Taylor Martinez

[Hoosker]

He might be smarter now but where is the TM from last year? TM was a much better quaterback last year (pre-ankle). Now, he is very timid when he runs and can not break a tackle. He's the softest QB in the BIG. I would take 2010 TM over 2011 TM.

Everyone points to the OSU game in Stillwater last year as Taylor's best game of his career. I don't know if everyone realizes how bad the Cowboys defense was last year. It was awful. Their secondary was one of the worst units in the country. Not to mention just an overall poorly coached defense in general. Sure Taylor shredded em in every phase, but I wouldn't make a statement for his legitimacy when your main evidence comes from a performance against an awfully bad defense.

As for the throwing motion, does it work? Sometimes. Does it look good? Hell no. Would i rather watch someone else throw the ball? Yes. He doesn't make it look pretty, but if he had an excellent running game to compliment his sub par passing skills, then I wouldn't mind, but he has fallen off as a runner and lacks that certain QB factor that all the good ones have, (the ability to feel pressure, to check all the receivers, to make something out of nothing, to make tough throws on the run, etc.)

I don't think his throwing motion is that bad, but it sure doesn't come in handy when he really needs to step into a throw or set up a screen to Rex or one of the receivers. He lacks that touch because he throws it like that, IMO. I have started to warm up to Taylor and the way he plays, but deep down, I want Brion to see more time and eventually be our starting QB. Totally a personal opinion, but I just feel that the ceiling is higher for Carnes and we've already seen Taylor's best.

 

[Enhance]

I still think he's fallen off as a runner because of what he's being asked to do now. It's different than the zone-read or designed quarterback runs he was getting all of 2010. I think it's a lot tougher to run the more traditional option plays than it is to run a zone-read and burst straight forward.

He's learning the option from people who aren't option gurus. From my perspective, it'd be different if Martinez was on one of Osborne's teams. He'd probably be better at it and be more explosive with it. He's still learning it.

That said, at times this year he hasn't looked great on the zone read or designed qb runs. I don't know what to say about those because it doesn't fit my overall argument. It might have something to do with the fact that Big 10 seems to have a lot better defenses than what the Big 12 offered, and our offensive line was a bit under-manned this year in comparison.

 

[California Husker]

He might be smarter now but where is the TM from last year? TM was a much better quaterback last year (pre-ankle). Now, he is very timid when he runs and can not break a tackle. He's the softest QB in the BIG. I would take 2010 TM over 2011 TM.

We have not seen the same Martinez since the injury. He is okay when he is running a designed QB run, but when he has to make decisions, he gets tentative and seems to not know what to do. How many times this year was there a running lane that disappeared as the pocket collapsed on him.

I think the big question raised by these video clips however is WTH happened to BK???

 

[ladyhawke]

He might be smarter now but where is the TM from last year? TM was a much better quaterback last year (pre-ankle). Now, he is very timid when he runs and can not break a tackle. He's the softest QB in the BIG. I would take 2010 TM over 2011 TM.

My husband said the same thing. He noticed a change from last year to this year. I wonder if the coaches said something to him or what? Interesting!

He IS smarter this year, he's also gained a little bit more weight. Could that have reduced his speed? I'm also of the opinion that the coaches have kind of (just my speculation of course) pounded into his head to 'stay safe/protect the ball' so he does appear a bit 'timid' I think all of this will work out in due time. I've noticed in my students that when they only have one thing to do they do it very well but then when something new is added they have to make changes not only in performance but mentally as well. Taylor has two new 'applications' he has to deal with this year: 'stay safe/protect the ball' on top of last year's 'don't run so much' and then another addition this year 'pass the ball more' ARRGGHHH! I know I couldn't do all of that. Being smarter will pay off in the long run. I believe speed and agility will return as he learns the entire process of being a quarterback. Glad he's only a sophomore. Can you imagine how great he'll be when he's a senior!! Heisman material for sure??

 

[Blaze1up]

Next 2 years TMart gets the start !

 

[Jason Sitoke]

I'm not going to waste time arguing why Denard Robinson is a better player than Martinez. If you can't see it, then there's nothing I can say to change your mind.

Reminds me of a few years ago on Huskerpedia when I was arguing with several posters who claimed they would take Cory Ross over any RB in the country, including Adrian Peterson at the time.

 

[zoogs]

Watching the beginning of the game yesterday, it seemed to me that Taylor really had a hell of a bad game. Especially early, with lots of wayward (to put it kindly) throws, dangerous throws, and that fumbled run. It doesn't look like he knows how to take a hit, which is concerning.

He continued to have passes batted down all day (and there was that tip that Enunwa caught for a large gain that the defender was in perfect position to make the interception on)...but, as the game wore on, he made some terrific throws to receivers that appeared to be gashing the defense.

Even still, it seems Taylor has major issues with his mechanics right now, and even though we won the game and Taylor is a sophomore - about to be a junior - I don't know how I can say anything other than his play at quarterback has been at best acceptable. Is it the best we have, maybe. But we will need him to take it up to "star power" level next year in order for this team and all its offensive talent to take it to the next level.

That's not something I am really betting on. I notice Taylor has mostly played a lot smarter this year, and it's been suggested he makes a great effort to play within the bounds of the offense. - cutting out some of the impulse plays like his Brett Favre pitches of last season. This has been outstanding, but his passing skills, I don't think he's demonstrated any real improvement there. Maybe even some regression - something masked by the fact that he is playing smarter - and that's concerning. Even more concerning is the lack of gamebreaking running that is the big reason he's been starting. I hope we'll see Taylor bring those back. Beck's offense is really creative and we need Taylor to unlock more of his potential to open it up.

 

[Hercules]

Zoogies -

First of all, I would agree that Taylor didn't play particularly well against Iowa - I thought he was adequate, and I don't know how affected he was in the passing game by his ankle injury. Obviously he couldn't run, but perhaps his accuracy was affected too... I just don't know, and I'm not going to worry about it too much because he's shown plenty enough improvement this year to satisfy me.

As far as improvement for next year - I'm not as worried about Taylor improving his "passing skills" as I am some other things. He's never going to be the most accurate QB, but he's demonstrated this season against very good defenses that he can hurt teams with his arm. If you're hoping that he comes out on fire every single game, that's just not going to happen. Ask Andrew Luck how his game against Oregon went... We have to be good enough everywhere else that our QB doesn't have to play perfect in order for our offense to put up some points, and I think we took a good stride towards that this year.

As far as what I want to see Taylor improve upon:

1. Seeing the whole field - this goes for running and passing. I think sometimes he still tries to play too fast, and as a result he'll miss a wide open running lane (like against Michigan), or he'll miss a wide open receiver streaking down the field. As he goes into his junior year, I hope his knowledge of the game continues to improve and that he can slow things down and see the whole field.

2. Read - option game: He still seems to miss reads from time to time, and we leave some yards out on the field because of it.

3. Traditional option game: I thought as the season went on, Taylor showed improvement at getting the defender to commit more consistently, and at waiting to pitch until the last second when it worked. Other times, I thought his execution (and everybody else's) left a bit to be desired. If this is going to be a part of Tim Beck's offense, we need a lot of work on it during the offseason.

Frankly, I'm pretty confident in what Taylor brings to the table for next season. He silenced a lot of critics this year, which is going to make for a much more pleasant offseason around these parts, and he demonstrated that he can learn from his mistakes and improve in facets of the game where we need him to improve. If he makes as much progress from year 2 - 3 as he did from year 1 - 2, our starting QB should be one of the most dangerous weapons in the conference.

I'm much more concerned about the progress of our offensive line over the offseason. If THEY can continue to improve, then our offense is going to be awfully, awfully dangerous. I thought the O-line took a step forward this year, but they're nowhere close to being as dominant as they should be.

 

[bshirt]

Zoogies -

First of all, I would agree that Taylor didn't play particularly well against Iowa - I thought he was adequate, and I don't know how affected he was in the passing game by his ankle injury. Obviously he couldn't run, but perhaps his accuracy was affected too... I just don't know, and I'm not going to worry about it too much because he's shown plenty enough improvement this year to satisfy me.

As far as improvement for next year - I'm not as worried about Taylor improving his "passing skills" as I am some other things. He's never going to be the most accurate QB, but he's demonstrated this season against very good defenses that he can hurt teams with his arm. If you're hoping that he comes out on fire every single game, that's just not going to happen. Ask Andrew Luck how his game against Oregon went... We have to be good enough everywhere else that our QB doesn't have to play perfect in order for our offense to put up some points, and I think we took a good stride towards that this year.

As far as what I want to see Taylor improve upon:

1. Seeing the whole field - this goes for running and passing. I think sometimes he still tries to play too fast, and as a result he'll miss a wide open running lane (like against Michigan), or he'll miss a wide open receiver streaking down the field. As he goes into his junior year, I hope his knowledge of the game continues to improve and that he can slow things down and see the whole field.

2. Read - option game: He still seems to miss reads from time to time, and we leave some yards out on the field because of it.

3. Traditional option game: I thought as the season went on, Taylor showed improvement at getting the defender to commit more consistently, and at waiting to pitch until the last second when it worked. Other times, I thought his execution (and everybody else's) left a bit to be desired. If this is going to be a part of Tim Beck's offense, we need a lot of work on it during the offseason.

Frankly, I'm pretty confident in what Taylor brings to the table for next season. He silenced a lot of critics this year, which is going to make for a much more pleasant offseason around these parts, and he demonstrated that he can learn from his mistakes and improve in facets of the game where we need him to improve. If he makes as much progress from year 2 - 3 as he did from year 1 - 2, our starting QB should be one of the most dangerous weapons in the conference.

I'm much more concerned about the progress of our offensive line over the offseason. If THEY can continue to improve, then our offense is going to be awfully, awfully dangerous. I thought the O-line took a step forward this year, but they're nowhere close to being as dominant as they should be.

So am I and I thought our run blocking actually took a step backwards this year. We "should" start getting some young, very talented road-graders playing next year though (I hope).

 

[California Husker]

We did see him smack mid-level teams in UW and KSU last year. They have legitimate speed on the defensive side of the ball and he really made them look bad. Especially against KSU, he read the gap up the middle, took two steps, and was gone. This year, the same type of hole would yield a 10-15 yard gain. You don't realize how effectively Taylor can kill a drive when he single-handedly creates 1 play 80 yard drives. Without the big play ability, he has more opportunities to make mistakes. His decision making has gotten better, but between bad decisions and poor execution, something is bound to go wrong on a lot of drives.

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