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What Adrian Martinez will we see this year?

"on a scale of 1-10 (2018: 8, 2019: 4) what level of performance will we see from #2AM in 2020"


  • Total voters
    90
For the record, I wouldn't be all that surprised if that happens. The McCaffreys seem to produce superhumans.

No disrespect to Luke but at this point in his career, I sincerely hope he doesn't pass Martinez. After his freshman season, we thought we had a potential Heisman candidate. If we have LM surpassing him in Year 3 of the program for AM it means a significant regression and very likely a bad record for us. Love Luke's versatility and hope we find ways to get him on the field, but for our sake, I hope it isn't because Martinez was just that bad.
 
This is exactly my point. We have seen very little of LM. The measurement of AM shouldn't be whether he struggles or whether the offense struggles.......it should be about whether he is the best for the entire offense. Especially when AM isn't responsible for missed blocks, poor routes, penalties, and the running backs. Playing a few series with special designed plays for LM to mix it up is a lot different than turning over the reigns to him. SF and staff know who the best overall QB is. Lets let them call the shots without already questioning them with our limited exposure over their everyday observations.
I could not agree more with that statement. Do we trust HCSF to play the BEST at every position or not? We're entitled to our own opinions but we very limited knowledge of those players. No one wants to win more then HCSF which means he and his staff will play the BEST players Nebraska has on their roster.
 



It wasn't just how he played (stats, basically), but how he carried himself. Too often he looked timid. And if you look at the best QBs out there, they all have the ability to motivate the players around them and elevate their play. AM looked to me like he as content with being "just one of the guys". He seems to have the physical abilities to be pretty dang good, now he needs to step up and be a leader (think Tommie Frazier). If he's going to be the starting QB he needs to step up his leadership game.
Agreed. Their was a time when we had studs at QB who weren't afraid to consistently put their shoulders down and run someone over. Thinking of Frazier, Frost, Crouch.... At times Martinez actually looked like he was petrified of taking a hit. I suspect most of that was his shoulder injury and that shouldn't be an issue heading into this season. Last year, the staff was trying to preserve McCaffery's redshirt and Vedral was battling his own injuries. This year, the staff should have more flexibility in pulling a QB performing at 70% due to injury and I certainly hope they are not hesitant to pull that trigger.
 
Yeah, he needs to be more of a leader. I would agree with that. It's easy to lead (think Tommie Frazier) when you are surrounded by all that talent. I am not bagging on TF he was a great leader. But it does make it easier.
No doubt Frazier had a more talented team around him, but he still got in their ass when they screwed up. That's what I'd like to see AM do more of. You often hear the talking head commentators mention that a team's QB is like having "another coach on the field" and those teams usually do well. AM isn't at that level IMO. Hopefully he'll turn the corner this year.
 
I voted 10 because i want to see that, because he was playing hurt most of last year, because the line will be better, because the receivers will be better, because he will be more aggressive knowing Luke could step right in and because I have confidence in Lubick.
 
I just love how everyone believes luke should be starting this year and the doubters who question whether Frost will play the best guy. Seriously? We've seen LM operate less than 5% of the offense.
Don’t see too money here saying outright that LM should start. But SF on several occasions has refused to name AM the starter and basicly said the race was still open. So there’s that. If AM struggles I’m under the impression SF has growing confidence in LM based on his comments and won’t hesitate to try him out. I think he starts with AM based on experience alone. AM will be hard to unseat if the offense is getting it done.
 



I’m just not sure about the weapons available to AM. If he finds the open guys and doesn’t force it to Wandale every down, I think he will be ok
 
But SF on several occasions has refused to name AM the starter and basicly said the race was still open. So there’s that. .

Don't forget - his first year here his backup walked when the starter was named, could be some of that lesson in play.

While I'm in the thread, just random comments

- Agree with point that LM's success was in very limited plays and the only reason the pass against Iowa was so open was because he ran the ball every other time. So small sample size and primed for success.

- I don't personally think it's as close as SF is saying publicly, he's been laying on more coach speak as time goes on, which is fine with me. Happy to be wrong.

- Voted 9 cuz that's what I want to see and I think AM is capable of that. A lot of things contributed to last season including his own performance. The snaps were a HUGE deal early. Seriously, our QB had to jump on every snap just in case he had to field a wild one. Add injury, overall OL capability, whatever the hell was going on with Walters, game plan, play calling/WRs ... we didn't have a recipe for success. His part was one of all these.

- Again IMO but part of what we have is watching a young head coach grow and mature.

- I will die on the hill that says "we won't be elite until we expect more of our defense."

- There was post above expressing disappointment that AM became a bit lax when someone was pushing him. The point is that the coaching staff wasn't open to him being pushed. Also IMO Vedral left because of this.

- Different thread but count me in on expecting a decline in DL play this year. If not, TT is one helluva coach.

- I've never been so excited in my life for a game where we're going to be absolutely shellacked. I'll be happier than anyone who throws this back in my cyber-face if I'm proven wrong. :)

- I would love a sit down interview with Frost and Day, and they come clean on whether/how much OSU and NU actually coordinated to save BigTen football. If we play ONE game, they succeeded.
 
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It'll be interesting to watch this. Walters was definitely thrown under the bus.
You are correct that it should be interesting.......and very important. If this offense continues to struggle under Matt Lubick then there is only one other person to blame and that doesn't bode well for our future. I suspect we should know more after the first 4 games. I'm not saying we need to be winning those games but we have to see the offensive spark Scott Frost has been promising us.
 
You are correct that it should be interesting.......and very important. If this offense continues to struggle under Matt Lubick then there is only one other person to blame and that doesn't bode well for our future. I suspect we should know more after the first 4 games. I'm not saying we need to be winning those games but we have to see the offensive spark Scott Frost has been promising us.
I was somewhat concerned that HCSF's loyalty to his staff would get in the way of making the really tough calls. I think that concern has been answered. That said, do we lay the lackluster performance at the feet of poor play calling or execution. Both are ultimately the coaching staffs responsibility, but the players also bare some responsibility for the later. We had some players on both sides of the ball (and STs) taking plays off last year. If we want to have any chance of competing against the "OSUs" of the world we need 11 guys giving 100% each and every play regardless of the game situation. That's the culture I'm wanting to see take hold in this B1G "throw away" season.
 

I optimistically gave Adrian a 9 for performance this year, yes probably a point higher than I should, but so many things went into his sophomore slump that should be corrected this year that I feel it is entirely possible for him to have a good year.

Everyone has mentioned the multitude of issues from last year - injury, had to develop a center, had to develop a running back, bad play calling, JD not being 100%, etc... add to those the impact of high expectations on a young player. All of this effected his confidence and that was apparent. Still, except for bad coaching decisions in three games (Colorado, Purdue and Iowa) the Huskers could have had a decent season.

Here's what will lead to a much better year.

  1. Better coaching, hopefully Coach Lubick will be someone Scott Frost will trust and play calling will improve. Also Adrian's ability to get off the main target will improve with Lubick's help.
  2. Better offensive line play, I think this is where the Huskers see a big improvement this year.
  3. Better line play means a stronger run attack, less pressure on the QB if he is seeing less 3rd and 10s.
  4. Alante Brown is the "real deal" and Betts has been coming on, Manning is the key, does he fulfill his promise?
  5. Lastly Luke, the competition McCaffrey is providing is huge, but so is the possibility of both Adrian and Luke being on the field at the same time. Think of it, just by putting Luke out at wideout, that will take so much of the defense's attention that Mills will be able to slash up the field or the TE's will be wide open over the middle.
I'm drinking Cherry flavored Kool-Aid for sure. :Huskerflag:
 

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