SB Nation User Blog: pcrawttu

Potts not the only Red Raider with concussion

pcrawttu — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:01:20 -0000

Sorry to scare anybody...

Actually Danny Amendola got licked pretty hard returning a kick (against the lowly Lions of all teams) and suffered a concussion in the process. He walked off the field but did not remember doing it. Hope all is well with him! He is actually having a decent rookie season receiving kicks, punts, and making catches as a receiver. All of this considering he wasn't drafted and he's playing on the Rams. Welker, Crabtree(finally), and Amendola(unexpectedly) are all representing Texas Tech well as receivers at the next level.

There is a little video that shows it with the brief story...
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sporting_blog/entry/view/41431/danny_amendola_got_blown_up_real_good

21st Commit - Mississippi OL

pcrawttu — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:01:28 -0000

21st Commit - Mississippi OL

Free story from Lubbock's own Don Williams.
Get your Guns Up, Eric!

Burkhead probably out with injury

pcrawttu — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:57:22 -0000

Burkhead probably out with injury

Rex Burkhead seems to have been hurt in practice and will be "out for a while" according to Pelini. This in addition to Helu having been dinged up. This should make Nebraska's running game a little less worrisome.

Polls?

pcrawttu — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:01:55 -0000

Let me preface this by saying that I don't think Tech should be ranked at this time. 2 losses and no major win does not earn any type of ranking. This is not why I'm writing this.

Most teams by now have played 5-6 games, so we are getting a good feel for who can do what, although there are still some certain mysteries out there with teams that haven't played much of anybody. My complaint right now is with all the polls at the moment. Surprise, surprise. The ridiculousness (is that a word?) abounds.

My main beef at the the moment is the placement of OU. First of all, in the USA coaches poll, they are ranked 1 spot higher than a team that beat them, Byu.

Let's examine their body of work. First off, they have 2 losses already. That's right, they have alread lost 40% of their games. Look at the polls and they are the only team with 2 losses. Oh, but they were so close! Only one point each. And to two ranked teams. Which two ranked teams? One in the Mountain West (in a "neutral" venue much more favorable to OU)who got BLOWN OUT at home and another to an ACC team who also has a steep loss to a top team. BYU right now is ranked 17-19 and Miami is ranked 9-12. None of these teams are considered championship material at the moment. Solid but not the greatest teams in the country. Both will probably lose one or two more games by the end of the season.

Yes, OU has some key player losses, but so does everybody. Look how many teams right now have had to deal with injuries, especially to their QB. It seems really high this year compared to normal. But that is football and you have to deal with it. A loss is still a loss. You should have prepared your backup better if that is the excuse for losing.

So, they must have some kind of strong win to keep their ranking in the top 25. Nope. 3 wins over nobody. Baylor, Tulsa, and Idaho State are the bottom of the barrell. I'm just wondering if they will really fall out of the polls if they lose to Texas next weekend. Hmmm, i'm sure pollsters will have a rationale to keep them in there.

Compare them to what Tech has done so far. 4 wins over bottom of the barrell teams. 2 road losses to ranked teams, by 10 points to the undefeated #2 team IN THE COUNTRY and by 1 point #17 Conf. USA team with a quality road win and a bad road loss. This while hurting from signifcant player losses. Guess Tech should prepared backups better.

How are these two different? I know it's from OU's name, but this is ridiculous. I"m not saying Tech should be ranked, because they haven't earned it. I am saying OU should not be ranked because they haven't earned it.

Who should take their place? How about 1 loss Wisconsin to #7 Ohio State?

Espn Crabtree article - front page

pcrawttu — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:33:08 -0000

Espn Crabtree article - front page

I'm just as tired as everyone else about the whole Crabtree contract (or lack of) saga, but here is a pretty in-depth article about Crabtree and his image as a diva.

Tech's 20th Commit - Juco DT

pcrawttu — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:56:16 -0000

Tech's 20th Commit - Juco DT

OU's Gresham out for season

pcrawttu — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:50:17 -0000

Man, you never like to see guys get hurt and miss playing time, but it turns out OU's Jermaine Gresham is going to be out for the whole year.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4455155

This is very significant for OU, as well as the rest of the Big 12. At the moment, the OU game looks a lot more winnable for Tech. Gresham was their go-to receiver and was probably the best tight end in the country. He tore Tech apart last year. Like Bradford, he passed up the draft to come back and try to win at OU. With Bradford out (they say 2-4 weeks, but I keep hearing that that injury is hard to judge) and now Gresham, OU's offense is looking quite questionable. OU would have been better off having both of them enter the draft so they would have all spring and summer to fill the positions. Now they're thrown into panic mode as they have to deal with two highly critical needs.

They still have a very stout defense, but we all know that you need some serious offense in the Big 12 South.

You gotta think that UT is the pretty clear favorite now to win the Big 12. What is everyone else's thoughts about this? I think this is huge news for us, even though you never want to see somebody go down like this.

Don't tell the Aggies, but...

pcrawttu — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:13:23 -0000

Surprisingly, according to Pat Forde at ESPN, the Tech/AtM conflict is the #6 current rivalry in college football right now. Unsurprisingly, OU/UT is number 1. Here's the story:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=4297677&sportCat=ncf

From pirates and soldiers to draft pick controversies and goal post jousting, I find it hilarious that people totally unassociated with either program can identify the bitter feud between the two schools as a rivalry. Most fans of Tech also recognize this status. But the proud Aggie gods cannot find a place in their schedule of hallowed traditions to include Tech as a rival. That is the humor in the whole situation.

I know the standard response from AtM fans will be something along the lines of, "Tech is not a rival. They are so pathetic and classless that they can't get a real rival. blah, blah, academics, blah, blah. UT is our real rival and we beat them a couple times recently." (Wait the last sentence should've read, "t.u. is our real rival...") UT is so far ahead of AtM in football right now, though, many longhorn fans would probably be surprised to find out that the Aggies are still fielding a team.

Tech's program is ahead of the Aggies also, but the off-field drama and hatred is what has propelled this rivalry so far up. In fact, AtM should be happy that this whole "rivalry" thing is panning out. It's about the only way they can get any press outside of Fran-gate and people trying to analyze if they will be able to compete with Baylor for 5th place this year or not.

So here's to the official #6 rivalry! (whether they like it or not.)

Affect on QB recruiting?

pcrawttu — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:53:01 -0000

I read an article in either the Bryan paper or the Houston Chron (sorry I can't find it now to provide the link, but I think it was Bryan. If you know what I'm talking about, please post it!) that said that having McGee recruited is a product of Sherman's connections to the NFL and will help recruiting. That is pure BS.

This battle of words will have no effect on QB recruiting. Either a kid wants to go to college and lead the country in passing or they can go play for a 4-8 team where their role on the team is to possibly throw or possibly get slammed in the option (aka getting hurt) or whatever else the coaches "feel will help them win."

First, if Sherman's NFL connections were so great, wouldn't he still be coaching there instead of dropping to a has-been football program at the college level?

Second, Sherman didn't recruit McGee, so it's not as if he can take full responsibility to say that his "NFL eye" brought him into AtM or got him drafted. His impressive showing at the combine was the sole reason for that (combination of decent size/strength, brain, and mostly speed).

Third, if a kid is big enough and has certain tools, he will be considered an NFL prospect (see Freeman and kid out at WTAMU). Going to AtM or anywhere else will not magically change that at all. In fact, apparently going to AtM could possibly be a hindrance because the coaches are not able enough to effectively utilize the skills and translate them into team success. One positive, though, is that this future nfl qb should be fresh and well rested after sitting on the bench for most of the season.

If we do the math, only about 10 D-1 QB's and a few D-2, were drafted (out of about 115 teams, although I don't know how many seniors were actually available), and most of those were in lower rounds. So even if they're not the protypical mold that the nfl has created, a talented kid who wants success can go play for Leach, knowing that realistically and statistically that making it to the NFL AND being able to succeed there is a long shot for anyone. If they only want a mediocre college career and the slim possibility of team success while banking on the crapshoot of the nfl draft, they can try AtM. But beware, AtM is not known as a "quarterback factory" and the sun shines on every dog's ass sometimes.

Are there any schools that consistently have qb's drafted, besides USC? The draft is quite fickle when it comes to this. Additionally, I'm not an expert at this, but I don't imagine there is a whole world of difference between getting drafted in the 6th or 7th rounds and being a free agent trying out at some mini camps, besides maybe some contract issues.

The whole point is that is that the draft is about the INDIVDUAL attributes and has nothing to do with the team (unless it is negative, i.e. "system" quarterback.)

Leach defends Crab's character

pcrawttu — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:50:57 -0000

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Texas-Tech-coach-rips-Mangini-for-calling-Crabtr?urn=nfl,159005

Here is an entertaining article about Leach's reaction to the newly conceived perception of Crabs as a diva. In addition to pointing out Al Davis' first class seat on the crazy train, Leach rips Browns coach Mangini pretty hard. I don't think many of Tech's players will be headed to Cleveland in the near future. If I was a player, though, I wouldn't be too broken up about it. Cleveland is not in my top 10 desirable places to live. I even found a video to back this up...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmLA5TqbIY&feature=player_embedded