Jason Sitoke

I'm not an expert at all, so anyone who knows better feel free to correct me. But looking back at each offensive series in the game, there were only a couple times where Martinez looked like he made the wrong read to me. I just watched for the player they left unblocked, be it a lineman or a linebacker, and how that player reacted, and then whether Martinez made the right decision or not. Even when Martinez did make the right decision in the zone read, it didn't matter because the rest of Texas' defense was crashing down on the ballcarrier. I haven't re-watched the game, but your analysis looks like what I was seeing as well. When 2 or 3 Longhorns are in the backfield on every play, that usually means they're bringing more than you can block. When you see wide open receivers downfield, that usually means they've committed their safeties to stopping the run. I'm not saying that we needed to throw for 300 yards to win, but I have a feeling if we hit some of those big passing plays, we would have started to see some other things open up. Even a great rushing offense (which we are not until we prove we can do it against a defense) needs to be somewhat deceptive in it's approach or throw the ball a bit to make the safeties back off. NU couldn't do that, and this is what happens.

Win the North. That should be the goal. NU is head and shoulders better than 4 of the North teams, and still better IMO than Mizzou to this point.

What's the difference? I guarantee if we win the rest of our games, we're top 5, maybe even bitching about not getting a title shot. If we lose 1 more, top 10 (arguably). 2 more, top 20. 3 or more, bad season.

Chocolate pop tarts. Delicioso!

This

Good call on the rushing stats BTW. I'm used to NFL box scores where all rushing yards are net.

My bad, you're correct, it was a 3 score game. If you can't see how we had a different attack with Lee in the game, or Green in the game compared to Martinez, I don't know what to say. Martinez can't run everything the other guys can. He compensates with his feet. Whether that compensation is enough is the big question. I did not say Zac Lee was a good runner. You said he was slow, and I called you out on it. Zac is fast. Not as fast as Taylor, but he's not lumbering. Zac has been good at making the right reads in the zone read, including last season. See the Arizona game. I am just dealing with a reality where Martinez isn't a savior, and Zac Lee doesn't suck, because neither of those (or their opposites) are the truth. Despite the free yards in penalties, Lee did move the ball down the field. Yes it only ended 3 pts, BUT it took almost 3 quarters to get 3 points with Martinez running the show. Im not saying Martinez is a terrible QB, but I think starting as a redshirt freshman in this offense is a mistake. I could give 2 craps how many yards per game or rush he has, he faced a good defense and got stuffed big time. All those other teams had terrible defenses, personally i wouldve surprised to see Martinez run loose against Texas. Ive said this from the start of fall camp. Start Lee, let Martinez come in a get some snaps, whether its at running back, wide receiver, or quarterback. Tell me exactly what Zac Lee does differently in the 1st half that gets us more points? Well he got positive yards everytime he ran the zone read. It may have been 3-4 yards, but thats about 5 yards more than Taylor was getting. 2nd and 6, is a huge difference than 2nd and 9 or 2nd and 12. Lee: 10 attempts for 28 yards 2.8 ypc Martinez: 13 attempts for 39 yards 3.0 ypc I think you forgot include yards lost.... Martinez 13-21 Lee 10-25. This just further proves my point. Regardless Lee did that in 1 quarter, Martinez did that in 3 quarters. Ummm...no. What I forgot was that Lee got 25 yds, not 28. Those rushing numbers are NET. They include yards lost. I think everyone is trying to say that Lee was more efficient as a runner. That's not the case. Lee was also 4-9 for 14 yds as a passer, vs 4-12 for Martinez for 63 yds. So, Lee got 19 plays in which he threw or ran the ball, for 39 yds. Martinez got 25 plays for 102. So the workload was similar, and Martinez was more productive. I didn't see Lee's 'Senior moxie' translating into any more production than TMart's 'deer in the headlights' First off your rushing numbers are not including yards lost.... you are wrong here it is from huskers.com Rushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg ------------------------------------------------- Helu Jr., Roy 11 43 0 43 0 7 3.9 Burkhead, Rex 9 39 4 35 0 12 3.9 Lee, Zac 10 25 0 25 0 6 2.5 Martinez, Taylor 13 39 18 21 0 14 1.6 Paul, Niles 1 1 0 1 0 1 1.0 Totals... 44 147 22 125 0 14 2.8 Second i was never comparing Zac's passing vs. Martinez's passing. Everybody knows that he didnt get any help from his receivers. It more about composure in the huddle and having command on the field. Once again, what is your evidence that he has more command on the field and more composure in the huddle? It sounds like what people say when you've got a less talented quarterback, and everyone calls him a 'game manager'. No, he just isn't as talented. If Lee and Martinez produced essentially the same offensive results, where is your indication that Lee is more composed?

My bad, you're correct, it was a 3 score game. If you can't see how we had a different attack with Lee in the game, or Green in the game compared to Martinez, I don't know what to say. Martinez can't run everything the other guys can. He compensates with his feet. Whether that compensation is enough is the big question. I did not say Zac Lee was a good runner. You said he was slow, and I called you out on it. Zac is fast. Not as fast as Taylor, but he's not lumbering. Zac has been good at making the right reads in the zone read, including last season. See the Arizona game. I am just dealing with a reality where Martinez isn't a savior, and Zac Lee doesn't suck, because neither of those (or their opposites) are the truth. Despite the free yards in penalties, Lee did move the ball down the field. Yes it only ended 3 pts, BUT it took almost 3 quarters to get 3 points with Martinez running the show. Im not saying Martinez is a terrible QB, but I think starting as a redshirt freshman in this offense is a mistake. I could give 2 craps how many yards per game or rush he has, he faced a good defense and got stuffed big time. All those other teams had terrible defenses, personally i wouldve surprised to see Martinez run loose against Texas. Ive said this from the start of fall camp. Start Lee, let Martinez come in a get some snaps, whether its at running back, wide receiver, or quarterback. Tell me exactly what Zac Lee does differently in the 1st half that gets us more points? Lee hands the ball off to his backs w/o the deer in the headlights look. He holds onto the ball until the receiver breaks open and doesn't try to run like said deer.Lee has senior moxie and big game decision making under his belt. I like Taylor but sometimes you're the bug and sometimes you're the windshield. It's no different than switching up Half-backs. If one guy isn't getting it done he gets the hook. If your psyche is that fragile then you don't need to be in that position. It's still a team sport, no ones feelings or confidence is more important than anybody elses. Once again, where does Lee's 'big game experience' come from? The 3 marquee games he played last year (VaTech, OU, and UT) we scored a grand total of 1 offensive touchdown (and that was from the 1 yd line after an interception) Didnt we play a supposedly pretty good arizona team in the holiday bowl. I thought he looked alright in that game. We lost 2 of those games by one point each, both on questionable calls late in the game. I dont think you can blame Lee, especially when leaning heavy on the running game in those games. Exactly who would be primarily to blame then? The defense? The offense lost those games, and Lee was the signal caller. I'm not a fan of using the word 'BLAME' when speaking of a collegiate team sport, but Lee was certainly one of the more culpable players in those losses.

My bad, you're correct, it was a 3 score game. If you can't see how we had a different attack with Lee in the game, or Green in the game compared to Martinez, I don't know what to say. Martinez can't run everything the other guys can. He compensates with his feet. Whether that compensation is enough is the big question. I did not say Zac Lee was a good runner. You said he was slow, and I called you out on it. Zac is fast. Not as fast as Taylor, but he's not lumbering. Zac has been good at making the right reads in the zone read, including last season. See the Arizona game. I am just dealing with a reality where Martinez isn't a savior, and Zac Lee doesn't suck, because neither of those (or their opposites) are the truth. Despite the free yards in penalties, Lee did move the ball down the field. Yes it only ended 3 pts, BUT it took almost 3 quarters to get 3 points with Martinez running the show. Im not saying Martinez is a terrible QB, but I think starting as a redshirt freshman in this offense is a mistake. I could give 2 craps how many yards per game or rush he has, he faced a good defense and got stuffed big time. All those other teams had terrible defenses, personally i wouldve surprised to see Martinez run loose against Texas. Ive said this from the start of fall camp. Start Lee, let Martinez come in a get some snaps, whether its at running back, wide receiver, or quarterback. Tell me exactly what Zac Lee does differently in the 1st half that gets us more points? Well he got positive yards everytime he ran the zone read. It may have been 3-4 yards, but thats about 5 yards more than Taylor was getting. 2nd and 6, is a huge difference than 2nd and 9 or 2nd and 12. Lee: 10 attempts for 28 yards 2.8 ypc Martinez: 13 attempts for 39 yards 3.0 ypc I think you forgot include yards lost.... Martinez 13-21 Lee 10-25. This just further proves my point. Regardless Lee did that in 1 quarter, Martinez did that in 3 quarters. Ummm...no. What I forgot was that Lee got 25 yds, not 28. Those rushing numbers are NET. They include yards lost. I think everyone is trying to say that Lee was more efficient as a runner. That's not the case. Lee was also 4-9 for 14 yds as a passer, vs 4-12 for Martinez for 63 yds. So, Lee got 19 plays in which he threw or ran the ball, for 39 yds. Martinez got 25 plays for 102. So the workload was similar, and Martinez was more productive. I didn't see Lee's 'Senior moxie' translating into any more production than TMart's 'deer in the headlights'

My bad, you're correct, it was a 3 score game. If you can't see how we had a different attack with Lee in the game, or Green in the game compared to Martinez, I don't know what to say. Martinez can't run everything the other guys can. He compensates with his feet. Whether that compensation is enough is the big question. I did not say Zac Lee was a good runner. You said he was slow, and I called you out on it. Zac is fast. Not as fast as Taylor, but he's not lumbering. Zac has been good at making the right reads in the zone read, including last season. See the Arizona game. I am just dealing with a reality where Martinez isn't a savior, and Zac Lee doesn't suck, because neither of those (or their opposites) are the truth. Despite the free yards in penalties, Lee did move the ball down the field. Yes it only ended 3 pts, BUT it took almost 3 quarters to get 3 points with Martinez running the show. Im not saying Martinez is a terrible QB, but I think starting as a redshirt freshman in this offense is a mistake. I could give 2 craps how many yards per game or rush he has, he faced a good defense and got stuffed big time. All those other teams had terrible defenses, personally i wouldve surprised to see Martinez run loose against Texas. Ive said this from the start of fall camp. Start Lee, let Martinez come in a get some snaps, whether its at running back, wide receiver, or quarterback. Tell me exactly what Zac Lee does differently in the 1st half that gets us more points? Lee hands the ball off to his backs w/o the deer in the headlights look. He holds onto the ball until the receiver breaks open and doesn't try to run like said deer.Lee has senior moxie and big game decision making under his belt. I like Taylor but sometimes you're the bug and sometimes you're the windshield. It's no different than switching up Half-backs. If one guy isn't getting it done he gets the hook. If your psyche is that fragile then you don't need to be in that position. It's still a team sport, no ones feelings or confidence is more important than anybody elses. Once again, where does Lee's 'big game experience' come from? The 3 marquee games he played last year (VaTech, OU, and UT) we scored a grand total of 1 offensive touchdown (and that was from the 1 yd line after an interception)

My bad, you're correct, it was a 3 score game. If you can't see how we had a different attack with Lee in the game, or Green in the game compared to Martinez, I don't know what to say. Martinez can't run everything the other guys can. He compensates with his feet. Whether that compensation is enough is the big question. I did not say Zac Lee was a good runner. You said he was slow, and I called you out on it. Zac is fast. Not as fast as Taylor, but he's not lumbering. Zac has been good at making the right reads in the zone read, including last season. See the Arizona game. I am just dealing with a reality where Martinez isn't a savior, and Zac Lee doesn't suck, because neither of those (or their opposites) are the truth. Despite the free yards in penalties, Lee did move the ball down the field. Yes it only ended 3 pts, BUT it took almost 3 quarters to get 3 points with Martinez running the show. Im not saying Martinez is a terrible QB, but I think starting as a redshirt freshman in this offense is a mistake. I could give 2 craps how many yards per game or rush he has, he faced a good defense and got stuffed big time. All those other teams had terrible defenses, personally i wouldve surprised to see Martinez run loose against Texas. Ive said this from the start of fall camp. Start Lee, let Martinez come in a get some snaps, whether its at running back, wide receiver, or quarterback. Tell me exactly what Zac Lee does differently in the 1st half that gets us more points? Well he got positive yards everytime he ran the zone read. It may have been 3-4 yards, but thats about 5 yards more than Taylor was getting. 2nd and 6, is a huge difference than 2nd and 9 or 2nd and 12. Lee: 10 attempts for 28 yards 2.8 ypc Martinez: 13 attempts for 39 yards 3.0 ypc

I actually think Martinez inspired a lot of fear as a runner. That's why UT gameplanned for it and singled up their corners. I think the point is that we both agree that neither of them are particularly good runners.

My bad, you're correct, it was a 3 score game. If you can't see how we had a different attack with Lee in the game, or Green in the game compared to Martinez, I don't know what to say. Martinez can't run everything the other guys can. He compensates with his feet. Whether that compensation is enough is the big question. I did not say Zac Lee was a good runner. You said he was slow, and I called you out on it. Zac is fast. Not as fast as Taylor, but he's not lumbering. Zac has been good at making the right reads in the zone read, including last season. See the Arizona game. I am just dealing with a reality where Martinez isn't a savior, and Zac Lee doesn't suck, because neither of those (or their opposites) are the truth. Despite the free yards in penalties, Lee did move the ball down the field. Yes it only ended 3 pts, BUT it took almost 3 quarters to get 3 points with Martinez running the show. Im not saying Martinez is a terrible QB, but I think starting as a redshirt freshman in this offense is a mistake. I could give 2 craps how many yards per game or rush he has, he faced a good defense and got stuffed big time. All those other teams had terrible defenses, personally i wouldve surprised to see Martinez run loose against Texas. Ive said this from the start of fall camp. Start Lee, let Martinez come in a get some snaps, whether its at running back, wide receiver, or quarterback. Tell me exactly what Zac Lee does differently in the 1st half that gets us more points?

My bad, you're correct, it was a 3 score game. If you can't see how we had a different attack with Lee in the game, or Green in the game compared to Martinez, I don't know what to say. Martinez can't run everything the other guys can. He compensates with his feet. Whether that compensation is enough is the big question. I did not say Zac Lee was a good runner. You said he was slow, and I called you out on it. Zac is fast. Not as fast as Taylor, but he's not lumbering. Zac has been good at making the right reads in the zone read, including last season. See the Arizona game. I am just dealing with a reality where Martinez isn't a savior, and Zac Lee doesn't suck, because neither of those (or their opposites) are the truth. I was referring to Green when I said slow and lumbering. I referred to Lee when I spoke of the QB that runs like a scared little girl. I think that's accurate. I don't believe Martinez is a QB prodigy or a savior. I'm saying that he's our clear #1. He provides a dimension that neither of the other guys gives us. He also is not a great passing QB, although as you pointed out, he is afforded that because he'll be working with one on one coverage due to his homerun running ability. Zac Lee is a known commodity. He is not going to strike fear in the hearts of any defensive coordinator. Which is why he's a puzzling guy to call a 'spark' in the 3rd quarter of a 17 point ball game. So we've got one game where Zac Lee ran decent, or 5 games where Martinez has shown some serious explosiveness, and you think that means Lee should replace Martinez? If Taylor is making the wrong reads, and still playing QB for the #2 rushing offense in the NCAA, then let's go with that. He'll improve, and the way he'll improve is in game situation against a fast, disciplined defense that he can't just outrun. Lee led an offense last year that was embarrassingly atrocious. That's what I"VE got to go on as far as Lee's ability. A full season of ineptness.

You think all a QB does is run the ball or throw the ball? Martinez was making mistakes in all facets of the game. He was consistently making mistakes with nearly every snap. And he was frazzled out there instead of leading. It was 2 scores, and if you need to ask 'how exactly we envisioned it', you need to go back and look at those 2 drives, both of which nearly ended in touchdowns. Don't really care what kind of message it sends, he has to earn the right to be on the field, and with play like that, he earned the right to be hooked. Zac Lee is not big or slow by any stretch of the imagination. I don't know where this misconception keeps coming from. Complete and utter coachspeak. Because Martinez will need a wide open receiver, or else he'll shuffle around into the pocket until he bumps into an OL, destroying the play and trying to make the best of it with a scramble. When he finds his man, he'll throw it behind him when he could be hitting the guy in stride. And as for the running game, Lee solves it by making the right calls on the zone read, the kind that doesn't involve handing the ball to a RB already being tackled by the DT. These are all things that Taylor could grow to become proficient in, but it isn't going to happen in the middle of the season. I'm sorry. 20-3 is a 3 score game, my friend and that's when Lee entered the game. Check the archives. They NEARLY ended in TDs? One drive was mostly penalty yards, the other ended the same way Taylor's NEARLY ended in TDs.....a dropped pass by a WR. Lee led a drive that ended in 3 pts. Martinez led a drive that ended in 3 points. Eric Haag scored 6. Coachspeak? I've seen the offense when all 3 QBs are in the game. I don't see any difference in the philosophy. Zac Lee is not a good runner. WHEN has Zac Lee EVER been good at the zone read? I watched last season. Did you? You're obviously a Lee apologist, so I know I'm not going to convince you of anything.

Let's actually beat a quality team before we start planning the parade.

I didn't notice. Any momentum, that is. :-)

Those of you that think Lee looked appreciably better must have been drunker than I was. BTW, when did Lee get this reputation as being a good passer? It certainly wasn't from anything I saw last year. Pulling Martinez was idiotic. There was absolutely no reason for it. Perhaps Martinez was making mistakes in the running game, and a couple of his passes were off, but how exactly were we envisioning picking up 3 scores with Zac fing Lee? How does Lee solve the running game problem? How can Lee put passes into Burkhead's, Paul's hands any better than Martinez had to that point? And finally, what kind of message does that send your quarterback? If he's your starter, save for an absolute meltdown or injury, he IS your quarterback! I'm sick and tired of the coaching staff rotating the QBs. It also says something when Watson and Bo say 'the offense doesn't change, no matter which quarterback is in the game'. What? You've got a kid that can run like the wind, another that is a big, slow, lumbering guy with no touch on his passes, and a third who runs like a scared little girl. They don't sound interchangeable to me, and if you're not gearing your offense for whoever is in the game, then you're a lazy coach, a fool, or both.

We likely will never play Texas again.

Are they stubborn with their D, i now they are confident, but we didnt seem to get any pressure on the QB or adapt to the runs up the middle. I realize we only gave up 20 and they had great feild position, i just get frustrated when teams are able to run it right at us. What I think sucks about our D this year is that we are much more 'bend' than last year. We don't collapse the pocket as well, and therefore don't hurry throws or get sacks. Sacks and hurried throws (INTs) are drive killers. When we do get a stop, it's usually on 3rd and 4 after a couple first downs, allowing them to flip the field on us with a punt. The only reason we've gotten so many INTs this season is because the offense has been putting teams in a hole early.

I didn't see that at all. I saw a team that looked timid and scared to make the big mistake. They knew how much was riding on this game, and felt the energy from the crowd. Martinez looked scared to throw to his receivers to start the game, even though they were almost always singled up in coverage. When he did throw, well we know what happened. The drops, the botched snaps, the tentative QB play all seem like concentration issues. We all made this game such a huge deal that we became the team with everything to lose. UT was expected to lose, and didn't need another win against the Huskers to justify anything about their program. They were loose and walked in and pounded us. Niles Paul just dropped another pass.

What does it even matter? This team is not going to be #1, so who cares about the rankings? What does still matter is winning the division and then the conference.

THIS

Interesting when Bo says a few weeks ago after he pulled Martinez against SDSU something to the effect of 'if one guy isn't getting the job done, you go to the next guy' I didn't see Curenski in for Paul after 4 dropped balls. I didn't see PJ Smith in for Thenarse (although Smith did see some PT)

The same guy who yanked his quarterback in the 3rd quarter is saying there is no controversy. I'd be curious to know what his definition of a controversy is. My definition is when you have no idea who is going to be under center from one series to the next.