Martinez improved this year, but he needs to take a seat on the bench if he cant' stop fumbling

[Maxconvert]

Yes TMart is talented, fast, and has improved his passing, but look at Wisc's QB--nothing special, but did not turn the ball over. Wisc used its other playmakers (wildcat RB, Ball, abbederris) so the QB just had to not screw up. With us, TMart's regular fumbles hold the rest of our offense hostage. Yes it's exhilirating to watch him run for an 80 yard touchdown every several games, but it's not worth the price of fumbling 2 or three times EVERY SINGLE GAME

 

[Klondike Cat]

I was yelling at Pelini to bench him.

It isn't that Taylor isn't any good. The problem is, he was rattled beyond belief.

Yeah.......benching a quarterback helps reassure him and get rid of the rattled play. eyeswear2allthatsholy

Some of the stuff you guys are coming up with tonight >>>>>

It might be different from sport to sport. In hockey it's standard to bench a goalie who's gotten rattled by a lot of goals. It gives him the chance to recover. I haven't typically seen that done in football, but I wouldn't rule it out. Maybe tell him he's only sitting for one series while he refocuses. Maybe it could work in football if it works in hockey?

 

[huskerfan711]

I was yelling at Pelini to bench him.

It isn't that Taylor isn't any good. The problem is, he was rattled beyond belief.

Yeah.......benching a quarterback helps reassure him and get rid of the rattled play. eyeswear2allthatsholy

Some of the stuff you guys are coming up with tonight >>>>>

It might be different from sport to sport. In hockey it's standard to bench a goalie who's gotten rattled by a lot of goals. It gives him the chance to recover. I haven't typically seen that done in football, but I wouldn't rule it out. Maybe tell him he's only sitting for one series while he refocuses. Maybe it could work in football if it works in hockey?

In Hockey it's done more to stop the bleeding and give the team a fighting chance... You never see the goalie come back in the game after being replaced... Even if the replacement is even more inept...

Seeing RK3 in this game for an extended period of time could have very well made it 84 - 17 or something for the final. Lets not forget... our offense wasn't terrible today, just no way they could keep up with 500+ rushing yards being given up. 31 points wins us 90% of our games. This was all on the defense

 

[tclhuskerfan]

Beck didn't do T Mart any favors tonight. He scrapped our offense early. No power sweeps or commitment to the running game. This resulted in a lack of play action where Taylor excels in the passing game.

Personally I would have loved to see designed quick draw plays against the 2 D End/3 linebacker line that Wisky played during our 3rd and long plays. At least that would have given us a chance to agressively seek a hole to run through instead of watching Taylor get immediate pressure or perceived pressure and throw off balance/out of offense or take a sack.

 

[CheeseHusker]

I was yelling at Pelini to bench him.

It isn't that Taylor isn't any good. The problem is, he was rattled beyond belief.

Yeah.......benching a quarterback helps reassure him and get rid of the rattled play. eyeswear2allthatsholy

Some of the stuff you guys are coming up with tonight >>>>>

Martinez was in panic mode for 60 minutes.... not entirely of his doing, but you got to settle him down. If he's gonna go out and play like a loose cannon, then it snowballs. In the second quarter, the offense played just as poorly as the defense did and gave WIsky free points (and they didn't need the help).

No, RK3 isn't gonna work miracles, but it might teach some accountability. It also might send a message to your offensive line.

Of course these things can backfire if your players are fragile.... maybe these guys are.

When you're 40 points down you might as well give RK3 some meaningful snaps anyway.

 

[huskers_packers]

I for one hope we get Armstrong out there next year.. And maybe we can pursue bubba starling... Lol...he's made his money right

 

[The Dude]

Not that this disaster was TMart's fault, but no successful program can continue to give away 2-3 turnovers a game to the other team and expect to be a top program. At this point I would be SHOCKED to see a game with no Martinez fumbles. I'm glad his passing mechanics have improved, but if he can't stop the incesssant fumbling then put him at WR and bring start the Armstrong Era.

Because we have a guarantee that Tommy is better at holding onto the football than Taylor.

You do realize Taylor has led the nation in fumbles every year over the last three years, right? Odds are Tommy is better at holding onto a football. It's as close to a guarantee as your going to get without actually knowing for sure.

 

[VectorVictor]

Really...folks are going to focus on Taylor's fumbles and INTs from doing too much, and not how Taylor was scrambling for his life the whole damn game?

Play-calling and offensive line play? Yes, by all means, question those area which have been suspect at varying times all season. But pulling the one kid who tried to play his heart out because he fumbled giving extra effort too many times?

Really? Is this the best knee-jerk reaction we can come up with...to bench Martinez?

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

It's always the knee jerk reaction because the Martinez haters find any reason to bash the guy. Did he play his best game? No............no he didn't, but the offensive line was atrocious.

 

[Junior]

It's always the knee jerk reaction because the Martinez haters find any reason to bash the guy. Did he play his best game? No............no he didn't, but the offensive line was atrocious.

I've been a big Martinez defender... but he just kills us with his ball security issues. It's hard to look at it and say that this continuing is acceptable. If Ameer fumbled this much, you'd pull him in a heartbeat. Why is the QB any different?

 

[The Dude]

Really...folks are going to focus on Taylor's fumbles and INTs from doing too much, and not how Taylor was scrambling for his life the whole damn game?

Play-calling and offensive line play? Yes, by all means, question those area which have been suspect at varying times all season. But pulling the one kid who tried to play his heart out because he fumbled giving extra effort too many times?

Really? Is this the best knee-jerk reaction we can come up with...to bench Martinez?

Really? You think the fumbles were a result of giving extra effort? After watching him fumble the ball over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, . . .

. . . over the last 3 seasons. It's not a matter of him actually having trouble with ball security, it's simply a matter giving extra effort?

Please.

Taylor shouldn't necessarily be benched, but there sure as hell better be an open competition for the starting job next season. A guy who is supposed to be the leader of the team can't be so reckless with the football. At least, if we eventually want to be a good football team.

 

[zoogs]

Taylor shouldn't necessarily be benched, but there sure as hell better be an open competition for the starting job next season. A guy who is supposed to be the leader of the team can't be so reckless with the football. At least, if we eventually want to be a good football team.

Spot on, in my opinion. Taylor may be a veteran with three starting years under his belt, but his ball security is that of a rookie. It's not his fault, given his background at the position and he deserves tremendous credit for putting in the work to make strides. But at the end of the day, what it does is negate part of the 'veteran savvy' that usually gives those incumbent starters an edge.

Taylor is a phenomenal player, no question. He's also a phenomenal mistake-maker. And he's at the critical position in this game where we can't have that. So, the question is, how can we levy Taylor's playmaking ability in this offense while reducing the liabilities?

I see a few possible outcomes:

-His continued improvement will be enough.

-It won't, and RFr Tommy Armstrong will be able to show enough composure and consistency to wrest a portion of the job away from him. Taylor would still take maybe 50% of the snaps and we'll juggle a 2-QB system.

-It won't, and we have nobody capable enough to step in his place. We'll just have to live with it.

A 2-QB system will probably sound messy to most people, and while that's usually the case, Taylor isn't most QBs. I'm not worried about a 2-QB system disrupting 'rhythm' because we do a pretty good job of that on our own. His unreal athleticism means he can't be kept off the field. But I hope that either Taylor, Tommy, or SOMEONE can step up and just run a clean, efficient operation out there. We have more playmakers than we know what to do with; Taylor's one of them. We need a steady hand back there.

I think scenario #3 is the most likely. I think Taylor will improve, but to an extent we'll just have to live with his hot and cold. And also hope that everybody else plays smart, perfect games, because there's little room for error. If they do that then we'll be unstoppable anyway.

By the way, while I understand how the OL isn't always doing the greatest job, it's not as if taking all those sacks isn't a little on Taylor either. How much I have no idea and I don't think anyone without a thorough film breakdown would. QBs have to diagnose those rushes before the snap and direct their protection. If he's missing these regularly, or whenever defenses show confusing fronts, then that's why guys are coming free.

 

[The Snork]

Yes TMart is talented, fast, and has improved his passing, but look at Wisc's QB--nothing special, but did not turn the ball over. Wisc used its other playmakers (wildcat RB, Ball, abbederris) so the QB just had to not screw up. With us, TMart's regular fumbles hold the rest of our offense hostage. Yes it's exhilirating to watch him run for an 80 yard touchdown every several games, but it's not worth the price of fumbling 2 or three times EVERY SINGLE GAME

+1, You can almost see the moment in TMart's eyes when he decides he's going to win the game by himself ... and games like last night are the result. Again the loss is not entirly his fault but its a big contributer.

 

[zoogs]

Oh yeah, lastly I'd add that Taylor is obviously not at sole fault for last night's loss. We were blasted out of the water, and our defense couldn't stop a darn thing. It's a team game and a team loss.

I love watching Taylor fly. I want to see many more of those exhilarating runs he does, he can really tear a defense up.

But his two most spectacular runs this season, both of them came in games where the offense was ultimately ineffective otherwise, Taylor had critical turnover(s), and we lost in embarrassing fashion.

 

[macroboy]

Our Defense couldn't stop the Gering Bulldogs tonight but tmart has to protect the ball better. Leading the FBS in fumbles 3 years in a row? That isn't OK.

And also, could we please not have a pick 6 to start our first drive in big games? I know this one is more on Bell but this is still a frightening trend. The one to open the 2nd half....... :angry: