SB Nation - Michael Crabtree

Why It's Not the System

Seth C — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:00:32 -0000

by Mike Fuentes - AP

2 months ago: Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach talks with his team in the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M in Lubbock, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)

View full size photo »

I'm not sure why this hasn't been written or maybe it has and I just haven't read it: It's not the system.

While eating dinner with my wife last night I realized or figured out or finally put two and two together that it's not the system. I'm guessing that my brain was subconsciously mulling this concept over while I was ignoring the Heisman Ceremony last week. In any event, I thought back to last year's supposed Heisman snub as both Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree couldn't even get as much as an invite despite having incredible careers that may not have been deserving of a Heisman Trophy, but at the very least a Heisman invite. I've moved passed any resentment that I might have had and the truth of the matter is that it's really the uninformed Heisman voters, some of whom admitted that they didn't even watch some of the Heisman candidates. As a personal aside, this is the same moral dilemma that I have when voting in the BlogPoll, which I started to do at the beginning of the season, but I quickly realized that I wasn't watching enough games to truly be informed. I could watch some scores and see some highlights, but I could never vote with a good conscious if I knew that I had watched one game that weekend, that game being the Red Raiders.

In any event, I started thinking about Harrell and Crabtree's careers and how truly spectacular each of their individual and team accomplishments last year actually were. When the question of whether or not Harrell or Crabtree were even worthy of Heisman consideration last year, there were many that thought that they weren't worthy because they were merely products of the system. I wish I could go back and find those thoughts (I believe there is sufficient interwebs evidence that would point to this general perception) and it's easy to say that Harrell and Crabtree's success was not a matter of their mental or physical talents, but rather some goofy little system that that lovable and quotable Mike Leach scratched out on some notebook paper and told both of them to just go out and play.

If there was ever a year that Texas Tech fans all need to ingrain in your memories, it is the year of 2009, where the Red Raiders did still have offensive success (the second best passing offense in the country and the seventh best offense in the country), but to those that watched the games closely, it just wasn't the same.

About a year and a half ago, I had just finished up reading Malcolm Gladwell's Blink and I was truly inspired. Inspired so much as to write up what I thought was a fantastic post about Blink, and in particular, rapid cognition, i.e. the ability to make correct decisions in a very short period of time and how this related to quarterback play (I apologize for the video no longer working, it's not my fault). For those of you too lazy to click on over (you should, because I spent a lot of time writing that post and I think it's good) there are three main tenants that I took from the book:

When talking about rapid cognition, experience may be the biggest reason for success, however, like anything else in life, that experience can fail you.

Sometimes experiences and circumstances can keep you from making what are typically good decisions.

Sometimes you can succeed more because you know less about your opponent, i.e. knowing too much information can impair understanding.

I could write and talk for hours about how I thought, and still think for the most part, that Gladwell thoughts regarding success of a player is highly dependent upon the repetition and physical ability that any certain player has. In fact, I think if you were to corner Leach prior to the season about his decision regarding Potts, I think he'd tell you that Sheffield, despite being a huge part of the program, that he didn't have the repetitions in the offense in order to be successful. It was no secret that Leach had been grooming Potts for the past three years to be Harrell's eventual successor and despite the fact that Sheffield having somewhat limited repetitions in practices, due to the fact that he was a walk-on, that he was playing better than Potts, which was on full display during the spring game. And this may be something to write about in another post, but Sheffield's ability to essentially take Leach's formula, repetition, repetition, repetition and more repetition (if you haven't read Hal Mumme's practice plan, then you need to do so to realize how true the fact that repetition is important to Leach and the Air Raid offense) and perform at a very high level is something that Leach hasn't experienced thus far in his coaching career. To say that Sheffield was an anomaly is an understatement. If Sheffield is given the reins next year, you might say that Sheffield's ability to recognize defenses without the hundred and hundreds of repetitions would make Sheffield a Leach-offense prodigy (again, this is probably a great off-season post).

This is the delicate balance in those three items listed above and to get back to the original point of this post, it's that 2008 was a culmination of those three factors from Blink coming together for Harrell and Crabtree (I do think it's humorous to look back what I wrote about Harrell in reviewing those Rice highlights, "In the Rice video, Harrell cannot throw off of his back foot. It's a disaster waiting to happen for any quarterback." Sound familiar?). As stated above, despite still being successful in 2009, it wasn't the same.

Perhaps Texas Tech fans are a bit spoiled, especially after what Harrell and Crabtree did in 2008, but maybe more than that I hope that writers, bloggers, and television commentators realize that the "system" is more than the system. Harrell wasn't blessed with a wicked arm or the ability to make every throw, but what he did have and what I think he perfected, was the ability to make very quick decisions and those decisions were right, especially in 2008, at an incredibly high rate. And for those that discount what Crabtree did on an almost every game basis for two years straight is undermining what an absolutely exceptional player and maybe even once in a generation type of player he actually was. Both gentlemen had physical gifts, but it was Harrell's ability to make accurate throws, but even more than that make very quick decisions that made him successful, and as much as Crabtree was a physically dominant receiver, Leach has always maintained that Crabtree's recognition of space on the field was unmatched by any player he's ever coached.

Texas Tech fans can sometimes get caught in their own webs of whether to credit or blame the system. Was Crabtree a product of the system? Sure, he was, but being the product of a system and being a productive NFL player (at least thus far) are two completely separate questions. Was Harrell a product of the system? Again, yes, but it was probably those physical limitations that made it difficult for him to spend any real time in the NFL. Were Crabtree and Harrell in the same system? Again yes, each did things the other could not do and made the whole thing work and sometimes, credit needs to go to the incredible athletic and mental abilities of both.

Now we bring ourselves full-circle and we ask ourselves, where is Potts in this equation. I know that some Texas Tech fans will not go to games or support the team or support the player if Potts continues to start. Fine, whatever, you're entitled to your opinion and the right to support or not support the team, but I think the tough part, the part that none of us get to see is that Leach has probably always, and I mean always based his decision on those hundreds and hundreds of repetitions that a player takes during practice on who he thinks should start. Despite what we're seeing this year, Potts' performance during those three years he practiced the system, he was probably outstanding and the repetitions warranted him being the starter in 2009.

But things changed when the lights went on and the opponents were live.

If it was the system, then Potts would have been an All-American with 5,000 yards passing, 50 touchdowns and 10 interceptions because Mike Leach's system would have dictated that every quarterback be as successful as the last quarterback.

Again, this is something that Leach was truly unfamiliar with from the standpoint that his quarterbacks had almost always overcome those mistakes with stellar performances because of Leach's reliance on repetition in practice. Potts may be the exception to the rule and that's your problem with the quarterback position. Leach's system is nothing more than Leach trusting his eyes, and he did trust his eyes leading up to 2009, but the problem was that Potts' performance didn't match the repetitions he had in 3 years of practice. Meanwhile, Sheffield's lack of repetition in practice didn't match what Leach could have dreamed about in terms of production on the field.

And Texas Tech's 2008 and 2009 seasons are why either giving credit to or discrediting the "system" is not fair, either for writers, bloggers or fans . . . because it's just not true. Sometimes it's the player and sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not as good as other years.

As I read this past, I realize that it's a rambling mess. For those of you who were able to stick through this entire post, thanks a ton.

Random Big 12 Conference Thoughts

Beergut — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:17:27 -0000

Anyone else still get the feeling that texas hasn't been tested yet? I don't understand the media contention that their offense is getting 'untracked' when they can't break 300 yards of total offense against Oklahoma State.
Nebraska's offense is doing a terrific job of wasting a great defense this season. I haven't watched them enough to know what all of their issues are, but you'd thnk with a defense like they have, they'd be able to just line it up and run power at the opposing defense all day, and they'd score enough to win games with that defense. Maybe their issue is on the offensive line....?
If Kansas State ends up winning the Big 12 North, there are going to be a lot of reporters who look stupid. Remember the guy who asked Bill Snyder if the task of rebuilding the Wildcat program was so huge, it might kill him?
The texas-Oklahoma State game felt a lot like the 2005 Tech-texas game. You had a highly ranked texas team facing an upstart that thought it was ready to compete with the big boys; just like in '05, the upstart found out quickly it didn't belong on the same field. The good news for OSU is that '05 Tech team used that experience to propel them to an 11-win season in 2008. The bad news for State is that their version of Michael Crabtree, WR Dez Bryant, probably won't be around next season to help State take that next step.

Missouri's performance against Colorado may have saved their season; they were beginning to approach the point of no-return as a team. They stepped back from the ledge and earned a nice, solid blowout victory over the Buffaloes, on the road.
A&M has always struggled in Boulder; hopefully we can break that streak this year.
Watching the replays of Big Ten games on the Big Ten Network has me convinced we need a similar network for the Big 12, if only to show the games that are not televised during the weekend.
Of course, if we had a Big 12 Network, I'm sure we'd get complaints from Big 12 North fans that there is too much programming involving Texas schools on it.
If Kansas State wins the Big 12 North, I wonder if that will be enough to get Bill Snyder national coach of the year recognition?
Judging by fan reactions in Waco, Art Briles' team may have taken a step back from where they were last season. Losing Robert Griffin to injury was a big hit, but they should still be able to play some solid football, even without him. Perhaps Baylor is just showing how much Griffin covered up their other deficiencies?
Now featuring a defense that can't stop the run, Kansas needs to hope they can beat Nebraska in two weeks just to become bowl eligible. This is quite a step down for a team expected to contend, if not outright win, the Big 12 North.
Texas Tech now has two weeks to listen to their 'fat little girlfriends' tell them how terrific they are for beating Kansas before they face Oklahoma State on the road. We'll see if Leach can keep their attention this time.
If this season has proven anything, it is that yes, even a 7-11 clerk can pile up yardage in Texas Tech's Air Raid offense. What it has also proven, though, is that it takes more than a 7-11 clerk to win with that offense. With a constantly changing offensive line failing to gel, scholarship quarterbacks Taylor Potts and Seth Doege have looked like 7-11 clerks trying to run a college offense at times.
Jerrod Johnson is only two TD passes away from breaking his own school record for TD passes in a season, which he set last season with 21.

Twisting, Turning Road Brings Cobbs to Texas (Updated)

GhostofBigRoy — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:15:19 -0000

Finally, good news!

It seems like forever since the Longhorns actually landed a player in the 2010 class -- in fact, it has been more than seven months since Reggie Wilson decided to come to Texas. Since then, the Longhorns lost two commitments, from Ross Apo and Ahmad Dixon, and have fallen out of the race for the services of Darius White, though, on the positive side, Texas still has a strong chance with Jordan Hicks and Jackson Jeffcoat. The overriding point is that since the Longhorns receive so many commitments around the Junior Days in February, the recruiting class is essentially done shortly after it starts, leaving little in the way of positive news for the greater part of a year leading up to Signing Day.

The nearly complete and total lack of success in recent years in landing late commitments from elite players makes the commitment of DeMarco Cobbs, an athlete from Tulsa Central and the top-ranked player in the state of Oklahoma, all the more unexpected and surprising. Given that he got back in contact with the Texas staff, it doesn't mean that Mack Brown and company have finally found that elusive strategy that will suddenly result in elite players flocking to Texas near the end of the recruiting process -- if anything, the circumstances show just how much of an anomaly Cobbs' decision is, enough of one for Rivals to turn it "bizzare" on the front page of Orangebloods. In fact, Jeff Howe points out ($) that Cobbs is the latest big-time commitment for Texas since Roy Miller in 2005 and the first player from Oklahoma to commit to Texas since Brian Pickryl in 2002.

How exactly did Cobbs end up choosing to commit to Texas after committing to Tennessee back in September, seemingly ending his recruitment after seriously considering the Longhorns early in the process?

The twisting, turning Cobbs timeline

November 2008: Cobbs, visiting Austin for the Thanksgiving day game against Texas A&M, tries to give his verbal commitment ($) to the Texas staff shortly after visiting, but the coaches tell him that they don't offer players or accept commitments until after the 2009 class signs. However, Mack Brown and company do indicate to Cobbs that he is approved for a scholarship offer. Shortly before his visit, Cobbs indicates that he has been a Texas fan for much of his life ($):

Texas was a big surprise. I was happy when I heard from them. When I was younger, I always wanted to play for the Longhorns. I'd always play with them on video games, and I watched Vince Young and Cedric Benson play.

December 2008: In an interview with Orangebloods ($), Cobbs says that he has "always just loved Texas," and that he plans to attend a Junior Day.
Janurary 2009: After receiving national interest from programs like Alabama and LSU, Cobbs decides to open up his recruitment ($), saying that he wants to give every interested school a shot. Cobbs also unofficially visits Oklahoma State and the Rivals site for the Cowboys ($) reveals that his nickname is "Booby" and Cobbs once again says that he always planned on playing for Texas growing up. Late in the month, Cobbs says that he plans on waiting until close to Signing Day ($) to make a decision.
February 2009: SoonerScoop names Cobbs Mr. Oklahoma ($) for the class of 2010. Cobbs receives his Texas offer in the mail ($) early in the month and says that he plans on making the first Junior Day, while speaking again about how wide receivers like Limas Sweed, Roy Williams, and Quan Cosby helped Texas gain his attention. For the first time, Cobbs' ride falls through ($) and he can't make it to campus for the Junior Day at the beginning of the month, as his head coach has other obligations in his new role as athletic director. His coach does, however, report that Cobbs says that "We're going to be really good," when referring to Texas. For the second time, Cobbs can't make it down to the second Junior Day because of his coaches obligations as athletic director. Meanwhile, by the end of the month, Texas has 19 commitments, including four wide receivers and another player in Adrian Phillips who could get a look at that position. For the first time, the numbers begin to become a concern.
March 2009: Despite not making it down to Austin for either Junior Day, which begins to raise some credibility issues for Cobbs and questions about how much he really likes the Longhorns, he does call Texas his "dream school."
March to May 2009: Cobbs begins to fall off the Texas recruiting radar and loses contact with the coaching staff. In late April, Cobbs reports more than 30 offers from all over the country and names five of his top 10 schools ($) -- Oklahoma, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, and LSU. In May, Cobbs says the Texas coaches have seemingly "dropped me," and that he has not been in contact ($) with them for some time -- the Texas coaches simply haven't called. He insists that he is still interested in the Longhorns despite naming a top 10 that does not feature Texas at all, instead adding Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, USC, and Arizona to the other five teams on his list. A USC coach visits Cobbs in Tulsa ($) and he makes plans to attend the Rising Stars camp, while saying that USC may be his favorite. At the end of the month, Cobbs puts in a call to Bruce Chambers ($), who tells Cobbs that the Texas coaching staff believed he wasn't interested in the Longhorns any more. Cobbs says that they are now "on the same page" amd plans on attending a summer camp if he can make it.
June 2009: Cobbs firms up plans ($) to make it down to Austin for the end of the three-day overnight camp from June 14-17. He says that Texas is "definitely back in the mix." Once again, Cobbs fails to make it down to Austin, saying that he failed to get the proper identification to board the plane. It seems that Cobbs has now fallen off the Texas radar as his excuses for not making it to Austin begin to ring hollow. At the end of the month, Cobbs does make it out to Los Angeles to participate in the USC Rising Stars camp ($), where he struggles at time to get separation from a good group of defensive backs.
July 2009: Cobbs trims his list ($) to six -- Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Florida. His interest grows in Tennessee, but a trip to a camp at Alabama ($) impresses him greatly.
August 2009: After spending the weekend in Knoxville ($), Cobbs cites the success of players from Oklahoma at Tennessee as a major reason the Volunteers are now one of his favorites. By the end of the month, Tennessee is his leader ($).
September 2009: Cobbs commits to Tennessee ($), saying that he feels the pro-style offense there and the NFL experience of many members of the coaching staff will prepare him for the next level, while indicating that he is also happy to end the "hectic" recruiting process.
October 2009: Cobbs begins to have second thoughts about his commitment to the Volunteers and decides to re-establish contact with Bruce Chambers. Texas receives his senior film and expresses their continued interest in Cobbs, staying on contact for most of the month until Cobbs decides on October 29 that he wants to become a Longhorn, seemingly ending a process that saw him attempt to commit to Texas early, completely lose contact with the coaching staff, commit to Tennessee, then finally end up committing to Texas.

How firm is his commitment?

Any recruit who changes their mind several times begins to raise issues of trustworthiness. Given Cobbs' history of failing to make it to Austin, Cobbs might seem even less trustworthy than most. The overriding factor that makes his commitment to the Longhorns seem genuine is his long-time love for the Longhorns. In fact, it was probably miscommunciation between Cobbs and the coaching staff that led him to drop Texas in the first place and an unfortunate situation with his high school coach that kept him from making the first two Junior Days, though his absence in June is much harder to explain.

The other good news is that, unlike Ahmad Dixon, Cobbs actually called the Tennessee coaching staff after switching his commitment, handling that business with great maturity. Add to it the fact that Cobbs is reportedly a genuine kid and Texas fans should have confidence that he will sign with the Longhorns next February. This is also not a case of the coaching staff continuing to pursue a committed player -- Cobbs re-established the contact after wavering on his commitment to Tennessee, as he began to think more and more about being so far away from home.

Cobbs had this to say about his decision:

In the beginning, Texas was where I wanted to be. I just felt like it wasn't too far from home, Texas was always my dream school. I'm pretty solid with that commitment. I don't plan on changing my mind. You can't go wrong with that decision. I'm pretty excited about it.

I just went ahead and got it over with. Now I'm a Longhorn. I'm not going to change my mind. Now I'm a Longhorn and that's where I'm going to college.

Who wouldn't want to be a part of a winning program? It's just a great place to be, a great place to go to school and a great place to live. Texas has been in my heart ever since I was little. That's where I wanted to be and I'm glad I got that opportunity.

The comment about being "pretty solid" with his commitment may raise some concerns, but the fact of the matter is that there is every reason to believe that Cobbs does really want to be a Longhorn -- he called Texas his "dream school" so many times during the early part of the recruiting process and spoke so often about the Longhorns being his favorite growing up that there is little reason to doubt his sincerity right now. There's also the fact that Texas fans have plenty of other, more pressing things to worry about than Cobbs de-committing, like the game in Stillwater Saturday evening.

What position will he play?

At 6-1 and rougly 200 pounds, Cobbs is listed as the ninth-best athlete in the 2010 class by Rivals and has the ability to play several positions in college, the foremost being wide receiver. A quarterback for his Tulsa Central team, Cobbs also plays defense and could play safety or even outside linebacker in college. With his excellent feet and explosiveness, running back is another, though much more far-fetched, possibility -- it seems unlikely since the Longhorns alreadly have two other big running backs from the 2009 and 2010 classes -- Chris Whaley and Traylon Shead. Given the similarities, it doesn't make much sense for Cobbs to play running back in Austin, though his ability to make plays with the ball in his hands opens up a variety of possibilities for his use in the Texas offense. Possibilities as varied as Greg Davis' creativity will allow. So yeah, there's probably not a great chance of much creative stuff.

As for a personal preference, Cobbs understands that quarterback will not be his position in college, but still desires to have the ball in his hands, making wide receiver his first choice. Since the Texas coaching staff asks incoming players what position they want to play and attempts to accommodate those wishes, it's probably safe to say that Cobbs will start out as a wide receiver at Texas, though he could be an incredibly physically imposing presence at the safety position. Cobbs did say after his commitment that the coaching staff hasn't decided where they would prefer him to play.

[Update]: Just a few thoughts on Cobbs as a wide receiver. Rivals ranked him as the third-best athlete ($) at the Gridiron Kings event in Florida this spring, saying that Cobbs is a strong athlete, but "isn't a natural wide receiver." The concerns about his future at receiver stem from his route-running ability ($), which is certainly raw, but also his hands -- apparently he had some trouble consistently catching the ball at the event. The scouting report by ESPN ($), on the other hand, cites his ball skills as a strength and another observer at the Gridiron Kings event came away impressed ($) with his ability to get off of press coverage and "outbody" defenders for the football. Cobbs did score four touchdowns at the event, mostly from the slot, showing his ability to make plays in an extremely competitive environment and an observer at the Oklahoma camp ($) called him "smooth" at the receiver position. And, despite his struggles at times ($) when he attended the Rising Stars camp, the review of his performance began by saying "If you had the ability to create the perfect receiver, Cobbs would be the end result," while also citing his incredible potential.

All in all, Cobbs is physically ready for college football, as he will not need much time in the weight room to contribute -- in fact, he might be better served maximizing his speed at this time. By most accounts, Cobbs is still raw, but has the athletic ability to become an exceptional wide receiver and should be able to use that strength to fight off defenders and go up and get the football. However, given his less-than-stellar vertical, catching jump balls may not ever be his strength. If Cobbs can become a good route runner, there's no reason why he can't succeed playing wide receiver at Texas.

Also, a couple of other numbers on Cobbs -- his Scout page ($) reports a 10.62 100m time and a 32-inch vertical, while benching 305 pounds and squatting 400.

[end Update]

Here is his high school film:

Demarco Cobbs Junior Highlight Film (via goose7856)

The quality is terrible on that YouTube video, but the same film can also be found at Inside Texas (I believe it is free).

Just how athletic is Cobbs?

Watching the available film on Cobbs, two main comparisons jump out. The first one is Michael Crabtree because of his excellent feet, ability to jump cut, vision, and pure physicality -- this is the comparison many scouts have made. The second one is John Chiles, as both appear to have roughly the same explosiveness in high school and both played the quarterback position for their respective schools. Watching their film back-to-back, Chiles may have the slightest of edges in pure speed, but Cobbs in high school looks faster than Chiles in college.

The bottom line is that Cobbs looks extremely impressive on film and appears to be the type of player who could excel in the short passing game at Texas and become a major threat on stop patterns, hitches, but particularly in the screen game -- he has top-notch feet for a wide receiver and elite vision for the position, the same skills that lead to speculation about him being able to play running back.

The biggest concern about Cobbs is how well he tested at the Army All-American combine back in January, where he posted a 4.76 40, a shuttle time of 4.60, and a vertical of only 26 inches. Several things are important to note about those times: 1) the track at the combine is notoriously slow, as only seven players posted sub-4.5 times at the entire event, and 2) his high school coach said that it may have been the first time that Cobbs ever ran a timed 40.

To the first point, the Temple running back ran a 4.50 flat at the event and his speed is relatively unquestioned -- he would probably shave a tenth of a second of that time on a better track, with some reports stating that he has been timed in the 4.3s -- those reports are probably pretty unreliable, but the overriding point stands. Kyle Prater, the second-ranked prospect nationally and the top-rated wide receiver, ran a 4.70 at the event, but his Rivals page lists a 4.56 40 as his best time. As for the vertical, the Temple running back tied for the best result at the combine, posting a leap of 36.5 inches. Watching film, it's probably safe to say that Cobbs is a legit 4.5 guy, thought it's hard to say if that's closer to 4.50 or 4.59.

To the second point, Cobbs' high school coach Corey Russell had a variety of explanations ($) for why his star player did not turn in an impressive time at the event -- he didn't start well, have the right shoes, or even the proper technique for starting well. Cobbs had to borrow a pair of shoes from a fellow attendee after falling on his first attempt and Russell said that they work on stance and starts at Central, but place little emphasis on running the 40.

Final thoughts

Ultimately, 40-yard dash times simply don't matter that much on the football field. Al Davis famously falls in love with fast wide receivers who have one major problem -- they aren't really wide receivers, just extremely fast dudes playing football. The best tool for evaluation, then, is film. And Cobbs passes that test with flying colors -- he is clearly an exceptionally talented football player.

Because of that, he represents an excellent pick up for the Longhorns and though he may need to conintue working on his first-step explosiveness and avoid whatever program Mad Dog has had John Chiles on at Texas, there can be little doubt that Cobbs is an excellent addition to the 2010 Texas recruiting class and has a strong chance of being a big contributor on the field, whether he ends up on offense or defense. And, perhaps just as importantly, Texas fans finally have another commitment to help them feel better about the 2010 class, which now may be the best in the country. Rejoice, Longhorn recruitniks!

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 10.28.09

Seth C — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:22:29 -0000

Taking Blame, I: It seems as if there's some questions as to whether or not Captain Mike Leach took any blame for the loss and in his post-game press conference (pdf) he put the blame of the loss squarely on the staff and last night, Leach talked with the sportacular NewsChannel 11's Pete Christy where Leach again blamed the staff (the video is after the jump) for not getting through the players ready for the game. Leach has plenty of faults, and to be quite honest, there isn't a coach alive who is perfect. I would imagine that Florida fans or Texas fans are critical of their coaches as well, but to say that Leach is not taking responsibility for last week's loss is simply inaccurate.

Taking Blame, II: LAJ's Don Williams (there is a video that starts when you click on the page, so turn down your speakers) talked with DC Ruffin McNeill who also takes responsibility for the loss and readily accepts blame from the defensive side of the ball:

"I tell you what’s frustrating is when I feel like I let coach (Mike) Leach down. That’s frustrating to me. That’s the first person I don’t want to let down is coach Leach. I take full responsibility for one-third of this whole deal, and I didn’t uphold my one-third. The biggest thing is I let coach Leach down and the staff and the kids.’’

That's fairly telling, but McNeill remains optimistic:

"We just have to learn from this game as a player and as a coach,’’ McNeill said. "Learn from history. We can’t do it over, but we can learn from it. I tell you what, today was one of the best Tuesday practices we’ve had, to be honest. We haven’t had any bad practices. We didn’t have bad practices last week, really. We had good practices every day, but it was a good practice today. So the kids have bounced back and so have we.’’

LB Bront Bird says that the team just didn't do what they were supposed to do on so many levels:

"We did everything you’re not supposed to do,’’ Bird said. "We didn’t have low pads. We didn’t use our hands well. We didn’t get off blocks. That hurt us. A&M played a wonderful game, and we didn’t rise to the challenge.’’

Again, this staff is accepting responsibility and the players are accepting responsibility. And I'm also going to assume that taking responsibility is fine, but we also want McNeill to show me the baby.

Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams has an injury update and it appears that S Will Ford and S Brett Dewhurst are still not practicing. Both Ford and Dewhurst have been really good this year and not having them against Kansas will be tough.

Torres Big Play: DT's Adam Coleman features WR Alexander Torres, who is making his mark on opposing defenses and his teammates. WR coach Simmons loves what Torres brings to the team:

"I love having guys that you can depend on," Simmons said. "In college coaching, really our job is no different than a manager at any fast food restaurant. You’re gonna depend on 18-19-and 20-year-old guys for your livelihood, to make your living. When you got guys like him that you can count on, it makes life a lot easier from our standpoint."

And Captain Leach believes that Torres is the most consistent receiver on the team:

"Most consistent receiver we have right now, most consistent receiver we have," Tech coach Mike Leach said. "We have several guys doing some good things, but if we were to say who is our best receiver, right now it is Alex Torres."

Mangino - Lighten Up On Leach: KansasCity.com's Brady McCollough writes that Kansas Jayhawks coach Mark Mangino comes to the defense in his former colleague, Mike Leach, as Leach is being criticized for his comments yesterday:

"There’s pretty girls everywhere," KU coach Mark Mangino said. "Tech’s got their share, KU has their share. We’re partial. We think KU has the best. I think you can have fun with it. That’s what Mike is trying to do."

Snip

"Mike’s the type of guy, he speaks what he’s thinking," Mangino said. "To some degree, I think it’s good. You can’t accuse him of being a hypocrite. He tells it like it is."

Texas Tech Links: TR's dedfischer has his post-morten from the TAMU game . . . TWAHS.com's Ryan Hyatt wonders if Spike Dykes had coached in a different era . . .

Kansas Jayhawk Links: KUsports.com's Dugan Arnett thinks that RB Jake Sharp is back on track . . . RRS.com's Joe Yeager dives into the numbers with KU and TTU . . .

Trabtree Highlights: For those of you who don't know why I refer to Michael Crabtree as Michael Trabtree, it's a bit of a call-back to a DFW radio station, The Ticket, specifically BAD Radio, and the proliferation of this piece of audio from Deion Sanders during the NFL draft where he says, "Oh, a phong is ringing," proclaims the very living Gil Brandt as the, "late Gil Brandt," and "Michael Trabtree." To make up for all of that, he's Trabtree's highlights from his NFL debut:

Michael Crabtree NFL Debut Highlights (via PurdueVIDS)

Additional promised video after the jump.

Neglected Video: NewsChannel 11's Pete Christy:

Fox34 on the thought that QB Seth Doege will start:

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 10.26.09

Seth C — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:55:58 -0000

Game Reviews: Since I didn't write at all yesterday, I thought I'd post a few articles that wrap up Saturday's game: LAJ's Don Williams and DT's Alex Ybarra. I'll have more on the game shortly.

Crabtree Impressive in Debut: There were some good things that came out of the weekend, including former Red Raider WR Michael Crabtree making his NFL debut, and his head coach, Mike Singletary had some good words to say about Trabtree:

"Do I think he did a great job today?" Singletary said. "Absolutely. He did a heck of a job. I'm sure he did a lot of things wrong. The bottom line is, when he had the chance to make plays he made them. You're talking about a guy that's been working his tail off and hasn't been at camp, and he came in today and it seemed like he had been here awhile."

FWST's Dwain Price had a feeling that Crabtree would be successful:

As a beat writer for Texas Tech during Crabtree’s career with the Red Raiders, let me be the first to tell you that this young man can really play. He’s super quick, he’s shifty, he runs great routes, and his hands are as soft as a baby’s bottom.

Basketball Heating Up: The official website has the 2009-2010 Media Guide available to view and download. Also, SB Nation's college basketball blog, Blogging the Bracket, has a Big 12 preview.

Singletary Improves Confidence: LAJ's Courtney Linehan features SF Mike Singletary, who hopes that last year's late season success continues this year. Here's Singletary:

"We’ve got to be motivated," Singletary said. "We’ve got to be hungry. I think we figured out what it was like to win some of those big games last year. We love that feeling of beating Kansas, beating A&M. We’ve got to be hungry and keep it rolling."

The article mentions that Singletary, who came off the bench late last year, will be back in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season

Red-Black Series Update: Just to catch everyone up, the Red-Black series is a series of intra-squad baseball games and right now, the Black team is up on the Red team, 2-0, winning games on Friday and Sunday. DT's Zane Turner has all of the updates and here's head coach Dan Spencer:

"Hopefully there is some game day pressure and we want to see how guys are going to respond and get a feel for who will respond in the spring," said Tech coach Dan Spencer, who begins his second season as head coach. "The mental thing of playing every day, of playing games regularly and getting guys to pitch out of the bullpen, pitch in roles."

Post Game Thoughts :: Nebraska Cornhuskers Edition

Seth C — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:56:27 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

2 months ago: Texas Tech's Daniel Howard, center, with teammates LaRon Moore, left, and Bront Bird, carries the ball for a touchdown against Nebraska in the first half of their NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Texas Tech beat Nebraska 31-10.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

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SBN Box Score :: TTU Box Score :: Post Game Quotes

The Result :: Not What I Expected: I'll be honest, I thought that the Nebraska offense would show up just a bit and that never happened. You can certainly credit the Texas Tech defense, as this group made plays all day long, but the Nebraska offense needs some help. In terms of the offense, I never expected Nebraska to out-gain the Red Raiders (259 to 285), again, credit needs to go to that Nebraska defensive line that was simply unbelievable. The offensive line continues to be decimated by injury and will need to improve moving forward, but they held it together, especially when I thought that the Red Raiders needed a touchdown to secure the win. Taking 5:00 minutes off the clock.

Let's get to the storylines and the MVP's after the jump.

The Storylines ::

Making Big Plays: The very first drive was a microcosm of the entire game. QB Steven Sheffield completed 18 yards worth of passes to WR Alexander Torres and then bad things started to happen. A false start and Sheffield taking a sack led Texas Tech to have to make a play on 3rd and 13. Sheffield completes one of the highlight catches of my life to WR Lyle Leong for 34 yards. The Red Raiders now have a first down and Sheffield promptly gets sacked for 10 yards and Texas Tech then faces a 3rd and 17 only to have WR Detron Lewis catch a pass for 22 yards. What looked to be a simple screen pass to RB Baron Batch sealed the drive (his skip into the endzone reminded me a bit of Eric Morris - shoutout) as the Nebraska defenders just could get around to catching Batch get to the pylon.

This team faced adversity almost the entire game, or at least it looked that way from where I was watching the game, but responded at just about each and every call. It may have been the offense at times, it may have been the defense at times, and it may have been the special teams at times.

At the end of the day, this team is a team of hard-working individuals and they are a team . . . collectively, they work together.

This was probably expressed better than I've ever seen this before in LAJ's Don Williams post-game discussion with defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill:

"One night during fall camp,’’ defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said, "(running back) Baron Batch got up and he says, ‘We had some great players last year — Graham Harrell, Michael Crabtree, Louis Vasquez, Brandon Williams. This year, it’s more about the Double-T — what’s on our chest and not necessarily the names on our back. Nothing against those guys. We love those guys. But this team is more worried about not letting the other guy down.’’
The Raiders are working all the angles.

The last couple of weeks, they’ve voted on captains based on what have you done for me lately?

This week, you watch, they’re going to elect a sideline captain.

"If you participated in sports, having your teammates cheer for you is a big, big deal, and we make a big deal out of it,’’ McNeill said. "Our kids take pride in it. We travel some guys right now who, they know they’re not going to play one second. They know their job is to come, go through pre-game and cheer the team on.’’

So McNeill’s eyes lit up when I asked if that means he’s going to arrange a vote for a sideline captain.

"That’s a good idea,’’ he said. "I’m going to take it to the boss.’’

Who would be some leading candidates? McNeill mentioned players such as true freshmen Pearlie Graves and Jacob Karam and veteran backups such as Britton Barbee and Brik Brinker.

I've noticed Karam and Barbee being involved on the sidelines, which is a surprise since Barbee has seen little to no time this year and Karam can be expected not to see a snap all year. But I have no doubt that these guys love their school, and despite not participating, they may be this team's biggest cheerleaders and there's something about that sort of attitude that makes me love this team even more.

Dominating Defense: As mentioned above, Nebraska had their own problems on offense, but to simply point to that would not be fair to the Texas Tech defensive unit. Ruffin McNeill and his unit kept Nebraska to 70 yards rushing and 215 yards passing. When the game was still relatively close the Red Raider defense allowed only 37 yards in their first 4 possessions (one of those being the fumble return for a touchdown). The next possession was Nebraska's best possession as they drove 11 plays and 74 yards, only to be limited to a field goal. With first and goal from the Texas Tech 10 yard line, Nebraska could only manage 3 plays to get to the Texas Tech 4 yard line. Perhaps this was a situation where the defense was a bit tired, but truthfully, limiting Nebraska to a field goal on their first 5 possessions is success.

This is a successful day: 5 tackles for a loss (all being sacks), 1 fumble return for a touchdown, 1 interception, and 7 pass break-ups. That's making plays all over the field. From the defensive line that was able to pressure QB Zac Lee to the defensive backs that were able to cause 7 Nebraska incompletions to a return for the touchdown.

DE's Brandon Sharpe and Rajon Henley (we'll get to D. Howard below) were huge yesterday and I still go back to the ideal that Sharpe, Henley and Howard may not be the most talented bunch, but they'll sure as hell out-work you. And for those of you who complain about McNeill not blitzing and being creative enough, I'd suggest that you watch Howard for the game as he was all over the place prior to the snap in the Joker position and the defensive line as a whole did a tremendous job of creating a pocket and containing Lee. Howard was instrumental in ensuring that there were few gaps for Lee to run after the ball was snapped. McNeill deserves a ton of credit for turning around a defense in such a short period of time after Setencich was let go. That's not to say that this Texas Tech defense has arrived, but I do think it's appropriate to say that this defense is leaps and bounds better than where it was in 2007.

Captain Mike Leach acknowledged the defense in his post-game thoughts:

On if the defensive performance on the day ranks high in his career coaching at Texas Tech: "I think so. I think it does for a couple reasons, and I think one reason it does is because, like I said, when things weren't really going our way, we were losing yards on offense as quick as we were gaining them for a period of time out there, and our defense just stepped up over and over. We tested them in about every way we could. Bad field position, good return on the punt or the kickoff, offense gets a three and out, then another three and out, when you think of this defense when you've got to make it happen, they just kept stepping up. I thought it was a real credit to our D-line, which is a real quick unit. Really I thought both D-lines had a pretty big day."

Offensive Line Woes: When LT Terry McDaniel went down with an apparent knee injury I became incredibly nervous. McDaniel has been a steadying influence along the offensive lines and you guys talked about it in the game-day and post-game threads. Perhaps all of the injuries and suspension along the offensive lines create a situation where this unit will be much better off in 2010 as guys have to pick each other up, but as woeful as Nebraska was on offense in the 1st half, the Texas Tech offense wasn't good in the 2nd half, sans 1 drive. Other than the touchdown drive, Texas Tech managed only 46 yards on 5 drives and time of possession of only 4:22 in the 3rd quarter. Credit the Nebraska pressure defense that rattled Sheffield early and often in the second half. For the day, Nebraska had 8 quarterback hurries and 5 sacks for the day, in addition to 13 tackles for a loss. Whether or not the offensive line wasn't 100% or not, this must change and I'm sure that OL coach Moore will address this issue during the week.

The Nebraska defense looked a lot like the Texas Tech defense in that they rushed their front 4 almost all day. The biggest difference between what I saw against Nebraska and what Oklahoma did against Texas, was that the Sooners were stunting and blitzing all over the place. I don't know that this line will see another line as talented and strong as Nebraksa, but OU is going to be incredibly tough.

Leach Thoughts: I'm guessing that Leach was in a good mood after yesterday's win and it showed in some of his comments after the game. There's really no point to any of this other than to highlight some of the more quotable portions.

When Leach was asked about how whether there was any doubt the team would respond in the second half, he had this to say about his defense:

"We have blackshirts there at Texas Tech too. Every one of our guys is wearing a black shirt underneath their pads. I'm proud to say the blackshirts won this one."

I'm not sure if Leach knew before the game that Pelini gave out the blackshirts to 13 of his defensive players yesterday, but if he did, then this was both smart and thoughtful way to convey to his team that they play pretty damned good defense too.

When asked about Sheffield's performance and some of the pressure he faced on Saturday:

"He got a lot of pressure,’’ Leach said. "He generated some for himself, too. There were a couple of them where he’d go back there and run in a circle, run in a circle and look up and then there’s two guys there. I wasn’t real cranked about that. I wanted him to throw the ball and hit some fat guy in the stands. That didn’t consistently happen. We had a conversation on that.’’

What percentage of college coaches use the word "cranked"?

When asked about whether or not it was important to score on Texas Tech's first possession, Leach launches into a bit about Sheffield and the money quote is at the end:

"I think it's really important, and I think (Sheffield) was really instrumental in that. I think he does a great job just with the whole team. He is one of our captains this week. He was really instrumental in having all of our guys excited to play. Then he went over there and kind of put his money where his mouth is or whatever. That's basically one of the worst cliches I've used in a long time, I'm usually better at making them up."

Kickoff Woes: No one takes more special teams grief than K Donnie Carona, and I'd be more than happy to learn that the short kickoffs were part of the game play, but for the game, Carona only averaged 54 yards a kickoff. That's about kicking it off to the 15 to 20 yard line. I'm surprised that Special Teams coach Russell has been so forgiving of Carona and it took one punt for Carona to get the boot as the punter, but field position is a big part of the game and I'd really just like to see Carona be more consistent.

Contrarian MVP's :: Due to the strange nature of this game, I thought that this week's MVP's should be a little different too.

The Offensive MVP :: DE Daniel Howard: The conventional offensive MVP would have been WR Detron Lewis, who had 5 catches for 100 yards or Steven Sheffield for leading the Red Raiders to a win on the road against a ranked opponent. But these are contrarian MVP's. Howard had the longest play of the game, 82 yards, returning a fumble and putting Texas Tech ahead for the game. Who would have thought that Howard's play would have been the one to put Nebraska away for he game, but it was.

The Defensive Co-MVP's :: FS Franklin Mitchem and SS Cody Davis: The convention defensive MVP would have to be DE Brandon Sharpe, who had 7 tackles, 4 sacks and broke up 1 pass. Incredible game, just absolutely incredible. But the contrarian MVP goes to the two safety-mates in Davis and Mitchem. I thought Mitchem's support in and around the line of scrimmage was absolutely tremendous, and then to top it off, he snagged an interception. Davis' hit on that 3rd down that caused the Nebraska player to drop a sure catch was tremendous. That kid can play. One last thing about Mitchem and Davis, and someone please tell me if I'm wrong, but has Texas Tech been burned deep thus far this year? It's a testament to DB coach Mainord, but it's also a testament to the guys in the program.

The Special Teams MVP :: SS Brett Dewhurst: In addition to getting a ton of playing time as the nickel and dime defensive back, he also had 4 special teams tackles for the day. A convention MVP would have been K Matthew Williams, who hit a field goal for 32 yards and all of his extra points, or P Ryan Erxleben, who has no idea he's a freshman, punting in a hostile environment.

Q&A With Double T Nation - Insight Into The Texas Tech Red Raiders

Jon Johnston — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:19:41 -0000

More photos » by Donna McWilliam - AP

Brandon Carter, freak, will be between Ndamukong Suh and Tech quarterbacks. Tattoos and face paint can't help him in that regard, but the battle between the two will be one to watch!

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Tech seems like a hard team to gauge. They've had some internal struggles, two losses in a row to ranked teams and a quarterback change.

Instead of insinuating and grasping, it's easiest to ask people who know the answers. In this case, that would be Seth at Double T Nation, our SB Nation Texas Tech site. He joins us for a blogger Q&A.

It's hard to gauge what's going on at Tech. It seemed like things were coming apart after the loss to Houston, Twittergate and Brandon Carter's suspension. Where is this team right now?

There may not be a team that deals with drama better than Texas Tech. In regards to RG Brandon Carter's suspension, he wasn't suspended because he was on Twitter, he was suspended for what happened after the Houston game (i.e. being angry, very angry, about the loss). I thought LB Marlon Williams' tweet was inappropriate (i.e., why is he here waiting on Leach for practice), but it turns out that practice was canceled so really it's not that big of a deal.

As it turns out, giving 18 to 22 year old kids a place to voice any and every concern might not be such a good idea. If the team was in any sort of disarray, it was after the Houston loss and the lackluster first half against New Mexico. There's the thought that QB Taylor Potts still wasn't right after the hit against UT and his rough play was a result of that. In steps 6'4" and all 180 pounds QB Steven Sheffield who seems to have captured the attention of this team and has been lights out against New Mexico and Kansas State. The ship has been righted, at least for now.

Potts or Sheffield? or Both?

I like both. Potts has taken quite a bit of criticism because he's thrown some interceptions, and he hasn't been perfect, but I do not believe that his performances against Texas and Houston were the reasons Texas Tech lost. Did he play perfectly those games, certainly not, but he wasn't the sole reason for either of those losses. Potts still has a 2:1 TD to INT ratio and was part of the team was at the top of the nation in passing. I think Potts' struggles have been exaggerated a bit and I try to keep in mind that he's a 20 or 21 year old kid who got the crap knocked out of him and wasn't quite the same since.

With Sheffield at the helm, he's been absolutely electric and the team seems to have responded to his energy. The last two games, Sheffield has been near perfect, sans a couple of interceptions, one in each game. Sheffield is a bit more mobile and more likely to dodge pressure. Sheffield's arm isn't quite as strong as Potts, but he can still make all of the throws required by this offense. If I had to pick a starter for the Nebraska game, I'd go with the hot-hand in Sheffield. If I had to pick a quarterback who I think who has the better chance to lead the program going forward, I'd pick Potts. Sheffield's been great but he hasn't been tested . . . yet.

What receivers should Husker fans be watching?

All of them? Seriously, it's somewhat ridiculous to see so many receivers step up each game.

Tramain Swindall has consistently been this team's leading receiver and averaging almost 20 YPC, which is ridiculous in this offense. Detron Lewis was expected to replace Crabtree in some respects, but Swindall's been electric, and Lewis has been a tad injured and reliable, but hasn't really had a break-out game.

Alexander Torres has proven to be a very reliable receiver outside, he won't beat you deep, but he'll catch just about anything thrown his way and he's pretty strong. Lyle Leong has been relatively quite since his 3 touchdown performance against Rice, but he's still a threat.

Nebraska will still need to account for the running backs who have been really good catching the ball out of the backfield (Harrison Jeffers is averaging 10.5 YPC and Baron Batch is averaging 8.87 YPC).

Tech has been exceptional at home, horrible on the road. 2008: 4 for 5 in road games last year (losses - OU); 2007: 3 for 6 (Oklahoma St., Missouri and Texas); 2006: 3 for 6 (TCU, Colorado, and OU). Can you explain such a huge discrepancy?

I think programs that are struggling to break-through to an upper tier of the football elite tend to do this for a period of time. Last year was an exception, and I think that most teams that make it to middling bowl games tend to follow the same path that Texas Tech has (i.e. win the non-conference home games + beat the crappy teams on the road = bowl game).

I'm not sure I can explain it other than it's tough to win on the road and for a program trying to make that jump, I think it just comes down to having better players and that happens over time. And for the record I think a Texas and OU would have worse road game records if they didn't have a neutral game at the Cotton Bowl. I went to Norman last year and cannot imagine what that town would be if Texas were to ever roll into town and the same thought goes for Austin.

Last year's game was weird in that Nebraska held the ball for around 40 minutes. We don't have the same ball control passing offense we had last year (although we're working on it). Where should Nebraska attack if we're going to be successful on offense?

Even if Nebraska doesn't have the same type of offense, I think I'd stick with a similar plan of just taking what the defense will give you. Texas Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill has had quite a bit of success relying on his offense to outscore the defense, and I've always thought that Leach and McNeill discuss prior to the game how creative he needs to be to be successful on defense.

Some games, McNeill will stunt and blitz more than others. Surprisingly, Texas Tech leads the conference in sacks, this after losing their top guys in Brandon Williams and McKinner Dixon. Most of that success is due to out-working opponents and I think the Cornhuskers would be wise emphasize the quick passing game. Nebraska will have success running the ball against Texas Tech and I think that the key will be if the Texas Tech offense can score quickly, taking Nebraska out of what they might do best.

Nebraska's Keys To Victory Over Texas Tech

Jon Johnston — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:15:21 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee celebrates after throwing a 13-yard pass to wide receiver Niles Paul for a touchdown during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Missouri Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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If this game doesn't worry you at least a little, you're not paying attention. Forget that Tech is on the road. Forget that they don't have Michael Crabtree or Graham Harrell, they're still the same ol' Texas Tech that can put up yardage and points at a faster rate than nearly anyone in the nation.

Last year's Tech game was a freakazoid affair with Nebraska holding the ball for 40 minutes. The Huskers controlled the game with a ball control passing offense. Can that happen again this year? With Zac Lee as Joe Ganz, Niles Paul as Nate Swift, and a whole gob of other guys playing Todd Peterson, why not?

As much as you'd like to think Nebraska can line up in tight end heavy sets and pummel the Tech defense, it's not going to happen.

Take What You're Given

Much has been made this week about the Huskers throwing the ball so often in the rain at Missouri. Mid-week we discovered that Watson's calls were biased toward the rain, but changed to passes by Lee after reading the Missouri defense. I don't understand the angst over this, especially given the outcome of the game.

If Tech moves up to stop the run, then take what you're given and throw the ball. It would be foolhardy to run when you're outnumbered at the line of scrimmage. If that means throwing the ball 40 times, then so be it. Zac Lee has performed well at home, as has his receiving corps. There's no reason to expect that this game will be any different.

Keep in mind, it's not the Huskers who are looking for an offensive identity. It's the media that creates this "run the ball" frenzy so they can feed off it. The team is looking to win football games by whatever means they can. Keep in mind that we have one very good running back, while we have quite a number of very good receivers - Niles Paul, Mike McNeill, Curenski Gilleylen included.

If winning means Roy Helu gaining 150 yards on the ground, then yay for him. If it's Zac Lee throwing for 250 yards, then there's nothing wrong with that either.

Win First Down

This key, along with the first, are just another way of saying "ball control", and that is just another way of saying to win we need to keep Tech's offense off the field. I wouldn't expect the same level of a ball control offense we saw last season, but things will go much easier if we get solid yardage on first down.

Play selection is much easier when you're working with second or third and three as opposed to seven. Rex Burkhead will be missed because of his straight ahead tough running style, but Shawn Watson will have to discover that talent in another of his young running backs.

Eliminate Stupid

Last week, Nebraska recorded 12 penalties for 108 yards. Some of those can be written off because of the inclement conditions, but many of them were the result of poor discipline. Husker fans don't need to be reminded of the drive-killing nature of penalties.

We're midway through the season. It's time for the stupidity to end. Nebraska's offense can't afford to lose points because of it, especially not against a team that's known for rolling up yards and points like Tech.

The bottom line is this - the offense can't expect the defense to bail them out of every game this season, so stop shooting yourselves in the foot.

Control The Lines

Ndamukong Suh has played with such a fervor that it's difficult to imagine him being stopped by anyone, but in this game he'll be going up against one of the Big 12's best offensive linemen in Tech guard Brandon Carter. Let's assume that Carter is able to control Suh better than most, which means it will be time for Jared Crick, Pierre Allen, and Barry Turner to get some big plays.

The rest of Suh's counterparts will need to get pressure on Tech's quarterback, but they'll also be responsible for stopping Tech's running game, ala the 11 touchdowns on the ground alluded to earlier this week. That means controlling the gaps, standing your ground and getting an even push upfield. It does not mean exploding up the field in an all-out pass rush.

The offensive line must perform better to win this game. They'll need to pick up the short yardage situations to sustain drives. They must also be better disciplined in run blocking, not allowing linebackers to shoot through and blow up a play because someone missed an assignment.

It will be a good sign if Nebraska is able to run the ball in the middle of Tech's defense. Last week we were all about running wide. If we're going to run the ball, we need to make sure we're getting yardage in the middle as well as the edges.

A Second Preview of Texas Tech

Husker Mike — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:15:17 -0000

Once again, we're revisiting our preseason previews on our opponent as we move closer to the actual game. In July, here's what we previewed for the Texas Tech Red Raiders this season.

Last season was a dream season for Texas Tech. An 11-2 record, a Cotton Bowl berth, two ABC prime-time "Saturday Night Football" broadcasts in Lubbock; for a while, it seemed like nothing could go wrong for the Raiders. Until, of course, the Raiders walked into Norman and got blasted early and often by the Sooners. (Of course, everybody who ventured into Gaylord Family Stadium got blasted last season.)

But that was then. Graham Harrell is now playing in Canada. Michael Crabtree is in San Francisco. But before anybody dismisses the Red Raiders completely, keep in mind that Texas Tech leads the Big XII with 14 straight winning seasons. Nebraska had their hiccups during the Callahan/Pederson error, Oklahoma had their's under Howard Schnellenberger and John Blake, and Texas had John Mackovic. So while Raiders may be down; history suggests the won't fall very far.

The burden of replacing Harrell falls to junior Taylor Potts. Past history of Tech quarterbacks shows that the Raiders merely reload after the previous quarterback graduates. Three year starter Kliff Kingsbury (1999-2002) was replaced by B.J. Symons, who merely set an NCAA passing record in 2003. In 2004, Sonny Cumbie put up typical Tech numbers, as did Cody Hodges in 2005. So there is every expectation that Potts should be well groomed to light up the scoreboard in Lubbock this fall.

Wide receiver Edward Britton has the physical tools (4.4 speed) to replace Crabtree, but lacks the consistency to put it all together. It wasn't just on the field either; when Britton decided to skip classwork, Mike Leach sent Britton to study hall - on the fifty yard line on a cold snowy March day. Receiver Detron Lewis started all 13 games for Tech last, and while also inconsistent, shows more signs of breaking out in 2009. Seth over at Double-T Nation likes Tramain Swindall to be a surprise impact receiver this season.

Running back Baron Batch was Tech's most effective running back during the Leach era, rushing for 758 yards for a 6.7 yard average last season. (Ask Texas fans about it!) Some of that could be attributed to the Tech offensive line, who featured all-Big XII tackle Rylan Reed and 2nd teamer Louis Vasquez...but they're gone, creating two holes on the offensive line. Two starters, both honorable mention all-Big XII, return: right tackle Marlon Winn and left guard Brandon Carter. 2007 starting center Shawn Byrnes, who lost his job last season to Stephen Hanby, is likely to regain his starting spot.

At initial glance, defense in Lubbock almost seems an afterthought, though Mike Leach did change defensive coordinators after a WAC-style shootout loss against Oklahoma State in 2007. In came Ruffin McNeill, who stabilized the defense a bit, but it's still offense that carries the Raiders. With the suspension and departure of defensive end McKinner Dixon, only nose tackle Colby Whitlock returns up front in 2009.

All three linebackers return in 2009: juniors Bront Bird, Brian Duncan, and senior Marlon Williams. ESPN's Tim Griffin rated Duncan the #31 player in the league this season; Duncan lead the Raiders in tackles in 2008. In the secondary, only senior cornerback Jamar Wall returns. You remember Wall don't you? He's the guy who picked off that ill-advised Joe Ganz pass in overtime.

Oh, if only. If Ganz had decided to take that sack in overtime, or if SOMEBODY had bothered to cover Crabtree on that fourth down play in the fourth quarter, things could have been quite a bit different for both Nebraska and Texas Tech last season. (If you want to play the "if-only" game further, what about Kevin Cosgrove's decision to start the 2005 game in a prevent defense, spotting the Raiders an early 21-0 lead.) While Pelini didn't have much success slowing down the Raiders in Lubbock last season, not many other teams did either. 2009 should give Nebraska a much better shot to break Texas Tech's three game winning streak against the Huskers.

Poll

What happens when Texas Tech arrives in Lincoln to battle the Huskers in October?

Nebraska rolls to a huge victory

19 votes

37%

The Huskers edge out the Raiders

105 votes

35%

Tech pulls one out against the Huskers once again.

101 votes

14%

Tech gets their groove back and rolls in Lincoln

41 votes

It's 2004 all over again; it's another embarassing blowout for the Big Red.

15 votes

281 votes | Poll has closed

So what has changed? After Tech was upset on the road by Houston, the team seemed to unravel slightly. Mike Leach suspended offensive lineman Brandon Carter, and banned the use of Twitter by his players after senior linebacker Marlon Williams tweeted "Wondering why I'm still in this meeting room when the head coach can't even be on time to his on [sic] meeting." The Raiders stumbled and bumbled the next week against New Mexico, with Taylor Potts getting knocked out of the game in the first half. Steven Sheffield came on in relief, and has seemingly outplayed Potts. Last week, the Raiders blasted Kansas State 66-14.

So which version of the Pirate Circus act is coming to Lincoln this weekend? The one that beat North Dakota 38-13 and allowed New Mexico to score 28 points? Or is it the squad that beat Kansas State by 52 points and stayed competitive with Texas in Austin? Heck, we're not even sure who is going to start at quarterback for the Raiders. If I had to guess, it would be Sheffield...but that's just a guess. Anybody who's ever tried to figure out Mike Leach probably has come up wrong in the end.

Poll

Who starts at quarterback?

Taylor Potts

8 votes

Steven Sheffield

64 votes

Doesn't matter, all Tech QB's put up ridiculous numbers

90 votes

162 votes | Poll has closed

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 10.09.09

Seth C — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:06:56 -0000

Honor Stone: LAJ's Don Williams has a great editorial today where he says that Captain Mike Leach should relent on his no-injuries policy in regards to DB Nathan Stone and honor him and his career. I agree with Williams to an extent, in that I still have no problem with Leach not discussing any injuries, but when a guy's career is over, then I would agree that it's time to acknowledge what he meant to the team and program.

Former Red Raiders with Concussions: LAJ's Don Williams talks with former Red Raiders Mickey Peters and Donnie Hart regarding concussions they suffered while at their time in Lubbock:

"It’s scary,’’ said Peters, who makes his living these days working in investments. "It’s kind of a freaky deal. You know you’re not all there, but there’s nothing you can do about it.’’

Snip

"I don’t think you consciously realize that you’re not yourself,’’ said Hart who, when he finished his career in 1998, was second in Tech history for receptions (125), receiving yards (2,111) and touchdown catches (17). "Certain things in a game that you would normally do, you have a little bit of reluctance to put yourself in harm’s way. It’s not something that you go into being scared of; it just sort of happens that way.’’

Dress Roster: LAJ's Don Williams writes that both FS Cody Davis and QB Taylor Potts are not on the dress roster, but C Shawn Byrnes and DE Daniel Howard will be with the team on Saturday.

Freshman Focus: LAJ's Don Williams weekly series, where he focuses on a freshman player redshirting this year and up this week is WR E.J. Celestie. Inside receivers coach Lincoln Riley likes what he sees in Celestie:

Celestie has spent his first couple of months at Tech being an "H" inside receiver, but Tech coaches don’t want to be too quick to pigeonhole him.

"He just brings so much versatility," inside receivers coach Lincoln Riley said this week. "He can play all four receiver positions. He’s going to be able to help special teams. He’ll be able to help with the return game. There’s a lot of positions he’s going to have a chance to play."

And Celestie is a smart player who adjusts:

"He didn’t do a ton of (inside receiver) in high school," Riley said, "but he picked it up fast because he’s just a smart guy. He’s an attentive guy. He really pays attention to detail and remembers things. He was raw because he never really got to settle in at one position in high school, but you could tell he’s really explosive with the ball in his hands and knew things."

Brandt Likes Texas Tech Offensive Linemen: FWST's Dwain Price talked with NFL scout Gil Brandt, who think that Texas Tech offensive linemen come to the NFL ready to play:

"They do such a good job coaching (offensive) linemen, because pass protection is the whole name of their game,'' Brandt said Thursday night. "When (Tech's offensive linemen) leave there, they're well-coached five-year guys that are pretty strong and turn out to be pretty good players.''

And Brandt talks about how smart Leach is:

"Mike Leach is like a fox,'' said Brandt, the Dallas Cowboys' Vice President of player personnel from 1960-'88. "Some coaches go out and they hob-nob with the boosters and so forth. Mike hob-nobs with himself and his wife, Sharon.

"He does all that crazy pirate stuff and all those crazy things. The guy is really sharp the way he does stuff.''

How sharp?

"I asked his wife how did you meet Mike, and she said they met in California,'' Brandt said. "She said early on Mike had come up with this big idea that they would go to Cody, Wyoming, which is his home town, and Mike would get a job there for the summer and she'd get a job and they would save a lot of money.

"But Mike wanted to save more money. He wanted (Sharon) to get a job at the bookstore and see if they could put a hammock in the back room.

"So instead of having to rent a place to live, he could sleep in the hammock in the back room of the bookstore. The guy is always thinking.''

Well that's interesting.

Crabtree Links: DMN's Tim Cowlishaw writes that players who associate with Deion Sanders may be hurtful to their careers and there was some talk about this on The Ticket during my lunch hour yesterday in that Sanders may help lean players to a certain agent, in particular, Eugene Parker, but is not an agent himself, which allows him to talk with players during their playing days and the NCAA can't do a thing. The other thought that occurred to me was that there was a very short period of time early in the season last year where there was a question about Crabtree's eligibility. Everyone said that it was merely a paperwork issue, but I wonder if the difference between Bryant and Crabtree is that Crabtree told the truth about his relationship with Sanders. Who else could see the NCAA start cracking down on these types of relationships . . . on the field, SFGate writes that Michael Crabtree's first job is to line-up on the scout team, something he did regularly on Thursday nights during his redshirt year . . . SacBee considers the type of player that Crabtree is . . .

Kansas St. Wildcat Links: DT's Adam Coleman writes that KSU hopes that Bill Snyder brings this football program back to the level of his first tenure . . . CJOnline's Austin Meek has some KSU notes and talks with the Kansas St. secondary (good read) . . . KC Star's Kellis Robinette takes a look at RG Brandon Carter . . . Kansas.com previews the KSU vs. TT game . .

Big 12 Links: Congrats to Nebraska for just pouring it on (that's a pun) last night, scoring 27 points in the 4th quarter, Corn Nation will be celebrating and they had the Big 12 Roundtable Recap yesterday . . . DMN writes that backup quarterbacks are getting some burn this weekend . . . KC Star's Blair Kerkoff with his weekly Big 12 Insider . . .

High School Links: Scotty Young had an off night where his Denton Ryan Raiders lost to Lake Dallas 31-35, where Young was 15-33, 229 yards, 3 interceptions and 1 touchdown. I know he's supposed to be good, but there's no way in hell that he steps in and starts next year. I think and hope he's going to be a great player, but let's ease up . . . for those of you who don't know, James Gray was one of the best running backs ever to wear the Scarlet and Black, well his son, Johnathan Gray, is also a running back in Aledo and just tearing things up . . .

Neglected Video: Fox34 with a look at QB Steven Sheffield:

Preseason All-Big 12: The Big 12 Preseason first team and individual honors were picked by the coaches and there were no Texas Tech players chosen, but truthfully, only Kansas (Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich) , Texas (Damion James), Oklahoma St. (James Anderson), Oklahoma (Willie Warren) and Iowa St. (Craig Brackins) had players that were picked.

Friday Night Scrimmage: There's a scrimmage tonight at 5:00 p.m. Go check it out tonight and let us know how it went.