Carnes Starter?

[Saunders]

You just repeated what I said. At any given moment Martinez is either (1) standing in the pocket surveying the field, or (2) scrambling on a designed run. And yes, I mean that both can take place during the same play. But once he's made the transition from one, he seems incapable of going back to the other.

 

Carnes, meanwhile, will stand in the pocket and survey, find nothing open, roll out, stand and survey, roll out some more, then find a target and hit it or scramble. He is constantly scanning and trying to make a play.

 

Point being, I can't remember a time I saw Martinez roll out and then pull up and make a throw instead of continuing to run. The only exception might be those odd shovel pass things we saw in the Holiday Bowl.

 

 

Whazzzbuzza? I did not repeat what you said. You said Martinez EITHER stands in the pocket OR takes off on a designed run. Taylor's very first series in the Spring Game featured a play where he was NOT supposed to run, but did. And ran for a first down. On a play designed to be a pass. Because there were no open receivers.

 

Again - it was NOT a designed run.

 

How do you think we're saying the same thing?

 

Designed run was a poor choice of words. My point is that for Taylor, if the throw is not there, he tucks it and runs, never to think about the throw again. He is either in "run mode" or "throw mode" but never both at the same time. (Same play, yes; same time, no.)

 

Carnes is the exact opposite. He has the ability to move out of the pocket and position himself as a threat to run, but does so while keeping his head up and ball ready to hit a receiver if one should open up.

 

 

It's amazing how much he can do so flawlessly without even taking one single snap in any div1 game. Impressive!!

 

Seriously, what's your point? Yes or no: Do you think you can tell anything about a kid's likely tendencies before they play in a game? You act like we cannot make any assessments about Carnes' game just because he hasn't played in an actual game yet. I think this is shortsighted and foolish. But I don't need to tell you why because I strongly suspect you don't even believe this is true yourself.

 

From his high school footage, to the practice footage, to everything we've heard from sportswriters/coaches/players, to the spring game, every single thing I've seen suggests that Carnes is the type of QB who is comfortable rolling out of the pocket, can pass on the run, and is able to by some time as a result of these things. Why do you insist on denying it?

 

If you want the gloves to come off about Taylor they can come off. Since you're so stuck on what we don't know about Carnes, let's talk about what we DO know about Taylor. How about the fact that the he does not have any of most fundamental things you need in your quarterback:

 

Comfortable in the pocket? Nope. He was getting much, much better.... until he injured both feet. See, OSU and 1st quarter of Mizzou.

 

Leadership? Nope. According to who? Beck and the players have stated he has taken this role by the reins.

 

Ability to stretch the field with the long ball? Not really. Uh.... Ask Kyler Reed if he can throw the long ball.

 

Reliably move the chains on third down? Nope. Up until he was injured, we had a pretty good 3rd down conversion rate.

 

Durable? Not quite. This is the biggest issue

 

And that's really the point that you're missing: My high praise for Carnes has less to do with what he might bring to the table, and has more to do with what Taylor apparently does not.

 

Remember.... Cody Green looked amazing in High School too.

[blasted_imposter]

I swear if jesus christ flew down here and played QB for Nebraska this upcoming season, people around here would still bitch.

 

regarding tmobile....

Quickest first step TO has ever seen? check.

Broke most all-time freshman records @ NU? check.

Was a freshman last year? check.

Was a freshman all american last year? check.

Will improve this year? check.

Will start barring injury throughout 2011? check.

[The Dude]

I swear if jesus christ flew down here and played QB for Nebraska this upcoming season, people around here would still bitch.

I would. By all accounts he has no pocket awareness and the arm strength of a 12 year old girl.

[UGAHusker]

I swear if jesus christ flew down here and played QB for Nebraska this upcoming season, people around here would still bitch.

 

regarding tmobile....

Quickest first step TO has ever seen? check.

Broke most all-time freshman records @ NU? check.

Was a freshman last year? check.

Was a freshman all american last year? check.

Will improve this year? check.

Will start barring injury throughout 2011? check.

 

You say this so leisurely (at least that's the way I imagine it). If my memory holds true, I saw him limp off the field at some point in the last 3 games he played in and still look pretty tender in the Spring game. You should have put this first and followed it with a TBD.

[robsker]

Thus, no matter how good the defense will be, given the predicted state of the offense, and the unknown nature of special teams, and then combine that with the schedule difficulty... well... prepare for a 5 loss season or so. It will still be fun and will still be interesting... but lets get real here folks... this upcoming season will be more rocky than smooth. Outside pundits are way over stating our case as national contenders.. it sells well. But insiders like us should know... NU is in for a rocky season.

 

This is presuming that none of our 2010 offensive struggles had anything to do with our #1 QB's debilitating injury(ies), our #2 QB going down at the same time, our #3 QB suffering a concussion in his first start, our OC and WR coaches having checked out mid-season since they knew this was their last season at Nebraska, our O-Line coach being incapable/overwhelmed, and sundry injuries to our linemen in general. That's a difficult presumption to make.

 

Granted, it is also difficult to presume that we've got all these problems fixed. We're breaking in a new OC and WR coach, a new offensive philosophy, we do not know yet how well mentally and physically our #1 QB will heal, and we do not know if our O Line will improve. So that's a bit of a toss-up, but I would not be concerned that we're going to score less than we scored last year. I would presume, worst case, that we'll score about the same.

 

Last year's opponents had an average Scoring Defense rank of 63.5 (26.6 PPG). In-conference their ranks averaged to 56.6 (25.5 PPG).

 

This year's opponents, using last year's numbers, have an average Scoring Defense rank of 59.8 (57.5 PPG). In-conference their ranks averaged to 51.1 (24.4 PPG).

 

Not a significantly more difficult schedule trying to score against these defenses - although it is important to note that such comparisons are difficult due to graduation, coaching changes, etc.

 

 

Your presumptions as to my presumptions are not accurate. Certainly our offensive struggles were, in part, due to the QB's injury last year and also to other injuries. I assume that this year too there will be injuries as well... no one can predict how so relative to last year... but most years there will be some injuries. Our struggles against good defenses, however, transcend those injuries from last year and are both systemic and talent based. Those systemic issues may, or may not, be as much of an issue this year... who knows... we have a partial new staff and a supposed new system (remains to be seen).

 

My actual presumptions that lead me to say that we will improve some (likely) but not enough to be above the category of "still struggling to score" is that the QB talent in what has been field tested (TMart) is not impressive (taken as a package --- running, throwing, turnovers, decision making, durability, leadership, etc.). A healthy and more experienced TMart will likely be better --- but if so, we have not seen that improvement (he had a month to heal and work out his issues of mechanics, decision making etc. after last regular season and prior to the bowl and, in the bowl game, showed regression rather than progression --- and he had from the time of the bowl game to the Spring game, that is, months... to improve... and showed, in the Spring game, again no progression). So, he'd almost have to improve some... but that is just because he aught to... but, we have no evidence that he has improved. Again, don't pull the turf toe/ankle issue and that he is not yet healed --- that may be --- but that does not explain why his decision making, his throwing mechanics, his turnovers have shown no improvement. It explains why his running ability is still compromised, sure... but.

 

I also mentioned that the defenses of the opponents next year will be better than those from last year... and your numbers bear that out... but do not capture what I surmise is the reality that the difference is greater than those numbers indicate.

 

An unstated presumption (not even implied in my earlier post) is that the number of penalties, the number of dropped passes, the number of fumbles that held back our past offensive productivity --- and the proclivity that this team has for showing up unfocused and ill prepared --- well, that will likely hold us back again.

 

The Spring game was way sloppy... watch the televised Spring games of other teams and you will see that NU had way more penalties, more drops and more fumbles than did those that were televised for other teams. I'd guess that lack of discipline will haunt our offense again.

 

Yep... we will likely have trouble scoring again. Might be modestly better. But we will still struggle.

[95huskers]

BRION FOR HEISMAN 2011

[blasted_imposter]

I swear if jesus christ flew down here and played QB for Nebraska this upcoming season, people around here would still bitch.

 

regarding tmobile....

Quickest first step TO has ever seen? check.

Broke most all-time freshman records @ NU? check.

Was a freshman last year? check.

Was a freshman all american last year? check.

Will improve this year? check.

Will start barring injury throughout 2011? check.

 

You say this so leisurely (at least that's the way I imagine it). If my memory holds true, I saw him limp off the field at some point in the last 3 games he played in and still look pretty tender in the Spring game. You should have put this first and followed it with a TBD.

 

Yeah, i don't expect him to last a whole season. Viva la Carnes!

[Jeremy]

I swear if jesus christ flew down here and played QB for Nebraska this upcoming season, people around here would still bitch.

I would. By all accounts he has no pocket awareness and the arm strength of a 12 year old girl.

 

Not according to the money-changers in the temple after He cleared them out with a whip, creating His own pocket.

 

 

(Very funny, by the way)

[blasted_imposter]

 

Your presumptions as to my presumptions are not accurate.

 

 

 

Oh you two! get a room.

[The Dude]

(he had a month to heal and work out his issues of mechanics,

Honestly, it's not easy to do both of those things at the same time. You're not going to fix your footwork on a bum ankle, and it's going to take longer to heal if you're running around on it. Everyone keeps slamming Martinez for this, but it's coach Bo who should be getting criticized.

 

And a month isn't long enough to work either of those things out, even if you're doing just one at a time. Period. He's only human ffs.

[zoogs]

I thought that way for a while too, but I really think that's the Shawn Watson hangover. For 3 years Watson's offense programmed us to be timid and unoptimistic - it was conservative, submissive, and folded too easily. Even though we have no reason, I choose to believe our offense's state of mind will improve under Beck. With how conservative our offense has been, it's clear that Watson wasn't confident in our guys, and it would be hard for our guys to be confident in themselves if not even their coach believed in them.

 

What was conservative about all that passing on 3rd-and-short?

 

The conservative side - the not-believing-in-the-offense part of things - came directly from Bo. He even admitted after the Holiday Bowl after seeing the results when he allowed the Rexcat turned loose that it might've been a mistake to pull the reigns back as far as he did.

 

Only after Taylor got injured, it was basically the same approach with Green, and even Lee in the second half of the Missouri game. I think this is just Bo's philosophy: play to win the game, and with a strong defense you just need to grab a lead and hold onto it. We should probably get used to it.

 

I'm a little concerned about QB depth but it could be very good, too. A lot of unknowns right now is all.

[robsker]

So, I guess robsker (and those likeminded) believes that Nebraska's players and coaching staff doesn't measure up against our big ten competition? Our personnel is less talented than who? Our coaching staff is worse than whose? Our strength and conditioning program is worse than whose? Our tradition is less than...?

 

Our defense will be worse than.....?

 

Our skill players are worse than....?

 

Our OLine is worse than.....?

 

Answer questions like these and the future becomes more clear, and favorable in my opinion, my dear timid Husker mice.

 

 

Oh... I would not guess that at all. Certainly, what I have said should in no way suggest that we do not match up --- as a team. I have stated on many occasions that our defense will be near, if not at, the absolute top of the conference. My recent comments have been on the predicted status of the offense. There, I'd guess that NU will be slightly below average in the Big 10. I've stated that against the grouping of Washington, Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Penn State that we are likely going to go 4-3 or, perhaps more likely 3-4 --- really that depends on the offense at NU. That places us as competitive... but not at the top. Pretty much how NU has been in the B12 --- each the Pelini years there have been 2-3 conference clearly better than us and we are in the next grouping of 2 or 3 teams. That is where we'll likely be in the B10 as well.

 

As for coaching.... I challenge those who think our coaching has been so good to consider these realities... a) team discipline and fundamentals --- check out the number of penalties, the number of fumbles, the number of dropped passes, the number of times we break the huddle and players are lost as to what to do, the number of needles sacks where the QB needs to get rid of the ball and instead eats it for a loss --- if NU coaching is so good... why do we have DRAMATICALLY worse problems in discipline than do other programs? B) the wildly variable level of focus and effort & intensity that NU brings to the field --- NU can be fired up and quite good... or completely flat and play w/o heart --- and it is anybodies guess as to which team shows up --- we are worse in this sense than are most teams --- what does this say about coaching? and c) have we seen improvements in these areas? are our QB's improving... do they now throw off the proper foot now having recognized they were doing it incorrectly before? Do they use their hips? Are they improving in arm motion? Is the OL getting better in needless penalties, ....

 

So... I am not impressed with NU coaching. Defensive scheming? Excellent. Defensive player development? Off the scales excellent (very exciting and fun to watch). Motivation, generally of players? Offensive scheming? Fundamentals on offense? OL? QB? WR? all not so good at all. Recruiting? Remains to be seen --- at least as measured by rankings, not top 10 but maybe top 15 --- but rankings are highly suspect... only time will tell. Overall coaching of the Pelini staff to date? OK, I guess. Great in some areas and well below acceptable in others. Hopefully the modest changes made to the staff will address some of this. We'll see. I certainly hope so.

 

Anyway, NU will be decent to pretty good. pretty much like last year. Top 25 when it ends... but not a legit contender for any titles.

[blasted_imposter]

Here's to you, broad-paint-brush-guy!

[Jeremy]

I thought that way for a while too, but I really think that's the Shawn Watson hangover. For 3 years Watson's offense programmed us to be timid and unoptimistic - it was conservative, submissive, and folded too easily. Even though we have no reason, I choose to believe our offense's state of mind will improve under Beck. With how conservative our offense has been, it's clear that Watson wasn't confident in our guys, and it would be hard for our guys to be confident in themselves if not even their coach believed in them.

 

What was conservative about all that passing on 3rd-and-short?

 

The conservative side - the not-believing-in-the-offense part of things - came directly from Bo. He even admitted after the Holiday Bowl after seeing the results when he allowed the Rexcat turned loose that it might've been a mistake to pull the reigns back as far as he did.

 

Only after Taylor got injured, it was basically the same approach with Green, and even Lee in the second half of the Missouri game. I think this is just Bo's philosophy: play to win the game, and with a strong defense you just need to grab a lead and hold onto it. We should probably get used to it.

 

I'm a little concerned about QB depth but it could be very good, too. A lot of unknowns right now is all.

 

I would agree with this - he's almost conservative to a fault.

 

I've always contended that we have no one to blame for the loss to Texas in the '09 Big 12 Title game but ourselves, and the extra second shouldn't have mattered. After Gomes' incredible fighting-tooth-and-nail-proving-we-want-it-more interception, we actually drove the field down to the Texas 35 where it was 3rd and 6. Kinnie had just made a good catch near the end zone but came down 6 inches out of bounds.

 

It was almost Texas '06 all over again. Little over 2 minutes left, and a first down most likely seals it, given Alex Henery was already one of the best kickers in Nebraska history. We had some options instead of a dive play to Rex to set up the field goal.

 

If you want to win, you GET THAT FIRST DOWN. Roll-out. Play action. Pitch to Rex with a pass option. Sure, there's some risk involved, but as soon as I saw the I-formation, I knew what Pelini was thinking. Get the field goal and play D for the win, which had already failed vs. Virginia Tech. I knew we were going to lose at that point, and I really didn't want to watch the trainwreck unfold, but sure enough, I was right.

 

Something tells me Beck goes for that first down and it doesn't matter whether it's Carnes or Martinez. And Pelini's okay with it. Maybe it's blind hope.

 

But I think I'm right again.

[walksalone]

I swear if jesus christ flew down here and played QB for Nebraska this upcoming season, people around here would still bitch.

 

regarding tmobile....

Quickest first step TO has ever seen? check.

Broke most all-time freshman records @ NU? check.

Was a freshman last year? check.

Was a freshman all american last year? check.

Will improve this year? check.

Will start barring injury throughout 2011? check.

 

Regarding last season...

 

Was 13 points away from an undefeated season? Check (was the onus of this entirely upon T-Mart, no, but he wasn't part of the solution)

Decision making was suspect at critical times? Check

Arm strength maybe not what it should be? Check

 

The hammer swings both ways sunshine.

 

What it boils down to is that I hope T-Mart succeeds. I'd rather him out there than somebody, who's an unknown quantity in Barnes. Yea, his tapes from High School make him look like jesus on a stick, but that's in high school, not in front of over 100k+ fans at the big house.