My thoughts on Just About Everything that is Husker at the Moment

[zoogs]

You're right - every QB makes mistakes. I think penalties or not though, we still lost A&M by 3 and could have taken it out of the refs' hands there. That is less certain, though. Washington, I will give players more of a pass just because of how lifeless the entire program was.

Doubt those are reasonable expectations for Taylor. It is like asking Eric Martin to pick up the LB position (well, he's DE now, moot point) - he is just not the film rat Lavonte is and I've seen insinuations that Taylor isn't either. If that's the case, it is even more incriminating than Taylor's raw starting point.

Being able to beat defenses with his head is something he can't do and it will take a massive effort to get to acceptable here. Pre-snap reads, exploiting rather than being destroyed by disguised coverages, mechanics, reads. He could be a senior and still be less than ideal in all of these categories just because he was so raw starting out. If he doesn't dedicate a huge amount of time to those details, it is even worse.

That's why I say 'Taylor is raw' more than I say 'Taylor is a freshman.' True, he is both, but Taylor is still going to be raw. How much of that is his fault, how much of it just can't be helped by the situation, I don't know and we shall see. I do give Taylor a pass on footwork for example, because his injury is responsible for derailing that this year more than anything. In the end, we have to accept - just like we did this year - that Taylor's extra running dimension is going to make up for these other deficiencies. I think we have seen that they can.

 

[wilber24]

You're right - every QB makes mistakes. I think penalties or not though, we still lost A&M by 3 and could have taken it out of the refs' hands there. That is less certain, though. Washington, I will give players more of a pass just because of how lifeless the entire program was.

Doubt those are reasonable expectations for Taylor. It is like asking Eric Martin to pick up the LB position (well, he's DE now, moot point) - he is just not the film rat Lavonte is and I've seen insinuations that Taylor isn't either. If that's the case, it is even more incriminating than Taylor's raw starting point.

Being able to beat defenses with his head is something he can't do and it will take a massive effort to get to acceptable here. Pre-snap reads, exploiting rather than being destroyed by disguised coverages, mechanics, reads. He could be a senior and still be less than ideal in all of these categories just because he was so raw starting out. If he doesn't dedicate a huge amount of time to those details, it is even worse.

That's why I say 'Taylor is raw' more than I say 'Taylor is a freshman.' True, he is both, but Taylor is still going to be raw. How much of that is his fault, how much of it just can't be helped by the situation, I don't know and we shall see. I do give Taylor a pass on footwork for example, because his injury is responsible for derailing that this year more than anything. In the end, we have to accept - just like we did this year - that Taylor's extra running dimension is going to make up for these other deficiencies. I think we have seen that they can.

Strictly being a runner is NOT going to lead you to the promise land. Look elsewhere for some badly needed leadership!

 

[Husker_x]

There are two flaws in the post and one major truth. Firs the falsehoods.

1. Watsgrove is a great offensive mind. Which statistic or recent consistent production are you basing this on? Let me guess, he got an interview at Alabama. That's fantastic. How are the job interviews going these days? Watsgrove is not a great offensive mind. Great offensive minds figure out a way to get 200 yards of offense on a team we whipped by five touchdowns the first time we played them.

2. Zac Lee, everyone's favorite player. Except for last year, when everyone wanted him hung, too. The myth of Lee has steadily grown over the season. Not uncommon, or even unexpected. The backup QB is always a team favorite. And what's not to like about Zac? He looks the part, he acts the part. He's given himself to this program and he carries himself like the most generous and selfless player on the team. All of this is great. All of this means nothing. Lee was also bit by the injury bug in his career, and the idealized fantasy season in which we run over everybody a la Arizona in the Holiday Bowl with precision passing and two 1000k backs is grounded in precisely nothing. There's no reason to think we'd be any better of with Lee, either. Watsgrove is still our coordinator. Cotton is still our line coach. Gilmore is still sitting in his office wondering how it is other coaches make their players catch. I'm as prone to fantasizing about a perfect season as anyone, but here reality protests. He might have been a better QB choice than Taylor in retrospect, but the QB position was in no way, shape, or form the only problem with this offense.

3. Now for the truth. Watsgrove does need to go. Whatever the real deal is, it doesn't change the facts. Bo and Watsgrove clearly are not anywhere near the same page when it comes to this offense. I'm sure it's frustrating for both of them. Bo is a defensive genius. I'm sure it's hard for him to understand how a mediocrity like Watsgrove can't produce anything. He's also not up to the job himself. The logical conclusion is for Bo to formulate a core offensive philosophy and hire a coordinator who is an expert and who can design a system to fit current personnel. Also, EZ-E is right about the other firings. The new OC needs to be given a blank check and unlimited power when it comes to staff and personnel. Lastly, this is Bo's moment as far as his HC career. If he fails here to make the correct decision, it will likely ruin him. Watsgrove has cost him enough already. Time to move on.

 

[hskerprid]

You're right - every QB makes mistakes. I think penalties or not though, we still lost A&M by 3 and could have taken it out of the refs' hands there. That is less certain, though. Washington, I will give players more of a pass just because of how lifeless the entire program was.

Doubt those are reasonable expectations for Taylor. It is like asking Eric Martin to pick up the LB position (well, he's DE now, moot point) - he is just not the film rat Lavonte is and I've seen insinuations that Taylor isn't either. If that's the case, it is even more incriminating than Taylor's raw starting point.

Being able to beat defenses with his head is something he can't do and it will take a massive effort to get to acceptable here. Pre-snap reads, exploiting rather than being destroyed by disguised coverages, mechanics, reads. He could be a senior and still be less than ideal in all of these categories just because he was so raw starting out. If he doesn't dedicate a huge amount of time to those details, it is even worse.

That's why I say 'Taylor is raw' more than I say 'Taylor is a freshman.' True, he is both, but Taylor is still going to be raw. How much of that is his fault, how much of it just can't be helped by the situation, I don't know and we shall see. I do give Taylor a pass on footwork for example, because his injury is responsible for derailing that this year more than anything. In the end, we have to accept - just like we did this year - that Taylor's extra running dimension is going to make up for these other deficiencies. I think we have seen that they can.

Taylors footwork prior to his injury was inadequate at best. Even after a red shirt year and half of the next.This shows the inadequacies of Shawn Watsons tutelage. Listen,Watson is a great offensive "mind". On game days is where he figuratively drops the ball. He doesn't coach up and he doesn't set parameters for Cotton as near as I can tell. Offensive coordinator is responsible for the ENTIRE offense not just calling plays. If I lived up to my job description like Watson I'd be unemployed right now.

 

[Hercules]

You're right - every QB makes mistakes. I think penalties or not though, we still lost A&M by 3 and could have taken it out of the refs' hands there. That is less certain, though. Washington, I will give players more of a pass just because of how lifeless the entire program was.

Doubt those are reasonable expectations for Taylor. It is like asking Eric Martin to pick up the LB position (well, he's DE now, moot point) - he is just not the film rat Lavonte is and I've seen insinuations that Taylor isn't either. If that's the case, it is even more incriminating than Taylor's raw starting point.

Being able to beat defenses with his head is something he can't do and it will take a massive effort to get to acceptable here. Pre-snap reads, exploiting rather than being destroyed by disguised coverages, mechanics, reads. He could be a senior and still be less than ideal in all of these categories just because he was so raw starting out. If he doesn't dedicate a huge amount of time to those details, it is even worse.

That's why I say 'Taylor is raw' more than I say 'Taylor is a freshman.' True, he is both, but Taylor is still going to be raw. How much of that is his fault, how much of it just can't be helped by the situation, I don't know and we shall see. I do give Taylor a pass on footwork for example, because his injury is responsible for derailing that this year more than anything. In the end, we have to accept - just like we did this year - that Taylor's extra running dimension is going to make up for these other deficiencies. I think we have seen that they can.

I'm not looking for Taylor to become Peyton Manning. He needs to get better in his passing game, but if you're expecting us to get QBs who can be NFL prospects throwing the ball, and still be great runners - that's extremely rare. You get just one of those guys in the country every 5-10 years. If that's what it takes to run our offensive system, than our offensive system sucks. Our scheme should demand a fair amount from the QB in the option game, but our passing game should limit the QB's role and rely on the running game to open it up. If we keep trying to run this spread option/west coast hybrid, where we're depending on having a QB fluent in both the option and west coast games, our offense will be bad way more often than not.

People used to talk about how Callahan's offense was too complex for college players. Well, at least it was just one offense - it was the west coast offense. Now we're basically asking our players, especially our QB, to master two offenses at once, and this year we asked a redshirt freshman to do it. Not going to happen.

 

[gobiggergoredder]

If Lee had started, the first Washington game is a dogfight, not a blowout. The Texas game doesn't really change, because it's not like Zac Lee can make the wide receivers catch the ball. The Oklahoma State game is a loss, the Missouri game is a dogfight, the Texas A&M game is still a dogfight, the Oklahoma game is still a dogfight, the Iowa State game is still a dogfight, and never mind that Zac Lee was injured the second half of the season anyways.

The QB isn't the only position on the field, folks. Everything doesn't magically change when you put someone else in, as we saw with Cody Green in the game the other night.

Saying that Bo didn't make a change at QB in the middle of the year because he was too "proud" completely ignores Bo's actions in 2009, when he DID make a QB change in the middle of the year.

Taylor can get 100 x's better between now and next year, it won't make a difference if our offensive line can't block and our wide receivers can't get open. We'll be the same thing - a scary running offense early on, and then once conference play rolls around we'll have to throw the ball to loosen up the run. If we can't pass protect, or catch the ball, or get open, or if we don't utilize the spread option passing game the way we need to, it won't matter how Taylor plays.

Taylor has a LOT to improve on, but I'm more confident that he'll make progress than I am in the rest of the offense.

This entire post is nonsense. How could you possibly know how a team would perform with Lee at QB? You might be right, but you could just as easily be wrong.

My counter to your entire point is that we go from 4 available plays with T-Mart to who knows how many with Lee. Even the fighting Jacks of SDSU were able to sniff out 2-4 plays. Let's throw the ISU, Kansas, Texas and Idaho performances in there as well. That being said, I still don't know how those games would play out.

NOW MY OPINION

Bo not pulling Taylor did have to do with what was going on in Bo's head, but it wasn't pride. He had pulled Taylor multiple times before he was injured. I don't recall which game, but one them he took a lot of heat. He later said it was a mistake in the Monday/Tuesday presser. Bo was able to follow that up with the aTm meltdown which I was another public blow to his relationship with the QB. I actually think he though he was doing the right thing based upon regrets that he had earlier in the season. His logic (again my opinion) was backward. He shouldn't have pulled him early in the season, but definitely should have in the end. He basically made the wrong call twice in whether or not to yank Taylor.

 

[zoogs]

Taylor's footwork was certainly inadequate at best. His redshirt year was spent scout teaming with WRs. He was making SOME progress, but his footwork/mechanics were garbage coming in, and it is going to be a long project to try and correct them to any degree.

This is not on your QB coach. This is all about Taylor's skillset. For the same reason that Green is still developing with a ways to go in his throwing. He's actually come a long way. He just had so far to go, to start out with.

Hercules, I am not looking for him to become Peyton either. But I don't think he has a good shot at achieving all of the listed hopes, barring a minor miracle.

 

[HuskerFowler]

thanks EZ you have been dead on with alot of stuff and i trust you and your sources

 

[GMoose]

That's why I say 'Taylor is raw' more than I say 'Taylor is a freshman.' True, he is both, but Taylor is still going to be raw. How much of that is his fault, how much of it just can't be helped by the situation, I don't know and we shall see. I do give Taylor a pass on footwork for example, because his injury is responsible for derailing that this year more than anything. In the end, we have to accept - just like we did this year - that Taylor's extra running dimension is going to make up for these other deficiencies. I think we have seen that they can.

This is why I think the only way he succeeds as a QB is a total change in state of mind. He won the job and beat mediocre opponents on raw talent alone, and literally nothing more. This "cool demeanor" that reporters and coaches get so wet about is him knowing that he can beat (lesser) teams with this raw talent, and he doesn't think he needs to do anything beyond what he's doing now, which apparently isn't much (lack if film study, etc.)

The whole "this is my team and no one else's" thing (might I add made me absolutely gag) proves this. He needs to change who he is, and it is not easy for people to change like that. Just like Niles Paul. He loves to tell everyone that he's become a man and he's changed so much (fellow facebook stalkers can back me up on this ) but he hasn't changed much. I fear Martinez is and will be the same way. He's was a diva in high school going to 3 different schools, and he still is. Same goes for decision making. If he doesn't feel he needs to change it, he won't. And until he concedes that he needs coaching, he's not going to improve much IMO. And unfortunately, I don't see that happening.

 

[Hercules]

If Lee had started, the first Washington game is a dogfight, not a blowout. The Texas game doesn't really change, because it's not like Zac Lee can make the wide receivers catch the ball. The Oklahoma State game is a loss, the Missouri game is a dogfight, the Texas A&M game is still a dogfight, the Oklahoma game is still a dogfight, the Iowa State game is still a dogfight, and never mind that Zac Lee was injured the second half of the season anyways.

The QB isn't the only position on the field, folks. Everything doesn't magically change when you put someone else in, as we saw with Cody Green in the game the other night.

Saying that Bo didn't make a change at QB in the middle of the year because he was too "proud" completely ignores Bo's actions in 2009, when he DID make a QB change in the middle of the year.

Taylor can get 100 x's better between now and next year, it won't make a difference if our offensive line can't block and our wide receivers can't get open. We'll be the same thing - a scary running offense early on, and then once conference play rolls around we'll have to throw the ball to loosen up the run. If we can't pass protect, or catch the ball, or get open, or if we don't utilize the spread option passing game the way we need to, it won't matter how Taylor plays.

Taylor has a LOT to improve on, but I'm more confident that he'll make progress than I am in the rest of the offense.

This entire post is nonsense. How could you possibly know how a team would perform with Lee at QB? You might be right, but you could just as easily be wrong.

The whole argument is stupid. Just as stupid as me projecting the results with Lee starting is anyone else projecting the results with Lee starting. Saying that we would have been worse or the same with Lee in is just as dumb as saying we would have been better with Lee in. Martinez was in, he won the starting job, end of story.

Saying that Martinez didn't get pulled because of "what's going on in Bo's head," is pointless too. Of course Bo decides whether Martinez is in at QB or not, so saying it's because of "what's going on in Bo's head," is kind of a no-brainer. Saying that Bo's reasons for keeping Martinez in were out of dislike for Lee or for some other petty reason doesn't make any more sense than projecting which QB would have done better. "You might be right, but you could just as easily be wrong."

All that speculating on how good Lee might have been if he had played more or wondering if Bo had suspect intentions does is contribute to the never-ending bs world of speculation that fuels these message boards.

Here's an interesting question that doesn't involve crazy speculation on what may or may not have happened in the past: How does Nebraska get better from here? How do they go from where they are now to being a championship team?

 

[gobiggergoredder]

If Lee had started, the first Washington game is a dogfight, not a blowout. The Texas game doesn't really change, because it's not like Zac Lee can make the wide receivers catch the ball. The Oklahoma State game is a loss, the Missouri game is a dogfight, the Texas A&M game is still a dogfight, the Oklahoma game is still a dogfight, the Iowa State game is still a dogfight, and never mind that Zac Lee was injured the second half of the season anyways.

The QB isn't the only position on the field, folks. Everything doesn't magically change when you put someone else in, as we saw with Cody Green in the game the other night.

Saying that Bo didn't make a change at QB in the middle of the year because he was too "proud" completely ignores Bo's actions in 2009, when he DID make a QB change in the middle of the year.

Taylor can get 100 x's better between now and next year, it won't make a difference if our offensive line can't block and our wide receivers can't get open. We'll be the same thing - a scary running offense early on, and then once conference play rolls around we'll have to throw the ball to loosen up the run. If we can't pass protect, or catch the ball, or get open, or if we don't utilize the spread option passing game the way we need to, it won't matter how Taylor plays.

Taylor has a LOT to improve on, but I'm more confident that he'll make progress than I am in the rest of the offense.

This entire post is nonsense. How could you possibly know how a team would perform with Lee at QB? You might be right, but you could just as easily be wrong.

The whole argument is stupid. Just as stupid as me projecting the results with Lee starting is anyone else projecting the results with Lee starting. Saying that we would have been worse or the same with Lee in is just as dumb as saying we would have been better with Lee in. Martinez was in, he won the starting job, end of story.

Saying that Martinez didn't get pulled because of "what's going on in Bo's head," is pointless too. Of course Bo decides whether Martinez is in at QB or not, so saying it's because of "what's going on in Bo's head," is kind of a no-brainer. Saying that Bo's reasons for keeping Martinez in were out of dislike for Lee or for some other petty reason doesn't make any more sense than projecting which QB would have done better. "You might be right, but you could just as easily be wrong."

All that speculating on how good Lee might have been if he had played more or wondering if Bo had suspect intentions does is contribute to the never-ending bs world of speculation that fuels these message boards.

Here's an interesting question that doesn't involve crazy speculation on what may or may not have happened in the past: How does Nebraska get better from here? How do they go from where they are now to being a championship team?

I should have put that I don't think Bo's decision was one of 'too much pride'. I think it was more related to damage control/doing what he thought was right.

Everything you said I agree with.

 

[hskerprid]

Taylor's footwork was certainly inadequate at best. His redshirt year was spent scout teaming with WRs. He was making SOME progress, but his footwork/mechanics were garbage coming in, and it is going to be a long project to try and correct them to any degree.

This is not on your QB coach. This is all about Taylor's skillset. For the same reason that Green is still developing with a ways to go in his throwing. He's actually come a long way. He just had so far to go, to start out with.

Hercules, I am not looking for him to become Peyton either. But I don't think he has a good shot at achieving all of the listed hopes, barring a minor miracle.

This is wrong on so many levels. Why even recruit a QB with poor skills if you can't correct them in any way? If Taylors "skillset" is beyond what you're trying to do why bother?

If it isn't "on" the QB coach then who exactly is it ON?

Granted, Taylor was brought in as an athlete but if he can't grasp what you need it's time to re-evaluate.

 

[HuskerNMO]

As far as the Lee\Bo thing, the team medical staff did not think that Lee needed surgery, rest and rehab is what they thought was the right move. Zac's family chose to get a 2nd opinion which led to his surgery. After said surgery, Bo expected Zac to be back for Spring ball after the expected 10-12 weeks of rehab, Zac wasn't ready in that timeframe, and really didn't get back to full strength until mid summer.

http://huskerextra.com/sports/football/article_3894a1e6-6c0c-5643-8a6b-f606918bf320.html

“It’s one of those things where you can try to rehab it and maybe it works or you can get (surgery) done and it’s going to work,” Lee said after the Holiday Bowl.

 

[Hercules]

Taylor's footwork was certainly inadequate at best. His redshirt year was spent scout teaming with WRs. He was making SOME progress, but his footwork/mechanics were garbage coming in, and it is going to be a long project to try and correct them to any degree.

This is not on your QB coach. This is all about Taylor's skillset. For the same reason that Green is still developing with a ways to go in his throwing. He's actually come a long way. He just had so far to go, to start out with.

Hercules, I am not looking for him to become Peyton either. But I don't think he has a good shot at achieving all of the listed hopes, barring a minor miracle.

This is wrong on so many levels. Why even recruit a QB with poor skills if you can't correct them in any way? If Taylors "skillset" is beyond what you're trying to do why bother?

If it isn't "on" the QB coach then who exactly is it ON?

Granted, Taylor was brought in as an athlete but if he can't grasp what you need it's time to re-evaluate.

If Taylor literally can't learn how to throw the ball away, than he can't be a QB. But since I'm pretty sure I could teach a 2nd grader how to do that, I'm pretty sure Taylor's "skillset" isn't preventing him from improving. It's the QBs coach's job to teach him the things he needs to know, and it's Taylor's job to learn, and Taylor is just as capable as anyone else when it comes to learning the position. Any half decent teacher could tell you that.

 

[zoogs]

It will take a lot of time, and as far as why, because Taylor has a lot to offer in other departments that your typical pocket passing QB doesn't.

If you took Ryan Mallet and tried to teach him running instincts, he is gonna have a long way to go. Same, but in reverse.

Taylor can potentially grasp it, but it will take a lot of time and it's not a sure bet. This is why he is referred to as a project. Obviously our coaches did not neglect to tell Taylor to throw the ball away. It is just a tendency of his that he hasn't gotten rid of yet. He has a lot on his plate and a long ways to go before settling down and not panicking under pressure and making poor decisions like that.