Coaches, players: Martinez has the arm NU's offense needs

[Nexus]

 

 

We've seen Taylor Martinez make explosive plays with his feet.

 

Now it's only a matter of time before Nebraska's redshirted freshman quarterback begins firing with his arm, too, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said.

 

"I'm telling you, man, this kid is as good a passer as I've ever been around," Watson said Tuesday. "Now, he had to develop the mental aspect of it, which has been a work in progress here. His hard work has put him in position. He's done that."

 

Martinez has averaged a mere 14 passing attempts per game -- largely because Nebraska hasn't needed to throw the football in three lopsided victories.

 

"I think as time goes on, we're going to need to do that, and you'll see his passing aspect come out, too," Watson said. "He's having to learn some of those things, like not waiting for receivers to get open, throwing on rhythm, throwing on time, trust your read."

 

But Martinez has a strong arm, senior wide receiver Mike McNeill said, and can nail most any throw.

 

"People are looking for some way to say, ‘Oh, he's not this good, he can't be this good, he can't take this team to where it needs to be.' But he can," McNeill said. "He can pass the ball. He hasn't had to yet."

 

Martinez proved Saturday at Washington he can deliver through the air when needed. He completed passes for first downs on third-and-14, third-and-16, third-and-6 and third-and-8. Brandon Kinnie caught three of those passes.

 

"He's got a quick delivery," Watson said. "He's impressed us so much with his quick, fast ball and his ball speed, his athleticism of getting it out."

 

Not bad for a guy head coach Bo Pelini penciled in at safety when Martinez arrived on campus in 2009. Even on scout team last year, Martinez only served as quarterback when Nebraska was preparing for a running quarterback.

 

"We were still in the ‘Where is he going to play at?'" Watson said. "We were really feeling it out, ‘Could he be a receiver, could he be a safety? Could he be a quarterback?' We were really moving him all over the place to find out where he best fit.

 

"After a while, we all said, ‘This is crazy, man. He fits where we're going, what we're doing. He fits us like a glove.'"

 

Questions still remained about Martinez throwing the ball. He'd thrown for 3,000 yards as a high school senior, but in a system that didn't emphasize down-the-field throws, so his arm strength might have been underestimated.

 

"His development (passing) has been huge," Watson said. "The kid has worked his tail end off."

 

In fact, Watson said Nebraska is running the same volume of passing offense as it did two years ago with Joe Ganz.

 

"We haven't had to put a lot of it out there on the field early in the year so far," Watson said. "That's partly by design, but when he throws it, you'll see what I'm talking about."

 

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[bball_backer]

I'm interested to see what happens when he needs to throw against a Big XII team. Personally, I would have liked a couple conference games before Texas, because I'm afraid he won't need to pass much against K-State. However, it sounds like the kid never gets rattled so maybe throwing against a secondary that is basically as good as Nebraska's won't bother him. I know I should be more worried, but the more I hear about him and the more I watch him, the clearer it becomes that this kid is just a flat-out gamer. I'm excited to see his first throw on a 9 route.

[Chomper]

He does have a quick delivery but I see that hurting him on the deep pass especially the "finesse" throws.

[Sparker]

[typ3kal]

I'd like to see them air it out against SDSU. I know the coaches probably won't too much since the running game will be dominant with a highly superior O-Line... but it'd be nice to get some good licks in before conference play.

[schuhbdoo]

I'm interested to see what happens when he needs to throw against a Big XII team. Personally, I would have liked a couple conference games before Texas, because I'm afraid he won't need to pass much against K-State. However, it sounds like the kid never gets rattled so maybe throwing against a secondary that is basically as good as Nebraska's won't bother him. I know I should be more worried, but the more I hear about him and the more I watch him, the clearer it becomes that this kid is just a flat-out gamer. I'm excited to see his first throw on a 9 route.

 

 

I will make this point again in this thread. NU lost 4 games last year and the QB didn't throw a TD in those 4 four losses. If you are going to have a QB not throw a TD in your losses then how about a QB that can at least run the ball for TD's instead of settling for FG's. I don't care if he is or isn't throwing TD's, it is his running ability that puts this team in position to score. NU will have Taylor throw more on 1st and 10 when a lot of teams think we are going to just run. This will bring a different element of not knowing if NU is going to run or throw on certain downs. There are about 2 teams in the Big 12 that can stay with this team right now. We all know who those teams are and I wouldn't worry too much about the rest of the Big 12. This is a different team and Bo has them ready to compete for MNC's.

[typ3kal]

I'm interested to see what happens when he needs to throw against a Big XII team. Personally, I would have liked a couple conference games before Texas, because I'm afraid he won't need to pass much against K-State. However, it sounds like the kid never gets rattled so maybe throwing against a secondary that is basically as good as Nebraska's won't bother him. I know I should be more worried, but the more I hear about him and the more I watch him, the clearer it becomes that this kid is just a flat-out gamer. I'm excited to see his first throw on a 9 route.

 

 

I will make this point again in this thread. NU lost 4 games last year and the QB didn't throw a TD in those 4 four losses. If you are going to have a QB not throw a TD in your losses then how about a QB that can at least run the ball for TD's instead of settling for FG's. I don't care if he is or isn't throwing TD's, it is his running ability that puts this team in position to score. NU will have Taylor throw more on 1st and 10 when a lot of teams think we are going to just run. This will bring a different element of not knowing if NU is going to run or throw on certain downs. There are about 2 teams in the Big 12 that can stay with this team right now. We all know who those teams are and I wouldn't worry too much about the rest of the Big 12. This is a different team and Bo has them ready to compete for MNC's.

 

+1 :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2: :koolaid2:

[Enhance]

Martinez may be an accomplished passer and we just haven't seen it yet, but I like this style of offense. I like running a ball right at defenders and then opening things up with the play action pass. I think what we're doing right now offensively is more valuable than being "balanced" and "multiple".

 

Martinez will have plenty of opportunities this year to air it. Believe me. The Texas defense will be no pushover, and I doubt we gash them for many yards on the ground.

[irieboy8]

i'm just soo stoked on this kid... just imagine what happens two or three years down the road.... i mean we've been so excited about this plan and it looks like we are getting soo close!! we just gotta take it one step at a time remain... calm/grounded and humble as hard as it might be... TM looks like such a cool cat i'm really exctied to see what he can pull... hes gonna face some challenges this season and i'm really hopefull that he will prevail... he just looked studly out at the washington game.... a beast

:corndance :corndance

[NUance]

"I'm telling you, man, this kid is as good a passer as I've ever been around," Watson said

That's some pretty bold talk. I can't wait to see us unleash T-Magic through the air.

[JOEY]

Martinez may be an accomplished passer and we just haven't seen it yet, but I like this style of offense. I like running a ball right at defenders and then opening things up with the play action pass. I think what we're doing right now offensively is more valuable than being "balanced" and "multiple".

 

Martinez will have plenty of opportunities this year to air it. Believe me. The Texas defense will be no pushover, and I doubt we gash them for many yards on the ground.

I think that he did pretty descent against washington throwing the ball, he was 7/11 for 150 yards and he would of been 8/11 had roy caught that ball that was delivered right into his gut.

[bshirt]

Martinez may be an accomplished passer and we just haven't seen it yet, but I like this style of offense. I like running a ball right at defenders and then opening things up with the play action pass. I think what we're doing right now offensively is more valuable than being "balanced" and "multiple".

Martinez will have plenty of opportunities this year to air it. Believe me. The Texas defense will be no pushover, and I doubt we gash them for many yards on the ground.

 

Wow...well said and I couldn't possibly agree more.

 

Run right at them and kill them with PA/option/zone reads. The very finest music to my ears. Do that and like you I couldn't care less if we're "multiple" or "balanced". All we'll do is win.

 

Texas has a fine defense but they'll be facing the most explosive team they've faced this year. We have a fine defense too and maybe we'll see if they can win with just five 1st downs.

[admo]

"He's having to learn some of those things, like not waiting for receivers to get open, throwing on rhythm, throwing on time, trust your read."

 

Basic interpretation:

 

Not waiting on receivers to get open = pressure sacks accrued from holding onto the ball too long

 

Throwing on rhythm = not a fluid passer

 

Throwing on time = holds onto the ball a little too long when he does pass it

 

Trust your read = indecisive & a bit unsure

He does zip the ball and has been extremely accurate at times. But he is not a fluid passer yet by far. His release is quick after he cranks up the ball. Still looks like he is aiming most of the time. I know I'm being a bit critical but not bashing him. Just telling it like I see it and apparently there is some concern out there b/c people are not quite sold yet on the passing game. I'm hoping that they (Watson & Ganz) can help him as he progresses each week.

[mmmtodd]

yes, we know more than the coaches and theyre liars.

[RedDenver]

I've been hesitant to get on the TM bandwagon. After the UW game I was convinced his running is enough to be the starter, but his throwing motion looked very awkward. His passing numbers were fine at 7/11 and he made some critical 3rd down throws, so I had some hope he'd improve. I just watched the Idaho game from the week before and have to say that he looked more natural throwing the ball in that game. He put some touch on a couple throws and did hit Helu about 20-25 yards down field. Definitely worth keeping an eye on, but between that game and this article, I'm drinking more of the . I think we'll throw some against KSU, so hopefully we'll see some encouraging results there. And I definitely think we'll need to be balanced against UT's defense; IMO UT will be able to limit or shut down our running game without an effective passing game to go with it.