Tim Beck" You can't be afraid to start over and junk everything."

[knapplc]

Sipple made an interesting observation about Beck's interview last night:

Maybe I'm trying too hard to read between the lines. Maybe I ought to relax. But listening to Beck, it was pretty clear that the Nebraska quarterback race once again will be wide open. Guess that's not a surprise because that's the Bo Pelini way, so to speak, even at the QB position. In some programs, it would be a returning starter's "job to lose." Bottom line, Martinez once again will have to win the job. Nothing wrong with daily competition, right?

LINK

I like to hear this. While it makes me a little nervous to think that we may start 2011 with yet another first-year starter, the bottom line is we HAVE TO put the best guy out there. Nobody is handing Martinez the job at this point, and that's great. He'll have to earn it again, and (apparently) leadership in the huddle/locker room is going to factor into that.

I understand that Martinez may be naturally shy, and there's no harm in that. But if the job description of the starting QB at Nebraska includes having the respect of your teammates and being a leader on the field and in the locker room, then that's what you're going to have to be. Talent only gets you so far. We saw what happened last year when talent got thrown out the window due to injuries. The huddle collapsed, and confidence and productivity went along with it. You just cannot have that.

Maybe it is just me but he sounded pro Cody Green. The "rumors" I hear about the relationships of the QBs with the team lead me to this thought. I've heard the guys like CG more.

Beck is looking for a combination of skill and leadership. Cody may be liked, but that doesn't mean he's a leader. From what I understand he's liked quite a bit in the locker room. I don't think Beck is going to confuse "liked" with "leader." If he does, we won't be in any better shape with whatever offense we run in 2011 than we were post-injury 2010.

 

[Hunter94]

TM has got to get over being a loaner, his team chemistry sure looked to be minimal last season, he just doesn't look/sound like the part Beck is looking for......but i can't see a true freshman leading a new offense either.....2011 could be a funky season.

 

[HuskerNMO]

lots of question marks, glad Beck is excited, but scrapping everything and starting over makes for one helluva learning curve......may make for a rough ride.

Yes and no, Beck will install his own terminology into the offense and we will likely move away from the WCO route concepts, but the offense will still be an offense. Is it easier for Beck to teach from what he knows or to try and adapt his teaching style to an offense that Bill Callahan brought over and Shawn Watson tried to tweak? You have new players every year that have to learn the system, our QB"s have Taylor with only 1 year in the previous system, and Cody Green with 2. No other QB on the roster has done much with the prior system (Carnes on scout team, Spano injured, Turner coming in new and possibly Starling), so you aren't throwing away that much. Then factor in our RB's where we only have Burkhead coming back with any real experience, WR's? Kinnie is back, the only big contributor in that side. You still have the TE's and OL, but their schemes won't change that much in the new offense.

I don't know exactly what Beck will throw out there, I just hope it relies much less on the deep zone read than we did this year and migrates more to the pistol offense. You can do so many things out of the pistol offensive schemes that would fit our talent, it's basically an offense modeled off our our mid 90's offense without the QB under center. It allows the zone read, traditional option, and opens up the play action passing game better. But we'll see what happens.

 

[HuskerNMO]

TM has got to get over being a loaner, his team chemistry sure looked to be minimal last season, he just doesn't look/sound like the part Beck is looking for......but i can't see a true freshman leading a new offense either.....2011 could be a funky season.

I am not the biggest Taylor Martinez fan, I admit, but I will say one thing; do not count that young man out. He has the talent and it factor inside, and he does know how to work hard. It's hard to be a leader when you don't have a chance. Taylor played for 3 different high schools, and never the same one two years in a row. He then came to Lincoln and mostly played WR on the scout team for a year, then was thrust into the limelight this fall as our starting QB. And even as the starting QB, he didn't have the greatest relationship and fit with his QB coach and OC which hobbled his development. Taylor has much room to grow as a leader and team mate, but he certainly has the ability to do it. It's only natural that his leadership skills would be trailing in development with his history. He has proven that he can make great strides and prove doubters wrong, and to count him out, when he has the same chance as every other QB on the roster is very premature.

 

[bshirt]

TM has got to get over being a loaner, his team chemistry sure looked to be minimal last season, he just doesn't look/sound like the part Beck is looking for......but i can't see a true freshman leading a new offense either.....2011 could be a funky season.

I am not the biggest Taylor Martinez fan, I admit, but I will say one thing; do not count that young man out. He has the talent and it factor inside, and he does know how to work hard. It's hard to be a leader when you don't have a chance. Taylor played for 3 different high schools, and never the same one two years in a row. He then came to Lincoln and mostly played WR on the scout team for a year, then was thrust into the limelight this fall as our starting QB. And even as the starting QB, he didn't have the greatest relationship and fit with his QB coach and OC which hobbled his development. Taylor has much room to grow as a leader and team mate, but he certainly has the ability to do it. It's only natural that his leadership skills would be trailing in development with his history. He has proven that he can make great strides and prove doubters wrong, and to count him out, when he has the same chance as every other QB on the roster is very premature.

Damn fine post, jliehr.

 

[mmmtodd]

TM has got to get over being a loaner, his team chemistry sure looked to be minimal last season, he just doesn't look/sound like the part Beck is looking for......but i can't see a true freshman leading a new offense either.....2011 could be a funky season.

I am not the biggest Taylor Martinez fan, I admit, but I will say one thing; do not count that young man out. He has the talent and it factor inside, and he does know how to work hard. It's hard to be a leader when you don't have a chance. Taylor played for 3 different high schools, and never the same one two years in a row. He then came to Lincoln and mostly played WR on the scout team for a year, then was thrust into the limelight this fall as our starting QB. And even as the starting QB, he didn't have the greatest relationship and fit with his QB coach and OC which hobbled his development. Taylor has much room to grow as a leader and team mate, but he certainly has the ability to do it. It's only natural that his leadership skills would be trailing in development with his history. He has proven that he can make great strides and prove doubters wrong, and to count him out, when he has the same chance as every other QB on the roster is very premature.

Damn fine post, jliehr.

agreed.

 

[Jeremy]

Get on your block.

Footwork and leverage.

Sustain your block.

Make the right read and trust your teammates.

Protect the ball.

Fight for every inch.

These things don't change, and it doesn't matter what we're running. If we focus on fundamentals and doing one thing really well, we'll move the ball. May not be pretty, but we sure as hell won't see the '10 Holiday Bowl again. That game was an absolute disgrace to our proud program, and everyone associated with the program should be ashamed.

Oh yeah, and Cody Green over-throws more than half his passes. Good kid, but not the guy to be taking snaps when the game is on the line.

 

[Hujan]

and the only difference in 2010 was an uber-soft schedule where we played nary a stout defense

This is a bit of a myth and it needs to stop. I can't find the post now, but I compared the total and scoring defenses of our first four conference opponents, where we posted great big offensive numbers, vs the total and scoring defenses of our final four conference opponents, where we struggled. The offensive numbers dropped dramatically, but so did the defensive numbers. We scored 31 on the #6 scoring defense in the nation (Missouri). Our biggest struggle came against the #6 total defense in the nation (Texas). We weren't suddenly exposed by better defenses later on, we just lost our two best quarterbacks to injury - and tried to play one of them anyway.

2010 was far, far from the 'worst possible' offense.

You can flush all those statistics down the toilet as far as I'm concerned. Go back and watch the Holiday Bowl where we put up a single TD against Washington and our best play was a freaking punt and tell me the offense can get worse than that.

 

[mmmtodd]

 

[Hujan]

Some excellent posts in this thread by jliehr. Hat tip to you, sir.

 

[mmmtodd]

lots of question marks, glad Beck is excited, but scrapping everything and starting over makes for one helluva learning curve......may make for a rough ride.

how much rougher can it get? Losing games because your offense cant put up a TD when you have a great defense and easily the best punter and kicker of all time behind you? the last one isnt just opinion, its mothertruckin fact.

 

[Hujan]

lots of question marks, glad Beck is excited, but scrapping everything and starting over makes for one helluva learning curve......may make for a rough ride.

how much rougher can it get? Losing games because your offense cant put up a TD when you have a great defense and easily the best punter and kicker of all time behind you? the last one isnt just opinion, its mothertruckin fact.

Agreed. I hate the whole idea of not going full tilt into something that will prove beneficial long-term simply because it will be rough in the short term.

"Ooh, we can't junk our old offense completely for a new, effective one, because that will make Year 1 really nasty!" Or, "Ooh, we can't start another freshman QB even if he shows more promise than all the vets on the roster because that will make Year 1 really nasty!"

Yeah, but if you half-a$$ it, Year 1 may be a little less nasty, but Years 2 and 3 are going to be less effective as well. Half-assing the transition is what got us into this mess in the first place when we retained Callahan Assistant A and Callahan Assistant B. Maybe it was the prudent move to save the 2008 season, but at this point it's best just to move on. Make the change wholesale now, take your lumps that first season, and hit the ground running in Year 2. No more compromises.

 

[walksalone]

I admit, I am a bit intrigued, and excited about the prospects of the new OC.

But, I think we've also got to be real about this. There is some serious disillusionment if we think Beck's going to come in, sprinkle some fairy dust on this, and boom, we're scoring 40+ points per game. This is something that is going to have some growing pains, some people questioning the choice Bo made, and other general discontent.

Only thing I really expect, is watching the offense, if they adapt their gameplan to meet the demands of the current situation. Thats one of the biggest issues that needs to be addressed. If you see something not working, tweak it, don't just keep doing it over and over. If I can watch the offense go through that kind of progression, then that's what I'll be looking for.

 

[mmmtodd]

the defense was completely whitewashed.

how did that work out?

we dont have to score 40 plus a game. we have to score when it matters...and that DID NOT HAPPEN OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS.

maybe it wont with beck, but it seems like Beck and Bo obviously get along, which Watson and BO never did. It cant be any worse.

 

[walksalone]

the defense was completely whitewashed.

how did that work out?

we dont have to score 40 plus a game. we have to score when it matters...and that DID NOT HAPPEN OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS.

maybe it wont with beck, but it seems like Beck and Bo obviously get along, which Watson and BO never did. It cant be any worse.

I know that, you know that, 3 guys huddling for warmth in the Ukraine know that. People just can't have unrealistic expectations, is all I'm trying to say.