Bo Pelini Dream Team

[It'sNotAFakeID]

I will put it this way. In this offense that is very QB dependent, we need a QB that isn't turnover prone for how often they have the ball.

That is why I say Chip wouldn't of started Taylor. Chip wanted a game manager who wouldn't turn the ball over because the QB plays such a strong role in the offense.

There's a lot of schools that wouldn't start Taylor even if he weren't the turnover machine that he is. Pelini has more than catered this offense around him turnovers and all like most coaches most certainly wouldn't. In 38 career games he's fumbled the ball....47 times. He's still and always will be a running back with horrible ball handling skills taboot attempting to play QB. Nothing like 4 years of it...

What really gets me is how people will try to spin Taylor's stats to conform to their opinion of him. Here's the facts:

Taylor completed 62% of his passes (368 attempts) last season. That completion percentage ties Nebraska for 47th with South Carolina and USC. Taylor attempted 80 more passes in 2012 than he did in 2011, and he completed 62 of those 80 extra passes (that's a 77.5% completion percentage). Taylor passed for 23 touchdowns last year, an amount equal to his first two seasons at QB combined (10 in 2010 and 13 in 2011).

Yes, he threw more interceptions last season than he had in his career, but that's not the right way to look at that stat. The stat you want to look at is INT to TD ratio. In 2010, he threw .7 interceptions for every touchdown he threw. In 2011, that number dipped to .61 interceptions per every touchdown. And in 2012, that number once again dropped to .52 interceptions for every touchdown (meaning if he had 2 touchdown passes in a game, he probably had an interception with it as well).

Now let's go about the running game. If Nebraska lost about half the fumbles that Taylor committed, that's 24 fumbles lost. I think the general trend is that Taylor has improved in every area (some more than others), so let's say we lost 10 of those fumbles his freshman year, 8 of those fumbles his sophomore year, and 6 of those fumbles his junior year. Comparing fumbles lost to rushing touchdowns (similar to the INT/passing TD comparison) reveals that the ratio of fumbles lost to rushing touchdowns was .83 in 2010, .89 in 2011, and .60 in 2012--all of which are notably high. But Taylor will be the first to tell you that he needs to work on protecting the football, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will do a much better job of it this year.

But if we want to statistically assess his true effectiveness, one of the ways which it should be done is by taking a look at how often he scored versus how often he turned the ball over--a combined ratio. Because of his dynamic ability as a passer and a runner, both must be taken into account. So, in 2010 his overall turnover to touchdown ratio was .77; in 2011 that number dipped slightly to .72; and in 2012 that number dipped dramatically to .54.

Taylor is not only passing the ball more efficiently, he is also passing it more effectively--this talk of him not being able to play the QB position has to end, because it's being based on opinion, an opinion unsupported by the stats.

Stats are great, but there are just some things that they can't measure. Schematically, when the opposing team has a QB who can run the ball as well as throw it efficiently and effectively, it creates another player which has to be guarded against. It takes a defender, and quite possibly defenders out of the play; if Taylor looks like he's going to scramble, you can bet the house the defense will try to collapse around him, which will leave receivers wide open. If we line up and run a read play, a defensive end or a linebacker must always be on the look-out for Taylor to keep it. If they commit to Taylor, he can just hand it off to Ameer, who will more than likely get 4 or 5 yards. Planning to play Taylor Martinez isn't an easy thing to do because he can beat you even when he doesn't have the ball--and that's something a lot of college quarterbacks can't do, and a lot of college coaches would like to have on their team.

 

[suh_fan93]

I will put it this way. In this offense that is very QB dependent, we need a QB that isn't turnover prone for how often they have the ball.

That is why I say Chip wouldn't of started Taylor. Chip wanted a game manager who wouldn't turn the ball over because the QB plays such a strong role in the offense.

There's a lot of schools that wouldn't start Taylor even if he weren't the turnover machine that he is. Pelini has more than catered this offense around him turnovers and all like most coaches most certainly wouldn't. In 38 career games he's fumbled the ball....47 times. He's still and always will be a running back with horrible ball handling skills taboot attempting to play QB. Nothing like 4 years of it...

What really gets me is how people will try to spin Taylor's stats to conform to their opinion of him. Here's the facts:

Taylor completed 62% of his passes (368 attempts) last season. That completion percentage ties Nebraska for 47th with South Carolina and USC. Taylor attempted 80 more passes in 2012 than he did in 2011, and he completed 62 of those 80 extra passes (that's a 77.5% completion percentage). Taylor passed for 23 touchdowns last year, an amount equal to his first two seasons at QB combined (10 in 2010 and 13 in 2011).

Yes, he threw more interceptions last season than he had in his career, but that's not the right way to look at that stat. The stat you want to look at is INT to TD ratio. In 2010, he threw .7 interceptions for every touchdown he threw. In 2011, that number dipped to .61 interceptions per every touchdown. And in 2012, that number once again dropped to .52 interceptions for every touchdown (meaning if he had 2 touchdown passes in a game, he probably had an interception with it as well).

Now let's go about the running game. If Nebraska lost about half the fumbles that Taylor committed, that's 24 fumbles lost. I think the general trend is that Taylor has improved in every area (some more than others), so let's say we lost 10 of those fumbles his freshman year, 8 of those fumbles his sophomore year, and 6 of those fumbles his junior year. Comparing fumbles lost to rushing touchdowns (similar to the INT/passing TD comparison) reveals that the ratio of fumbles lost to rushing touchdowns was .83 in 2010, .89 in 2011, and .60 in 2012--all of which are notably high. But Taylor will be the first to tell you that he needs to work on protecting the football, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will do a much better job of it this year.

But if we want to statistically assess his true effectiveness, one of the ways which it should be done is by taking a look at how often he scored versus how often he turned the ball over--a combined ratio. Because of his dynamic ability as a passer and a runner, both must be taken into account. So, in 2010 his overall turnover to touchdown ratio was .77; in 2011 that number dipped slightly to .72; and in 2012 that number dipped dramatically to .54.

Taylor is not only passing the ball more efficiently, he is also passing it more effectively--this talk of him not being able to play the QB position has to end, because it's being based on opinion, an opinion unsupported by the stats.

Stats are great, but there are just some things that they can't measure. Schematically, when the opposing team has a QB who can run the ball as well as throw it efficiently and effectively, it creates another player which has to be guarded against. It takes a defender, and quite possibly defenders out of the play; if Taylor looks like he's going to scramble, you can bet the house the defense will try to collapse around him, which will leave receivers wide open. If we line up and run a read play, a defensive end or a linebacker must always be on the look-out for Taylor to keep it. If they commit to Taylor, he can just hand it off to Ameer, who will more than likely get 4 or 5 yards. Planning to play Taylor Martinez isn't an easy thing to do because he can beat you even when he doesn't have the ball--and that's something a lot of college quarterbacks can't do, and a lot of college coaches would like to have on their team.

 

[It'sNotAFakeID]

I will put it this way. In this offense that is very QB dependent, we need a QB that isn't turnover prone for how often they have the ball.

That is why I say Chip wouldn't of started Taylor. Chip wanted a game manager who wouldn't turn the ball over because the QB plays such a strong role in the offense.

There's a lot of schools that wouldn't start Taylor even if he weren't the turnover machine that he is. Pelini has more than catered this offense around him turnovers and all like most coaches most certainly wouldn't. In 38 career games he's fumbled the ball....47 times. He's still and always will be a running back with horrible ball handling skills taboot attempting to play QB. Nothing like 4 years of it...

What really gets me is how people will try to spin Taylor's stats to conform to their opinion of him. Here's the facts:

Taylor completed 62% of his passes (368 attempts) last season. That completion percentage ties Nebraska for 47th with South Carolina and USC. Taylor attempted 80 more passes in 2012 than he did in 2011, and he completed 62 of those 80 extra passes (that's a 77.5% completion percentage). Taylor passed for 23 touchdowns last year, an amount equal to his first two seasons at QB combined (10 in 2010 and 13 in 2011).

Yes, he threw more interceptions last season than he had in his career, but that's not the right way to look at that stat. The stat you want to look at is INT to TD ratio. In 2010, he threw .7 interceptions for every touchdown he threw. In 2011, that number dipped to .61 interceptions per every touchdown. And in 2012, that number once again dropped to .52 interceptions for every touchdown (meaning if he had 2 touchdown passes in a game, he probably had an interception with it as well).

Now let's go about the running game. If Nebraska lost about half the fumbles that Taylor committed, that's 24 fumbles lost. I think the general trend is that Taylor has improved in every area (some more than others), so let's say we lost 10 of those fumbles his freshman year, 8 of those fumbles his sophomore year, and 6 of those fumbles his junior year. Comparing fumbles lost to rushing touchdowns (similar to the INT/passing TD comparison) reveals that the ratio of fumbles lost to rushing touchdowns was .83 in 2010, .89 in 2011, and .60 in 2012--all of which are notably high. But Taylor will be the first to tell you that he needs to work on protecting the football, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will do a much better job of it this year.

But if we want to statistically assess his true effectiveness, one of the ways which it should be done is by taking a look at how often he scored versus how often he turned the ball over--a combined ratio. Because of his dynamic ability as a passer and a runner, both must be taken into account. So, in 2010 his overall turnover to touchdown ratio was .77; in 2011 that number dipped slightly to .72; and in 2012 that number dipped dramatically to .54.

Taylor is not only passing the ball more efficiently, he is also passing it more effectively--this talk of him not being able to play the QB position has to end, because it's being based on opinion, an opinion unsupported by the stats.

Stats are great, but there are just some things that they can't measure. Schematically, when the opposing team has a QB who can run the ball as well as throw it efficiently and effectively, it creates another player which has to be guarded against. It takes a defender, and quite possibly defenders out of the play; if Taylor looks like he's going to scramble, you can bet the house the defense will try to collapse around him, which will leave receivers wide open. If we line up and run a read play, a defensive end or a linebacker must always be on the look-out for Taylor to keep it. If they commit to Taylor, he can just hand it off to Ameer, who will more than likely get 4 or 5 yards. Planning to play Taylor Martinez isn't an easy thing to do because he can beat you even when he doesn't have the ball--and that's something a lot of college quarterbacks can't do, and a lot of college coaches would like to have on their team.

That's what you come back with? Care to explain why, because I would like to hear a response other than just, "double face palm." It's perfectly fine to have a dissenting opinion--it just has to be based on legitimate facts for it to be valid.

 

[The King]

I will put it this way. In this offense that is very QB dependent, we need a QB that isn't turnover prone for how often they have the ball.

That is why I say Chip wouldn't of started Taylor. Chip wanted a game manager who wouldn't turn the ball over because the QB plays such a strong role in the offense.

There's a lot of schools that wouldn't start Taylor even if he weren't the turnover machine that he is. Pelini has more than catered this offense around him turnovers and all like most coaches most certainly wouldn't. In 38 career games he's fumbled the ball....47 times. He's still and always will be a running back with horrible ball handling skills taboot attempting to play QB. Nothing like 4 years of it...

What really gets me is how people will try to spin Taylor's stats to conform to their opinion of him. Here's the facts:

Taylor completed 62% of his passes (368 attempts) last season. That completion percentage ties Nebraska for 47th with South Carolina and USC. Taylor attempted 80 more passes in 2012 than he did in 2011, and he completed 62 of those 80 extra passes (that's a 77.5% completion percentage). Taylor passed for 23 touchdowns last year, an amount equal to his first two seasons at QB combined (10 in 2010 and 13 in 2011).

Yes, he threw more interceptions last season than he had in his career, but that's not the right way to look at that stat. The stat you want to look at is INT to TD ratio. In 2010, he threw .7 interceptions for every touchdown he threw. In 2011, that number dipped to .61 interceptions per every touchdown. And in 2012, that number once again dropped to .52 interceptions for every touchdown (meaning if he had 2 touchdown passes in a game, he probably had an interception with it as well).

Now let's go about the running game. If Nebraska lost about half the fumbles that Taylor committed, that's 24 fumbles lost. I think the general trend is that Taylor has improved in every area (some more than others), so let's say we lost 10 of those fumbles his freshman year, 8 of those fumbles his sophomore year, and 6 of those fumbles his junior year. Comparing fumbles lost to rushing touchdowns (similar to the INT/passing TD comparison) reveals that the ratio of fumbles lost to rushing touchdowns was .83 in 2010, .89 in 2011, and .60 in 2012--all of which are notably high. But Taylor will be the first to tell you that he needs to work on protecting the football, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will do a much better job of it this year.

But if we want to statistically assess his true effectiveness, one of the ways which it should be done is by taking a look at how often he scored versus how often he turned the ball over--a combined ratio. Because of his dynamic ability as a passer and a runner, both must be taken into account. So, in 2010 his overall turnover to touchdown ratio was .77; in 2011 that number dipped slightly to .72; and in 2012 that number dipped dramatically to .54.

Taylor is not only passing the ball more efficiently, he is also passing it more effectively--this talk of him not being able to play the QB position has to end, because it's being based on opinion, an opinion unsupported by the stats.

Stats are great, but there are just some things that they can't measure. Schematically, when the opposing team has a QB who can run the ball as well as throw it efficiently and effectively, it creates another player which has to be guarded against. It takes a defender, and quite possibly defenders out of the play; if Taylor looks like he's going to scramble, you can bet the house the defense will try to collapse around him, which will leave receivers wide open. If we line up and run a read play, a defensive end or a linebacker must always be on the look-out for Taylor to keep it. If they commit to Taylor, he can just hand it off to Ameer, who will more than likely get 4 or 5 yards. Planning to play Taylor Martinez isn't an easy thing to do because he can beat you even when he doesn't have the ball--and that's something a lot of college quarterbacks can't do, and a lot of college coaches would like to have on their team.

I think Suh_fan93 is the hater everyone is trying to make me out to be. I more agree with you, that Taylor is a good QB - I just don't think a good-to-very good QB can win anything meaningful (BCS championship, BCS game, or to a lesser extent a B1G championship - I say lesser extent (but still significant, not our fault if you have a shady program) because this really depends on the strength of the B1G, what teams are banned from participating, etc).In this offense, you need to be a GREAT QB who DOESN'T turn the ball over, period.

For instance, I would be curious to see what those numbers were like for Mariota, Manziel, or Braxton Miller (in the dual threat category).

Mariota looks like he had 9 turnovers to 38 total touchdowns. 4.22 TDs per turnover.

Manziel had 47 to (9 int - can't find fumbles) Lets go with 4 fumbles lost - 3.61 TDs per turnover.

Braxton 28 to (6 int) for numbers sake I'll say he lost 4 fumbles for 2.8 TDs per turnover.

So taylor has 33 td vs 18 turnovers. So about 1.8 TDs per turnover.

I used 4 fumbles lost as a guide for the players I couldn't find turnover statistics for, which seems a little lofty, but so be it. I also used your example of 18 turnovers for Taylor (12 ints + 6 lost fumbles).

His efficiency appears to be worse than you thought. That is also why I say he turns the ball over too much to be a QB that will win anything of significance - of course, if he makes better decisions and can control that, I'll eat my crow gladly. But after 3 years he didn't seem to really fix his ball control issues, and his tendency to force throws - so I don't see a drastic change coming this year. I could (and hope) I'm wrong ...

 

[HuskerShark]

he turns the ball over too much

I don't think there's anyone that will argue with that one. Not even people who think Taylor can do no wrong. But to say that this prevents Nebraska from winning anything meaningful is a stretch toward the unreasonable side.

 

[knapplc]

What really gets me is how people will try to spin Taylor's stats to conform to their opinion of him. Here's the facts:

Taylor completed 62% of his passes (368 attempts) last season. That completion percentage ties Nebraska for 47th with South Carolina and USC. Taylor attempted 80 more passes in 2012 than he did in 2011, and he completed 62 of those 80 extra passes (that's a 77.5% completion percentage). Taylor passed for 23 touchdowns last year, an amount equal to his first two seasons at QB combined (10 in 2010 and 13 in 2011).

Yes, he threw more interceptions last season than he had in his career, but that's not the right way to look at that stat. The stat you want to look at is INT to TD ratio. In 2010, he threw .7 interceptions for every touchdown he threw. In 2011, that number dipped to .61 interceptions per every touchdown. And in 2012, that number once again dropped to .52 interceptions for every touchdown (meaning if he had 2 touchdown passes in a game, he probably had an interception with it as well).

Now let's go about the running game. If Nebraska lost about half the fumbles that Taylor committed, that's 24 fumbles lost. I think the general trend is that Taylor has improved in every area (some more than others), so let's say we lost 10 of those fumbles his freshman year, 8 of those fumbles his sophomore year, and 6 of those fumbles his junior year. Comparing fumbles lost to rushing touchdowns (similar to the INT/passing TD comparison) reveals that the ratio of fumbles lost to rushing touchdowns was .83 in 2010, .89 in 2011, and .60 in 2012--all of which are notably high. But Taylor will be the first to tell you that he needs to work on protecting the football, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will do a much better job of it this year.

But if we want to statistically assess his true effectiveness, one of the ways which it should be done is by taking a look at how often he scored versus how often he turned the ball over--a combined ratio. Because of his dynamic ability as a passer and a runner, both must be taken into account. So, in 2010 his overall turnover to touchdown ratio was .77; in 2011 that number dipped slightly to .72; and in 2012 that number dipped dramatically to .54.

Taylor is not only passing the ball more efficiently, he is also passing it more effectively--this talk of him not being able to play the QB position has to end, because it's being based on opinion, an opinion unsupported by the stats.

Stats are great, but there are just some things that they can't measure. Schematically, when the opposing team has a QB who can run the ball as well as throw it efficiently and effectively, it creates another player which has to be guarded against. It takes a defender, and quite possibly defenders out of the play; if Taylor looks like he's going to scramble, you can bet the house the defense will try to collapse around him, which will leave receivers wide open. If we line up and run a read play, a defensive end or a linebacker must always be on the look-out for Taylor to keep it. If they commit to Taylor, he can just hand it off to Ameer, who will more than likely get 4 or 5 yards. Planning to play Taylor Martinez isn't an easy thing to do because he can beat you even when he doesn't have the ball--and that's something a lot of college quarterbacks can't do, and a lot of college coaches would like to have on their team.

I think Suh_fan93 is the hater everyone is trying to make me out to be. I more agree with you, that Taylor is a good QB - I just don't think a good-to-very good QB can win anything meaningful (BCS championship, BCS game, or to a lesser extent a B1G championship - I say lesser extent (but still significant, not our fault if you have a shady program) because this really depends on the strength of the B1G, what teams are banned from participating, etc).In this offense, you need to be a GREAT QB who DOESN'T turn the ball over, period.

For instance, I would be curious to see what those numbers were like for Mariota, Manziel, or Braxton Miller (in the dual threat category).

Mariota looks like he had 9 turnovers to 38 total touchdowns. 4.22 TDs per turnover.

Manziel had 47 to (9 int - can't find fumbles) Lets go with 4 fumbles lost - 3.61 TDs per turnover.

Braxton 28 to (6 int) for numbers sake I'll say he lost 4 fumbles for 2.8 TDs per turnover.

So taylor has 33 td vs 18 turnovers. So about 1.8 TDs per turnover.

I used 4 fumbles lost as a guide for the players I couldn't find turnover statistics for, which seems a little lofty, but so be it. I also used your example of 18 turnovers for Taylor (12 ints + 6 lost fumbles).

His efficiency appears to be worse than you thought. That is also why I say he turns the ball over too much to be a QB that will win anything of significance - of course, if he makes better decisions and can control that, I'll eat my crow gladly. But after 3 years he didn't seem to really fix his ball control issues, and his tendency to force throws - so I don't see a drastic change coming this year. I could (and hope) I'm wrong ...

Let's take those numbers one step farther, to see if there's a reason Taylor forces some throws or plays risky enough to turn the ball over. What's happening on the other side of the ball for these quarterbacks?

Oregon

Rushing Defense - 44

Pass Efficiency Defense - 15

Total Defense - 44

Scoring Defense - 25

Texas A&M

Rushing Defense - 35

Pass Efficiency Defense - 39

Total Defense - 57

Scoring Defense - 26

Ohio State

Rushing Defense - 14

Pass Efficiency Defense - 29

Total Defense - 34

Scoring Defense - 31

Nebraska

Rushing Defense - 90

Pass Efficiency Defense - 9

Total Defense - 35

Scoring Defense - 58

To put those numbers side-by-side, here's how Nebraska's defense compared to the other four teams'. The glaring stats show more of the picture: Taylor often made high-risk plays because he had to. We were hemorrhaging yards and points so much that he had to force things.

Team - ORE - TAMU - OSU

Rushing Defense - (46) - (55) - (76)

Pass Efficiency Defense - +6 - +30 - +20

Total Defense - +9 - +22 - (1)

Scoring Defense - (33) - (32) - (27)

It's one thing to be worse than your comparators in a category. It's entirely another thing to be dozens of spots worse in the two most critical categories (against the run and points).

Because the defense couldn't stop anyone, Martinez played from behind in these games:

Wisconsin (1) - down 17 points in the second half

Ohio State - down 11 at halftime, down 18 after three quarters

Northwestern - down 12 with 8:31 left in the fourth quarter

Michigan State - down 10 with 14:20 left in the fourth quarter

Penn State - down 14 at halftime

Wisconsin (2) - down 32 at halftime

Now, let's look at Taylor's turnovers. In the above games, he turned the ball over:

Wisconsin (1) - once (fumble)

Ohio State - four (3 INT, fumble)

Northwestern - none

Michigan State - three (INTs)

Penn State - once (fumble)

Wisconsin (2) - twice (INT & fumble)

So, 11 of his 18 total turnovers came in games where the defense couldn't stop anyone. We gave up an average of 39 points in those games and trailed by double digits in each game.

High-risk plays happened for Taylor most often in games where the defense was getting gashed for yards and points. It stands to reason that if the defense could shore up those gaping holes, Taylor would probably not have to force things so much, and could very well cut down on turnovers.

For the umpteenth time. Taylor Martinez is not this team's problem. He's not the player, and QB is not the position, holding this team back. This discussion is tantamount to the proverbial rearranging of the deck chairs while the Titanic sinks underfoot.

 

[The Dude]

So, 11 of his 18 total turnovers came in games where the defense couldn't stop anyone. We gave up an average of 39 points in those games and trailed by double digits in each game.

That doesn't prove anything in and of itself. What would prove your point is if a high percentage of those 11 occurred when we trailed by double digits, and weren't just a result of careless ball handling. Off the top of my head I can think of Taylor's first 2 picks in the Ohio State game, one when it was still 0-0, and one when it was (I think) 17-14 (partially because of his first pick six), so those two don't support the narrative.

I don't have time to go through and and look at the context at each turnover right now, but it would be interesting to know.

 

[Saunders]

I will put it this way. In this offense that is very QB dependent, we need a QB that isn't turnover prone for how often they have the ball.

That is why I say Chip wouldn't of started Taylor. Chip wanted a game manager who wouldn't turn the ball over because the QB plays such a strong role in the offense.

There's a lot of schools that wouldn't start Taylor even if he weren't the turnover machine that he is. Pelini has more than catered this offense around him turnovers and all like most coaches most certainly wouldn't. In 38 career games he's fumbled the ball....47 times. He's still and always will be a running back with horrible ball handling skills taboot attempting to play QB. Nothing like 4 years of it...

Man, all those Big Ten coaches that voted him first team All Big Ten last year are a bunch of dumbasses.

If only Pelini had played Brion Carnes, then we would have scored 70 against Ohio State and 77 against Wisconsin!

 

[Saunders]

I will put it this way. In this offense that is very QB dependent, we need a QB that isn't turnover prone for how often they have the ball.

That is why I say Chip wouldn't of started Taylor. Chip wanted a game manager who wouldn't turn the ball over because the QB plays such a strong role in the offense.

There's a lot of schools that wouldn't start Taylor even if he weren't the turnover machine that he is. Pelini has more than catered this offense around him turnovers and all like most coaches most certainly wouldn't. In 38 career games he's fumbled the ball....47 times. He's still and always will be a running back with horrible ball handling skills taboot attempting to play QB. Nothing like 4 years of it...

What really gets me is how people will try to spin Taylor's stats to conform to their opinion of him. Here's the facts:

Taylor completed 62% of his passes (368 attempts) last season. That completion percentage ties Nebraska for 47th with South Carolina and USC. Taylor attempted 80 more passes in 2012 than he did in 2011, and he completed 62 of those 80 extra passes (that's a 77.5% completion percentage). Taylor passed for 23 touchdowns last year, an amount equal to his first two seasons at QB combined (10 in 2010 and 13 in 2011).

Yes, he threw more interceptions last season than he had in his career, but that's not the right way to look at that stat. The stat you want to look at is INT to TD ratio. In 2010, he threw .7 interceptions for every touchdown he threw. In 2011, that number dipped to .61 interceptions per every touchdown. And in 2012, that number once again dropped to .52 interceptions for every touchdown (meaning if he had 2 touchdown passes in a game, he probably had an interception with it as well).

Now let's go about the running game. If Nebraska lost about half the fumbles that Taylor committed, that's 24 fumbles lost. I think the general trend is that Taylor has improved in every area (some more than others), so let's say we lost 10 of those fumbles his freshman year, 8 of those fumbles his sophomore year, and 6 of those fumbles his junior year. Comparing fumbles lost to rushing touchdowns (similar to the INT/passing TD comparison) reveals that the ratio of fumbles lost to rushing touchdowns was .83 in 2010, .89 in 2011, and .60 in 2012--all of which are notably high. But Taylor will be the first to tell you that he needs to work on protecting the football, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will do a much better job of it this year.

But if we want to statistically assess his true effectiveness, one of the ways which it should be done is by taking a look at how often he scored versus how often he turned the ball over--a combined ratio. Because of his dynamic ability as a passer and a runner, both must be taken into account. So, in 2010 his overall turnover to touchdown ratio was .77; in 2011 that number dipped slightly to .72; and in 2012 that number dipped dramatically to .54.

Taylor is not only passing the ball more efficiently, he is also passing it more effectively--this talk of him not being able to play the QB position has to end, because it's being based on opinion, an opinion unsupported by the stats.

Stats are great, but there are just some things that they can't measure. Schematically, when the opposing team has a QB who can run the ball as well as throw it efficiently and effectively, it creates another player which has to be guarded against. It takes a defender, and quite possibly defenders out of the play; if Taylor looks like he's going to scramble, you can bet the house the defense will try to collapse around him, which will leave receivers wide open. If we line up and run a read play, a defensive end or a linebacker must always be on the look-out for Taylor to keep it. If they commit to Taylor, he can just hand it off to Ameer, who will more than likely get 4 or 5 yards. Planning to play Taylor Martinez isn't an easy thing to do because he can beat you even when he doesn't have the ball--and that's something a lot of college quarterbacks can't do, and a lot of college coaches would like to have on their team.

Translation: I don't know what the f*** I'm talking about.

 

[Saunders]

Melvin Gordon ran the ball 9 times for 216 yards against us.

But, we won't win anything because Taylor isn't an elite QB.

 

[knapplc]

Man, all those Big Ten coaches that voted him first team All Big Ten last year are a bunch of dumbasses.

If only Pelini had played Brion Carnes, then we would have scored 70 against Ohio State and 77 against Wisconsin!

 

[The Maudfather]

Taylor Martinez is literally Hitler.

:lol:

Redditor?

 

[suh_fan93]

Oh i won't hide my disdain for T Magic as a QB. Not. At. All. Is it anything personal against him? Not. At. All either. No way. My favorite T-Magic moment and yes I have one is him running with Jack Hoffman for all of those 69 yards. One of the classiest things I have ever seen in both Husker and college football. As a proud member of Team Jack, I lost my niece to pediatric brain cancer I will never forget that.

What you Martinez fanboys have to understand is that not everyone is in love with him as you are. Life will go on for you! I mean you have your starter and have had your starter for the last 4 years *cough* am I correct?!!! The concensus at least in this thread or if you ask that saunders dude is how great Martinez is. Not everyone sees the apparent great QB that you might so getting your panties all in a bunch per usual after someone simply says that Joe Ganz was their 'pick' on Pelini's all time team is on you..... I can't stand Martinez as a QB. It is painful to watch and unlike the same 5 or 6 usual people here who flock down to defend Taylor anytime someone gives an opinion that doesn't match theirs in a thread you can thank them for taking a simple opinion from someone and turning it into another let's defend Taylor campaign/thread yet again...yawn.... People have opinions and quite valid opinions that don't match yours. Please be a big boy and deal with it... GBR

 

[The Dude]

Opinions man, they're a m-f'r.

Taylor Martinez is literally Hitler.

:lol:

Redditor?

No. Still funny though.

 

[Saunders]

Oh i won't hide my disdain for T Magic as a QB. Not. At. All. Is it anything personal against him? Not. At. All either. No way. My favorite T-Magic moment and yes I have one is him running with Jack Hoffman for all of those 69 yards. One of the classiest things I have ever seen in both Husker and college football. As a proud member of Team Jack, I lost my niece to pediatric brain cancer I will never forget that.

What you Martinez fanboys have to understand is that not everyone is in love with him as you are. Life will go on for you! I mean you have your starter and have had your starter for the last 4 years *cough* am I correct?!!! The concensus at least in this thread or if you ask that saunders dude is how great Martinez is. Not everyone sees the apparent great QB that you might so getting your panties all in a bunch per usual after someone simply says that Joe Ganz was their 'pick' on Pelini's all time team is on you..... I can't stand Martinez as a QB. It is painful to watch and unlike the same 5 or 6 usual people here who flock down to defend Taylor anytime someone gives an opinion that doesn't match theirs in a thread you can thank them for taking a simple opinion from someone and turning it into another let's defend Taylor campaign/thread yet again...yawn.... People have opinions and quite valid opinions that don't match yours. Please be a big boy and deal with it... GBR

See, here's the thing, those of us "defending" him are making valid and rational rebuttals (we need a defense, hello) while you are not (anyone on the roster is better). It's plain and simple. I don't think he's great, I just don't think he's terrible. I mean, you'd think if he sucked so bad, that somebody else would have beat him out, unless you're a tinfoil hatter. You're welcome to your opinion, just don't expect people to accept it when it's crazy.