The topic says it all. I have lurked on Husker boards since the internet was invented. This is the first time I am posting anything. I will start off with this question: What does Taylor Martinez bring to this football team at the quarterback position that anyone else starting at any skill position on this team could not do?
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- Thread starter strider77
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junior4949
All-American
No one else on the team that has the ability to read the zone read has his burst of speed.
zoogs
Assistant Coach
Welcome to the board! FYI, we don't have a pay board here 
Thaaaat...might be a touchy question at the moment.
I do think his running ability could exceed anyone else's. At least his big-play running ability. We have obviously worked hard to mold him into the offense and it's still an ongoing project. When he's on, he's on. Problem is his tendency in too many games now to just switch it off, and go completely off. When that happens, it doesn't matter what you call, we're done for.
Thaaaat...might be a touchy question at the moment.
I do think his running ability could exceed anyone else's. At least his big-play running ability. We have obviously worked hard to mold him into the offense and it's still an ongoing project. When he's on, he's on. Problem is his tendency in too many games now to just switch it off, and go completely off. When that happens, it doesn't matter what you call, we're done for.
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Junior4949 I think you are right. It's that threat to run 80 yards off a zone read that keeps him in the game. But what are we trading off? Ron Kellogg could not run 80 yards on a zone read with the burst of Taylor, but he knows how to throw a football. If Kellogg could execute an occasional play action, hit an open receiver, hand off and get the play going before the clock expires, wouldn't he be a better option?
Seattle Red
Three-Star Recruit
T-MIght is fast no doubt.
Great acceleration too.
But that's about it for the positive side...
On the downside:
Doesn't really have much in the way of a juke that I have seen, just runs fast like a sprinter in his lane.
He's a little thin and not a strong runner and is gonna get his a$$ KO'd one of these days if he doesn't continue to get better at protecting himself.
Better, but still dangerous with ball security.
Doesn't seem to have the vision/awareness to see the defense and check down to open secondary and tertiary receivers and is prone to throwing pics as a result.
Not a consistently accurate passer, definitely can't throw a decent deep ball to compete with top tier defenses.
Has happy feet, panics too often, poor pocket presence.
I'm not sure if I like his demeanor/attitude. Seems somewhat arrogant to me, at the very least a very peculiar personality..
Great acceleration too.
But that's about it for the positive side...
On the downside:
Doesn't really have much in the way of a juke that I have seen, just runs fast like a sprinter in his lane.
He's a little thin and not a strong runner and is gonna get his a$$ KO'd one of these days if he doesn't continue to get better at protecting himself.
Better, but still dangerous with ball security.
Doesn't seem to have the vision/awareness to see the defense and check down to open secondary and tertiary receivers and is prone to throwing pics as a result.
Not a consistently accurate passer, definitely can't throw a decent deep ball to compete with top tier defenses.
Has happy feet, panics too often, poor pocket presence.
I'm not sure if I like his demeanor/attitude. Seems somewhat arrogant to me, at the very least a very peculiar personality..
Husker_x
All-American
I see where your question is coming from. Here's the answer.
Measuring a quarterback has absolutely nothing to do with what one thing they bring to the table. A lot of guys are fast enough to outrun LBs and defensive ends. You measure a quarterback by asking a number of questions: can he read a defense? Can he feel the pocket collapsing? If so, does he have instincts that tell him what to do when things go south? Can he make enough throws for this given system? Can he learn from past mistakes? Does he make up for his deficiencies by excelling in other areas?
For me, the last question is the question Taylor Martinez will face until the day he dies or more likely gets benched. I said after the first game I think that true criticism of Taylor wouldn't begin until his athleticism against weaker teams no longer made up for his mistakes. Welcome to our first heaping help of reality. Judging our QB situation is a cost/benefit analysis. Right now Taylor is a liability--he makes more mistakes than plays when the lights are at their brightest. He has no feel for the passing game, or really the game at all. I don't see growth. That's what's disappointing.
Measuring a quarterback has absolutely nothing to do with what one thing they bring to the table. A lot of guys are fast enough to outrun LBs and defensive ends. You measure a quarterback by asking a number of questions: can he read a defense? Can he feel the pocket collapsing? If so, does he have instincts that tell him what to do when things go south? Can he make enough throws for this given system? Can he learn from past mistakes? Does he make up for his deficiencies by excelling in other areas?
For me, the last question is the question Taylor Martinez will face until the day he dies or more likely gets benched. I said after the first game I think that true criticism of Taylor wouldn't begin until his athleticism against weaker teams no longer made up for his mistakes. Welcome to our first heaping help of reality. Judging our QB situation is a cost/benefit analysis. Right now Taylor is a liability--he makes more mistakes than plays when the lights are at their brightest. He has no feel for the passing game, or really the game at all. I don't see growth. That's what's disappointing.
Eric the Red
Team HuskerBoard
Remember: Quarterback is the most difficult position in sports. PERIOD!
If it was easy every team would have a great one.
knapplc
International Man of Mystery
Not only this ^^^ but he's still a sophomore. People hate to hear that, but it's an unavoidable truth.
I would definitely have liked to see more growth from last year to this year, but we got baby steps instead of giant strides. It is what it is. There are still many mistakes, and they don't look like they're going away anytime soon.
The sad thing is that we don't have another option. Carnes is still too young to take the reins. Maybe next year? But if we put freshman Carnes in now, we can expect the same things we had with freshman Martinez last year. More pain, just from a different guy.
I would definitely have liked to see more growth from last year to this year, but we got baby steps instead of giant strides. It is what it is. There are still many mistakes, and they don't look like they're going away anytime soon.
The sad thing is that we don't have another option. Carnes is still too young to take the reins. Maybe next year? But if we put freshman Carnes in now, we can expect the same things we had with freshman Martinez last year. More pain, just from a different guy.
3rd and long
Starter
But again, how do we know. We have not given him ANY meaningfull snaps. Kanpplc, you and I have discussed this seemingly many times, but right now, I really believe any of our other QB's could be just as effecitve. Any QB that can throw somewhat effectively is going to prevent defenses from loading the box, then maybe can run the ball for four quarters.knapplc said:
The Duke
All-Conference
Welcome to the board strider77! I just joined this weekend too.strider77 said:
What Taylor brings to this football team is just pure God given speed. Granted, he doesn't have the same lateral speed like Tommie Frazier or Eric Crouch, but when he gets going North & South there is not too many other QB's or overall college football players for that matter with his kind of speed. He is already a feared runner by defenses. Now if he can just improve his throwing mechanics, than he could develop into a true dual-threat quarterback.