HuskerGBR

No, he shouldn't. Give me one valid reason that favors Carnes starting over Martinez this weekend. All you know about Carnes is that he's a freshman and he had a good practice spring game You have no idea how good of a passer Carnes is. I would agree that he looked better in the spring game, but that was the spring game. Your gameplan for successfully using Carnes is the exact gameplan I've been saying we should be using with Martinez - hand the ball off and use play action to get the ball to our receivers. The truth of the matter is that we don't know what kind of a player Carnes is yet, and he needs mental reps more than anything else right now. What happens if Carnes comes in and struggles? Do we go back to flip-flopping quarterbacks like we did all year in 2009, and risk shattering Carnes confidence like we practically did with Green? It's a dangerous game doing what you're suggesting. This staff has already made quarterback mistakes in the past, and I'm sure they're not keen on doing it again anytime soon. 50% pass completion 4 TDs 5 INTs, lost count on fumbles (This is awful especially because Wisconsin is the only good team we've played so far). No idea how you don't think Carnes should get a shot to be the starter?? That doesn't support your argument at all. That just says why you don't like Martinez as a starter. The truth of the matter is you have no evidence to suggest that Carnes will do any better. And as I've said before, there's absolutely no evidence to suggest that Carnes is ready to play at this level. Quarterback or not...not many freshman are. If he does worse, you open a real hellish problem for this team. It's not worth it, especially when there's no reason to suggest Martinez can't win us games, especially when he had some solid performances this year. I have seen enough from Martinez to know we can win games with him if we play the right way, which is how any offense should be run - you play to what your quarterback does well. No matter what, putting Carnes in sets this offense back and there is absolutely no way to deny this. He's young and he has barely any game experience. Well he is a redshirt freshman. Still a freshman sure, but he has had a year in the system already. And really there is no evidence to prove that he is not ready...we haven't seen enough, because for some reason we can't get enough game experience for backups. I am not for or against Martinez being replaced by Carnes just to clarify. At this point in time I think we all just need to wait and see what happens. But Dillard should have called out the coaches and the defense in my opinion. Well I guess by the way I look at it - Martinez, as a redshirt freshman, beat out a senior. Carnes, as a redshirt freshman, couldn't beat out a sophomore. And If I'm not mistaken Bo has said Carnes isn't ready. I agree with you about Dillard, though. That is also a good point...the thing I see from Bo is that he is willing to give young guys a shot if he believes they are ready. So I should trust that he is right. Bo has probably forgotten more about football then I will ever know about football. I really wish we could see more of the backups in garbage time to see what they can do and give them experience. Maybe the depth isn't actually there though?

We have Bo's quote. That is true...like I said I am not for or against replacing Martinez. The thing is I have to trust Bo that what he says is true. It is nothing against Bo, but I really have a hard time believing anything Bo says. Bo didn't believe David was ready to play either, but once he got in he made plays and Bo was still saying he was out of position when he made those plays. The no evidence that Carnes isn't ready, that I was talking about, was about making plays in games. The David reference is probably a minority...I know that most players won't turn out like him, but sometimes it is worth a shot to find out. I just believe that some guys are good in practice, but not very good in games. Then you have guys that aren't that good in practice, but make plays in the game. I think Bo puts too much stock into practice and knowing the schemes (which he should put quite a bit of stock into), but he puts way too much on it.

No, he shouldn't. Give me one valid reason that favors Carnes starting over Martinez this weekend. All you know about Carnes is that he's a freshman and he had a good practice spring game You have no idea how good of a passer Carnes is. I would agree that he looked better in the spring game, but that was the spring game. Your gameplan for successfully using Carnes is the exact gameplan I've been saying we should be using with Martinez - hand the ball off and use play action to get the ball to our receivers. The truth of the matter is that we don't know what kind of a player Carnes is yet, and he needs mental reps more than anything else right now. What happens if Carnes comes in and struggles? Do we go back to flip-flopping quarterbacks like we did all year in 2009, and risk shattering Carnes confidence like we practically did with Green? It's a dangerous game doing what you're suggesting. This staff has already made quarterback mistakes in the past, and I'm sure they're not keen on doing it again anytime soon. 50% pass completion 4 TDs 5 INTs, lost count on fumbles (This is awful especially because Wisconsin is the only good team we've played so far). No idea how you don't think Carnes should get a shot to be the starter?? That doesn't support your argument at all. That just says why you don't like Martinez as a starter. The truth of the matter is you have no evidence to suggest that Carnes will do any better. And as I've said before, there's absolutely no evidence to suggest that Carnes is ready to play at this level. Quarterback or not...not many freshman are. If he does worse, you open a real hellish problem for this team. It's not worth it, especially when there's no reason to suggest Martinez can't win us games, especially when he had some solid performances this year. I have seen enough from Martinez to know we can win games with him if we play the right way, which is how any offense should be run - you play to what your quarterback does well. No matter what, putting Carnes in sets this offense back and there is absolutely no way to deny this. He's young and he has barely any game experience. Well he is a redshirt freshman. Still a freshman sure, but he has had a year in the system already. And really there is no evidence to prove that he is not ready...we haven't seen enough, because for some reason we can't get enough game experience for backups. I am not for or against Martinez being replaced by Carnes just to clarify. At this point in time I think we all just need to wait and see what happens. But Dillard should have called out the coaches and the defense in my opinion.

Being mad has its purpose. At the QB position you can't just play mad...lots of mistakes can happen. You have to know when to be fired up and when to keep your cool. The next game will be a defining moment for Martinez.

Hahaha! I totally thought you meant something else by the rag. That was a good laugh...thanks for that.

I never advocate changing philosophy in the middle of the season. But I think the 2 gap needs to go. Our guys aren't good enough to run it and it gives too much time for the QB to make a play, because we have no pressure from the front 4. Our secondary isn't good enough in coverage as it is, but when the QB and WR have time to make a play, then that puts more pressure on the secondary. We need to dial up the blitzes and get creative with it. Line up David on the end during some plays and let him rush. Also set our front 4 loose and let em rush the gaps. Crick is at his best when that is what he is concentrating on. We need new guys at LB in place of Fisher. Compton is OK. The LB's are out there thinking and not doing. Honestly, if it is true that guys aren't applying the coaching in the games then find someone who will. That is your job as a leader/coach. You find someone who can get the job done. I feel like the defense is doing what the offense has been doing for awhile now...trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. Plus it seems like they are just going with who has the most experience and knowledge of the defense...which is something I remember us all talking about with the offense with Watson. There are playmakers on this defense so find them and get them out there. That is why coaches get paid the big bucks. I seriously question the whole competition at every position talk we keep hearing about and I have for a couple of years now, but never said anything.

Oh and this year will be an adjustment year for us. We have all new teams with different offensive philosophies then the Big XII. We may have to recruit different players for this conference so right now we just have to get by. The only problem I have is what we saw from that game was a defense that we haven't seen since Cosgrove and something we never expected to see from Pelini. I know I am willing to give it a couple of years for an adjustment in regards to the defense and we will be dominant on that side of the ball again. For now the Huskers are just going to have to make due and I think I have accepted that. I feel like this year is close to the 2008 team (minus a freak in Suh). This year is going to be an adjustment year though.

I have to say Bigg10 is making a lot of sense here. Thanks for the kind words too!

Twitter is a bad idea. But Bell has every right to feel the way he does. You have guys playing like garbage and they keep playing them. Other guys don't really get a shot to show what they can do in a game. This is a serious problem that needs to be fixed. The backups get little game experience and not many reps in practice. That is why there is such a huge drop off like what we are seeing right now. Most of these new starters have been around long enough in the program that they should be better then this.

I am going to share my initial reaction in this thread. I was watching the game with my dad and I don't think I have ever seen him get mad at a football game. He doesn't even really like the Huskers all that much, but he kept saying this is an embarrassment and a joke. He was not happy with a performance like that and his reactions were pretty telling. My reactions were why are we not running the ball and letting Taylor sling it around? Then we had blitz packages dialed up and it was working very well...then we went away from that and dropped into coverage which gave Wilson all day to find an open receiver against a very bad secondary. We didn't run any counters, traps, screens, etc and it looked like we were running a vanilla offense. I also see zero leadership from anyone on the defense or offense...no one is getting in the other guys faces or holding others accountable for mistakes. The defensive line isn't supposed to rush...I get that, but man do they look slow. I say scrap the 2 gap and get some proper rushing from your 4 man front. The defensive line wasn't playing all that terrible though, I just think we need pressure from the front 4 and the 2 gap doesn't allow that to happen. Our secondary needs all of the help they can get and a proper rush from the front 4 would help them out. Martinez is worse then I thought. But Beck didn't put him a position to succeed. He can't throw the ball, so why do it? Honestly his running is suspect too against top opponents, but it is all we got right now. Is it also just me or does it seem like some guys get more chances to play then others? Guys that keep messing up time and time again, but they aren't pulled. Tyler Moore made a false start and was instantly pulled. I would like to see that kind of thing when Stafford, Cassidy, Andrew Green, Sean Fisher, Taylor Martinez, Will Compton, Ciante Evans, etc mess up, but we don't. Sometimes I wonder if it is favortism or we rely too much on practice warriors. Anyways seems like some guys just don't really get much of a chance...you look at a guy like David who only got his shot because the other guys got hurt. Look how that turned out.

I agree. Wiscy is just like we used to be as far as running the ball and having a great O-Line. I don't think we have ever been back and we won't be for a long time.

I learned don't get drunk the night before and have a really bad hangover....then watch Nebraska play. I need to get drunk while Nebraska plays.

So are we just picking out what people are complaining about or are we supposed to complain in this thread?

Why not? I am sick of Nebraska getting flat out embarrassed on national tv. How hard is it to have a decent offense and defense at the same time. It doesn't seem like they can ever put it all together for one game let alone an entire season. This team is at best a 20-25 ranked team...which is better then not being in the top 25 at all I guess.

I hate to see guys go down. Let's hope nobody gets injured tomorrow. Hopefully Gilbert heals up and is back to normal in 6-8 weeks.

Good stuff...you are hard pressed to find better men then Barry Alvarez and Tom Osborne. Thanks for posting that Bucky.

How do they determine the depth chart? Do the position coaches tell Bo who they think should start or does Bo do the gradings himself?

4-3 is what I am hoping we do...I don't really want to see them try anything really new, because it might not end too well. I just thought it was an interesting concept when it was brought up. They didn't have any inside info or anything...it was just speculation. You would have to have a pretty talented guy to play end and linebacker. Coverage wise I don't think it would work too well, unless he just covered the flats and that would get pretty predictable in my opinion.

I was just wondering if we will see a new scheme sort of based on the Peso. Take a guy like Martin for example. Use him as defensive end and linebacker. So if it looks like the offense is running the ball you line him up on end which would give you a 5-2 defense. If it looks like a pass then you have him cover the flats and in essence you use him as a 3rd linebacker of sorts. I don't know if this would be effective at all, but it came up when I was talking to some friends. Has anything been said or heard about Nebraska's defense doing something like this? Would this even be a good idea? (I was just using Martin as an example, so it could be anyone that might make a good defensive end/linebacker hybrid)

Badger fan here. I just want to address this RUTS reputation. Last year, UW scored 70+ on Wofford, Indiana, and Northwestern. In all of those cases, the vast % of the damage was done on the ground or by 3rd-stringers. There were also some defensive scores that added to the total. In the Indiana game where UW scored over 80, the one highlight they show is a long-bomb wounded-duck, shoulda-called-fair-catch thrown by the third stringer when they were up 50. That was the only pass thrown in the 2nd half -- the only one and it was 3rd down and long at the time. The other case that people point to is going for 2 against Minnesota midway through the 4th quarter when up 26 or something like that. Bielema said "the card said go for two". I think that was pretty lame, but given that Minnesota nearly came back on UW the year before (UW had a two-score lead and was inside the gopher red zone when there was a fumble and a long scoop & score to tighten it up considerably), you can halfway forgive him for trying to play the percentages. I said halfway -- it was a little bit of RUTSing and it got the coach fired I don't think there should be any worry of RUTS with UW on Nebraska -- you guys are waaaaay to good -- just concerned about winning at all. I don't care if Mother Theresa was playing runningback, anytime you put up 81 on an opponent, you're RUTS. Hell, after scoring 70, I'd start telling my runningbacks to start taking dives...not scoring points. That's pretty absurd. You're telling me effectively taking a knee for an entire quarter is less offensive than giving backups the chance to get a taste of in-game experience? UW scored the 70 points in 3 quarters against Northwestern, with the last touchdown coming off of an interception. Yeah going for 2 against Minnesota looks pretty bad, but they're practically in-state rivals. When Jim Harbaugh did it to Pete Carrol it was him being a "fierce competitor" and sending a message, but UW does it and it's a crime against humanity. What a load of bs. If you want to keep us out of the endzone, then man up and put a fu**ing helmet on the ball. Either way you won't be able to please everybody. If I was coaching and the other team was taking a knee the whole time in the 4th quarter...I would feel like that is a bigger slap in the face. But that is just me. If the team was still playing their starters and they were still really trying to score then I can see being kinda mad about that. I am taking Nebraska though, but I will never bet on my favorite team...I just have too much clouding my judgement and I am too emotionally invested to make very rational decisions. Plus Nebraska is a terrible team to bet on, because you just never know what team will show up game to game.

That is kinda the thing. It's the running threat that lets them get open. But in the case of a guy like Kyler Reed, I think yes, no matter if Taylor Martinez or Zac Taylor is back there at QB, he would tear through secondaries and get open several times a game. Maybe not deep all the time, but who is gonna cover that guy? They can try to put a corner on him and then we'll run it up the gut against the undersized defense. Or they can stick a linebacker or safety on him, which either opens up options elsewhere or we watch Kyler Reed gash defenses every single drive. That is very true about Reed. He creates a mismatch just by being on the field. Reed would probably have much better stats with a guy like Zac Taylor throwing to him also...I have no doubts about that. I have to say one thing about Price and Carr...GREAT QB's for sure, but I think our defense has made them look better then what they really are.

Well, I didn't start this thread because he did anything worse than usual. He was just his usual self. Put the ball on the ground a couple times. Missed wide open receivers and threw into coverage. Locked on and telegraphed a pass that went through a defenders hands. Made bad decisions in the zone read.The passes he did complete, minus a few nice balls, were passes that if he lead the receiver instead of making him leave his feet for the catch, could have been big plays. And his "best" pass, the 44 yard bomb to Reed, was a case where no defender was within 15 yards of Reed as he was streaking down field. He could have walked into the endzone but the throw was so badly under thrown, he literally had to stop and wait for it to come down and was hit while catching it. In other words, more of the same. I won't post another thread on the subject for awhile though. I've vented my frustration with him. I feel better now, thanks for listening That's fair...I notice that too about Taylor. If he could get his throws in stride with the WR then he would have a LOT of passing TD's this year. But if Taylor wasn't so dangerous in the run game...would those WR's be so open? I am going to watch the game pretty soon, so I will see what you are talking about.

I think I stepped into the twilight zone. I swear I have been in a thread just like this before.... I didn't get to see this game, because working seems to be my whole life anymore. His stats look good...what exactly did Taylor do so wrong to bring out another one of these threads?

I like that you mention the playcalling and being up to the line in time to audible. I believe being able to audible is the most effective way to run an offense. Some plays can be executed to perfection, but if the defense is in the right call then it still won't work. Being able to check out of a play based on what the defense is showing is huge and was a big part of Osborne's offense as well. I am impressed with Choi...saw him blocking down field and sticking with his blocks quite a few times. Then there is Abdullah...he is a threat to take it to the house and has the "it" factor.

I don't really get people, I guess. Here you have a QB for 4 years (when is the last time we have had that?). Here you have a QB who accounts for quite a few yards on the ground and through the air. He has made some really good decisions this year and during our hurry up offense he looks in complete control. And people are STILL complaining? Martinez does throw it like a shot put...he will never be a great passer, but so what? He is effective and teams have to account for his running which puts them in bad coverages, plus we now have an offensive coordinator that plays to Taylor's strengths and just doesn't call random plays. It is IMPOSSIBLE to make some people happy and I just don't get that. I am even tough on Taylor as a QB, but even I can see that Martinez has grown so much into the QB role that I am no longer calling him an athlete playing QB...he is now a QB that is a heck of an athlete. If we go undefeated and win a NC with Taylor, I promise you all that we will be hearing nothing but praise for him from these same people that are bashing him.