Ever think Martinez is the problem

[TheSker]

All I know, is the defense has been mostly sh#t for 14 1/2 of 16 quarters under Taylor. It's been in lights out shut down mode for about the same amount without. That's not coincidence. It's a full blown pattern. And if you say the qb shouldnt affect the desire and confidence of a defense, then you probably havent played the sport. Players in all phases of the game sense leadership and urgency from their leader. I just dont think Taylor has those attributes, and that's not some fly by night observation in the wake of his sudden absence. It's been a trend that's been discussed for all of his 4 years here. Tommy and Ron both show them qualities. Tommy threw three intereceptions yesterday, one that was supposed to cost us the game, but yet there he was, involved on the sidelines, urging the crowd on as the defense made one last stand. There he was involved as Ron lead us into position.

So your argument is the defense plays slightly better against weaker competition, so obviously Martinez is to blame when the defense doesn't step up against the better teams we play...

Am I being punked? Where are you Ashton?

What's with the competition argument all the time. What's the big difference outside of UCLA? Is Minnesota really a juggernaut next to NW just because they sqeeked by them?

One side: Wyoming, So Miss (probably worse than SDSU, Purdue, and Illionois), UCLA, and Minnesota

Other side: SDSU, Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern.

Again, outside of UCLA, the competition arguement is rather silly too. It's not that far off. And as far as the argument of what Taylor did last year, that has nothing to do with this year. But sorry, i'm sticking with my premesis on this. Football is about a lot of mentality and psychology. I pay attention to these kinds of things rather than x's and o's. This is an obvious assessment at this point.

Agreed. 8 games in, 2-2 with Martinez.....4-0 with Armstrong/Kellogg.....and I'm no rocket surgeon.

 

[dutch91701]

They took Newby off the kickoff team also, the hell are we doing with him. As for Armstrong, Beck needs to run more option and play action with him. Drop back passing isn't his thing, utilize his strengths not his weaknesses.

Playing away from his strengths isn't helping. Anyone remember that option in the first half where he faked the pitch and made two guys look absolutely ridiculous? He runs the option well and passed well out of option looks as well. Making him pass straight up is where he has problems and for some reason that's what Beck keeps trying to do. If the team could get some consistency out of the play calling, more to TA's strengths, his numbers would not be even close to as bad as 1 TD to 6 INTs.

 

[Branno]

All I know, is the defense has been mostly sh#t for 14 1/2 of 16 quarters under Taylor. It's been in lights out shut down mode for about the same amount without. That's not coincidence. It's a full blown pattern. And if you say the qb shouldnt affect the desire and confidence of a defense, then you probably havent played the sport. Players in all phases of the game sense leadership and urgency from their leader. I just dont think Taylor has those attributes, and that's not some fly by night observation in the wake of his sudden absence. It's been a trend that's been discussed for all of his 4 years here. Tommy and Ron both show them qualities. Tommy threw three intereceptions yesterday, one that was supposed to cost us the game, but yet there he was, involved on the sidelines, urging the crowd on as the defense made one last stand. There he was involved as Ron lead us into position.

So your argument is the defense plays slightly better against weaker competition, so obviously Martinez is to blame when the defense doesn't step up against the better teams we play...

Am I being punked? Where are you Ashton?

What's with the competition argument all the time. What's the big difference outside of UCLA? Is Minnesota really a juggernaut next to NW just because they sqeeked by them?

One side: Wyoming, So Miss (probably worse than SDSU, Purdue, and Illionois), UCLA, and Minnesota

Other side: SDSU, Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern.

Again, outside of UCLA, the competition arguement is rather silly too. It's not that far off. And as far as the argument of what Taylor did last year, that has nothing to do with this year. But sorry, i'm sticking with my premesis on this. Football is about a lot of mentality and psychology. I pay attention to these kinds of things rather than x's and o's. This is an obvious assessment at this point.

Illinois, Purdue, and Northwestern have yet to win games in conference play. Hell, they might go winless in conference. Yes, Minnesota is a giant compared to all 4 listed teams. I don't get how you can watch horrible play by TA and RK3 (INTs, overthrows, etc) and dismiss it but blame Martinez for any problem (sacks caused by horrible OLine, dropped passes that hit receivers in the hands) .

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Offensive line had much better pass protection this week than last week, or else Minnesota has a much better pass rush. Either way, Armstrong had more time to be poised.

Woah, you're kidding, right?

Not kidding. Not even close. Armstrong had time to check down receivers. Martinez barely had time to plant a back foot on either his three- or five-step drops against Minnesota. That pocket collapsed a second or two quicker against Minny. Gophers had their ears pinned back the whole game and it was our worst pass protection of the year. Offensive line can't be blamed for the 4 Ints yesterday. Good pass protection the first half. Less so in the second half when we were telegraphing our intention to pass.

 

[True2tRA]

They took Newby off the kickoff team also, the hell are we doing with him. As for Armstrong, Beck needs to run more option and play action with him. Drop back passing isn't his thing, utilize his strengths not his weaknesses.

Playing away from his strengths isn't helping. Anyone remember that option in the first half where he faked the pitch and made two guys look absolutely ridiculous? He runs the option well and passed well out of option looks as well. Making him pass straight up is where he has problems and for some reason that's what Beck keeps trying to do. If the team could get some consistency out of the play calling, more to TA's strengths, his numbers would not be even close to as bad as 1 TD to 6 INTs.

TA is an excellent pocket passer. Right now,he's simply young and inexperienced. His struggles have nothing to do with lack of talent. I think he is making some predetermined throws based off what he's seeing defensively. He's just got to get more playing time under his belt to where he's comfortable and the game slows down for him a bit. Then he will progress through his receivers a bit more and find some trust in his offensive line to give him the necessary time. He's as talented as anybody we've seen in along time. A true dual threat. Just young.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

The Huskers with Armstrong at the helm looked very much like the Husker with Martinez at the helm.

Beautifully executed early drives, with all cylinders of the Husker offense clicking, followed by a stretch of adversity and loss of confidence, a flicker or two of talent and fortitude as they fight back, then the sickening turnovers, penalties, clock management, etc. that hands victory over to a very beatable team.

Except for that last play.

And yeah, that was sh•tloads of fun.

 

[TheSker]

The Huskers with Armstrong at the helm looked very much like the Husker with Martinez at the helm.

Beautifully executed early drives, with all cylinders of the Husker offense clicking, followed by a stretch of adversity and loss of confidence, a flicker or two of talent and fortitude as they fight back, then the sickening turnovers, penalties, clock management, etc. that hands victory over to a very beatable team.

Except for that last play.

And yeah, that was sh•tloads of fun.

Except the drives with Armstrong tend to stall out for the reasons above on the opponents side of the field instead of our own side, which helps the field position battle.

 

[True2tRA]

The way Beck utilizes TA will more than likely decide the outcome of this game.

 

[zoogs]

Offensive line had much better pass protection this week than last week, or else Minnesota has a much better pass rush. Either way, Armstrong had more time to be poised.

Woah, you're kidding, right?

Not kidding. Not even close. Armstrong had time to check down receivers. Martinez barely had time to plant a back foot on either his three- or five-step drops against Minnesota. That pocket collapsed a second or two quicker against Minny. Gophers had their ears pinned back the whole game and it was our worst pass protection of the year. Offensive line can't be blamed for the 4 Ints yesterday. Good pass protection the first half. Less so in the second half when we were telegraphing our intention to pass.

I saw guys that were able to feel pressure and move around in the pocket. I also saw a line that on more than one occasion opened up like a sieve to a 3-man rush. I thought it was an ugly, ugly day for the pass protection. You're right that the INTs were still poor reads.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

All I know, is the defense has been mostly sh#t for 14 1/2 of 16 quarters under Taylor. It's been in lights out shut down mode for about the same amount without. That's not coincidence. It's a full blown pattern. And if you say the qb shouldnt affect the desire and confidence of a defense, then you probably havent played the sport. Players in all phases of the game sense leadership and urgency from their leader. I just dont think Taylor has those attributes, and that's not some fly by night observation in the wake of his sudden absence. It's been a trend that's been discussed for all of his 4 years here. Tommy and Ron both show them qualities. Tommy threw three intereceptions yesterday, one that was supposed to cost us the game, but yet there he was, involved on the sidelines, urging the crowd on as the defense made one last stand. There he was involved as Ron lead us into position.

While I agree it might be time to ride Tommy for better or worse - and there's a lot of better there - the defense in the first half melted down much the same way they did against Wyoming, SDSU and UCLA. They really did pull it together in the second half, but I don't see the "playing better for Tommy" angle there. I saw receivers, including Enunwa, go up big for Tommy and also drop the ball on Tommy, at about the same rate they did for Taylor.

Martinez isn't the problem and Armstrong isn't the answer, but Armstrong is the future and I still like the looks of him. There are intangibles you won't find in the stat lines, and whatever the players think of Martinez, I think they throw a little extra energy to helping the freshman QB. It may even feel like a fresh start to the rest of a screwy season.

But for the sake of stat lines, keep in mind that Freshman Taylor Martinez threw 7 interceptions in 196 attempts in 2010. Freshman Tommy already has 6 int. in 75 attempts.

If Taylor had only one of yesterday's four INTs and taken the same sacks in a near loss to an injured and demoralized Northwestern, he would have been absolutely roasted in here.

 

[Hayseed]

With about 2 minutes left in the 1st half I thought Martinez would be the best one to run a hurryup offense......but I didn't see him on the sideline. Was he there?

 

[Count 'Bility]

All I know, is the defense has been mostly sh#t for 14 1/2 of 16 quarters under Taylor. It's been in lights out shut down mode for about the same amount without. That's not coincidence. It's a full blown pattern. And if you say the qb shouldnt affect the desire and confidence of a defense, then you probably havent played the sport. Players in all phases of the game sense leadership and urgency from their leader. I just dont think Taylor has those attributes, and that's not some fly by night observation in the wake of his sudden absence. It's been a trend that's been discussed for all of his 4 years here. Tommy and Ron both show them qualities. Tommy threw three intereceptions yesterday, one that was supposed to cost us the game, but yet there he was, involved on the sidelines, urging the crowd on as the defense made one last stand. There he was involved as Ron lead us into position.

So your argument is the defense plays slightly better against weaker competition, so obviously Martinez is to blame when the defense doesn't step up against the better teams we play...

Am I being punked? Where are you Ashton?

What's with the competition argument all the time. What's the big difference outside of UCLA? Is Minnesota really a juggernaut next to NW just because they sqeeked by them?

One side: Wyoming, So Miss (probably worse than SDSU, Purdue, and Illionois), UCLA, and Minnesota

Other side: SDSU, Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern.

Again, outside of UCLA, the competition arguement is rather silly too. It's not that far off. And as far as the argument of what Taylor did last year, that has nothing to do with this year. But sorry, i'm sticking with my premesis on this. Football is about a lot of mentality and psychology. I pay attention to these kinds of things rather than x's and o's. This is an obvious assessment at this point.

Illinois, Purdue, and Northwestern have yet to win games in conference play. Hell, they might go winless in conference. Yes, Minnesota is a giant compared to all 4 listed teams. I don't get how you can watch horrible play by TA and RK3 (INTs, overthrows, etc) and dismiss it but blame Martinez for any problem (sacks caused by horrible OLine, dropped passes that hit receivers in the hands) .

I'm not blaming Martinez for anything. I just happen to see that obviously, the whole team is just responding better to the intangible qualities put forth by Tommy and Ron. Christ almighty, even our punter couldnt do his job against Minnesota.

 

[Count 'Bility]

Fine. Get Taylor healthy this week so he can play the rest of the year. I'd like to see him get to finish out his career the way he deserves, but does the rest of the team?

 

[307husker]

Throw fumbles in the stat lines and TA freshman vs.TM freshman years and it won't look so rosy for Taylor.

 

[Danimal]

Throw fumbles in the stat lines and TA freshman vs.TM freshman years and it won't look so rosy for Taylor.

True, but you have to remember what a dynamic gamechanger pre-injury TM was. When he was healthy that offense hummed. OK Texas stopped us but only because nobody would catch the ball. We dropped four td's, and killed a couple more drives with drops. Once he got hurt he should've been riding pine, leaving in a shellshocked frosh running qb that couldn't run was ridiculous. If he'd stayed healthy we'd have won the con hands-down.