Second Spring Practice - 2012

[MMAHusker]

Exactly. Almost like he was coached to go down to avoid injury?

[Hercules]

My perception is more based on his scrambling (or lack of) ability. Not that it was something he did well in 2010...but, not really until that Washington game in 2010 did I see him completely incapacitated by a pass rush - and at the time I blamed it on the injury. But it carried over into 2011 as well. Even a terrible runner like Ganz can scramble for 200 yards a season. A guy like Martinez should be able to gain 400 yards a season just from broken plays - let alone designed runs and/or reads/option. He could likely have another 200-400 passing yards if he could stretch out a play to allow his receivers more time to get open. That's when I could see him being really deadly. That's when the passing lanes start to open up and our offense becomes dominant. That's the difference between Robinson and Taylor IMO. I bet Taylor had negative scrambling yards last year when you take into account the sacks that he wasn't able to avoid. I bet 30% of Robinson's yards came off broken plays, and 30% of his passing yards came on plays he extended w/ his feet. I just didn't see that from Taylor last year. That's what I want to see this year.

I'd like to see that too - I think it's a skillset that Taylor lacks. I think it's a more instinctive skill though, and so I'm not really expecting to see much progress in that area. However, perhaps as he becomes more comfortable in the offense and more comfortable with his reads, he'll become more comfortable improvising and playing instinctively.

[Hunter94]

i just want him to alertly throw the ball away, rather than take a sack....that would constitute improvement.

[bshirt]

My perception is more based on his scrambling (or lack of) ability. Not that it was something he did well in 2010...but, not really until that Washington game in 2010 did I see him completely incapacitated by a pass rush - and at the time I blamed it on the injury. But it carried over into 2011 as well. Even a terrible runner like Ganz can scramble for 200 yards a season. A guy like Martinez should be able to gain 400 yards a season just from broken plays - let alone designed runs and/or reads/option. He could likely have another 200-400 passing yards if he could stretch out a play to allow his receivers more time to get open. That's when I could see him being really deadly. That's when the passing lanes start to open up and our offense becomes dominant. That's the difference between Robinson and Taylor IMO. I bet Taylor had negative scrambling yards last year when you take into account the sacks that he wasn't able to avoid. I bet 30% of Robinson's yards came off broken plays, and 30% of his passing yards came on plays he extended w/ his feet. I just didn't see that from Taylor last year. That's what I want to see this year.

I'd like to see that too - I think it's a skillset that Taylor lacks. I think it's a more instinctive skill though, and so I'm not really expecting to see much progress in that area. However, perhaps as he becomes more comfortable in the offense and more comfortable with his reads, he'll become more comfortable improvising and playing instinctively.

 

I think at least a good portion of that problem last year was Bo/Beck's call. The sliding, rarely using the zone-read or misdirection options, etc. Kind of the opposite of "aggressive" that surely didn't help. We've got talented guys lined up at qb now ready to go (well, hopefully anyways) so this year we should see more Tmart scorching runs.

 

No denying he does look lost out there on broken plays. Maybe he'll make some strides on that this year.

[knapplc]

Regarding Taylor's "explosiveness," the eyeball test, to me, clearly showed he had lost a step. He used to have eye-popping speed pre-injury, but post-injury he was - to me - clearly slower. All last season.

 

I can recall only a very few runs where he showed that "burst." I can recall a LOT of runs where guys got the angle on him, whereas in 2010 they couldn't.

 

Case in point - the first play of the second half of the first Washington game, 2010. Martinez takes it off the left side and launches down the sideline. That DB had a shot at him, but Marty just outran the angle and beat him to the endzone.

 

Jump forward a year and an ankle injury later and linebackers were chasing him down as he tried to get the edge.

 

This is why I'm concerned about our offensive plan of throwing it with a QB who is not primarily a passer, and who also doesn't have that physical excellence that set him apart in the ground game.

 

Maybe it was coaching, and maybe Martinez 'played slow' because it was a new offense, he was told to take dives rather than hits, etc. Maybe I'm just seeing nothing. We'll see.

[bshirt]

Regarding Taylor's "explosiveness," the eyeball test, to me, clearly showed he had lost a step. He used to have eye-popping speed pre-injury, but post-injury he was - to me - clearly slower. All last season.

 

I can recall only a very few runs where he showed that "burst." I can recall a LOT of runs where guys got the angle on him, whereas in 2010 they couldn't.

 

Case in point - the first play of the second half of the first Washington game, 2010. Martinez takes it off the left side and launches down the sideline. That DB had a shot at him, but Marty just outran the angle and beat him to the endzone.

 

Jump forward a year and an ankle injury later and linebackers were chasing him down as he tried to get the edge.

 

This is why I'm concerned about our offensive plan of throwing it with a QB who is not primarily a passer, and who also doesn't have that physical excellence that set him apart in the ground game.

 

Maybe it was coaching, and maybe Martinez 'played slow' because it was a new offense, he was told to take dives rather than hits, etc. Maybe I'm just seeing nothing. We'll see.

 

 

Yeah, I don't know either. Agree we'll see......

['SkersRule]

Jump forward a year and an ankle injury later and linebackers were chasing him down as he tried to get the edge.

 

I won't disagree with your assertion that Taylor's ankle injury slowed him down. But in 2010 it started with the loss to Texas. The Horns came to Lincoln and essentially copied the defense that Arizona State beat Nebraska with back in 1996. In other words they essentially put 9 guys in the box and sold out on every snap to stuff the run. The goal was to put the Nebraska offense into 3rd and long as often as possible. Since that game against Texas back in 2010 every team that has beaten Nebraska has used the exact same approach. Back to Taylor specifically though, he has always been incredibly fast in a straight line distance but he has never really been shifty or had the ability to make people miss while he's standing in the pocket. And when the pocket breaks down and Taylor takes off and runs he's even less likely to juke anyone and the game tape illustrates that.

[DelK]

Hope springs eternal in Huskerland!!

[Hunter94]

Jump forward a year and an ankle injury later and linebackers were chasing him down as he tried to get the edge.

 

I won't disagree with your assertion that Taylor's ankle injury slowed him down. But in 2010 it started with the loss to Texas. The Horns came to Lincoln and essentially copied the defense that Arizona State beat Nebraska with back in 1996. In other words they essentially put 9 guys in the box and sold out on every snap to stuff the run. The goal was to put the Nebraska offense into 3rd and long as often as possible. Since that game against Texas back in 2010 every team that has beaten Nebraska has used the exact same approach. Back to Taylor specifically though, he has always been incredibly fast in a straight line distance but he has never really been shifty or had the ability to make people miss while he's standing in the pocket. And when the pocket breaks down and Taylor takes off and runs he's even less likely to juke anyone and the game tape illustrates that.

 

so he better come out throwing or mix it up or we're screwed this season......is that about it?

[zoogs]

Texas figured out that Taylor wasn't making reads when he ran the 'zone read.'

 

Really though, that zone read has been more effective than the option. Kind of a weird situation. Taylor still is fast and can make the runs, it is just that they are quite rare. I mean, he put up the yards last year, but it was not to devastating, gamebreaking effect.

 

This is why I'm concerned about our offensive plan of throwing it with a QB who is not primarily a passer, and who also doesn't have that physical excellence that set him apart in the ground game.

 

Scary how much I agree with this!

[Hunter94]

Texas figured out that Taylor wasn't making reads when he ran the 'zone read.'

 

Really though, that zone read has been more effective than the option. Kind of a weird situation. Taylor still is fast and can make the runs, it is just that they are quite rare. I mean, he put up the yards last year, but it was not to devastating, gamebreaking effect.

 

This is why I'm concerned about our offensive plan of throwing it with a QB who is not primarily a passer, and who also doesn't have that physical excellence that set him apart in the ground game.

 

Scary how much I agree with this!

 

the night and day i saw was between 2010 and 2011.........TM's running in 2010 will never be repeated

[knapplc]

Texas figured out that Taylor wasn't making reads when he ran the 'zone read.'

 

Really though, that zone read has been more effective than the option. Kind of a weird situation. Taylor still is fast and can make the runs, it is just that they are quite rare. I mean, he put up the yards last year, but it was not to devastating, gamebreaking effect.

 

In early 2010, Taylor was making reads. The TV guys were raving about how long he kept the ball in the RB's gut before he made his read in several games.

 

Texas was a team meltdown, not a Taylor meltdown.

[zoogs]

I'm not saying Texas wasn't a team meltdown, but I am pretty sure, regardless of what TV announcers said (they said the same thing late in the year, too), that Taylor wasn't making reads.

 

Maybe I am remembering the wrong thing that Texas defenders had figured out and were talking about afterwards that game; if so, remind me.

[knapplc]

I'm not saying Texas wasn't a team meltdown, but I am pretty sure, regardless of what TV announcers said, that Taylor wasn't making reads.

 

Maybe I am remembering the wrong thing that Texas defenders had figured out and were talking about afterwards that game; if so, remind me.

 

Cody Green was not capable of making reads in 2010, and his "reads" were called keepers or handoffs. Likely that's what you're thinking of.

['SkersRule]

so he better come out throwing or mix it up or we're screwed this season......is that about it?

 

I guess that depends on your definition of screwed.