Taylor Martinez 2013 discussion - running tougher? better decisions in the pocket?

[HuskerNationNick]

I agree. I guess quality is the wrong term to use. Serviceable is probably closer to reality. In 2010, we knew that if Martinez couldn't come back after injury, there were two QBs that could step in and at least manage to offense. Green was able to perform when a week was spent putting together a game scheme that fit him rather than forcing him to play like Martinez or Lee. Lee showed that he can at least protect the ball on offense and keep from allowing the team to lose the game despite what the defense was doing. IMO, that's more depth at QB than 90% of programs see year to year.

As far as Armstrong, I surely hope he is the real deal and show cases that at some point this season. I don't want to see another Ganz to Lee transition where we lost a good QB only to see a guy whom we though would be better turnout to be no better than 3rd on the depth chart

I don't know if I was the only person who thought this, but when Taylor when out of a game, all my hope of getting that win went out the window. Green wasn't quality at all. He has proved it many times. Not a knock on him, but he wasn't a quality QB here. Period. Elsewhere, could be.

With the lack of experience of Kellogg, and the us not being able to see Armstrong on the field, I would trust both of them before the other two QB's. Lee 100% healthy, before his injury, it would be a different story.

 

[The Dude]

I don't recall the specific injury Lee had, but if it was a labrum you can play with a torn labrum. Kain Colter did it his whole junior year of HS.

Lee had a torn flexor tendon in his elbow. Not sure how bad the tear was though. That makes all the difference. If it's a big enough tear in your labrum, for instance, you can't lift your arm let alone throw a football.

 

[AllNRed]

I could give two sh#ts about your +1, for the record.

As far as your superiority complex, I cannot help you. Nor do I care enough to attempt such a feat. I am wondering about the aforementioned percentage of total posts in your Huskerboard "career" dedicated to this thread and no others. Why is it that you are so compelled to come to the defense of Green?

On another note, I watched Ron Kellogg III play a lot of games at Westside High School here in Omaha. For him to have gotten as far as he has is a testament to his work ethic, because he was not very good at all at Westside.

:lol: why so angry......... :lol: you don't have to "give two sh#ts" about my +1 for me to give you a +1........ :lol: . I don't do it to make you care. It's just a way of saying I agree with what you posted......calm down buddy. The sun finally comes out in Omaha and people get edgey...

Superiority complex?.....uh ok. If that's what you want to call it. Since you are so concerned about where I post then count how many times I've posted in this thread, then I'll point to you where else I posted for multiple pages on a subject. The thing is, if I comment on something and someone responds, I comment back rather than jumping from thread to thread leaving random comments just to keep posters like you from thinking I have a superiority complex issue. Just so happens not everyone will agree with things I say, but I'm not going to run off because multiple people chime in on the conversation. I'll try to show the respect of answering everyone who took the time to comment. I figured that's what a football forum is for.

As far as defending Green......since you are so focus just on what I said about him. Notice all I stated is that he was better than he was being credited for. The only defense of him (not his play on the field) came when someone made a comment about his character. I know the young man and his family personally and I felt it was uncall for. But after I addressed it, I left it alone and continued with the conversation. I'd of done the same for any other player whom I have a similar relationship.

 

[Danimal]

Anybody think we will see a much more aggressive Taylor Martinez in terms of his open field running? He looks like he has put in the work in the weight room so he finally looks like he could run a guy over if he needed to. If he could break a tackle every now and then he would be pretty unstoppable on the ground. RKIII and Armstrong are to the point now where I feel like they could at least come in and manage a game if they had to so I don't think Martinez will have to worry so much about getting hurt anymore. If he would learn to throw the ball away that would be great too but I won't hold my breath on that one.

TM was definitely allowed to run harder last season than in '11. While he still shouldn't take unnecessary hits I'm sure he'll get to run as physical as possible when it counts now that TA and RK are more ready. I don't think he'll be getting confused with Earl Campbell by anyone but the more he gets used to running more physically the better he should perform. The bigger issue with TM is fumbles. In the turnovers thread it was said that he was protecting the ball better in the bowl, hopefully that is a sign of things to come.

As a passer I'm hoping TM is working on consistency in terms of his mechanics, especially in terms of using good technique when on the move. He improved as a pocket passer considerably last seaspon but his throws on the run were still somewhat of a crapshoot.

 

[knapplc]

We were hoping Zac Lee would start the 2010 Kansas game because Taylor was still clearly messed up from the Missouri game Helu won for us and was very obviously not 100%. But watching Lee try to warm up in pre-game was cringe-worthy. He had zero arm strength and he couldn't throw the ball more than 20 yards. I remember talking about him getting the start throughout the day, then when warmups started my dad and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. Lee clearly couldn't throw.

 

[Saunders]

We were hoping Zac Lee would start the 2010 Kansas game because Taylor was still clearly messed up from the Missouri game Helu won for us and was very obviously not 100%. But watching Lee try to warm up in pre-game was cringe-worthy. He had zero arm strength and he couldn't throw the ball more than 20 yards. I remember talking about him getting the start throughout the day, then when warmups started my dad and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. Lee clearly couldn't throw.

He was throwing ducks in the Texas game.

 

[AllNRed]

We were hoping Zac Lee would start the 2010 Kansas game because Taylor was still clearly messed up from the Missouri game Helu won for us and was very obviously not 100%. But watching Lee try to warm up in pre-game was cringe-worthy. He had zero arm strength and he couldn't throw the ball more than 20 yards. I remember talking about him getting the start throughout the day, then when warmups started my dad and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. Lee clearly couldn't throw.

He was throwing ducks in the Texas game.

He didn't look to confident in the first couple games warming up either.

 

[Guy Chamberlin]

I think the reason there was such speculation about Zac Lee is that Lee wasn't blaming his injury that 2010 season. He kept claiming he was ready to go. And if the team thought he could only throw lame ducks, there wouldn't be much grumbling about Taylor starting over Lee.

And that was Zac Lee replacing the perfectly healthy Taylor Martinez in the Texas game, the most important game of the Pelini era. Lee actually did a little better than Taylor in that stint, coming in and driving the Husker offense to a field goal.

Then something happened. Don't know if the inury got worse. But some pretty good scuttlebutt claimed Bo Pelini didn't think Zac Lee was the man. For the moment, and possible forever. This involved some tension with Zac Lee's father.

It would have been simple to address Zac Lee's injury honestly and give the outgoing Senior some credit. I always felt Zac Lee's status was handled oddly, and that's why I think there's some credence to the scuttlebutt.

An injured Taylor Martinez was preferable to a healthy Cody Green, but every indication was that the injured Lee was also preferable to Green.

 

[The Dude]

This about sums up Cody Green as a football player:

 

[skersfan]

We tend to forget that these are just kids, giving everything they have through the winter, spring, summer and fall. Sure they get an education, but most live for the cheering of the fans on Saturday, the thrill of playing for a major football power. This is their life for the time they are here. We tend to judge to harshly. some really never had the talent we expected/demanded, but each and every one that stayed it out, deserver our gratitude. Those that packed their bags and left, not so much.

I really liked Zac Lee, and am very sorry to hear the father/Pelini rumor. I never quite understood what was going on with him. I do believe he was hurt long before we were told or even admitted to. I remember when it happened, but he still played, but seemed not to be the same. He never was again.

Some have had the injuries that these kids endure, but most have not and have no idea how much pain and suffering they are playing through for Nebraska and the fans. Sometimes it is just sad to see the effort, turn into frustration.

I was never a big fan of Cody. But I believe he gave us all he had when he was here. Sometimes you just come up short.

Taylor gives us everything he has every single play, and I love that about him. I cringe sometimes when he drops to the fetal position, but know it is better than a fumble or pass interception. I am very glad he is playing for Nebraska. I am proud to know him a little. A really good kid.

 

[AllNRed]

This about sums up Cody Green as a football player:

On this play Green wasn't at fault. If you actually watched the game, you would see the center snap the ball before Green called for it..

 

[AllNRed]

We tend to forget that these are just kids, giving everything they have through the winter, spring, summer and fall. Sure they get an education, but most live for the cheering of the fans on Saturday, the thrill of playing for a major football power. This is their life for the time they are here. We tend to judge to harshly. some really never had the talent we expected/demanded, but each and every one that stayed it out, deserver our gratitude. Those that packed their bags and left, not so much.

I really liked Zac Lee, and am very sorry to hear the father/Pelini rumor. I never quite understood what was going on with him. I do believe he was hurt long before we were told or even admitted to. I remember when it happened, but he still played, but seemed not to be the same. He never was again.

Some have had the injuries that these kids endure, but most have not and have no idea how much pain and suffering they are playing through for Nebraska and the fans. Sometimes it is just sad to see the effort, turn into frustration.

I was never a big fan of Cody. But I believe he gave us all he had when he was here. Sometimes you just come up short.

Taylor gives us everything he has every single play, and I love that about him. I cringe sometimes when he drops to the fetal position, but know it is better than a fumble or pass interception. I am very glad he is playing for Nebraska. I am proud to know him a little. A really good kid.

Great post. I'm on board. Because of my criticism of Lee many think that I don't care much for the kid as a husker. I'm proud of the accomplishment of each of the guys on the team. Those who earned a scholarship and/or walked on. As a former D-1 athlete, I understand the dedication it takes to even play, let alone compete at the level. I also sustained a serious injury that eventually took me away from the sport, so I understand the physical and mental aspect of trying to get yourself back to the position you were before the set back.

Lee was a husker. He loved being a husker, thus I loved him as a husker as well as Green, and any other former husker. My opinion is that he just wasn't all that good. Even before injury, based off the fact he did great vs the Sun Belt squads but struggled against everyone else, including the VT game in between to great games vs the Sun Belts. It's really water under the bridge, so I see no need to carry on about it.....I appreciate him because regardless of what he couldn't accomplish, without him, who knows how the season would have went from the OU game on.....Green really looked shook in that first quarter and I think had he been our only option, no telling the damage mentally that could have done on his confidence. Then we never would have made it to the CCG.

As far as Green, great kid, unfortunate as far as the timing he came to the program. I believe if he'd of arrived a year earlier, being able to learn the system and get use to the speed of D-1 ball behind Ganz/Witt/Lee without the expectation of him being the savior as a true freshman. I think the coaching staff wouldn't have forced him to be in positions he obviously wasn't ready for. His departure hurt our depth at the QB position regardless of how you look at it. He's not the best QB but he was a better option than both Carnes and Kellogg. But truthfully, he would have never had a chance to excel in the system were molding into under Beck.

Carnes is gone, good luck to him.

Kellogg, has done all he can to be the best teammate possible. I shouldn't go without praise. He's done nothing on the field up to this point to make me feel like he has the potential to carry the team if our starter went down. And as someone mentioned earlier in this thread, he wasn't all that good coming out of high school. I think I seen one game his Sr. year and I don't remember anything from the game from him that made me think he could be a stand out athlete. But again, he provided some depth and support for the team, and that's worth something.

 

[I am I]

I've watched this thread w great interest.

First off, yes, I think being senior season for Martin-ez he will stupify the competition. He has always left it all on the field and I think he'll cake walk through the the cake schedule and dominate in the tough games too. Think of all the magical plays he's given us since his RS freshman season. Dude has been a baller even with his propensity for turnovers and misplays. I see him finishing really strong. Really really strong.

On to the scuttlebutt.

This really hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet: Pelini hitched his wagon to Martin-ez that first season.

Basically, for better or worse (many more 'better' than worse IMO) he made a 4 yr decision to start TM and ride him for 4 yrs.

Some guys in the NFL draft a QB (Tim couch, Tim Tebow, mark Sanchez, Ryan Tannehill, Joey Harrington, et al) and basically stake their professional lives on making that player their "franchise" guy.

If it works out (Manning, Schaub, Matt Ryan) they are geniuses and have that "claim to fame". Pelini did that with TM. He quit filling in the gap w guys and QBs who only have 2 or so yrs to bring home the bacon. All in all, after its all said and done, TM has been stability and unquestionably the starter.

I think that has been good for the program--TM is Bo's guy.

Saying that, Zac Lee was stop gap (juco). Green was Watsons guy, really. TM is BO's GUY. For better or worse, injuries to elbows, deer in headlights, rumors and actual performance--Bo has stuck by TM.

It's given us time to recruit Armstrong and Stanton, who will also be Bo's guys. QB is the ONE position that having a 4 yr starter is nearly unheard of. Now count all the records and wins TM has, along with fumbles and losses and, shoot, it's been a pretty good ride for BO's GUY.

 

[Mierin]

Ugh. I hate when people argue with bad grammar.

 

[walksalone]

Ugh. I hate when people argue with bad grammar.

I concur...

Even before we get to the "running" or "throwing" portion of the program, T-Mart has to make good decisions and be more consistent in his decision making. There were times last year, many of us thought we'd seen the new Martinez, only to have him completely sh*t the bed a few minutes later. Once he becomes consistent in his decision making, then he'll truly be dangerous, because it's obvious he's got speed, and he's showing good work ethic, learning to improve his throwing.