year ago?

Maybe the naysayers are skeptical because Dartmouth hasn't won the big game since 1984 (a 14-0 win over Foxboro capped a three-year stretch in which Dartmouth made the Division 3 title game each year and won twice). Or maybe it's because Dartmouth hasn't been to the big dance since 1995 (a 33-8 loss to Gloucester in the Division 3A game).

It doesn't matter. It's falling on deaf ears in Dartmouth. The Indians know they have the talent and they've set their sights on taking the next step in their progression.

The seniors won't have it any other way. Todman, the Globe's Division 1 Player of the Year, said he worked harder than ever this offseason because he wanted to be a leader and role model for a talented junior class that will play an even larger role on this year's squad.

"It's my senior year," said Todman. "This is big. I'm a captain. I can't be out here dragging or anything. Us seniors need to show these guys how it's done."

While coach Richard White admits that this team will, "go as (Todman) goes," he's also aware of how important the junior class will be this season. White was able to get many of them quality minutes as sophomores and eight of the team's 14 returning veterans are from that class.

Todman's exploits are well-documented. The Indians are hoping to get the ball into his hands in as many ways as possible, integrating him more into the passing attack to loosen up those nine-in-the-box defenses. Junior Sean Sylvia, who played wide receiver a year ago, has the ability to sling the ball around (with wide receivers Owen Higham and Justin Mello on the outside) or run the option with Todman.

Senior Ryan Andrew and junior Justin Cruz will anchor the line, but it's the 6-foot-5, 245-pound frame of junior tight end Fontaine that defenses will really have to be worried about. Already a prized recruit (Maryland and Duke among the interested), Fontaine is a punishing blocker on the edge, but also provides a big target down the middle of the field and he boasts deceiving speed.

Defensively, Fontaine will be the anchor on a line with plenty of turnover. Andrew and Cruz will lead the linebacking corps, while Todman and Sylvia shore up the secondary.

The Indians plan to sprinkle in a bit of a 4-2-5 look, where Todman will often be lined up more like an outside linebacker. During practice he looked sharp running sideline to sideline and using his speed to neutralize the offense's ball-carrier.

"We've never had a player like this before," White said of Todman, "one who is so important to our team... He's done a great job as a captain, especially in the locker room as a leader. He keeps everyone together. He has us all on the same page. I think it's his maturity. He's like a coach on the field now.

"He's obviously a huge part of our success. And while I'm not sure he can possibly top what he did last year, but maybe he can at least equal it."

The folks in Dartmouth know they've got big expectations to live up to, even if the critics want to find fault in what they've already accomplished.

The Indians know there's one surefire way to quiet them all: make it to the Super Bowl.

Chris Forsberg can be reached at cforsberg@boston.com