SB Nation User Blog: 2001Raider

The * gets Bigger and Bigger....

2001Raider — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:21:13 -0000

UT assistant coaches received bonuses for playing in the 2008 Big XII championship game. Wonderful for them. I wish I could get a bonus for doing accomplishing imaginary feats at work. I sure wouldn't complain about it. I guess my boss would just have to be a real arrogant prick who feels I earned something for the company that the rest of the outside world didn't recognize. Amazing. But such is the arrogant fantasy land that UT lives in.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP-CALIBER PLAY TODAY

2001Raider — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 01:22:54 -0000

Finally.......

A Texas Tech team rises to the challenge and plays up to expectations under the national spotlight. The critics have been calling us out all year, as always, and to a certain extent they had a case to argue.

Tech has perenially choked in big games where they needed to prove a point. As much as it kills me to admit it, even the chronically delusional Beergut over at "I am the 12th Man" had a valid argument by prediciting

A loss to Kansas would show that "Typical Tech" is still alive and well.

Well, do you hear that? The sweet sound of silence? The critics have been silenced not by speculative predictions or strength of schedule or "tradition of winning" or anything else. The critics have been silenced by a dominant performance on the football field. And not just by our juggernaut offense but by our improved defense that no one wanted to believe existed.

But forget the critics, they've been wrong all year and now they'll jump on the bandwagon and say that Tech is for real. The bigger picture here is an empty canvas signifying Tech's future and what can be accomplished.

Today we saw before our very eyes what we've been talking about being possible for years. We saw the Texas Tech Red Raiders play up to FULL POTENTIAL.

I really don't like to use the cliche, but we really were clicking on all cylinders today, and if we can somehow bring that intensity to the football field for the remainder of the season, this is a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP-CALIBER TEAM. The talent is definitely there, with enough seniority and more than enough talent to fill virtually every position. Its simpliy a matter of execution.

Up to today's game, the execution has been poor. Instead of overachieving like Tech teams have been doing for years, this year's immensely talented team had been underachieving horribly.

And then, on October 26th, 2008, in Lawrence, Kansas, the sleeping giant was awoken and unleashed the full potential of its fury. Complete, total, brutal domination.

Touchdowns on 9 of 10 possessions. 556 total yards and 29 first downs. 2 forced and recoverd fumbles. Three interceptions. Constant pressure on the quarterback.

This Texas Tech team can beat ANYONE in this country if they play with the intensity and fire they showed today. Its time we push the throttle to the limit and play every single down like it is the last.

Ultimately our goal is a Big XII title and National Championship. In order to achieve it, we have to play the remaining schedule with near perfection, something we have rarely seen at Tech. If nothing else, today's game put that perfection on a national stage and opened many people's eyes as to what this team is truly capable of. Hopefully it will also infuse the confidence into this football team to steam roll with that same intensity from here on out. If so, this is a very, very attainable goal.

Get those guns up, Raider faitfull, this is going to be a lot of fun.

Amendola Drops Ball in First Preseason Game

2001Raider — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:38:59 -0000

I know its still way to early, but for the rookies on the team, the preseason is what makes or breaks......so I hope this doesn't hurt Danny Amendola's chances of making the roster........

SAN DIEGO - Cowboys rookie wide receiver Danny Amendola showed a nice burst on the first punt return of his NFL career, then fumbled his next attempt with 5:39 left in the first quarter which led to a Chargers touchdown.

The Cowboys' special teams struggles continued in Saturday's 31-17 preseason loss to the Chargers, particularly in punt and kickoff coverage - an area that was inconsistent at times last season.

The Chargers averaged 20.5 yards on four punt returns, and speedy Darren Sproles had a 25-yard kickoff return.

"I thought our special teams didn't play well," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said. "They're a very good special teams (unit) and we knew that going in. We did look at a lot of people. We didn't punt the ball well to help our special teams and then our kickoff returns weren't real good. It's something that we need to address."

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/news.cfm?id=ABE0F6EE-B21B-E01A-E7514944F61A5C94

Aggie Expectations

2001Raider — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:23:27 -0000

(Copied this from a reply to another fanpost.)

Wow. I seem to remember a time…was it back in 1999….when every single aggie I knew was hailing Coach Fran as the second coming of Christ. And there was hardly any basis or resume for those inflated projections.

Now all of those same friends (and most of Aggieland for that matter) have sworn him off as the anti-Christ, blaming him almost entirely for their demise over the past decade. Does he deserve the criticism….probably to an extent. But still kinda reveals how blind aggie fans can be to hail anything and then tuck and run moments later.

Its good to see, however, that aggies are much more hesitant to jump on the Sherman bandwagon and are showing some extremely rare aggie restraint before boasting and bragging about their shiny new coach. I think Sherman will be pretty good, not great…but I wonder if a pro-style offense can work in the Big XII…...we all saw how that worked out for Coach Callahan at Nebraska…..........