A little patience for Taylor Martinez

[robsker]

I guess we should have patience too if we don't make the Big 12 championship this year? or we should have patience if we lose to Texas? or we should have patience if we don't make it to a BCS bowl game?

 

I don't know about all of you, but i had high expectations this year, and im not backing down from those expectations just because a highly touted redshirt freshman can't take us there this year.

 

If we don't make the Big 12 championship, then I hope people have the sense to question the untouchable Bo Pelini for what would have turned out to be a really questionable call. That is what's at stake here. We hooked the wagon to Taylor, and we are gonna ride it.

 

But we're 2-0 yet and there is no reason to expect that scenario so far. Some tempered expectations are in order though. Taylor was always going to take his lumps.

 

By hooking the wagon to Taylor Martinez, we will have an experienced QB when we start in the Big 10 --- and that is huge. Next season is far more important than this season in that next year we play perhaps the toughest schedule in America and will have nationally televised games against Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State, and Penn State --- and, if we win our division --- a second game against Ohio State or Penn State. The potential to be totally embarassed in these games is there --- as is the potential to return to national respect. Haing an experienced and returning QB will help hugely in our regaining respect nationally. If Lee were the QB this year we'd be in huge trouble next year --- going in w/o an experienced QB. Honestly, I'd imagine that the #1 reason Lee is not starting now is that Bo is looking ahead to next year and knows he needs to have a returning QB. So Lee was out. That leaves Green or Martinez. These young guys need to work out the kinks now so that next season NU can compete in the Big 10.

 

Now... Bo can only work with what he has --- so really he is doing the only thing logically he can do in terms of best situating our team for long-term sucess --- go with the QB that will return experienced next year.

 

None of this is to say that this year is not important --- it is. But not like next year. Bo is too smart to be one-season short sighted. It'd be different if Lee were tremendously better (at this moment) than Martinez. He's not. He might be slightly better perched to lead now --- but then he is gone. So let Martinez learn this year and hope for the best.

 

As for Green --- I really do not see much there as potential. Perhaps I am wrong, but it seems that Martinez --- limitations amd all -- is who I'd hook my wagon to too if I were Bo.

 

I'm really not quite sure why next year is "far more important than this year"? It's our first year in the Big Ten - I suppose that's important. We have a very tough schedule next year and losing most of our games due to inexperience at any position would be pretty embarrassing - I suppose that's important as well. But it seems like a lot of people are just willing to give this year away for next year, when it's this year we are playing and it's this year that we actually have a legitimate and fairly straight path to win the Big XII and play for a national championship. Bo has always espoused that emphasis is always on focusing fully on and not looking any further than the next game, so I would honestly be flabbergasted if he chose give up the championship opportunities available to the Huskers this year and go with Martinez to get him experience for next year.

 

I think that Martinez has a lot of potential and that he has a bright future at Nebraska. However, I'm not willing to excuse his inefficiencies and/or deficiencies with a "Oh well, we're preparing for next year." If this season is essentially going to be used as a preseason for next year, then maybe every senior on the team should be benched so that come next year's Big Ten season opener the Huskers field the most experienced team possible. Ludicrous.

 

We still have 10 (hopefully 12) games left to play this season and we have a freshman quarterback, who while having great big play potential, is essentially one dimensional. One dimensional isn't going to cut it against most of the teams we play this season. Big plays are great, but aren't sustainable and can't and won't carry a team through a season. Martinez needs to improve his passing game and his ability to read and react to what defenses throw at him. I believe he will get much better at doing so, but giving him a pass because he's young and we're looking to next year is ridiculous. He needs to be held to the same standard we would hold Green or Lee to given that he's apparently the best of the three THIS season.

 

That said, I don't think Martinez needs to be thrown under the bus or lose his starting position. He's young and needs to work on and shore up some of the physical and mental aspects of his game - his passing game in particular - but our offensive woes yesterday do not fall fully on his shoulders. There were a lot of mistakes by many different players that contributed to the second half offensive "stall".

 

 

Good points.

 

I don't think he is giving up anything (much) this year for next year. I'd guess that Lee would offer now a different, but comparable chance to lead NU to a decent 2010 season. But, since playing Lee would be comparable or (+/-) very little relative to Martinez now --- that the trump card in the deal is held by Martinez who is --- at the same time, both able to help the team now --- and is an investment in the future. That is, Lee would have to be head and shoulders above the two young guys to make any sense of going with him --- and he is not head and shoulders above them --- more like comparable (comparable effectiveness as a package with different distribution of skills). So... it makes the most sense to invest in the young guy.

 

As for preaching that we never look past the next game --- sure Bo does that --- as a motivational device to get the kids playing with focus. Of course. Yet if he crafted his player personnel issues based on only short team vision then he would not last long. Good coaches --- and Bo is a good coach --- both preach game by game so that is the players vision --- but coach and manage the roster with both short and long term goals in mind. I am convinced that Bo chose Martinez based upon both now and future and not Lee for he has only a now and no future. He did so w/o sacrificing (or, at least without sacrificing much) this year --- and it will pay huge dividends in the future.

[Scratchtown]

I am disappointed, but not too surprised to see Shawn Watson being once again thrown under the bus after a flashy, 471 yard performance with 360 yards on the ground.

 

But we won't want to see flashiness and yards, we want to see points!

 

No. We wanted to see Taylor Martinez make electric plays with his feet and dazzle us with some old school Nebraska quarterbacking style. Check. We wanted to see a commitment to the run game instead of being a finessy pass team. Double check. We wanted to build for the future with an exciting freshman at quarterback. Check and mate.

 

This is exactly what we have got. Through two games, Taylor has been nothing short of magic with his expert ball fakes and ridiculous running. We had an amazing athlete with Crouch, but Taylor has been averaging something like 15 yards a CARRY. I don't know how you could ask for a better rushing performance than what he has delivered for us at the QB position in two games. 4 touchdowns, approaching 300 yards rushing on what, 21 carries? Phenomenal.

 

On the other hand, he has struggled through the air. He was pedestrian, although fine, against Western Kentucky. Today, he averaged 6.2 yards per attempt. I'm excusing the pick completely because that is the kind of play that he can easily fix if he just pulls it down and takes the sack next time. We haven't seen him stand tall in the pocket, zone into a pass and just make an awful read that results in a pick, yet. Still, 6.2 yards per attempt is an alarming number given the opponent we faced.

 

But, he is a freshman. Everyone always said his passing was raw and he had a ways to go in that area. Are we acting surprised now that this turns out to be true? We got precisely what we, and Bo, wanted. An electric running quarterback, passing element be damned, because if defenses key in to take Taylor out, we end up with so many different ways to attack. A guy that is cocky and plays with intensity. A guy that is young and will make freshman mistakes.

 

This is the bed we asked for. It's the one that we have to live with this year. Taylor has a long ways to go, but he can make progress and we could still win a lot of games this year. I'm at anyone that wants to go and blame Shawn Watson for the ineffectiveness we saw today.

 

In fact, I think this is one of the best possible outcomes for Taylor that we could have asked for today. The last thing I wanted to see was another game where he dominated in all facets and led us to a blowout victory. He is going to face real adversity and be hit in the mouth and struggle with inconsistency at some point this season. The fact that he is taking those lumps right now, as opposed to against Kansas State or Texas, will have a positive result.

 

Heading into next week, it's going to be a hostile environment on the road with Washington and it is gonna be a battle. Nothing different from what was expected at the beginning of the season.

 

 

Thank you for being a realistic Husker fan, sometimes my head wants to explode at what some people expect these days in Modern college football. The 90's are over. FOR A LOOOOONG TIME.