2014 Combine

[kchusker_chris]

Yeah, but Russel Wilson won a lot of games - and managed the game well. And he had more than a couple hundred passing attempts. If Taylor goes off for 33 TDs with an almost 73% passing completion his senior year I'd be shocked - and he'd be going to the combine as a QB.

I think if Taylor was more of a game manager...and could be relied on more, his stats would be pretty impressive. From a passing angle - Beck has to really keep him in check to avoid a Wisconsin 2011, or Wisconsin 2.0 2012 to happen. He makes a few mistakes in the passing game and falls apart. Give Beck a solid game manager, and this offense is going to be very tough to defend.

(and Taylor isn't changing schools between his junior/senior year - so expect much of the same)

 

[husker07]

Russell Wilson is on a whole other level than Taylor. He has significantly more arm strength and accuracy (both from the pocket and on the run), as well as using his mobility as a means of extending plays as good as anyone. Plus the thing that really separates Russell from nearly everyone is his leadership, work ethic, and preparation which are almost unrivaled even in the NFL. I like Taylor a lot, and he is making great strides in his play, but I would be shocked if he ever played a down in the pros at quarterback.

 

[RedRedJarvisRedwine]

Yeah, but Russel Wilson won a lot of games - and managed the game well. And he had more than a couple hundred passing attempts. If Taylor goes off for 33 TDs with an almost 73% passing completion his senior year I'd be shocked - and he'd be going to the combine as a QB.

I think if Taylor was more of a game manager...and could be relied on more, his stats would be pretty impressive. From a passing angle - Beck has to really keep him in check to avoid a Wisconsin 2011, or Wisconsin 2.0 2012 to happen. He makes a few mistakes in the passing game and falls apart. Give Beck a solid game manager, and this offense is going to be very tough to defend.

(and Taylor isn't changing schools between his junior/senior year - so expect much of the same)

We had a game manager! His name was Zac Lee. I'll take the more dynamic although more turnover prone QB any day. I'll take a QB that knows when and how to be dynamic and/or be a game manager. Often Taylor should be in game manager mode but takes off on a run while dangling the ball in one hand.

 

[Hooked on Huskers]

Taylor will not be an NFL quarterback. No way, no how.

You never know. Kaepernick was pretty much par with TMart in soph/junior years.....keep in mind weak Nevada foes.

Colin Sophomore.... 298Cmp-383Att-7Int 54%, 2849yds. Rushing, 1130yds.

TMart Sophomore.... 162Cmp-288Att-7Int 56.3%, 2089yds. Rushing, 876yds.

Colin Junior.... 166Cmp-282Att-6Int 58.9%, 2049yds. Rushing, 1183yds.

TMart Junior.... 228Cmp-368Att-12Int 62%, 2871yds. Rushing, 1019yds

TMart Senior.... ???????

 

[robsker]

TMart is a fine college player and we should all be very, very happy he is a Husker. He has done very well in college... and I think will have a fine senior season. Great heart. Great work ethic. Excellent mental toughness. But he is not going to make the NFL at any position. Combine... maybe. Drafted... perhaps late, though perhaps un-drafted (but likely drafted late). Make a squad? I doubt it. He will not at all be considered a Qb. As for other positions... he may get a shot... but sticking on an NFL team at any position will be a wild long shot. Again... great college player and glad we have him... but NFL is very, very unlikely.

 

[B1G Red]

TMart is a fine college player and we should all be very, very happy he is a Husker. He has done very well in college... and I think will have a fine senior season. Great heart. Great work ethic. Excellent mental toughness. But he is not going to make the NFL at any position. Combine... maybe. Drafted... perhaps late, though perhaps un-drafted (but likely drafted late). Make a squad? I doubt it. He will not at all be considered a Qb. As for other positions... he may get a shot... but sticking on an NFL team at any position will be a wild long shot. Again... great college player and glad we have him... but NFL is very, very unlikely.

+1, think Eric Crouch.

 

[Landlord]

As I said before...

Taylor would get a chance as a thrower in the pros if he had the mental side of it figured out. He's comparable to Wilson and Kaepernick in the same stages in their career, which is great, and proves what we already know, that he has an incredible skillset. But we know the area of his game he will always fall short is mentally.

 

[QMany]

As I said before...

Taylor would get a chance as a thrower in the pros if he had the mental side of it figured out. He's comparable to Wilson and Kaepernick in the same stages in their career, which is great, and proves what we already know, that he has an incredible skillset. But we know the area of his game he will always fall short is mentally.

Did Colin or Russell have the mental games figured out as Juniors at NC State and Nevada? Does anyone honestly have any insight into that? No.

Hindsight is 20/20 with these guys. Of course Russell had a great year with Wisconsin (with an NFL quality line). He was a senior. But what did he do before that? Very comparable to Taylor.

That was the point of my post. "I'll save judgment."

 

[Landlord]

As I said before...

Taylor would get a chance as a thrower in the pros if he had the mental side of it figured out. He's comparable to Wilson and Kaepernick in the same stages in their career, which is great, and proves what we already know, that he has an incredible skillset. But we know the area of his game he will always fall short is mentally.

Did Colin or Russell have the mental games figured out as Juniors at NC State and Nevada? Does anyone honestly have any insight into that? No.

Hindsight is 20/20 with these guys. Of course Russell had a great year with Wisconsin (with an NFL quality line). He was a senior. But what did he do before that? Very comparable to Taylor.

That was the point of my post. "I'll save judgment."

While you can't definitively say they did or didn't, the way we've seen Taylor play and struggle mentally for three years isn't something that can be easily fixed, if at all. I mean you can train him to recognize situations better, but to actually make someone think differently in athletics is nearly impossible.

 

[husker07]

As I said before...

Taylor would get a chance as a thrower in the pros if he had the mental side of it figured out. He's comparable to Wilson and Kaepernick in the same stages in their career, which is great, and proves what we already know, that he has an incredible skillset. But we know the area of his game he will always fall short is mentally.

Did Colin or Russell have the mental games figured out as Juniors at NC State and Nevada? Does anyone honestly have any insight into that? No.

Hindsight is 20/20 with these guys. Of course Russell had a great year with Wisconsin (with an NFL quality line). He was a senior. But what did he do before that? Very comparable to Taylor.

That was the point of my post. "I'll save judgment."

You can't compare two guys who run completely different offenses. Wilson ran a west coast system at NC State, and a pro style at Wisconsin. Two offenses where the quarterback has to throw on time, with accuracy and anticipation. We run a spread option offense, designed for easy reads and throws, with a greater margin for error in regards to accuracy. The staple NFL throw, the 15 yard out along the sideline, is a throw that I have never seen Taylor hit with any consistency. His mechanics just do not allow him to deliver the ball on time or accurately, leaving the pass either skipping in the dirt or going the other way (see Ohio State). Taylor is perfectly fine on the college level, but comparing him to a guy who would've been a top 3 pick were he 3" taller, and using out of context stats to do so is silly. Tim Tebow was/is more of a prospect at quarterback than Taylor Martinez.

 

[Count 'Bility]

I still dont think we'll know for sure the answer to Taylor's future as a football player until after at least half of next season. He could improve by leaps and bounds yet again. I doubt it, but he could. The thing is, guys come out of nowhere to star in the NFL all the time. All they need is that opportunity. Hell, if Bledsoe doesnt get hurt 11 1/2 years ago, we still dont know who Tom Brady is to this day. Now, we've spent this thread deeply discussing Taylor's shortcomings as a qb, but if he has or is addressing these and solves them this offseason, I dont see he wont get a look as a qb.

 

[kchusker_chris]

I still dont think we'll know for sure the answer to Taylor's future as a football player until after at least half of next season. He could improve by leaps and bounds yet again. I doubt it, but he could. The thing is, guys come out of nowhere to star in the NFL all the time. All they need is that opportunity. Hell, if Bledsoe doesnt get hurt 11 1/2 years ago, we still dont know who Tom Brady is to this day. Now, we've spent this thread deeply discussing Taylor's shortcomings as a qb, but if he has or is addressing these and solves them this offseason, I dont see he wont get a look as a qb.

I just can't figure out where you continue to get this idea that he improved by leaps and bounds last year. Honestly - there was little to no difference between Taylor in the championship game than any other championship game before that. He looked almost indentical most of the game to the Taylor that played Washington in the Holiday bowl. He had great games last year - (Southern Miss, Arkansas St, Idaho St) - just like he did in years past. But there were games like Iowa, UCLA, Wisconsin 2.0, Michigan St, Ohio State - where he looked very much a freshman Taylor. That's too big a chunk of the season - most in games that actually mattered.

 

[Count 'Bility]

What did he do so bad against UCLA? One bad read and a pick? He was improved. Simple question. You have to take one quarterback into a game. Who do you pick? 2011 Taylor? Or 2012 Taylor? Yes, 2012 Taylor was improved over 2011. I thought it was obvious, but that's just my opinion. It's more than just running and throwing. His general awareness was better. His leadership and intensity was better. We can spin it as being the result of more experienced receivers, oline, etc and finally a 2nd year ina system or whatever. Bottom line is he was better in 2012 than 2011. That's called improvement.

We chatted all last offseason about his supposed improved mechanics and speculated if they had really improved. Yes they did. Now what if this offseason he finds a way to solve the fumble issue and adds a deep ball to his ability? What if? Im just plyaing the if game. i doubt it, but it's not impossible.

 

[kchusker_chris]

What did he do so bad against UCLA? One bad read and a pick? He was improved. Simple question. You have to take one quarterback into a game. Who do you pick? 2011 Taylor? Or 2012 Taylor? Yes, 2012 Taylor was improved over 2011. I thought it was obvious, but that's just my opinion. It's more than just running and throwing. His general awareness was better. His leadership and intensity was better. We can spin it as being the result of more experienced receivers, oline, etc and finally a 2nd year ina system or whatever. Bottom line is he was better in 2012 than 2011. That's called improvement.

We chatted all last offseason about his supposed improved mechanics and speculated if they had really improved. Yes they did. Now what if this offseason he finds a way to solve the fumble issue and adds a deep ball to his ability? What if? Im just plyaing the if game. i doubt it, but it's not impossible.

You have to take one offense into a game, 2011 offense or 2012? Yes, 2012's offense was improved over 2011.

I was expecting to see a much larger jump w/ Taylor (and an individual) from 2011 to 2012 due to the continuity of the offense. He improved, but "leaps and bounds" is a huge stretch to me. His mechanics improved...then reverted for the most part. In fact I think they reverted back to about what they were his freshman year. NO idea what happened to him in 2011 - someone tried to change him because there is no way that side arm shot-put throw he developed that year was of his own doing. He didn't throw like that his Freshman year. So I think he's basically back to Taylor 2010 - with a better offense, a better OL, better receivers, and a slightly better understanding of the offense.

End of day, I'm with Landlord though - I don't think he's got the head on his shoulders to be great in this offense. It's why I say I'd love to see a game manager in Beck's offense. Someone that could better read and exploit a defense.

 

[B1G Red]

Taylor improved a lot last year, and I hope he improves as much or more again in '13. I think he might be one of the most exciting college QBs next year. But NFL DBs are all studs and would pick him apart. And I agree with the earlier posts, an NFL safety would tear him in half with him running standing straight up.