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Pat Yourselves on the Back. Hey guys/gals. Just want to say thanks and to pat yourself on the back for coming together with the Roy Bragg situation. To catch everyone up, Bragg posted a story on Monday about how Texas Tech fans were involved in a riot and I then responded with a suggested email to his bosses on Tuesday morning noting that we can't do much, but that we wouldn't be clicking on any San Antonio Express-News articles until Mr. Bragg posted an apology. Well, Mr. Bragg did post an apology and you should really high five each other when you get the chance. You may not call it an apology, but this is way more than I ever expected. You all did good work and it was done with positivity.
Coordinator Pressers. These weren't posted yesterday when DoubleTFaithful posted his Pullquotes post, but the official site did post the full 18 minutes of pressers of coordinators Matt Wallerstedt and Eric Morris. I don't have time to non-transcribe the interviews, but Wallerstedt was pretty clear that Texas Tech was going to run an 8 or 9 man front and that may leave some corners hanging out there, but he said there's not going to be any secret about what Texas Tech is going to do defensively. Morris said that the effort was there with the receivers all night and he thinks he can correct the receiver issues, more of a technique thing and that they pride themselves in being able to catch the ball and make plays. Let's hope that those receivers can turn it on.
Injury Update. Good stuff from the LAJ, where we learn that RG Baylen Brown is in crutches, but he will apparently be ready for the game on Saturday. It's a bruise and the crutches are to keep Brown off of the foot or leg or whatever. We also find out that IR Jordan Davis, NG Rika Levi and NG Jackson Richards were all in full pads after practice today so the assumption is that they all practiced, plus we find out that DE Gary Moore was not in full pads.
Someone is Getting Internet Famous. FoxSports David Ubben has his week 3 Pregame Huddle and he writes about Texas Tech's struggles with penalties and turnovers:
Since Kingsbury arrived, he's focused on fixing both areas. It hasn't happened. Putting that much of an investment in doing so and failing in both areas has to be something of a concern, but the bigger deal is those are two gigantic stats that will keep Tech from doing what Kingsbury was hired to do: Take the program to the next level and make the jump we've seen Baylor and Oklahoma State take in the last half decade.
Despite two ugly wins to begin the season, I still expect Tech to improve enough to make a bowl, but winning a Big 12 title will be a laughable aspiration until both penalties and turnover margin see significant improvement.
Offense Doesn't Matter (This is an Exaggeration). Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema said this week that the more important side of the ball for Arkansas is what his defense does against the Texas Tech offense:
"The bottom line is when Texas Tech's offense is out there against our defense, it really doesn't matter what happened on offense," Bielema said. "It's how we are able to defend them."
Running Game Off to Fast Start. The DT writes about how the Texas Tech running game is off to a fast start and RB DeAndre Washington talks about RB Justin Stockton's potential:
"He is an extremely explosive player. It's impressive," Washington said. "He has got that speed, something that you cannot really coach. He is going to be a special player here at Texas Tech. As long as he remains humble and just keeps working, then things will fall into place for him."
Miscellaneous. Lots of power polls: the Austin American Statesman, the Iowa St. Daily, the Dallas Morning News, and NewsOK all have Texas Tech 7th or lower on their Big 12 rankings (haters) . . . the official site announced parking changes to the spaces related to the ADA that are effective starting Saturday . . . LAJ's Don Williams writes about how Texas Tech has a history of tough games with struggling teams . . . NewsOK's Berry Tramel writes about how the Big Ten struggled, but truthfully, the Big 12 isn't all that much better right now . .
