Adrian Martinez

Taylor was helped by some great receivers, but I think he got a very bad rap as a poor passer.  He was plenty good enough for that offense.
The problem with the last 12 year (all 3 QBs) can’t be seen in the stats.  When the opposing D forced them to pass, they were all minimized.  They rarely won games with their arms and that allowed other teams to load the box.

TA was a chucker that got bailed out by some straight baller plays by Westy, Morgan, DPE and Reilly.  
 

This team hasn’t had a consistent passer since Zac Taylor.  Hell, I’d take Ganz all day right now.

 
Taylor was helped by some great receivers, but I think he got a very bad rap as a poor passer.  He was plenty good enough for that offense.
Haha oh ok..

edit: sorry, re read your comment.

They have both had good targets. One set the season record at Nebraska while teamed up with the player nearly EVERYONE expected to break that record the following the year. 
 

I don’t think one particularly stands out in the passing game. TM lead an air raid against OSU and looked good too. He had a worse delivery and mechanics than AM

 
Last edited by a moderator:
QBR - 136 to 139

Completion % - 59 to 63

TD:INT - 2:1 to 3:2

Really not much difference
Passing yards - 7258 (962 atts & 44 games) to 8495 (1055 atts & 39 games)

Avg yards per att - 7.5 to 8.1

Better QBR, better completion percentage, better all around. Passing isn't a wash. TM got it done with poor mechanics and a good supporting cast. AM hasn't had that support, but I don't understand how there is any debate that he is far and away a better passer.

 
Id take a pre injury TM over AM 10/10 times. Passing is a wash and TM was a much better runner. 


I'm sort of there with you because Freshman Taylor Martinez was a revelation, beating multiple ranked teams and jumping into the Heisman discussion just six games into his career. 

But Freshman Adrian Martinez was a revelation, too. I couldn't wait to see what he was going to do his next three years at Nebraska.

In some ways, neither Martinez got better than when they were fearless freshmen. 

Like you said, Adrian doesn't come close to Taylor as a running threat. But Adrian is a better passer than Taylor ever was. And Taylor was a decent enough passer himself. 

And teams are beating Nebraska with QBs who aren't better than either Taylor or Adrian Martinez. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yep. At no point did I ever think they would buck the trend and find a way to win. We know they will find a way to lose. It would be strange if the players didn’t feel the same way. It’s the current culture.
I think this is the biggest thing holding us back. The team hopes they win.  They don't KNOW they are going to win.  So, when it comes down to the end of the game with a chance, they don't have the confidence to do it.

That is something that is extremely difficult to get over.  I firmly believe we had the talent on the team to win a lot of games this year.  I even think we had the schemes and game plans to win a lot of games this year.  But, when it comes down to it, the team subconsciously, doesn't KNOW they will pull it out in the end.

Hopefully, new assistants will change that.

 
Adrian is as good of a passer as we've had since Ganz. I actually think he spins it really well. The 2 areas he seems to struggle:

1) Being decisive and reading coverages

2) When he's got a rush in his face (which is A LOT) he tends to not step into his throws which makes the ball sail on him. We saw that quite a bit in week 0 vs Illinois when he missed several gimme throws, as well as in a critical moment vs Ohio State when he missed... I wanna say Faulk over the middle that would have got a big 1st down

 
Adrian is as good of a passer as we've had since Ganz. I actually think he spins it really well. The 2 areas he seems to struggle:

1) Being decisive and reading coverages

2) When he's got a rush in his face (which is A LOT) he tends to not step into his throws which makes the ball sail on him. We saw that quite a bit in week 0 vs Illinois when he missed several gimme throws, as well as in a critical moment vs Ohio State when he missed... I wanna say Faulk over the middle that would have got a big 1st down
Spot on. His mechanics when he steps into a throw and his overall ability to get a ball where it needs to be are what NFL scouts are looking for. His decision/timing and W/L column not so much. Every QB throws off their back foot under heavy pressure, but Adrian has a bad habit of doing it under moderate pressure as well (like the 2nd pick that got away from him).

 
Spot on. His mechanics when he steps into a throw and his overall ability to get a ball where it needs to be are what NFL scouts are looking for. His decision/timing and W/L column not so much. Every QB throws off their back foot under heavy pressure, but Adrian has a bad habit of doing it under moderate pressure as well (like the 2nd pick that got away from him).


And unfortunately both of those areas get way worse during crunch time. I really really like Adrian, and I think he's a gifted player, but by now we have to draw the conclusion that he doesn't have the ability mentally to carry his team to an actual win. The only time I can recall him performing in the clutch was 2019 Illinois, and that had equally as much if not more to do with Wandale

 
Back
Top