Taylor Martinez

[CFHusker]

I do not think he is getting enough credit for how much he developed this year. He made big leaps this year and showed he can lead this team. Bright future.

 

[AR Husker Fan]

Agreed, in one respect - his decision making made a HUGE improvement during the year. Hope it carries over for next year.

 

However (and I know this has been beaten to death in other threads), something has to be done with his throwing motion. The worst part of it is his leaning back as he releases. The ball lacks zip, and for him to launch it downfield for any distance means it goes up like a bottle rocket. If he could just correct that, so that he's steps into his throws, it would benefit him tremendously.

 

Changing that will be difficult - he's done it that way all of his career, and sometimes changing a motion (no matter how much it's needed) can have a really negative impact. But usually that's the case when you talk about the arm motion. I think that his footwork and stepping into throws can be fixed - or at least improved.

[lo country]

As a game manger, he was light yrs head of last year. I also think the past few games he ran harder than at the start of the season. Would love to see NU invest in a real full time QB coach. Anybody know how many schools have dedicated QB coaches?

 

He proved he is physically and mentally tough as well.

[Moiraine]

I was looking at his stats compared to last year and they are very similar but he was sacked more than double the # of times last year. He is way better at throwing it away/scrambling/finding a target than he was last year. He usually knows now when he's had the ball too long.

[hskrpwr13]

I agree that he's a better game mgr, however, I also think its made him a worse overall QB. Now he seems scared to take off when a good running lane exists because the coaches want him to be more of a pocket passer (so he doesnt get hurt). He's not a great passer, nor do I believe he ever will be. They've taken a great, ridiculously fast runner who was a poor thrower, and turned him into an average thrower and an average runner.

IMO it looks like opposing defenses don't account for him as a runner like they used to and have no problem rushing straight at him instead of worrying that he might get out of the pocket.

Since he's no longer as effective as a runner, the whole running game is less effective too, and IMO its resulted in less wide open receivers (where passes dont have to be as accurate) compared to last year and earlier in the season, thus, forcing him to be more of a pin-point passer for which he's not equiped.

I still have visions of Washington, K-State, and Okie State from last year. Unfortunately, I dont think that QB exists anymore. Not so much because he couldn't be, the coaches have just tried to coach it out him.

[HuskerFreakz]

I haven't watched it back, but how bad is his ankle is what I want to know.

[huKSer]

Agreed, in one respect - his decision making made a HUGE improvement during the year. Hope it carries over for next year.

 

However (and I know this has been beaten to death in other threads), something has to be done with his throwing motion. The worst part of it is his leaning back as he releases. The ball lacks zip, and for him to launch it downfield for any distance means it goes up like a bottle rocket. If he could just correct that, so that he's steps into his throws, it would benefit him tremendously.

 

Changing that will be difficult - he's done it that way all of his career, and sometimes changing a motion (no matter how much it's needed) can have a really negative impact. But usually that's the case when you talk about the arm motion. I think that his footwork and stepping into throws can be fixed - or at least improved.

During the off season have Martin stand 5 steps away from TM. If his throwing motion is not good enough, a coach taps Martin on the helmet. My guess TM learns quick

[Husker_x]

Agree. I think Taylor has the potential to be scary good before his time is done. If he can get himself to anywhere near a 60% completion rate with regularity, he'll be an absolute force. The mental aspect of his game is the most encouraging development of the season. He hasn't had as many breakaway runs, but given our QB depth situation being what it is, I'm glad they're limiting him. Once we get stocked up at the position again, I think we'll see him a bit more often. He's a weapon, no doubt about it, and he should be proud of the steps he's made this year as a player and a leader.

[huKSer]

I haven't watched it back, but how bad is his ankle is what I want to know.

One of the Iowa papers mentioned it in 4 of 5 online articles

[AR Husker Fan]

I agree that he's a better game mgr, however, I also think its made him a worse overall QB. Now he seems scared to take off when a good running lane exists because the coaches want him to be more of a pocket passer (so he doesnt get hurt). He's not a great passer, nor do I believe he ever will be. They've taken a great, ridiculously fast runner who was a poor thrower, and turned him into an average thrower and an average runner.

IMO it looks like opposing defenses don't account for him as a runner like they used to and have no problem rushing straight at him instead of worrying that he might get out of the pocket.

Since he's no longer as effective as a runner, the whole running game is less effective too, and IMO its resulted in less wide open receivers (where passes dont have to be as accurate) compared to last year and earlier in the season, thus, forcing him to be more of a pin-point passer for which he's not equiped.

I still have visions of Washington, K-State, and Okie State from last year. Unfortunately, I dont think that QB exists anymore. Not so much because he couldn't be, the coaches have just tried to coach it out him.

Excellent points. I hope that you are correct that it was by design. Hopefully, with off-season development, one of the backups will pick up enough of the offense to gain the trust of the coaches, and they, in turn will turn Martinez loose again.

[HANC]

I haven't watched it back, but how bad is his ankle is what I want to know.

One of the Iowa papers mentioned it in 4 of 5 online articles

 

** please help "catch me up to speed"..... what about his ankle... I have read the entire thread and didn't see any ankle issue. Is he hurt?

 

At half-time, I believe that he had moved ahead of Crouch into the #5 spot in total offense in Husker history, and he has two years left. Barring injury, he should leave as the most prolific offensive player (number - wise) in history.

[True2tRA]

He needs to improve and after this year I really feel like he can. I never liked Watson's playcalling but my biggest knock on him was that his quarterbacks never seemed to progress in his system. This year has been different. Each game, you can really see individual things that Taylor is getting better at. If he continues to work over the offseason, we could really have something special in the offense next year. I have wanted to see a change in the past, but I've changed my tune. I think Taylor may be able to take this offense to the next level.

[HuskerCarter]

Martinez tweaked his ankle, the opposite one he hurt last year. Bo said it wasn't too bad, but it did prevent him from running a lot for the rest of the game.

[danj91]

I haven't watched it back, but how bad is his ankle is what I want to know.

One of the Iowa papers mentioned it in 4 of 5 online articles

 

** please help "catch me up to speed"..... what about his ankle... I have read the entire thread and didn't see any ankle issue. Is he hurt?

 

At half-time, I believe that he had moved ahead of Crouch into the #5 spot in total offense in Husker history, and he has two years left. Barring injury, he should leave as the most prolific offensive player (number - wise) in history.

Thats great but Crouch won the Heisman and the Davey Obrian. Martinez may have some numbers but he hasnt won anything....Sorry but Id rather have Robinson from Michigan as my dual threat qb....

[Hercules]

Denard is probably better than Taylor when Denard is "on." But I watched a lot of games where he was not "on," too... Considering their whole body of work this season, I thought Taylor had a better, more consistent season, even though Denard obviously won the head-to-head battle.