Lee Speaks

[Hercules]

I'm pretty sure Martinez could lead the team to an undefeated season, Big 12 championship, and a national championship, win the Heisman trophy and the Davey O'Brien award, and some people on this board will maintain that we would have been better off with Zac Lee.

[HuskerJosh]

Tmart has the ability to break it with his legs, but he can't throw the ball. Plain and simple.

 

"Can't throw the ball" is a little over-the-top. Already this year he's made some pretty good throws. He's made some truly horrible throws, too. It's almost like he's a redshirt freshman in a run-centric offense or something. Weird.

Clearly, he should lose his schollie.

[bshirt]

Green is not better than Lee. In fact the grading process through the fall camp says that Green and Tmart are not better than Lee. Bo says they are because he likes their style and Bo is the only thought that counts.

 

That being said, the "competition" throughout fall was graded and Lee had the best grade.

 

Bo Liked the fact that Tmart beat his defense with his feet.

 

Bo wants the kind of offense we are moving towards.

 

Run first, run second, run last, and Tmart and Green do that better.

 

Ganz doesn't like Lee

 

Tmart threatens to take his ball and go home

 

 

At the end of the day, Lee is 3rd. Not because he is worse but because..............................

 

1. Bo wants a run first QB because he believes his Defense can win games and a runnin QB is what he wants

 

2. Lee can't be 2nd string because if he is it would create more of a QB controversy. If Tmart struggles the 2nd stringer comes in. If that is Lee and all of a sudden we get a few completions and Helu and Rex have success it will make the situation worse. Bo cannot have Lee coming in to save the day he simply can't. Not after overriding the O Coordinator's decision on starting QB and QB depth chart. The depth chart is completely reversed today than it would be if Watson made the decision.

 

The saddest part is with our talent, our schedule, and all of the other positives we have for this year, we may very well throw a Big 12 and possibly a NC opportunity away because of our head coaches stubborness.

 

 

Well, you can diss Bo until the cows come home.

 

But "if" you're saying Bo is throwing away the BigXII Championship and a possible NC because Lee isn't starting, well.....that is crazy. Lee is tough as leather and a great kid but our offense was nothing basically nonexistent last year. Of course that wasn't all on Lee at all but there's little to suggest Bo is wacked for going with Tmart. It's Bo's team and if he thinks we have to be able to run the ball to win big then that's his full right to do exactly that. Bo is in charge, not the OC.

 

Now why he's not 2nd string is a damn good question with Green continuing to look hopeless. I don't have any certain answers to that. If he doesn't get some snaps real soon (assuming Green doesn't magically turn it around pronto) something is very, very wrong. For now, I just gotta believe he really thought Green had the far higher upside and expected him to shine on the field. Heck, I thought he would too.

 

But he didn't and it hasn't been pretty. I bet we see Lee take over 2nd string very soon (like....probably "now") and I don't buy for a second that Bo's ego would rather NU lose than play Lee as you state.

 

The real season starts now.

 

 

All i did was read Travis' post and i KNEW this response was coming.

 

Well, what's your problem this time?

 

Just simply pointing out the Tmart love fest was on its way. I'll stick by my guns like I have since early on.. Tmart has the ability to break it with his legs, but he can't throw the ball. Plain and simple.

 

It's great to have a home run threat at qb. I just don't get why you're so down on that.

 

As someone posted, Lee was hardly a Joe Namath last year. I guess you and my pal zoogies will never be happy until we go "3 & out" all year long again.

[zoogs]

Hey bshirt, there's nothing wrong with a guy who is a home run threat at QB. Home run threats typically aren't QBs though. That's why CJ Spiller or say, Niles Paul, would not be QBs in our offense. There has to be a lot more going on between the ears for the guy to be a QB. Taylor has a long, long way to go in that department. I don't consider the running ability to be more than that, because we saw Taylor post some big plays and a flashy run against SDSU, and how far did that go in keying the offense?

 

No, it's about a lot more than that. Taylor has to be able to make the right reads and checks and beat defenses with his head, and play 60 minutes of solid field general, because 3-4 personal highlight reel plays a game is not as important to helping the team win.

 

BigWillie probably said it best, that Taylor is a WR out there running at QB right now. We are going to have some major ups and downs this year and should be patient with the guy instead of constantly proclaiming him to be the second coming. He is not a damn good QB, or even much of a QB. However, he does have tremendous athleticism and if he develops, could really help us down the road.

[skersfan]

I think it goes along the line of loyalty. The coaches demand it, the fans demand if of other fans, but for some reason when it comes to Lee it is out the window.

 

I was not a fan of him starting last year, did not expect great things of him and felt we had better riding the bench. But when a kid is shoved into the starting role, gets injured during the season, plays through those injuries, helps us win the bowl game, has surgery and loses his starting position due to injury and surgery, I wonder where the loyalty on the coaching side is.

 

The kid deserves to play and by the fifth game should have seen the field. This is doghouse material, nothing more. Can he do things that have been done, doubtful, but something was earned last year, a series, a play in his senior year. We have been far enough ahead for him to play a few snaps.

 

I have come around to Coach Pelini in every aspect but this one. Something is not right. I doubt we ever know the real story as Zac is to classy to say anything. I am glad that he is on the team, doing things as they should be done. But I have questions as to why and how he is being treated.

 

Could he lead this team to victory, could he do better than last year when he was injured, I do not know, and I doubt we get the opportunity to know. He is more of man than many would be.

[Fuzzy]

The only time i saw Taylor Martinez's throwing very bad, was the SDSU game. One game doesn't define a kid's throwing ability.

 

Taylor Martinez has 3 TD's passes, his completion rate is better than Lee's was at this point in the season, though that may be a mum point since we passed more last season than this one. My point is Taylor Martinez's arm is not under question, put the matter to rest.

[307husker]

loses his starting position due to injury and surgery

 

Is there any evidence to support this statment? Based on what I've seen, he lost his starting position due to his play on the field. One good game against Arizona does not erase an entire season of poor play, and I'm not just talking about his passing which would be where the injury was a significant factor.

[zoogs]

Not about the statistics (as Bo would say). He is limited in the ways he can attack the defense with his arm, the kind of plays we can run. If we had to make a projection, he would be destroyed by the better defenses out there, although outside of Texas and the CCG/Bowl game, I'm not sure how many of those we will face.

 

To qualify that statement, it's very unclear how well Lee would do against the top defenses too. But I'm just talking about Taylor.

 

Agree 100% with skersfan on the loyalty thing. You may or may not agree on whether Lee deserves this, but it's been a complete slap in the face, and he's handled it with incredible composure and maturity. Those are the kind of intangibles I'd want to see in a QB, too. I thought he deserved a chance to lead the team this year, especially considering it would not really be at Martinez's expense, given that we could still feature Taylor in the offense anyways. Shrug.

[mmmtodd]

the best players play. the end.

 

 

get over zac lee. its sad, and the only slap in the face i see is those of you saying the coaching staff is somehow wrong in all of this. theyre the coaches, its their jobs and reputation on the line. you really think they benched zac because of some personal vendetta? you really believe he should be the starter because of "all hes been through" or some loyalty bs? please. its division 1 football baby, and whether you agree with it or not, its cutthroat. zac got cut.

[307husker]

He is limited in the ways he can attack the defense with his arm

 

I'm not so sure the verdict is in on this yet... He may turn out to be a bad passer, or he may turn out to be very good at getting the ball where it needs to go (although his throwing motion will likely never be described in positive terms). I don't think we've seen enough of him in the necessary situations to dismiss him as a limited threat with his arm.

[307husker]

I agree with todd. Loyalty and playing lesser players due to loyalty and personal relationships went out with Callahan.

 

And Lee had elbow surgery, it's not as if he came back from near death with Husker football as his only reason to live... A little dramatic if you ask me.

[skersfan]

Anyone that truly believes that last years starter, still has not had a play in his senior year, is not being singled out for something is living in lala land.

 

I am not saying he is better, but the kid did not cost us a game last year, he gave it all he had every game, while injured, never whined about it and has done the same this year. We have had games where he could have played, been on the field.

 

This is a lesson for Zac, for what ever reason. But there is a reason, it is not the best players play, if that were true Green would never see the field. And we have seen him enough to see what he brings.

[zoogs]

I agree with todd. Loyalty and playing lesser players due to loyalty and personal relationships went out with Callahan.

 

And Lee had elbow surgery, it's not as if he came back from near death with Husker football as his only reason to live... A little dramatic if you ask me.

 

Actually I don't think that's the case at all. But those with more knowledge can elaborate on this. I don't believe any coaching staff is immune to being loyal to the guys that have given a lot to the program and paid their dues over time.

 

Also, if you're talking about Ganz, he is a guy we all rallied around in the end because he paid his dues in the program for four years, instead of being a talented player who stepped in after one season. You want to talk about loyalty, then Ganz deserved that one in a landslide. It came down to Keller beating him out.

 

307, I said he was limited in the ways he can attack defenses with the passing game. That has more to do with his head than his arms. But he's young so he can come a ways in that department. Over the course of a season though? I'm not sure.

[Hercules]

Picking your starting lineup isn't about loyalty. We hear EVERY SINGLE DAY about how this program is about competition, and on-the-field results. That's why Martinez is starting. Not because of a lack of loyalty or because the coaches are teenage girls who go around holding grudges against players they mysteriously dislike.

[skersfan]

Taylor is starting because he is the best, at what he does. We are changing to a more run based offense, I agree. Lee is not a running QB, but him not seeing a down by the 5th game is questionable. Is he so far below Green that they consider him a liability, moreso than Green. Does not make sense, he was pretty secure with the ball last year, has he turned into a fumbling machine during fall practice.

 

I have no problem with Taylor being the starter, I was one of the ones saying it was possible long before it happened, and I was one of the first to say he was going to start during fall practice. I have nothing against him playing or starting, I just say there is a reason Zac has not seen the field and it is not talent, or lack of.