Postmortem: Nebraska's Offense, Full Circle

[zoogs]

Well, there are certainly areas where I will gladly defer to those who know better. For me - talent evaluation is one of them.

But here's one observation that comes mostly from my own eyes watching games.

Relatedly, I think the coaches did a poor job of making the running backs available for Martinez to dump off to if no one was open. A QB who doesn't manage the pass rush well needs that safety valve. How many times did we watch Sam Keller drop the ball off to Marlon Lucky? Keller might have done it a bit too much, but even so, it's far better than a sack, let alone a sack-fumble.

The checkdown in the form of Mike McNeil (another familiar line by now, incidentally: 'Watson did a poor job of getting the ball to Mike McNeil this year') was available all the time to Taylor. Over and over again Taylor didn't take the check-down when it was there for him. QBs have to be smart about the ball and know when to dump it off or live to run another play. This was one area where Taylor really, really struggled. Decision making on something like a zone read was a bit too much for him, so I'm also extremely skeptical of these run/pass option type plays that involve a spot, smart decision followed by sharp execution.

Taylor is more of a one-trick pony than most people realize. When defenses respect his ability to make them pay via large runs, it opens up some big passes for us if designed right, and we saw a lot of that early on in the year. But if that doesn't happen, Taylor is just not going to sit back there and pick apart a defense through the air. Throwing out different routes/plays would not make a difference here.

I do believe you take a player with Taylor's abilities and skills, you can get a lot of production out of them when they are healthy, so these flaws are by no means completely debilitating. That said, I think they are undeniably there. This is the offseason for Taylor to make that quantum leap in progression that he needs to.

 

[walksalone]

There have been some great posts in this thread, with a sh*t ton of insight. Unless something drastic changes, we're going to see the same inadequacies that will plague our offense.

 

[Hujan]

Zoogies,

Speaking of e-love, I'm heartbroken: You quoted my post but didn't attribute it to me? How can I ever trust you again? :ahhhhhhhh

In all seriousness, you made a good point that kind of underlies what I have been trying to say about Martinez: With his raw running talent and some polish on his passing skills, he could succeed as one of several big playmakers in the right offense. But he can't do it alone. It's going to take more than him growing up and staying healthy. It's going to take better blocking up front, better playcalling/scheming, and---perhaps most importantly---another go to playmaker. A Michael Dyer to his Cam Newton. A Reggie Bush to his Matt Leinart. A Steve Slaton to his Pat White.

Look, I love Rex. He is my favorite current/recent Husker, even more than Suh, Henery, Hagg, and the rest. I just love the way the kid plays. But he is like a sixth-man in the NBA: A great, great supporting player, but not a game-changer in and of himself. He is on the cusp of being a game-changer, particularly when he takes a game over by running and throwing out of the Rexcat. But the Rexcat kind of substitutes for, instead of complimenting, Martinez. You have one or the other. When Rex lines up next to Martinez, he is not as much of a big-play threat.

What we need, then, is for Green or Abdullah (or both) to be that true home-run threat in the backfield alongside Martinez so that the D has to account for the RB running, Martinez running, and the throw. We can then use Rex for the Rexcat as a change of pace or bring him in for short-yardage situations. Now that is an offense!

 

[junior4949]

Well, there are certainly areas where I will gladly defer to those who know better. For me - talent evaluation is one of them.

But here's one observation that comes mostly from my own eyes watching games.

Relatedly, I think the coaches did a poor job of making the running backs available for Martinez to dump off to if no one was open. A QB who doesn't manage the pass rush well needs that safety valve. How many times did we watch Sam Keller drop the ball off to Marlon Lucky? Keller might have done it a bit too much, but even so, it's far better than a sack, let alone a sack-fumble.

The checkdown in the form of Mike McNeil (another familiar line by now, incidentally: 'Watson did a poor job of getting the ball to Mike McNeil this year') was available all the time to Taylor. Over and over again Taylor didn't take the check-down when it was there for him. QBs have to be smart about the ball and know when to dump it off or live to run another play. This was one area where Taylor really, really struggled. Decision making on something like a zone read was a bit too much for him, so I'm also extremely skeptical of these run/pass option type plays that involve a spot, smart decision followed by sharp execution.

Taylor is more of a one-trick pony than most people realize. When defenses respect his ability to make them pay via large runs, it opens up some big passes for us if designed right, and we saw a lot of that early on in the year. But if that doesn't happen, Taylor is just not going to sit back there and pick apart a defense through the air. Throwing out different routes/plays would not make a difference here.

I do believe you take a player with Taylor's abilities and skills, you can get a lot of production out of them when they are healthy, so these flaws are by no means completely debilitating. That said, I think they are undeniably there. This is the offseason for Taylor to make that quantum leap in progression that he needs to.

From the few blurbs I got with regards to McNeil, he blamed Martinez for not getting the ball rather than Watson or the playcalling. There seemed to be quite a bit of friction between McNeil and Martinez. I'm not sure I understand your comment about Martinez being a one-trick pony. He did sit back there in the pocket and pick the Texas defense apart. Unfortunately, his receivers had KY all over their hands. It's not like Lee had anymore success picking the Texas defense apart. Martinez also did a pretty decent job picking the Okie State defense apart as well.

 

[Hercules]

Well, there are certainly areas where I will gladly defer to those who know better. For me - talent evaluation is one of them.

But here's one observation that comes mostly from my own eyes watching games.

Relatedly, I think the coaches did a poor job of making the running backs available for Martinez to dump off to if no one was open. A QB who doesn't manage the pass rush well needs that safety valve. How many times did we watch Sam Keller drop the ball off to Marlon Lucky? Keller might have done it a bit too much, but even so, it's far better than a sack, let alone a sack-fumble.

The checkdown in the form of Mike McNeil (another familiar line by now, incidentally: 'Watson did a poor job of getting the ball to Mike McNeil this year') was available all the time to Taylor. Over and over again Taylor didn't take the check-down when it was there for him. QBs have to be smart about the ball and know when to dump it off or live to run another play. This was one area where Taylor really, really struggled. Decision making on something like a zone read was a bit too much for him, so I'm also extremely skeptical of these run/pass option type plays that involve a spot, smart decision followed by sharp execution.

Taylor is more of a one-trick pony than most people realize. When defenses respect his ability to make them pay via large runs, it opens up some big passes for us if designed right, and we saw a lot of that early on in the year. But if that doesn't happen, Taylor is just not going to sit back there and pick apart a defense through the air. Throwing out different routes/plays would not make a difference here.

I do believe you take a player with Taylor's abilities and skills, you can get a lot of production out of them when they are healthy, so these flaws are by no means completely debilitating. That said, I think they are undeniably there. This is the offseason for Taylor to make that quantum leap in progression that he needs to.

From the few blurbs I got with regards to McNeil, he blamed Martinez for not getting the ball rather than Watson or the playcalling. There seemed to be quite a bit of friction between McNeil and Martinez. I'm not sure I understand your comment about Martinez being a one-trick pony. He did sit back there in the pocket and pick the Texas defense apart. Unfortunately, his receivers had KY all over their hands. It's not like Lee had anymore success picking the Texas defense apart. Martinez also did a pretty decent job picking the Okie State defense apart as well.

I think Zoogies is saying that Martinez isn't going to pick a defense apart when he's no threat to run. When he isn't a threat with his legs, he's just another QB in the pocket, and obviously he has a lot of weaknesses in that area. When he's healthy though, when he's a threat on the ground, he's a handful for any defense (as long as his receivers catch the ball).

I also recall McNeill getting ticked off at Lee during the Texas game, when Lee threw that pass to Niles short of the end zone which he dropped of course, while Mike was open in the endzone. After the game, Watson said straight up that McNeill was overreacting and wasn't seeing the big picture.

Either way, receivers that complain about not getting the ball have got to be one of the most annoying species in all sports, at least for me.

 

[junior4949]

Martinez may not be a great drop back passer, but I think he's a lot better passer than most are giving him credit. Let's take a couple of Husker greats like Frazier and Frost. If I had my choice of injured QB who had to pass of Martinez, Frost, and Frazier; I would take Martinez as the easy choice. Most of those throws he made against Texas were on the money, but the receiver just didn't catch it. For a career, Frazier didn't even complete half of his passes even though the receiver was normally wide open because we passed so little. Frost completed just over half of his passes again normally to wide open receivers in a run dominated offense. Martinez completed nearly 60% of his passes in an offense that passed considerably more than Frost's or Frazier's. He just needs to develop a little more pocket presence, and his OL needs to do a better job of protecting him. When you consider how much he had to come along from playing receiver on the scout team to starting QB the next year, I think we all have to admit the upside is almost unlimited with him. I have a gut feeling all those getting down on him now will be giving high praise in the coming years. A lot of people threw Frost under the bus his first year only to jump on the bandwagon the next year.

 

[zoogs]

I don't remember the Texas game too clearly, so don't slam me on this if I'm wrong. But as I recall, it wasn't that the throws (other than maybe one or two) were on the money - it is more like the routes and looks, which were new, caught the Texas defense with their pants down, so to speak. We brought out some things on offense that they were unprepared for. I am pretty sure it is the same game where we saw a lot of receivers completely open in drag patterns and Taylor underthrow them horribly. Niles or Kinnie fell down making a grab when they were running clean across the middle of the field. Another time Niles had to try to make a crazy adjustment behind him while running full speed ahead and didn't - and it goes down as a drop because of the collective opinion on Niles.

The Burkhead throw was good, but I'm not sure many others were. A clear contrast to Zac threading the needle a few times (again - going off imperfect memory here) on some tough throws into coverage that should have still been touchdowns anyway.

It is a moot point to compare Taylor passing to Frazier or Frost because we don't, by any stretch, run that kind of offense anymore. And while we have had some poor mechanics come through here in those days, it is also a completely separate discussion from Taylor's lack of quarterbacking experience and how he has been worked over by better defensive coordinators who throw things at him. Knowing when to check out to another play, or read the defense pre-snap and adjust to where the blitz is coming from, is a key part of the 'passing' component of being a QB.

It may have been OK when Taylor was burning defenses with his legs, but Hercules is right about what I was saying there. Once he lost that, he literally had nothing to offer to this offense. Burkhead ran a better zone read and Green ran a better passing operation. Even if the other options at QB weren't great - we won't know - Taylor offered nothing at that point. To be fair, he did alright for most of one half in the CCG, but he did not do well enough in those games when he was on the mark, to compensate for the inevitable mistakes when he got off his game. In both the CCG and the Bowl Game, those mistakes cropped up often and just killed the offense.

Of course a player with Taylor's skillset improving in these areas...would be killer.

 

[robsker]

Martinez may not be a great drop back passer, but I think he's a lot better passer than most are giving him credit. Let's take a couple of Husker greats like Frazier and Frost. If I had my choice of injured QB who had to pass of Martinez, Frost, and Frazier; I would take Martinez as the easy choice. Most of those throws he made against Texas were on the money, but the receiver just didn't catch it. For a career, Frazier didn't even complete half of his passes even though the receiver was normally wide open because we passed so little. Frost completed just over half of his passes again normally to wide open receivers in a run dominated offense. Martinez completed nearly 60% of his passes in an offense that passed considerably more than Frost's or Frazier's. He just needs to develop a little more pocket presence, and his OL needs to do a better job of protecting him. When you consider how much he had to come along from playing receiver on the scout team to starting QB the next year, I think we all have to admit the upside is almost unlimited with him. I have a gut feeling all those getting down on him now will be giving high praise in the coming years. A lot of people threw Frost under the bus his first year only to jump on the bandwagon the next year.

Well Junior.. I am not convinced of TMarts upside at all. I may be wrong, but he seems limited in arm strength. His accuracy is marginal, at best. His decision making has been horrific. His mechanics very poor. As a passer, he has been spotty. As a runner, pre-injury he was quick and fast. That said, he was very hesitant to take off after about mid-season (yes... he was not 100% healthy) and that hesitancy cost him. Also, once hit hard in a game, really rocked... he really seemed to lose his edge running. Heck... he averaged something like 2 yards a rush the last 6 games. He never, even when healthy, showed lateral movement or elusiveness. His great running was against weaker defenses. So... I am not convinced that his upside is that high. He is straight-line fast with a real quick first step.... and this is really all he has shown. Then there is the lack of leadership and the rumored notion that the team, generally, does not like or respect TMart --- and the intimations that he is at odds w/ the offensive coaches. Can't say that these rumors are true or not --- but they are out there ... if so, if the rumors are true... to any degree at all... then TMart is not the man. He could change and the coaches could change... but, if not... and if the rumors are true... I repeat... TMart is not the man.

Who is? Not sure?

I am unconvinced that, in the system at present (which may change)that we have a QB that can lead us. Neither TMart or Cody look like they are

 

[junior4949]

I still remember TO taking some heat back in 1992 after we lost to lowly Iowa State with Frazier at the helm. I also remember TO taking some heat for the dismal performance against Arizona State, a team we completely demoralized the year before, with Frost at the helm. We were screwed from the word go against Texas. First it was Helu's fumble which led to Texas points, and then it was a case of the dropsies by the receivers. Even if Peyton Manning was under center that day, we would have lost. Martinez shouldn't have even been playing against A&M expecially after one of his OL that got blown up horribly rolled on his ankle. Maybe I'll be completely wrong about Martinez, but I think he's a lot better than a lot of people are giving credit. If he wasn't the QB against Okie State, I believe we lose that game and possibly bad.