In lieu of links, DTN asks five questions.
1. ARE YOU PLANNING ON GOING TO THE BOWL GAME AND DOES IT MATTER IF THE GAME IS IN TEXAS? | The DMN does a good job of collecting what all of the major networks are projecting as far as the bowl is concerned (although DMN's Chuck Carlton predicts Texas Tech vs. Illinois in the Texas Bowl in Houston) and the consensus is that Texas Tech will face Northwestern in the TicketCity Bowl which is in the Cotton Bowl on January 1, 2011. Are you planning on going to the bowl game and would you rather have a game in Texas (Dallas or Houston), that's pretty easy to get to, rather than a game in another state (New York, Florida or Arizona)?
2. WHO DO YOU THINK REPLACES LEWIS AT THE Z-RECEIVER SPOT? | In yesterday's post game thoughts, I asked about who would have both the size, speed and physicality to replace WR Detron Lewis at the Z-receiver spot. TallMike gave some options, but I've taken off the tight end options from the list as I do not believe that any tight end will be playing the Z-receiver position (Michael Crabtree's old position and traditionally the receiver that gets the most passes thrown to him) as most of the time that a tight end was on the field, Chris Olson, he was on the same side as Lewis. I've always thought that the Z-receiver needs to be physically dominant and be able to beat single-coverage 9 out of 10 times and if the defense starts to double-team the Z-receiver, it creates openings on the other side. Here's my list of candidates:
Shawn Corker (6-1/190)
Aaron Fisher (6-3/185)
Eric Ward (6-0/200)
Jacoby Franks (6-0/195)
Darrin Moore (6-4/210)
Alexander Torres (6-4/200)
Do you add anyone? Am I forgetting anyone? Who do you think gets this spot next year?
3. DO YOU HAVE ANY HOPE THAT BROWN IS STARTING TO GET IT AND IS IT BROWN OR TUBERVILLE? | I don't know if this was after the game or last night, but, per LAJ's Don Williams, OC Neal Brown talked about how he thought he was being too stubborn trying to run the ball against Houston:
"They had struggled against the run, so we came into the game thinking we were going to run the ball," Brown said. "We probably didn’t play as well up front running the ball as we had the last few weeks, so I just basically quit being stubborn. We threw it eight times in a row, went bang-bang, eight plays, 92 yards to kind of put the game away. I probably should have done it a little earlier."
All of this is relatively true. Houston was awful against the run for the entire season. And in looking at the how I tracked plays, I would guess that the -2 yard rushing play by QB Taylor Potts was called a pass (I couldn't even get the personnel or formation), but I charted it as a run as I think he took off a bit early. This was the third to last drive of the game (the final two drives were all runs). I'm pretty sure that I keep asking this each week, but does Brown's admittance, that he can sometimes be too stubborn, give you some hope that he's learning a bit too? Also, I thought that the 3 runs on the second to last drive, with 5:00 remaining in the game seemed the direct opposite of what had worked in the 8 play drive that resulted in a touchdown, which makes me think that it wasn't Brown's decision. I know that Brown takes a lot of heat, and personally, I haven't decided on him yet, but I think he's going to be okay, but do you think that this second to last drive was Brown or Tuberville?
4. GRADE THE GRADES OR GRADE IT YOURSELF. | Tell me what you think about LAJ's Don Williams Report Card, Grade the grades or give your own position grades for the Houston game.
5. DO YOU THINK THAT THIS TEAM NOTCHES ANY SIGNIFICANT WINS WITHOUT ROBERTS AND COOPER? | The basketball team went to South Padre Island and lost to St. Mary's and to South Florida. I didn't watch a second of either game, but the team is now 4-3 with no signature wins. Per LAJ's Courtney Linehan, here's head coach Pat Knight on the weekend and he's staying positive:
"I don’t care about the preseason record; I think this is a lot better team," Knight said. "I still say we’re going to the NCAA tournament. This team is getting better. I’d take this team over any of the teams I’ve had. This is just a more talented team that can defend and do more things."
I don't think that Texas Tech has won the rebounding battle in any of their prior 7 games. PF D`Walyn Roberts and PF Paul Cooper, both players who were expected to give some depth inside haven't really played at all this year and PK sounds hopeful:
"We’ve got to buckle down," Knight said. "I think these games both helped us. It didn’t help us record-wise, but it helped us as a team. Once we get a couple guys back and keep things going, it’s a long season."
At this point, I don't think that Texas Tech wins any significant game against any decent opponent unless Roberts comes back relatively healthy or Cooper is able to contribute (I have no idea how good he is). Is this a fair assessment and do you have any hope that this team makes it to the NCAA Tournament, even if Roberts and Cooper play?
Fan confidence poll after the jump and I've copied and pasted the five questions for easy commenting.
1. ARE YOU PLANNING ON GOING TO THE BOWL GAME AND DOES IT MATTER IF THE GAME IS IN TEXAS?
2. WHO DO YOU THINK REPLACES LEWIS AT THE Z-RECEIVER SPOT?
3. DO YOU HAVE ANY HOPE THAT BROWN IS STARTING TO GET IT AND IS IT BROWN OR TUBERVILLE?
4. GRADE THE GRADES OR GRADE IT YOURSELF.
5. DO YOU THINK THAT THIS TEAM NOTCHES ANY SIGNIFICANT WINS WITHOUT ROBERTS AND COOPER?