Adrian Martinez

AM's rushing EPA has been close to Elite. His passing EPA has been 7th, 9th, 9th in the B1G the last 3 years. Passing Yards per Game he has been 4th, 8th, 12th in the B1G. Obviously it's not all on AMs shoulders but inability to move the ball downfield through the air has been an issue. A really good rushing QB, who has been beaten to a pulp and has the injuries to show it. If our weapons on offense can get us looking like that peak 2018 offense, combined with this defense - we will 7+ games, ceiling even higher than that. 

 
I'm probably quite a bit less worried about what the play of Toure, Martin, & Manning bring to moving the chains than I am about whether we'll have good running back play. But both things are a concern.

And I'd say the ceiling is 7 wins if the turnovers and terrible special teams play continue.

 
Undone said:
I'm probably quite a bit less worried about what the play of Toure, Martin, & Manning bring to moving the chains than I am about whether we'll have good running back play. But both things are a concern.

And I'd say the ceiling is 7 wins if the turnovers and terrible special teams play continue.
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Agreed. Adrian is our man, ride or die. I think WR production will be similar to Bo years, so not a worry. RB is a huge question mark. And the line has depth, but they haven't really impressed too much.

 
Even with the worst start in Nebraska football history in 2018, I thought Adrian Martinez was about to become the best quarterback we've ever had: a legitimate passer who could run exactly as needed. And he was only going to get better. We can talk all we want about talent, but he was throwing to the #1, #3 , #15, and #37 all-time receivers at Nebraska. The offensive line wasn't great, but he generally had time to plant his feet, and may have been better on the run, which is what made him dangerous. 

Not sure what happened. He looked fearless as a Freshman and has second-guessed himself since. 

I liked Taylor Martinez better than Tommy Armstrong, but might take them both over Eric Crouch, who was definitely a baller but really benefitted from a supporting cast that maximized his somewhat limited game. 

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
Even with the worst start in Nebraska football history in 2018, I thought Adrian Martinez was about to become the best quarterback we've ever had: a legitimate passer who could run exactly as needed. And he was only going to get better. We can talk all we want about talent, but he was throwing to the #1, #3 , #15, and #37 all-time receivers at Nebraska. The offensive line wasn't great, but he generally had time to plant his feet, and may have been better on the run, which is what made him dangerous. 

Not sure what happened. He looked fearless as a Freshman and has second-guessed himself since. 

I liked Taylor Martinez better than Tommy Armstrong, but might take them both over Eric Crouch, who was definitely a baller but really benefitted from a supporting cast that maximized his somewhat limited game. 
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Was that his freshmen year?  Offense was not the issue.

The last two years his WR's might as well have been me and you out there, with Steph Curry as the RB.  Not idea.  

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
Even with the worst start in Nebraska football history in 2018, I thought Adrian Martinez was about to become the best quarterback we've ever had: a legitimate passer who could run exactly as needed. And he was only going to get better. We can talk all we want about talent, but he was throwing to the #1, #3 , #15, and #37 all-time receivers at Nebraska. The offensive line wasn't great, but he generally had time to plant his feet, and may have been better on the run, which is what made him dangerous. 

Not sure what happened. He looked fearless as a Freshman and has second-guessed himself since. 

I liked Taylor Martinez better than Tommy Armstrong, but might take them both over Eric Crouch, who was definitely a baller but really benefitted from a supporting cast that maximized his somewhat limited game. 
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Yeah, not sure what has happened to 2AM. TBH I think the coaches have him thinking too much and are trying to firce him ti distribute the ball more and there just hasn’t been anyone to lighten the burden. Hopefully that will change this season.

But c’mon man, TM or TA over Crouch? And Crouch had a supporting cast? What you be smoking? He carried that team offensively. For sure none of them could throw the ball but dang….how many Heismans did TM or TA win? They don’t just hand those out like bubblegum.

 
Undone said:
I'm probably quite a bit less worried about what the play of Toure, Martin, & Manning bring to moving the chains than I am about whether we'll have good running back play. But both things are a concern.
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I think with both groups, it's gonna come down to whether we can stay healthy. At RB, we've got a room full of guys with plenty of potential but a history of injuries. I'm expecting it to be RB by committee, playing whoever is in decent shape that week. At WR I think we've got the best three starters as a group since Frost's first year (and possibly since well before that), but we'd better pray they can stay healthy because I don't feel as good about the depth.

 
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JJ Husker said:
Yeah, not sure what has happened to 2AM. TBH I think the coaches have him thinking too much and are trying to firce him ti distribute the ball more and there just hasn’t been anyone to lighten the burden. Hopefully that will change this season.

But c’mon man, TM or TA over Crouch? And Crouch had a supporting cast? What you be smoking? He carried that team offensively. For sure none of them could throw the ball but dang….how many Heismans did TM or TA win? They don’t just hand those out like bubblegum.
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Yeah Crouch carried that team offensively because he called his own number a lot and he really was tough as nails. But the Dan Alexander/Correll Buckhalter platoon was hardly a slouch.  Dahhran Diedtrick had a 1,300 yard season with Crouch for gosh sakes. Crouch had some of the best QB runs ever.....until Taylor Martinez came around....who also passed better than Crouch. More to the point, if Eric Crouch (or Tommie Frazier) had a 2011 - 2021 Nebraska defense on the other side of the ball, he doesn't win a Heisman and we're not really talking about Eric Crouch on this thread.

Those old Nebraska offenses could afford to be patient when the defense was allowing 12 points a game. 

Now if Adrian Martinez had Crouch's fearlessness, maybe we'd be on to something.

For the record, I'm not "smoking" anything. I've switched to edibles. 

 
JJ Husker said:
Yeah, not sure what has happened to 2AM. TBH I think the coaches have him thinking too much and are trying to firce him ti distribute the ball more and there just hasn’t been anyone to lighten the burden. Hopefully that will change this season.

But c’mon man, TM or TA over Crouch? And Crouch had a supporting cast? What you be smoking? He carried that team offensively. For sure none of them could throw the ball but dang….how many Heismans did TM or TA win? They don’t just hand those out like bubblegum.
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 Crouch was also extremely DURABLE in spite of his size and the enormous workload he had to carry. He is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than the program stated I've stood face to face with him several times and I'm seeing someone that's 5'10" and 175 in a pretty modest frame. Not someone who was  6' 1" and 205 like the program stated. 2AM- Taylor Martinez were never as durable as Crouch. 

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
Yeah Crouch carried that team offensively because he called his own number a lot and he really was tough as nails. But the Dan Alexander/Correll Buckhalter platoon was hardly a slouch.  Dahhran Diedtrick had a 1,300 yard season with Crouch for gosh sakes. Crouch had some of the best QB runs ever.....until Taylor Martinez came around....who also passed better than Crouch. More to the point, if Eric Crouch (or Tommie Frazier) had a 2011 - 2021 Nebraska defense on the other side of the ball, he doesn't win a Heisman and we're not really talking about Eric Crouch on this thread.

Those old Nebraska offenses could afford to be patient when the defense was allowing 12 points a game. 

Now if Adrian Martinez had Crouch's fearlessness, maybe we'd be on to something.

For the record, I'm not "smoking" anything. I've switched to edibles. 
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Comparatively speaking, yes Crouch had more of a supporting cast than any of the other three. But, at the time, it was probably the weakest supporting cast in about 20 years. TM, TA and 2AM would all have done much better with that kind of help. I don’t want to disparage any of them as none of them were the weak link in their time but certainly EC would not have been the weak link in any of those times.
 

And yes, if Adrian could get some of that fearlessness (back) it would definitely be something to see. Maybe this year…..

I prefer the cinnamon hard candys as well.

 
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Nebraska55fan said:
 Crouch was also extremely DURABLE in spite of his size and the enormous workload he had to carry. He is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than the program stated I've stood face to face with him several times and I'm seeing someone that's 5'10" and 175 in a pretty modest frame. Not someone who was  6' 1" and 205 like the program stated. 2AM- Taylor Martinez were never as durable as Crouch. 
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I agree and yes, Crouch was not a big guy at all. I too have stood right beside him and he played much bigger than he was. He didn’t strike me as being inherently tough but he sure was.

 
I'm sure Crouch's playing weight was significantly higher than his weight as a meager old civilian the last 15+ years, for whatever that's worth.

It's also worth noting he's mostly the consensus worst Heisman winner in modern history, but nonetheless, he was a warrior and a rare talent. I'd say TM or AM would transition better into Crouch's offense than he would be able to transition into theirs, though.

 
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