Hercules

1. Improved linebacker play 2. 0 blown coverages in the secondary 3. Fewer missed blocking assignments from the O-line 4. More pressure on the QB from the defensive line 5. Better takeaway-turnover ratio

Boise State either needs to join a real conference, or become an independent and play a real schedule. Nebraska might lose to Boise State if they played in a bowl game. But that's partially because Nebraska fought through the Big 12. Nebraska has to deal with a season of getting beat up, overcoming injuries, etc etc on a weekly basis. Boise State plays 1 big game like Texas will be, 1 game about like Washington will be, and then a bunch of Western Kentucky's. Of course they'll be able to give any BCS conference team a good shot when they can sit their starters in the 2nd half for 10/12 games in the regular season. If they were to form an 8 team playoff, I don't even think Boise State would deserve a shot at that over 8 BCS conference teams. Like I said, play a real schedule, then they can play for championships. Until then, forgetaboutit.

I agree and same thing if it was Nebraska. Boise State plays a weak schedule/conference and people want them playing in the BCS title game if they go 13-0 over a 12-1 Alabama, Ohio State, OU, Nebraska, Florida, etc. teams You act like Nebraska is playing some rugged schedule this year, Texas is the only team on that list that probably won't end the year with 4+ losses. Boise still has to play Oregon State, Utah State (who pushed OU to the limit), and Fresno State (handled a Cincinatti team coming off back to back BCS games). We play 5 or 6 teams that won't make a bowl. Do you think MU, KU, Iowa State or Colorado would walk through the WAC? Texas A&M, K-State and Texas, possibly. WKU Idaho Washington (a loss to BYU) South Dakota State K-State Texas OSU Missouri Iowa State Kansas Texas A&M Colorado Here's the problem with defending Boise State... You just cited "Utah State" when discussing their strength of schedule.

For those others of you who are sentimental about the loss of the option at Nebraska (and still hopeful for its eventual return), Navy's offense is marching down the field on Maryland right now. (on espn)...

I like how you laid out 3 possibilities, and then just completely ignored one of them. "The reports on Zac Lee would have to be completely off base for '1' to be the case. That leads me to '3.'" WTF happened to #2? What we've heard all camp is that all 3 QB's improved, but Martinez passed the others up. This would basically be your #2 possibility, which, for whatever reason, you simply chose to ignore (i.e. reality shopping).

Are the points we're trying to bring up seriously flying that far over your head? Take a deep breath, take a step back, and then think this "An unproven redshirt freshman starting over the now #3 senior QB who played hurt all last season and was still better than Green? Hmm, that's weird" If TMart really is that much better then Green or Lee, then fine, whatever. Obviously we all want the best players on the field. No one is saying he's entitled to the position, and competition blablablabl, it's just that something about this just doesn't seem right. Half this board seriously seems to be deliberately misunderstanding what we're talking about, and it's getting ridiculous It's not that we don't understand the points you're making, it's that there's nothing to back it up. You guys are just reality shopping (i.e. you don't like the reality you've been presented with, so you find a way to rationalize around it).

There's a difference between criticizing a decision, and flat-out making stuff up in order to validate your own views and stroke your own ego (Not accusing you specifically, as I'm sure you've gotten your information somewhere else. But thus far I have not seen any real evidence that this was anything other than a more athletic freshman beating out a more experienced senior for a spot. I've only seen hearsay).

Then shut up.

Great Attitude Read through his quotes in this article, and I don't think you'll worry too much. Great kid.

Idaho's defense has been pretty poor the last few years, and Washington has been in the PAC-10, where I'm not sure they even play defense anymore. I don't think we'll learn much about our offense until we play KSU or Texas. We will see how Martinez handles the elements a loud stadium brings to the table when we go to Seattle though, and that'll be worthwhile... That said, I think we'll learn more about our defense each week. Idaho's offense has been solid for several years, they have one of the best NFL QB prospects in the country. Obviously we'll learn even more about our defense at Washington. It's practically a Godsend to play Kansas State the week before Texas, as no other team in the conference could offer a better opportunity to prepare for Texas' supposed running game.

I don't see Turner competing with the South schools in the little 12 for years to come. He's a great coach in my mind, but I think he'll have a lot of 8-9 win seasons, but never anything more. It'll be super hard for him to recruit the talent that the southern schools pull from their local neighborhoods. Don't forget he's a Texan, though...

Journal Star article says he's expected to be on the practice field this week. Link

Wonder how long it's going to take the Lee posse to just GET OVER IT. Trust me, it'll be a more enjoyable season the sooner you do.

Kansas wasn't going to get Tommy Tuberville. That was as crazy as the KU fans who thought they should've gotten Jim Harbaugh from Stanford. Kansas needed Turner Gill as much for image as they did for football. When you're in the middle of a players-selling-tickets scandal and your previous coach was a tyrant, you need someone like Turner Gill to come in and save the image of the program. You won't find a better guy. He still has to prove himself as a big-time college football coach. He will. It's just a matter of whether he does it at KU, or if you guys screw yourselves over by firing him before he has a chance, so he just goes and does it somewhere else.

T-Magic. Defer to the players. That's what they call him.

Yeah, that was a brutal way to start his BCS coaching career... Still, give him time. And if he ends up on Pelini's staff in a few short years...? I wouldn't mind that at all (Comparing QB coaches, Watson's had Zac Taylor, Joe Ganz, and Zac Lee... Gill taught Frazier, Frost, and Crouch).

Most of us are bad enough at evaluating talent on the field... Do we really need to also perform psychoanalysis on a 19 year old?

Wow. There really are people here who think they know more about the game then Pelini and Watson. I feel for Lee. I really do. But I also have to think that even he would be a little ticked off at this thread. I highly doubt that Lee is questioning the decision of his coaches, or the play of his teammates. Zac Lee is a class act. He's going to be a huge part of this offense's success whether he's on the field or not. And, if he remains the backup, he's not going to go around feeling sorry for himself and tell others that the coaches "screwed" him out of his spot. That kid is a heck of a lot more grown up than some of the people on this board.

I think you could be a little off the mark here with 'nobody knows anything.' Well, I don't. But it doesn't mean that there aren't people who might. Heck if I know how they know, or if they know. It's a judgment call here. And knowing some details, does not mean knowing every little detail about the QB race - and knowing every detail, does not mean an obligation to share it (indeed, it'd be inappropriate to, probably). As far as knowing 100% for sure who's starting, I think for a day or two it has been pretty certain. Not even based on "insider" claims, because every single sign is pointing in this direction. It'd be a shocker if it weren't. Not to go down the Philip Dillard road again, but Willie did say if you didn't see in another thread, that Dillard did everything he could to earn his way out, but was kept in until our redshirt freshman linebackers (Comp and Fisher) struggled mightily. Absolutely, he was a better player for it; but he was also overweight before being in the doghouse, something he had to fix. Zac's been a tough kid for us, so if he's in the doghouse because Bo doesn't think he's tough...well, I don't know. Maybe that's too big an if to talk about. The implication here is that as fans, we should. I do by and large, but I don't like that implication necessarily. There are some things you decide over time to be critical of coaching staffs over. For example, trusting Callahan to come back from a halftime deficit. Is trusting the current staff to not hold silly grudges going to be added to that list? Well, I wouldn't say that yet, but I would say that it's not unfair to question it. But we are on the eve of the season, and I just want to root for the Huskers. So I guess we can put this discussion off for until we start doing less well - since until then, I doubt I'd care too much personally about anything else. Basically, it is what it is, and let's just enjoy the game tonight. I at no point suggested that Lee had a bad camp, or anything of the sort. NONE of us knows what kind of camp any of the QB's have had, because essentially every practice report has only praised the intensity of the competition at the QB position, and stated that each player has gotten better. What I am assuming is that the coaches are fair. But really, I'm not even assuming that as much as I am just completely rejecting the message board hearsay where people try to validate their own views on the matter by starting rumors that the coaches have sinister intentions, that they're not fair, that they play favorites within their team. I'm offended by that because I'm a teacher myself, and idiotic parents make the same dubious claims against teachers when they don't know what they're talking about. I'm offended by that because there's been NO real evidence of that occurring within the Nebraska football program. My problem is that you're not questioning Bo Pelini's decision-making, or his football knowledge. You're questioning and criticizing something you know nothing about - his motives.

He could also be the worst passing QB we've had since Lord. I don't get why we only focus on one aspect of a QB's skillset. If a RB has great hands, but can't run worth a lick, does he start at RB? Jammal Lord also got creamed by Texas, even with a Pelini defense. If both players make mistakes, but Taylor is better at a secondary skill while worse at the primary skill of a QB, why does that justify his starting? I'd be open to the idea. It's Taylor Martinez being the challenger I'm real skeptical about. I mean, let's say we had a redshirt freshman Tyler Gabbert, or a healthy Kody Spano, or Pat Witt still with the program. Heck, even a rapidly developing Cody Green. I'd be open to all these ideas. But Lee came back from surgery to have a consistent and strong fall camp, and the guy who has been anything but consistent in fall camp, comes out of nowhere to jump from 3 to 1. I don't claim to know more than the coaches, but something does not add up here. I agree on the picking sides thing, but I want to point out that though I criticize Martinez and Green, I don't tear them down or rip them. I simply am of the opinion that they are not (or were not, in Green's case; I don't know about now) ready for prime time. I defend Lee because he's been at the butt of all the real ripping and criticism, while Martinez is being put up on a pedestal already at Lee's expense. Sure, I hope whoever starts at QB kills it this year. But I'm seeing a situation where a guy is inexplicably not factoring into a QB race at all, and some seem to be relishing this. I know that's an overreaction on my part, but this whole thing just has me throwing my arms up in the air in frustration. We have had people close to the program coming here and saying that Lee is in a doghouse; that he's getting 'punished'. I don't know how this can be not alarming to people, because it means that we are not starting the guy that gives us the best chance to win; rather, we are starting the guy that's not named Zac Lee that gives us the best chance to win. Now, you guys may have your own different opinions of how good Zac Lee is, but I'm all about a competition to determine the winner. If Zac, Taylor, and Cody had an open competition and Taylor flat out won, I would be ALL for this! Don't get me wrong. But if Zac is in the doghouse, then he's not part of this competition. His skillset and ability to run the offense are taken out of the equation. That's what concerns me: that the best between Taylor and Cody may not be the best among Zac, Taylor, and Cody. First of all, YOU JUST DID claim to know more than the coaches. You said, "But Lee came back from surgery to have a consistent and strong fall camp, and the guy who has become anything but consistent in fall camp..." Where is that coming from? You weren't at every practice, watching every drill live and then again on film. How do you know Lee had a consistent camp and Martinez didn't? How do you know it's not the other way around? Nobody truly knows anything except for the coaches and the players. You assume the same thing in the last paragraph of your response, saying that the coaches haven't held a true competition, that Zac has had some sort of disadvantage by being in the "doghouse." I don't care what guys with any kind of ties close to the program have said here, nobody knows anything. If people were coming on here with that kind of information, why didn't they just leak every little detail about the QB race? Why are we still not really 100% sure who's starting? Furthermore, nobody really knows what the "doghouse" is. Philip Dillard was in the doghouse, and when he earned his way out of it, he was a better player for it. Anyways, that's what bugs me about this whole discussion, is the idea that we really know anything about it, especially anything more than the coaches do. If you trust the coaching staff that's in place, this whole debate is pretty useless. The only reason this debate is interesting is if you don't trust the coaches to run the program the right way, and to make the right call.

In your five points above you make it seem very clear to me that your opinion is that we should go with TMart, but then in the next three paragraphs you tell us not to pick sides. You also state some things about Lee making it appear that you are blaming all of the offensive issues on him last year, but then proceed to say that people get all over him even though he played hurt. If you would have posted the bottom couple of paragraphs it would have been okay, but the first five points don't mirror what you said in the last three paragraphs. The first 5 points were more about defending Martinez against claims that Zac Lee is clearly the better choice at QB, which at this point don't really have any foundation. The arguments that Green or Martinez are clearly the right choice don't have any foundation either, but since I had just read about 5 posts ripping on Martinez, I decided to use that as my example. All I said about Lee were, I think, pretty agreed-upon facts. The offense sucked. REALLY SUCKED. So it's ridiculous that anyone, at this point, before seeing anyone play, would be 100% behind Lee. It's also ridiculous for anyone to be 100% behind Martinez. He hasn't played a down of college football yet. It's also ridiculous for anyone to be 100% behind Green. He looked bad last year when we saw him. And just as ridiculous for anyone to be 100% behind any of these guys, is for anyone to be 100% against any of these guys. Everyone on here is just taking a side. They're going 100% behind whatever guy they chose, for whatever reason. This might be why my post is confusing to some of you. I'm not trying to take an absolute position. It's not "you're either with us or against us." My position is "Why don't you all shut up because we don't really know anything about any of these players anyways. Lee sucked last year but he was hurt. Green sucked last year, but he was a freshman. Taylor Martinez is really fast, but that's about all we know about him." My post is confusing because I'm not arguing about who should be the starter. I'm arguing about how stupid this entire argument is.

This seems fishy... Where are all the quotes about Pelini needing to be "nicer and show some respect?"

1. Martinez would be the best running QB we've had since Jammal Lord. 2. Jammal Lord nearly single-handedly beat Texas, even with a Craig Bohl defense. 3. Zac Lee couldn't get a TD on Texas even when Niles Paul gave him the ball at the 10 yard line. He only got a TD on Oklahoma when Prince gave him the ball at the 1 yard line. 4. Martinez will make mistakes. So will/did Lee. But Taylor can make plays with his legs that Lee simply can't make. The jury is still out on making plays with his arm. 5. The offense last year was terrible. It was beyond terrible. It was one of the worst offenses I've ever seen. Anybody who isn't at least open to the idea of having a new QB is out of their mind. This whole argument is stupid, because no one participating has seen Zac Lee or Taylor Martinez or Cody Green all fall. It's been a competition that only the coaches have been able to evaluate. For anyone here to question their judgement without seeing a single practice is just ridiculous. Whoever's in the lead in the competition will get the start tomorrow, and that will be our first chance to evaluate anything on our own. And within the next few weeks, I'm sure it will all sort itself out, and by the end of the Washington game, it'll be pretty clear who we want at QB. Until then, just chill out. With all that said, it kind of seems like people are picking sides, and that's stupid too. It seems like some people here are actually hoping Martinez goes out and fails so their personal views are validated. Some people are ripping on Lee even though he played all of last year with a bum elbow. People are ripping on Green even though he was a true freshman. Stop picking sides. How do you not hope that Martinez is going to show up and be able to manage the game, and throw the ball well, on top of his crazy running abilities. How do you not hope that Lee hasn't come back from his surgery even stronger, a better leader, and a more able runner? How do you not hope that Cody's gotten a better grip on the offense? Pelini's going to start the guy who he thinks will help the team win. Bo Pelini knows more about football then anyone on this board. He knows more about what it takes to win football games than anyone on this board. And he hates losing way, way more than anyone on this board. So please, everybody just CHILL OUT.