SB Nation User Blog: centexraider

Rivals Joe Yeager ..asst Coaches are suspect ..

centexraider — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:59:34 -0000

Joe Yeager takes issue with Athlon mag. assistant Coach anonymous comment/critique of M. Leach. Check it out folks.

"When it comes to college football - or just about anything else, for the matter of it - you expect media types to say dumb things. Journalists are usually not expert in anything but journalism, and besides, outrageous statements sell copy. It is just a little bit startling, however, when a bona fide expert says something that is outright silly.

A classic case in point is an anonymous quote about the Texas Tech football program from an opposing Big 12 assistant coach. The statement, which appears in the 2009 Athlon's college football annual, reads as follows: "They [the Red Raiders] were better on defense last season, but they're still way behind their offense in terms of talent. Mike (Leach) is going to spend all his time working on offense, but you have to have a great defense to be good in this league."

The critic of this quote is paralyzed by giddiness much like a mosquito at a blood bank, such is the bedazzling array of targets on display."

http://texastech.rivals.com/

Athlon Sport Big 12 & Lindy's 2009 Preview says we fall ...

centexraider — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:32:10 -0000

[Note by Seth C, 06/13/09 9:25 AM CDT ] Promoted to the front page. Good work.

Just got thru reading the Athlon and Lindys Football magazines as always good stuff. But generally says as expected our Norman and Austin neighbors are going to own the Big 12.

Both magazines use a team rating system to rank order the units on the teams BUF TTU was never higher than # 4in the league. Here’s the break out by rating magazine: Lindys Quarterbacks we are # 6, Running Backs # 8, Receivers #4, Offensive line # 8, Defensive line #6, Line backers # 7, Secondary #7, and Special Teams #12 ???(Looking bad)

In the Athlon magazine they use a Top units format and as far as that goes - QB’s Oklahoma, Running Backs OU, Receivers OU, Off. Line Texas, Def Line OU, Linebackers OU, Def Backs OU. Hmm…

For the unit ratings getting specific Athlon rates us- the team - the following in the Big 12 QB #6, RB # 7, WR/TE # 6(What the …?) OL #6, DL # 5 (that looks good) LB #5 , DB #4(a good surprise).

Now my interest is really peaked to see how Dave Campbell’s Texas Football writes us up. Oh yeah and we are mired at being #4 in the South Division.. again..

Folks I am not buying it. Momentum Baby, momentum…

Web Site Courtesy or reciprocity

centexraider — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:55:50 -0000

Folks don’t know how often you look at other Universities web sites. But I look at or scout the TaMu , UT Oki e lite essentially all the Big XII sites from time to time. And generally the ones listed on Seth C’s links are good honest reporting with interesting stories from their vantage points. But one in particular the Burnt Orange Nation doesn’t have the Double T Nation linked on his/her site under the Big 12 sites.. it does have “Disco Tech” linked so the Red Raiders are represented. I was just curious is there a back story or just an oversight i.e. Seth links them BON but they don’t reciprocate and link us in? Again generally good Big 12 team content that supports the friendly rivalry and exchange of news note and fan mail. Anyone know why?

What burns me...

centexraider — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:26:46 -0000

What burns me..

The FSNSW Big 12 Live Post game show “analysis”

I am going to use a mean phrase here fellow DTN Pirates, contributors and esteemed Editor Seth C. I know it breaks the rules about being nice.

Remember the Blue Collar Country Show with Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvals and Larry the Cable Guy i.e. The segment where they illustrate “What burns me?” Well the FSNSW sports TV talking heads are burning me. For 4 years I have faithfully watched them quietly push, publish and prop up their big 2 and occasionally the big 3 teams. Sad but true yes the - the three - OU, TU and Mizzou. (Kansas deservingly slipped in after week 8 last year) You know what I am referring to folks. I can't be the only one with a stopwatch and taste for football journalism. The FSN folks don’t do their homework while shamelessly trumpeting the two big name programs at the expense of the other teams in the conference. Put bluntly TU and OU are getting more air time than anybody else. It’s an hour show which means they run about 18 plus minutes of commercials - so help me out fellow Raider mathematicians 42 divided by 12 equals what? Ok it equals exactly 3.5 minutes per team. That’s preconference during the regular league play it gets a bit better but not much. And then they are most likely to lose the team’s video that’s not wearing crimson and burnt orange.

Fair coverage - they can’t do it. The bottom third don’t get any video highlights and anybody not playing in Norman or Austin is unlikely to even get their Head coach or star player on the screen. Mean while we must lavish 6, 7 or10 minutes quoting and lobbing softballs to the current Tiger's QB, Bob Stoops or Mack Brown and his QB. I have the entire season yes all 15 shows recorded from 2007. And unless there is an upset of a ranked opponent forget it. You Baylor, A & M, KU or K state among many teams in the Big 12 - are destined for the famous still shot “knuckle head" power point chart lifted shamelessly from another news agency which sells its marketing on cellulose. And the obligatory disparaging remarks about the stunted and deformed also ran’s. Most of the sly disparaging remarks emanate from R. Renner. On a fair note yes it’s a business for selling advertising and we get it. But why not just call it the Mack Brown & Bob Stoops post game show and save us all the trouble of tuning into hear about any other team.

Oh and a final rant about the telecast for last Saturdays game against SMU. Not a good effort Mr. J. Meyer and Mr. G. Reasons. It was glaringly apparent you didn’t do your home work on either team and your spotter was bad to boot. Without Emily Jones it would have been a D minus - so on my skewed scoring system weak as it is you get a D. By the way sportscasters don’t read other peoples magazine articles and pawn them off as your brilliant and pithy thoughts. Anybody out there have any supporting or dissenting thoughts?

September 08 Texas Monthly Magazine article by Bryan Curtis

centexraider — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:38:01 -0000

I've redacted a part of it (I tend to get emails when the entire article is copy and pasted), but here's the link to the article.

Fellow Pirates found this in September 08Texas Monthly Mag.

Enjoy

Texas Tech? Really? I thought only Oklahoma and Texas were allowed to take home the Big 12 title. There was an ugly rumor last season about a couple of teams from Kansas and Missouri. And even old A&M might be due for a resurgence, provided new head coach Mike Sherman can recruit Brett Favre. But Tech?

It’s not a High Plains blizzard, a message-board fantasy, or a Mike Leach fever dream. There, plastered on the front of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, the state’s fall agenda-setter, are the grinning mugs of three Red Raiders: Coach Leach, quarterback Graham Harrell, and wide receiver Michael Crabtree. In a May power ranking on Sports Illustrated’s Web site, Tech climbed to eighth in the nation, ahead of Texas and Texas A&M. And in July, ESPN commentators Mark May and Desmond Howard picked Harrell and Crabtree as favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. "Those are the expectations Oklahoma has, not the kind Texas Tech has," says Chris Level, who publishes redraidersports.com and co-hosts Leach’s radio show.

Of course, Tech has been pinballing between mere respectability and near excellence for years; the Red Raiders reached number seven in the BCS standings in 2005. So how, it must be asked, did the preseason party get shifted to Lubbock? And can Tech finally put together a dream season that causes long-term annoyance for the rest of the Big 12?