squeak, I did google the names mentioned. I also read most of the lecture that Kugel gave this past month about Chazal ans the Midrash. From what I have read, this is not even close to Bible criticism. All that Kugel does is explain the relationship of Midrashim to the Torah and how various writings of all kind are reflected in the text of the Torah. I didn’t see any Bible criticism of any kind in this lecture.
I suggest that you try to understand what classical Bible criticism was about. It was asserting that there were different authors in different time periods and how this was reflected in the actual text of the Torah. The Meforshim who were confronted with this showed that those questions had no validity and that there was absolutely no reason to believe-chas vesholom- that the Torah had different authors in diffferen times.
The above may sound strange to you but in the nineteenth century , a lot of weight was given to the study of the text and its internal contradictions. Kugel says nothing of the kind and I fail to see where Teiqu is a “pseudo -orthodox’ group,as you suggest. Please enlighten me if you can.