Would you have benched Martinez for a series?

Hercules said:
The only reason to bench Taylor is if he's hurt. I'm tired of the staff playing guys who aren't 100%.
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The first sentence of your post makes no sense to me. So there is no amount of poor play that should get TM benched? Really?!?

The second sentence is right on. Benching a running QB who is hurt and seems to be incapable of running the bread and butter zone option play that got him the job makes perfect sense.

Here's to hoping these coaches can come up with a solution, but I sure as heck ain't holding my breath that happens this year!

 
Thing is Knox, that's not our bread and butter play anymore! Drives me bananas!

I think RK3 is a bit of an idle hope though. If he's anything better than a very average (not a knock, but comparing him to all the passing talent in the NCAA) pocket passer QB with very little game experience and perhaps not having Taylor's command of the team, I would be surprised. Actually, stunned. Diamond in the rough walkon prototype QBs don't grow on trees.

And Tommy, well, maybe he's the next coming or maybe he's Brion. Carnes had a lot of talent, and arguably just never the opportunity to really show it. But it also didn't mean he was able to put it all together and be a real challenger for the position. Tommy's a redshirt freshman we haven't seen throw, and it seems reasonable and likely to expect a lot of freshman mistakes and struggles if he plays.

I just want to see us get to using Taylor's strengths more. If it really blows up in everyone's faces, that's a point where we can say, OK, turn to you, kid. There's no need for Tommy to enter that spotlight now with the pressure that comes with having actively unseated Taylor - it's not good for him, not good for the team. So I agree with Hercules. Short of a lost season for both the team and Taylor, the only reason Taylor should get the bench is injury.

 
zoogies said:
Thing is Knox, that's not our bread and butter play anymore! Drives me bananas!

I think RK3 is a bit of an idle hope though. If he's anything better than a very average (not a knock, but comparing him to all the passing talent in the NCAA) pocket passer QB with very little game experience and perhaps not having Taylor's command of the team, I would be surprised. Actually, stunned. Diamond in the rough walkon prototype QBs don't grow on trees.

And Tommy, well, maybe he's the next coming or maybe he's Brion. Carnes had a lot of talent, and arguably just never the opportunity to really show it. But it also didn't mean he was able to put it all together and be a real challenger for the position. Tommy's a redshirt freshman we haven't seen throw, and it seems reasonable and likely to expect a lot of freshman mistakes and struggles if he plays.

I just want to see us get to using Taylor's strengths more. If it really blows up in everyone's faces, that's a point where we can say, OK, turn to you, kid. There's no need for Tommy to enter that spotlight now with the pressure that comes with having actively unseated Taylor - it's not good for him, not good for the team. So I agree with Hercules. Short of a lost season for both the team and Taylor, the only reason Taylor should get the bench is injury.
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He's in a boot, right? That's what I read from a couple news outlets.

If he can't run, and that's his strength (well, when he's not fumbling) as well as the strength of our offense via the option game, I think giving TA a shot with our upcoming schedule isn't a bad idea. Just a matter of being prepared. I don't know that you need to make a QB controversy out of it. Just say that Taylor is on a bum leg (which he apparently is) and they're not taking any chances.

 
Yeah, what you describe would be fine. I just don't think (I have no info one way or another) the boot is that big of a deal. So many reasons you might want to wear a protective boot; you hardly have to be crippled. Taylor also didn't seem to have a bum leg. He didn't fail to roll up rushing yards because he lost his step....we just, for some reason, failed to regularly get him those lanes to run through. One or two times he did take off he looked plenty OK running to me. Maybe not literally 100%, but no athlete is ever literally 100%. There's always some nick or ailment or some protective tape/boot/ice/painkiller shot/whatever to use to deal with it.

 
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MichiganDad3 said:
HUSKER FREAK said:
ZRod said:
WAHusker said:
I would have, just to calm him down. He was very jittery, overthrowing balls the first few drives. Just one series would have helped.
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It didn't matter where he threw it his recievers didn't have hands the majority of the game.
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First of all yes I would have. But like I said in another thread. Martinez makes the receivers work very hard to catch the ball on a very simple route. For whatever reason I think he looks worse this year than last year and I don't get it. I feel bad for Bell and Enunwa and the rest of the WR's.
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You could see this when Turner game TM grief for not leading him on a simple swing pass in the 2nd half.
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Turner needs to be pointing the thumb. Yes of course TM should've led him, but Turner still should've caught it. Plus dude can't field a punt and his jukes are too often more spastic than effective.

As far as TM's play goes was he hurt going into the game? In terms of passing he seemed nervous early-on and in the run-game he never looked right. There was no point where he seemed to go down wrong and things changed. He just ran timidly and with no burst from the get-go. I'd sit him out of the South Dakota game. Get Armstrong some valuable reps. Then we have a bi after that. Hopefully he'd have wheels again for Illinois.

 
Mr. Accountability said:
The King said:
Klondike Cat said:
No, because he's the best talent we have at the QB position, which is a QB who next year will likely move on to Arena Football or maybe the CFL and definitely is NOT NFL calibre. That's part of the problem.
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*shrug*

My thoughts on Taylor are well-documented. I'm not sold on him being our best option at QB if he isn't going to use his mobility.
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And the boom. Seriously

If were gonna call plays and operate like we did today, I'm serious, I'm not sure Taylor isnt down to 3rd, if not even 4th depending on Stanton's ability, on the depth chart. Really really disturbing, and that's not on Taylor whatsoever. Now if his running ability is hampered by some sort of injury as speculated, then why is he in the game. that's a needed dimension of his arsenal. We learned that lesson in 2010. His best skill neutralized before the snap? Aint gonna work.
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even if injured somewhat, NU has no choice but to go with Martinez. Why? The coaching staff has not developed a backup. They never gave a backup any experience in a setting where they could gain confidence (playing them during games that were already settled... or obviously going to be settled. Because of that roster management error, NU is committed to Martinez utterly unless, essentially one of his limbs is tore off. They will not go to a backup until they have NO OTHER CHOICE.

This is yet another Bo blunder... no backup has any experience. Now... it is fixable. A backup should play 1/2 the snaps (or more) this upcoming week. Then, with a game or two of that behind him, a backup may actually be "seasoned" enough to play when it matters.

 
I used to hate it when Pelini would bench our QB to 'give him a look from the sidelines'. He did it all the time in 09 with Lee and Green. If Marrinez is benched...it's because he's ineffective and you want to give Armstrong or Kellogg a shot. Yes Martinez looked flustered...but what else is new? He looked the same way against Wisconsin, Ohio State, and UCLA last year. It's who he is. One series on the bench doesn't change that. If you want to calm a guy's nerves, I don't think benching him for a series accomplishes that.

 
robsker said:
even if injured somewhat, NU has no choice but to go with Martinez. Why? The coaching staff has not developed a backup. They never gave a backup any experience in a setting where they could gain confidence (playing them during games that were already settled... or obviously going to be settled. Because of that roster management error, NU is committed to Martinez utterly unless, essentially one of his limbs is tore off. They will not go to a backup until they have NO OTHER CHOICE.

This is yet another Bo blunder... no backup has any experience. Now... it is fixable. A backup should play 1/2 the snaps (or more) this upcoming week. Then, with a game or two of that behind him, a backup may actually be "seasoned" enough to play when it matters.
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With the soft schedule, it is an ideal time to get a backup some real game experience. If Bo stubbornly sticks to TM full time, we will know he truly is a scared deer in the headlights in way over his head. This could be a pivotal stretch for HCBP.

 
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Taylor threw three perfectly lovely touchdown passes in the first half, and directed a 17 play, 92 yard drive, the kind of drive folks on here are always clamoring for.

That's what he can do.

What happened in the second half?

The entire team fell apart. If not delivering what's asked of you is the criteria, the whole team should be benched and the coaches all fired.

I don't think Taylor has improved his decision making the way a fourth year starter should, and he has lost the electrifying fearlessness he showed as a freshman. Some of that is on him, some of it is on the coaches who have instructed him to go down quickly once he hits the open field to avoid injuries and turnovers. It's a cliche to say he's a bad passer and it's also wrong. I don't know where anyone got the idea that Kellog or Armstrong is a better passer other than the wishful thinking that quarterbacks who don't play always enjoy.

Taylor Martinez is our quarterback for the rest of the year. He will retire with virtually every QB record whether you like it or not. He can deliver, as he did in the first half, or flail along with the rest of the team. I would like to see him unleashed by the coaching staff and allowed to run out his college career, and it might be sporting if the fanbase rooted for him. It is genuinely hard to be the quarterback on one of the worst defensive teams in the country.

 
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Guy Chamberlin said:
Taylor threw three perfectly lovely touchdown passes in the first half, and directed a 17 play, 92 yard drive, the kind of drive folks on here are always clamoring for.

That's what he can do.

What happened in the second half?

The entire team fell apart. If not delivering what's asked of you is the criteria, the whole team should be benched and the coaches all fired.

I don't think Taylor has improved his decision making the way a fourth year starter should, and he has lost the electrifying fearlessness he showed as a freshman. Some of that is on him, some of it is on the coaches who have instructed him to go down quickly once he hits the open field to avoid injuries and turnovers. It's a cliche to say he's a bad passer and it's also wrong. I don't know where anyone got the idea that Kellog or Armstrong is a better passer other than the wishful thinking that quarterbacks who don't play always enjoy.

Taylor Martinez is our quarterback for the rest of the year. He will retire with virtually every QB record whether you like it or not. He can deliver, as he did in the first half, or flail along with the rest of the team. I would like to see him unleashed by the coaching staff and allowed to run out his college career, and it might be sporting if the fanbase rooted for him. It is genuinely hard to be the quarterback on one of the worst defensive teams in the country.
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Great post, especially the bold.

Taylor does well on plays where thing happen quickly and he doesn't have to think so much.Zone read,designed runs,Quick passes ,and an occasional deep ball are his strengths . Scrambling around trying to make something happen usually isnt good. When the protection breaks down and defenders are in his face that's where he fails.This is true of almost every other QB too though.

Bad blocking and bad play calling are just as much to blame as he is in my opinion.Benching TM isnt the answer..

 
Taylor also made a couple good plays when his protection broke down, including a perfect throw on the run to his tight end for what would have been a crucial first down in the third quarter. You may recall that the ball was dropped.

Last night Colin Kaepernick threw three interceptions, took a bunch of sacks, lost a fumble and lost a game in which the Niners offense couldn't get anything going.

But I still want him to start next week.

 
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