Martinez

[BigRedOhio]

After reading the interview with Lou Holtz combined with all the people blaming Martinez for our inconsistency...I just wish people would get off of Martinez's back. In my opinion, he was the least of our problems last year. I'm fine with him being our quarterback. The only game that could be directly blamed on him would be the Wisconsin game. The Michigan game was a special teams nightmare, NW was a team choke, and the South Carolina game was definitely not his fault (Maher missed FG, blocked pat for 2pt, Abdullah fumble, hail mary, offensive line, etc..)

Martinez is the least of our problems. His statistics were not great, but he managed the game very well overall. He made some great plays last year and I see him only getting better. Our defense stunk last year....that is where I have always placed the blame.

[Californication]

Any one who puts as much effort as he is on improving is ok in my book, and I agree, last year he was not even close to our biggest issue. Getting off the field on third down on defense seemed to me the biggest problem.

[BigRedOhio]

Any one who puts as much effort as he is on improving is ok in my book

Great point...have to respect the guy for putting in the time to improve. If our OLine plays well this year, Martinez will have a nice season.

[huskernut]

Any one who puts as much effort as he is on improving is ok in my book, and I agree, last year he was not even close to our biggest issue. Getting off the field on third down on defense seemed to me the biggest problem.

Yes.

[Huskernation]

I agree completely. Maybe a few less dropped balls and stupid false starts may help also.

[hskrncibolo]

Martinez is the least of our problems. His statistics were not great, but he managed the game very well overall. He made some great plays last year and I see him only getting better. Our defense stunk last year....that is where I have always placed the blame.

One demensional teams are easy to defend , compared to a dual threat qb/team . I dont see Tmart being a legit passing threat, ever. Just hope he continues to be a better game manager.

[BigRedOhio]

One demensional teams are easy to defend , compared to a dual threat qb/team . I dont see Tmart being a legit passing threat, ever. Just hope he continues to be a better game manager.

You are correct, TMart has a ceiling for how good he can be as a passer...he's never going to be a consistent deep threat. But if he can limit mistakes and keep the chains moving...we can win with him. He was a big part of our wins vs. Ohio St. and Penn St.

[jmatlock]

You are correct, TMart has a ceiling for how good he can be as a passer...he's never going to be a consistent deep threat. But if he can limit mistakes and keep the chains moving...we can win with him. He was a big part of our wins vs. Ohio St. and Penn St.

Pal..the second string OSU qb was the reason we won that game.That was the most god awful performance I have ever seen at the college level..that said I hope he is able to play against us this year

[huskrthill]

Pal..the second string OSU qb was the reason we won that game.That was the most god awful performance I have ever seen at the college level..that said I hope he is able to play against us this year

Martinez didn't win that game, but it's a common misconception that we took control of that game after Miller was knocked out. Nebraska's defense had stopped OSU, and don't forget that it was Miller that had lost the fumble that turned the tide. By the time he was knocked out of the game, Nebraska pulled to within 20-27. The comeback was well under way before Braxton Miller left the game.

[RedBlack&Blue]

Pal..the second string OSU qb was the reason we won that game.That was the most god awful performance I have ever seen at the college level..that said I hope he is able to play against us this year

We moved the ball against a really good OSU defense. While we got lucky with Miller, our offense deserves quite a bit of credit for getting it done.

[Mgrtahusker]

Two thirds of our Ohio State come back points came while the first string quarterback was in the game. The Ohio State quarterback never was on the field when we scored all of the come back points. No way was the second string Ohio State QB the reason. Go back and look at the game!!!!

[ColoREDo]

Two thirds of our Ohio State come back points came while the first string quarterback was in the game. The Ohio State quarterback never was on the field when we scored all of the come back points. No way was the second string Ohio State QB the reason. Go back and look at the game!!!!

And ALL of the points that OSU scored was with Miller at QB. Lets not pretend that we would have come back if Miller had stayed in the game.

[BigRedOhio]

Pal..the second string OSU qb was the reason we won that game.That was the most god awful performance I have ever seen at the college level..that said I hope he is able to play against us this year

Granted Bauserman was awful...but watch the 2nd half again...Martinez was pretty darn good.

[bilsker]

You are correct, TMart has a ceiling for how good he can be as a passer...he's never going to be a consistent deep threat. But if he can limit mistakes and keep the chains moving...we can win with him. He was a big part of our wins vs. Ohio St. and Penn St.

It's not his passing that makes him ineffective. It's his poor running skills.

[BubbaGene]

It's not his passing that makes him ineffective. It's his poor running skills.

yup

[Husker Country Doc]

You are correct, TMart has a ceiling for how good he can be as a passer...he's never going to be a consistent deep threat. But if he can limit mistakes and keep the chains moving...we can win with him. He was a big part of our wins vs. Ohio St. and Penn St.

My beef with TM is his inability to run tough with the ball, and lack of situational awareness. I.E., he will not put his head down and turn it upfield to get the tough 2-3 yards, and the first down, as opposed to cutting it to the sideline, and trying to outrun inside/out pursuit to the corner. All too often, it seemed he would come up just short of the first down in that situation.


I think his passing ability is OK.

I don't want to be a glass half-full kind of guy, so I'll say TM must be the best we have. I trust the coaches, in that regard.

[Train]

My beef with TM is his inability to run tough with the ball, and lack of situational awareness. I.E., he will not put his head down and turn it upfield to get the tough 2-3 yards, and the first down, as opposed to cutting it to the sideline, and trying to outrun inside/out pursuit to the corner. All too often, it seemed he would come up just short of the first down in that situation.


I think his passing ability is OK.

I don't want to be a glass half-full kind of guy, so I'll say TM must be the best we have. I trust the coaches, in that regard.

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All that you say it true. Situational awareness. As for running tough it goes back to strength or lack there of. He has an angular frame and not built for power. Arm tackles often are enough. This goes back to knowing when to pick your spots. Situational awareness as it were.

There are very limited number of backs that do everything well. He will never be an inside runner. Using that speed to the outside is his game. His option game however obviously needs work. There he is too fast to the edge, when he should be drawing the defender to him. He rarely has room to pitch because he doesn't understand the concept of making the defender come to him or cover the back circling the play. This can be corrected. Imprinting is the key with the option as well as his passing form.

As for his passing, even with his funky delivery he had many balls dropped every game. Some games he had many dropped. His completion rate should have been around 60% last season. Now granted his timing wasn't alway there but his stats are misleading.

There were mistakes in the offensive front from time to time but it wasn't as bad as Martinez made it appear. Not giving himself enough room to step into his throws was a constant. Imprinting a deeper drop can be cured. Now the coaches have the opportunity to work on the fundamentals. Or as Osborne says "the many little things" that collectively make differences in ones game. Something lost in the many transitions of the past.

His velocity Should be vastly improved with better footwork. The question is can his brain imprint the changes needed to correct his problems? It appears that he is doing everything he can to right the wrongs. If he could throw with good velocity not stepping into his throws before, just think the speed he can generate when he does. Working in the second season in the same offense should mean more comfort in his game. More comfort means playing faster and thinking quicker with his reads. That is usually the case with any quarterback. His game gets better with his comfort level. Situational awareness naturally progresses with time. Is there time to formate his past and reinstall fundamentals. The coaches make it sound like he is progressing. That's encouraging.

[carrolltonsker]

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His completion rate should have been around 60% last season.

I really do not remember an inordinate number of dropped balls. However, with as many swing passes and 3-4 yard passes over the middle that he throws, his completion rate should be at least 70-75%.

[wcbsas]

Martinez is the least of our problems. His statistics were not great, but he managed the game very well overall. He made some great plays last year and I see him only getting better. Our defense stunk last year....that is where I have always placed the blame.

Not necessarily true.
--- We won 9 games last year. You could argue that none of those victories were games we should've lost ... maybe Michigan State, but thats it.
--- We lost 4 games last year. You could argue that NW was a game we should've won. All the others could have been expected.

Point is, IMO, a QB and coach make their impact by winning games we shouldn't win and not losing games that we should win.

If TM plays better against UW ... and doesn't throw three consecutive INTs, who knows what happens in a game we were winning! Exactly to Lou's point, manage the game - don't throw costly INTs that change the momentum of the game.

It doesn't help that our O-Line play has been medoicre, receivers drop balls and you have a 1st year coordinator.

People pick on TMs mechanics and rightfully so, but I think if he simply improves his game management by cutting back on TOs, penalties and mistakes we are a different team.

He'll be a 3-year starter entering this season ... that experience regardless of who you are is priceless!

[RedPhoenix]

I hope he has learned to quit running up to opposing dlinemen and asking for free hugs.