Brion Carnes and Bo's Doghouse

Guy Chamberlin said:
Bo Pelini rode Taylor Martinez when Taylor was clearly injured. That was probably the wrong kind of loyalty.
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I think that's my biggest gripe. Going forward hopefully you see situations where if a QB is hurt and can't go full speed, they send the next guy in. QB2 on the roster should be prepared to go (look at Ohio State!) and coaches should have that trust. If it's not injury, but it *is* injury time, then send a guy out there and let him work on stuff in a game setting. Not run option left five times in a row.

Brion didn't do much at UNI, but after listening to his interview, he actually did a little more than I thought. He says he was 9-1 as a starter there. He played sometimes, often offering a changeup as a running QB (it looks like their other QB didn't run). His first year, he played a variety of roles including receiver and returner. His second year, I'm guessing the starter was injured for a stretch. It's not too bad for a guy whose development wasn't being focused on at NU (whether earned or not), had moved to receiver, and jumped into another system with just two years to play. He wasn't anything close to a revelation, but he was in the mix and it sounds like he carved out as good an ending to his career as he could have hoped for, given how the first 3-4 years had transpired.

I think how you manage your QBs can make every difference in the world. If they're hurt, don't rush them back. If they're freshmen, redshirt them. If they get game time, give them a chance to put all their skills to the test for a while. Most importantly, give them an opportunity of some kind in the spring & fall. Like Riley & co. are now, "have three" in the mix. If you can't find three, then maybe recruit the hell of that position.

When one guy goes from promise to failure, maybe he's just another washout; it happens. When almost everyone falls off the map and the only thing that really gives us a spark is phenom-level athleticism -- which doesn't come around very often -- that's an indictment on the coaches/system/recruiting, in some combination. Those first two years in a program can be really defining for a player.

 
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Nobody should use the fact that a guy was signed to MINOR LEAGUE indoor football as evidence that the player was a talented player in college who should have gotten a better look at being the starting QB.

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
My understanding is that Taylor Martinez persevered quietly as a redshirt freshman, frequently reminded that he might be better off pursuing another position.

Given the chance to compete for quarterback against Senior returning starter Zac Lee and erstwhile superstar in waiting Cody Green, Taylor Martinez blew the entire coaching staff away, able to do everything Lee was doing in Shawn Watson's new offense, but at twice the speed. Taylor was announced as the starter at kickoff of the opening game. He scored a touchdown the first time he touched the ball. He had talent Zac Lee could only approximate and confidence Cody Green could only dream of. After the first six games of his career, Taylor Martinez was a leading Heisman Trophy candidate.

Bo Pelini rode Taylor Martinez when Taylor was clearly injured. That was probably the wrong kind of loyalty.

But it's really hard to argue there was a more deserving quarterback thwarted by Taylor Martinez's record-setting career.
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.....And the Carnes thread give us a chance to love up Taylor, Bo, and Beck some more...what an epic threesome they were.

Do you think you can say a backup Qb got a fair shake in the same sentence that you say a starting QB was marched out there as an injured player multiple, multiple times?

I'm not sure.

Taylor did set some records though. It almost seemed like that was a forced goal, almost to prove the doubters wrong no matter what the cost. Cost the kid his career.

 
Whoa. We're not going to turn this into a bash-Martinez thread are we True? Because you can say what you will about Beck & Bo, and I'll buy the round while you're pontificating, but Martinez for all his faults at QB left NOTHING on the field.

We're damned lucky to have had a guy with Taylor's heart at QB. I know you know this to be true. His only flaw (aside from being bad at the podium, which is no football flaw) is that he wasn't a pure QB in Beck's offense.

But hot damn, that kid tried his best to be that QB we needed.

 
Sure, Brion Carnes is not a good example to make any case for a Bo Pelini doghouse. But there sure a lot of people in this thread acting like Pelini didn't make numerous head scratching personnel choices during his time here. I don't care if a guy wants to call it a doghouse or just outright claim that Pelini often made bad choices but it's obvious that he did not always have the best player at every position. He was stubborn and often stuck with players and schemes that weren't working. Hardly a good situation or one to get the pitchforks after Carnes for. I for one think where the was smoke there was fire with existence of a Pelini doghouse. Too much evidence to try to claim otherwise. But I guess it could be attributed to Bo just not recognizing the player or scheme that would give the team the best opportunity to succeed. Don't see where ineptitude is really any better than supposedly playing favorites.

 
knapplc said:
Whoa. We're not going to turn this into a bash-Martinez thread are we True? Because you can say what you will about Beck & Bo, and I'll buy the round while you're pontificating, but Martinez for all his faults at QB left NOTHING on the field.

We're damned lucky to have had a guy with Taylor's heart at QB. I know you know this to be true. His only flaw (aside from being bad at the podium, which is no football flaw) is that he wasn't a pure QB in Beck's offense.

But hot damn, that kid tried his best to be that QB we needed.
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I think the coaches failed him more than he ever failed us.

 
True2tRA said:
knapplc said:
Whoa. We're not going to turn this into a bash-Martinez thread are we True? Because you can say what you will about Beck & Bo, and I'll buy the round while you're pontificating, but Martinez for all his faults at QB left NOTHING on the field.

We're damned lucky to have had a guy with Taylor's heart at QB. I know you know this to be true. His only flaw (aside from being bad at the podium, which is no football flaw) is that he wasn't a pure QB in Beck's offense.

But hot damn, that kid tried his best to be that QB we needed.
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I think the coaches failed him more than he ever failed us.
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zoogs said:
Brion didn't do much at UNI, but after listening to his interview, he actually did a little more than I thought. He says he was 9-1 as a starter there. He played sometimes, often offering a changeup as a running QB (it looks like their other QB didn't run).
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UNI's website said he started only three games at quarterback. Not offering this up to be argumentative, only that his proclamation of being 9-1 as a starter is a little misleading, or at the least conflicting with the official UNI web page. Wonder what the dealio is.

 
knapplc said:
We're damned lucky to have had a guy with Taylor's heart at QB. I know you know this to be true. His only flaw (aside from being bad at the podium, which is no football flaw) is that he wasn't a pure QB in Beck's offense.
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I will always appreciate TM's desire to win and what he did for the university.

However, he also had a serious propensity for turning the ball over.

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Enhance89 said:
zoogs said:
Brion didn't do much at UNI, but after listening to his interview, he actually did a little more than I thought. He says he was 9-1 as a starter there. He played sometimes, often offering a changeup as a running QB (it looks like their other QB didn't run).
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UNI's website said he started only three games at quarterback. Not offering this up to be argumentative, only that his proclamation of being 9-1 as a starter is a little misleading, or at the least conflicting with the official UNI web page. Wonder what the dealio is.
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In 2013; they're not up to date for 2014. He got to play a fair amount, but wasn't a superstar or anything.

 
zoogs said:
Enhance89 said:
zoogs said:
Brion didn't do much at UNI, but after listening to his interview, he actually did a little more than I thought. He says he was 9-1 as a starter there. He played sometimes, often offering a changeup as a running QB (it looks like their other QB didn't run).
Click to expand...
UNI's website said he started only three games at quarterback. Not offering this up to be argumentative, only that his proclamation of being 9-1 as a starter is a little misleading, or at the least conflicting with the official UNI web page. Wonder what the dealio is.
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In 2013; they're not up to date for 2014. He got to play a fair amount, but wasn't a superstar or anything.
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Ah gotcha.

Maybe someone should tell them it's May of 2015.

 
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