Was Martinez playing hurt at Minnesota?

[Apathy]

https://nebraska.rivals.com/news/the-weekly-rundown-a-long-two-weeks-for-nebraska

These are some good callouts by Sean Callahan...and it was obvious something was amiss when Martinez wasn't taking off when he could have scrambled for 5, 7, 10+ yards at times and instead went with the pass. If Martinez was hurt...why are we not going with Smothers? If Martinez was out of practice this whole week and gimpy, it may also explain why his throws were off too--many of those balls, Smothers could hit, right?

I'm not calling for Smothers to permanently replace Martinez...but one must look at the decision making and wonder what's going on. If a gimpy Martinez is better than a 100% Smothers, then what does that say about our QB development? Or decision making on the offensive side of the ball? 

It’s probably decision making on the offensive side of the ball.

Do the players have trust issues with the offensive coaches? Could be why we keep losing some key players over the years on offense and why they voted against playing in a bowl game. 
 

 

[lo country]

Exactly my thought. How bad do our second and third string QBs perform in practice that an injured Martinez is preferred over them. What is Verduzco doing then and what does that mean for the future of this team? Are we hoping to magically recruit an excellent QB next year? You have to wonder what Frost is thinking?

Ironically, a lot think AM's first year was his best....Luke flashed in his limited play his 1st year.....Is it that they truly got worse or Verduzco made them worse.....Just asking.  That dude should have been sent packing.

 

[Archy1221]

Never said he was perfect.  I said he is good enough to win a lot of ball games.  Look at the number of sacks/pressures allowed and consider how many he has evaded.  We are ranked near the bottom with an extremely mobile QB.  Add to that if we had an decent O line play our running backs could take some heat off Adrian... And maybe we could punch the ball in from the 2.  

If you can't see those things as the glaring issue, I'm not sure what to say.  If Adrian entered the portal today, there would be a very long line of interested teams.    

That’s quite a different take than your previous one of its all the OLines fault.   Progress!

BTW…in my reply post to you I did say the OLine has its problems.  So you claiming I “can’t see those things as a glaring issue” is just lazy and wrong.  

 

[gobiggergoredder]

Ironically, a lot think AM's first year was his best....Luke flashed in his limited play his 1st year.....Is it that they truly got worse or Verduzco made them worse.....Just asking.  That dude should have been sent packing.

You could say that but you’d need to call out the QB development at Rice and Louisville if you’re going to reference Luke.  I happen to think his first year success was more about the cast around him.  I think he’s the exact same player.  The signs were there in year 1.

I’ll beat the drum as long as I can.  Your QB is basically what you got when he steps on campus when it comes to a skill set.  Sure he needs to learn plays and maybe needs to get stronger.  If he struggles with accuracy, isn’t comfortable in the pocket, has a Taylor Martinez throwing motion a coach isn’t going to fix that.  Mike Leach has said it multiple times.

https://footballscoop.com/news/mike-leach-quarterback-isnt-accurate-shouldnt-recruit

At the end of the day there are very few people that can play QB at a high level.  Even less teams have two that can.  It will become even more difficult with transfer rules and NIL.

 

[Hilltop]

That’s quite a different take than your previous one of its all the OLines fault.   Progress!

BTW…in my reply post to you I did say the OLine has its problems.  So you claiming I “can’t see those things as a glaring issue” is just lazy and wrong.  

My words - "Adrian is plenty good to win when he isn't asked to carry the entire offense alone".  I can't control how others perceive them but in no way did I state he was perfect.  He is good enough to win games when the rest of the team does their part - specifically the O Line.  

Saying the Oline has it's problems is different than stating they are THE problem, which they are.  You obviously are not seeing that as the glaring issue on the team.  

 

[Born N Bled Red]

My words - "Adrian is plenty good to win when he isn't asked to carry the entire offense alone".  I can't control how others perceive them but in no way did I state he was perfect.  He is good enough to win games when the rest of the team does their part - specifically the O Line.  

Saying the Oline has it's problems is different than stating they are THE problem, which they are.  You obviously are not seeing that as the glaring issue on the team.  

How about saying the oline, receiver and running back rooms all have deficiencies that outweigh, but magnify Martinez's deficiencies. How many of his interceptions were balls that receivers got hands on but didn't catch? How many touchdowns did Warner drop alone? How many other incompletions were balls that may not have been perfect, but better receivers could have made a play on. Do slow receivers that can't create separation have something to do with why Martinez holds the ball so long sometimes? 

Does constant pressure prevent a qb from being comfortable in the pocket? Make him rush through his reads, unload the ball quickly without proper form to avoid a sack? 

Do running backs that can't pass block compound or detract from a poor offensive line? Does a running back that gets 2 yards, runs into the back of the offensive lineman and falls down leaving the offense behind the sticks make it easier for a defense to tee off on the quarterback? 

Those of us who say Martinez isn't the problem can see this impacting his game. A single player can't rise above his supporting cast on every single play. Especially when opposing teams know he is our best weapon.

Martinez isn't perfect, but his deficiencies are amplified and magnified by the cast around him. That is what we mean when we say he is the least of our problems. Unfortunately, these problems will not be resolved by replacing the quarterback. We're lucky to have the one we got.

 

[BaytownHusker]

Does anyone know exactly what was hurt when he took the Jaw shot during the MSU game.  I could be way off but I feel like he has a Broke or some what fractured jaw. If you notice and i have watched every play almost since he came back. He barley speaks or calls out stuff on the field. If you notice he has some type of wire or stick looking thing in mouth on the one side. 

Anyone know?

 

[All Hail Herbie]

I would be surprised if 3/4 of collegiate football players are not dealing with some form of injury at this stage in the season.  The game is violent and takes a toll on a player's physique.

That said, the mere mention of this at this stage in the season seems to be rationalization.  While results are not directly correlated, injury Q&A following a poor performance suggests that one is somehow related to the other.  In other words, if we only had a healthy QB, the game result would have been different.

Let's not fall into that trap...

 

[admo]

Does anyone know exactly what was hurt when he took the Jaw shot during the MSU game.  I could be way off but I feel like he has a Broke or some what fractured jaw. If you notice and i have watched every play almost since he came back. He barley speaks or calls out stuff on the field. If you notice he has some type of wire or stick looking thing in mouth on the one side. 

Anyone know?

That's just Skoal.  It's a pretty big plug.  He's alright

 

[twofittyonred]

Does anyone know exactly what was hurt when he took the Jaw shot during the MSU game.  I could be way off but I feel like he has a Broke or some what fractured jaw. If you notice and i have watched every play almost since he came back. He barley speaks or calls out stuff on the field. If you notice he has some type of wire or stick looking thing in mouth on the one side. 

Anyone know?

he's done plenty of post game and weekly pressers...  no way he's hiding a broken or fractured jaw..

 

[Hilltop]

How about saying the oline, receiver and running back rooms all have deficiencies that outweigh, but magnify Martinez's deficiencies. How many of his interceptions were balls that receivers got hands on but didn't catch? How many touchdowns did Warner drop alone? How many other incompletions were balls that may not have been perfect, but better receivers could have made a play on. Do slow receivers that can't create separation have something to do with why Martinez holds the ball so long sometimes? 

Does constant pressure prevent a qb from being comfortable in the pocket? Make him rush through his reads, unload the ball quickly without proper form to avoid a sack? 

Do running backs that can't pass block compound or detract from a poor offensive line? Does a running back that gets 2 yards, runs into the back of the offensive lineman and falls down leaving the offense behind the sticks make it easier for a defense to tee off on the quarterback? 

Those of us who say Martinez isn't the problem can see this impacting his game. A single player can't rise above his supporting cast on every single play. Especially when opposing teams know he is our best weapon.

Martinez isn't perfect, but his deficiencies are amplified and magnified by the cast around him. That is what we mean when we say he is the least of our problems. Unfortunately, these problems will not be resolved by replacing the quarterback. We're lucky to have the one we got.

Well said.  

 

[krc1995]

Does anyone know exactly what was hurt when he took the Jaw shot during the MSU game.  I could be way off but I feel like he has a Broke or some what fractured jaw. If you notice and i have watched every play almost since he came back. He barley speaks or calls out stuff on the field. If you notice he has some type of wire or stick looking thing in mouth on the one side. 

Anyone know?

Radio speculation before the Michigan game suggested something was definitely wrong.(what do they know). I saw him with his helmet on the sidelines of the Minnie game and thought he looked fine ( what do I know). 
 

he does have a significant underbite. Might affect his jaw action. 

 

[ZRod]

Does anyone know exactly what was hurt when he took the Jaw shot during the MSU game.  I could be way off but I feel like he has a Broke or some what fractured jaw. If you notice and i have watched every play almost since he came back. He barley speaks or calls out stuff on the field. If you notice he has some type of wire or stick looking thing in mouth on the one side. 

Anyone know?

He's not playing with a broken jaw, but getting hit with a helmet to the jaw hurts like a mother f#&%er. From experience it felt like somebody took a hammer and hit me in the face (but that was without the padded chin strap). You'll be fine if nothing is broken, maybe some loose teeth and it will definitely be tinder for a few weeks, but it's not unreasonable to get and X-ray after the kind of shot he took. There's no way anyone is clearing him to play with a broken or fractured jaw.

I'm guessing he's got a bum ankle because he didn't take a lot of hits running against Michigan, but he did have two low blows. A no call below the knees hit on a pass in the first half and the one on the fumble. Plus he took the cheap shot out of bounds against Michigan State, where he kind of got rolled on.

 

[KingBlank]

he's done plenty of post game and weekly pressers...  no way he's hiding a broken or fractured jaw..

People are hilarious, he couldn't even talk if his jaw was broken.  His ankle is screwed up and he played like it. 

 

[TGHusker]

CAn't disagree wt the reply below.  Where is our # 2 QB after all of these years?