Husker Secondary, Martinez, Not Ready For Prime Time

Keep drinking the Taylor Martinez kool aid…seriously, this team is never going to win the big games until he becomes a half-decent quarterback. those INTs were gamechanging. everything was close before that.

Brutal, but a lot of football left.

Its one thing to lose but to get beat this bad well…

20/20 hindsight, but I would have preferred NU to stay with their run game longer at the 14-13 point ( with NU ahead), and mix in an occasional high percentage completion pass. NU’s OL looked fairly decent early in the contest. When NU has to rely on passing alone to try to compete (with TM at QB) - that does not work well. And yup, NU’s secondary still needs more work. Hats off to Wiscy - they appear to be the genuine article. Trying to look at the 48-17 score optimistically - it is a tremendous opportunity for improvement for NU.

It is probably time to examine some of the elephants in the room:
1) Having a QB who can barely throw the ball. Martinez is a great athlete and seems like a good kid, but there has to be someone (Carnes, Turner, Burkhead, and some of the huskier cheerleaders come to mind) that can throw the ball better.
2) Running the 4-3 with one LB. David is NFL material, but having two guys who are never in position to stop runs or help with coverage stand next to him is hurting the D.
3) Safeties running after receivers. It happens every game all game long. I am not sure if this is a design flaw or talent problem, but it gets really old really fast.
4) Moving the ball around. With 4 RBs and about 80 TEs/WRs on the roster there is no reason to dial up QB keepers for half the plays.
5) History. Remember how Fresno St. was destroying the D with a mobile QB until the Huskers blitzed a CB (i.e. someone fast enough to run him down)?
6) Make them beat you. Remember how the Huskers moved the ball in the first quarter very well before they went to a (BOGGLE!) pocket pass attack? I used to blame Shawn Watson for out thinking himself by changing what was working before the D could adjust, but now it seems that is just the Nebraska way…
7) WTF is our offense? I have been asking this question for over 7 years and each series it seems like the answer changes. Personally I really liked the no huddle up tempo rush and PA attack we briefly saw in the 3rd quarter against Washington. That worked really well. Do more of that.

This was a damn good team that beat our Huskers. Yes there is work to do but let’s not sell the farm just yet. We will (hopefully) see them again and should end up the season pretty well. I do like Carnes but Martinez is still a young QB. Let’s hope he can learn and progress. GBR!!

I have zero confidence in TM.  Going into it, sadly, we didn’t need him to win the game for us, we needed him to avoid costly mistakes.  Unfortunately, he made numerous costly mistakes.  If we had their QB and they had ours, the score may have nearly been reversed.  Our defense didn’t deliver, either, but just think how demoralized they were when the picks just kept coming.  With Rex, Greene and Turner available for offense and our O-line moving the line of scrimmage early, we inexplicably abandoned the run game.

To salvage the season, we need a win over Ohio State.  That is very doable given our talent and depth.  But, big changes are needed offensively - both pesonnel and scheme.

I couldn’t agree more with Rabid. The run game was working very well and when the game became 20-14, NU went away from it. I agree that T Mart has issues reading coverages and throwing the ball down field, but I don’t really think the coaching staff did him any favors by asking him to do some of the things he doesn’t do well in the time of the game they asked him to do that. I know it did seem like he did miss the back in the flat quite often and tried to drill it into tight coverage instead. He needs to understand that most often his back can get him an easy 4 or 5 yards in open space each and every time and NU has the players to do this. It is really obvious how much Hagg and Gomes did in the secondary last season. The defense is a disappointment to me at each and every level however. Overall, NU is still very young offensively. Wisconsin is one game and Wisconsin is a very good football team which NU didn’t match up well with at this point in the season. Their quarterback is everything I thought he was and he did exactly everything I thought he would do last night. Next game, Buckeyes. We cannot drop this game if we want to maintain the goal of playing for a conference title in year one of the conference. Holding serve at home is key.

Wasn’t able to watch the game last night but from what I’ve been reading it seems like we were out coached.  Since I didn’t see the game and am relaying only on comments does anyone agree?  Several weeks ago I heard our OC comment about TM’s passing ability and technique.  “I’m not concerned about TM’s throwing mechanics just as long as he can make the big plays”  His comments really concerned me because TM is very inaccurate and never seems able to lead the receiver whos open.  I’m not trying to give excuses for yesterdays loss, I’m just concerned about certain comments made by certain coaches.  So…your comments also point out that we abandoned our ground game after the second quarter and then tried to get fancy.  Why would we do that?  Anyway I ‘ll try to catch the entire game somewhere on TV.

Didn’t anybody watch the game??  Martinez made some mistakes but he never should have been in the situation in the first half.  Stupid stupid mistakes put NE behind schedule and forced the passing calls.  This team is very young and really showed it last night.  Our offense with Martinez can be scary good but just like in the 80s and 90s they can’t afford to get off schedule by making stupid penalties and there is no excuse for a motion or illegal formation penalty.  The other huge problem is that the DBs didn’t read their keys like they were taught and were constantly out of position…I think Sanders is really missed as he was able to develop talent to plug holes very quickly.

Bigger stronger faster usually wins.  Wisconsin’s ave. 320 lb OL was enough to hammer the Huskers.  Add fumbles, interceptions, penalties, a two man predicable but confused looking offense plus an overworked defense and you come up with a big blow-out.  Improvement has to come with a more resourceful running game and a less error prone passing game.

I’d Like to know what TM Has on Bo That bo does’nt Pull him for another QB He can’t be the best QB we have that is just crazy he can’t pass for crap he can’t even run the option right he has no vison on the field always locs on to one guy no matter if he covered a blind person can see the only thing he’s good at is turning the ball over either passing or fumbleing I can hardly stand watching them play anymore. and thats sad,

Some could say Wisconsin still hasn’t played anyone yet.

I can’t say anything here that hasn’t already been, or will be said by others.  I truly hope that this embarrassment doesn’t damage the psyche of the team so badly that they can’t recover.  Just like the play calling last night, that falls on the coaches.  Hopefully they can turn this Keystone Cop performance into a character building event and use it somehow to motivate against Ohio State and beyond.

Thanks, NU, for freeing up my Saturdays. After that pathetic display (from everyone, every coach, and every player with the exception of Jamal Turner and Lavonte David) I will plan on tuning in again in a couple years when hopefully there is someone who can play the QB position with ANY degree of competence, and a secondary coach who believes that the definition of “cover” does not primarily consist of watching receivers catch (touchdown) passes. I am no fair-weather fan, but when you suck this bad, there is no fun in the game. Losing is fine, but completely failing to compete is sad. Good (?) news is, nobody (OSU or otherwise) will want Bo after this season. What are the odds that we can pawn off Beck on Louisville, too?

I’ve tried to reserve judgement about this team until they played in conference, but are we in 2008 again (no D)?  Everything that we’ve had problems with showed up last night; fumbles, poor passing, poor tackling (looking at you Fisher), poor coverage, no pressure on QB, not making big plays on D in general (forcing TOs).  PLUS, two from last year…the penalties and poor offensive play calling.  We needed improvement, and what we saw was a huge step back.  Can someone explain to me why we have three linebackers on the field?  If they can’t tackle and consistently miss their hole/assignment, why not go back to the peso?  We obviously need the help in coverage anyway.  Compton and Fisher are not playing well at all; how can anyone watch film and conclude otherwise?  Can we not put Roach or May in there for a series at least?  Roach had more tackles in game 1, including TFL, than Compton and Fisher the whole season (does Fisher have a tackle?  I think he leads the team in getting within two feet of the ball carrier and not laying a hand on him).  And why do we still abandon misdirection on offense, or any creativity (screens, draws, shovel passes, trick plays)?...those are things Callasham actually did well.  No Carnes at the end…why?  There is no excuse not to bring him in for one series in a blowout.  Because he didn’t play, we had Martinez’ pride get stuffed at the goaline twice.  This staff is too STUBBORN!

After a loss of that magnitude yesterday 48-17, I would invite all the NU coaching staff - to look at their own performances critically. I agree with Mark from VA. Are the NU coaches doing all they can do to help their kids (yes college age students are still kids - don’t mean to offend anyone here) - play their best and develop themselves - both personally AND athletically, and succeed? Look at former UCLA BB coach John Wooden’s books! For several years now - even before Pellini, NU football has had a propensity for mental errors - turnovers, penalties, etc. on the field. Last year’s NU - Iowa State game was an extreme example of that - where NU had 8+ turnovers, I believe. And great teams - play all four quarters! Also, a good coach (to an extent) tries to utilize his players and team to maximize their strengths.  Is NU a good drop-back passing football team at this point? I don’t think so. I’d try a different approach. If something is not working - ADJUST!  Man, try something different.  I did not see much adjustment on NU’s part during last night’s game - either on offense or defense. To the NU coaches - you recruited your players, you know their strengths and weaknesses. Help them succeed!  You have a talented bunch of players. Hey coaches - I want you to succeed as well. I have followed NU football starting with the Devaney years during my student years at NU,  and I am a life-long fan.

Ohio State defense is better than Wisconsin.  I meant most BIG 10 defense will play just as sound as Wisconsin. Except more passing from Beck and see Martinez make the same mistakes.
I wish we would have take that grind it out approach we used against Penn State in 2003. 
Our safeties are vets.  All of them started last year with the exception of Stafford. LBs are vets too.  Wished that E Mart did gain all that weight he needs to go back to LB.
I knew Bielema was going to run up the score even with our subs in the game.  (Last year, one coach called him out during the handshake.)  Huskers should have called their last timeout and punched it in the end zone.

I don’t think I stand alone when I say everyone knew ythat wisconson would put up a fair amount of points.  Our secondary is inexperienced with the eception of cassidy who is terribly underperforming for a guy that has been in the system for so long.  To say that our safeties are vets is really ridiculous.  None of these guys got playing time last year.  It was very clear to me that this game would ome down to t mart and their d.  If martinez can just manage the game and not give them 21 straight points off turnovers, we are looking at a whole different game all together.  I understood the oaches approach of martinez being our starter this year, just because carnes is very young and isn’t ready.  After watching this game, martinez makes so many young mental errors that it wouldn’t matter if carnes was in instead how many more mistakes could he make?  Tim beck had the right idea to go to the air.  I am always for doing what your opponent does not expect The only problem is we might as well had our kicker punting the ball to wideouts because martinez is the most worthless passer/decision maker in college football.  Carnes should have got some playing time and opportunity to pass the ball in a couple of these games.  If martinez makes these kinds of mistakes against ohio state I will be calling for his head.

Mark, you are correct, we were out coached in this game.  It wasn’t the out coaching that you are used to seeing, and I don’t want to hear “we were experimenting with things this week.”  We came out in the second half after 2 INTs and the first play, we threw the ball?  I understand giving your QB a little confidence, but what did that play do for T-Mart?  When did NU become a pass first team?  We were able to move the ball on the ground, up until they clearly stopped our passing game.
Though I do believe that the players have to go out and do what the coaches are telling them to do, but the coaches have to put them in a position to do what they are fully capable of doing.  Safeties, there is no excuse for chasing down a receiver time after time!  Every big play that Wilson hit the receiver, the safeties were chasing that receiver.  Even Bo stated at half time that the DBs have to do what the coaches are telling them to do.  On offense, they kept telling them to do things that they couldn’t execute.
Beck needs to put T-Mart into a better position, period.  He was passing nicely in the first quarter, but because we moved the ball 3 – 4 yards a run as well.  When we decided to dial up the passing game, and it was the same passes over and over, they caught on to it.  Though execution is vital in these cases, Wiskey’s defense has to start to execute on them as well. 
I really don’t understand what happened to our defensive front in the second half, maybe they were tired from being on the field to much, but it did seem like a different squad in the second half.  Or is this a case where our coaches could adjust?  This defense is not anything like we have seen from Bo before.  I don’t want to be in that film room this week!
Special Teams played well last night!  They gave the offense good field position, and defense a good start.  They even went out and got the ball back.  That is probably the only part of the team that looked solid last night; hope we can keep that going this year.
The season isn’t over because of last night’s game; however, if we don’t correct our coaches, OSU is going to beat us in our own house next week.  This team does have a great amount of talent on it, and they need to come to the point of letting that talent play to its potential!
Though we all want every year to be the year for the Huskers, this is not that year.  I do think that next year we should be better, as the young guys will have more experience, but we will have holes to fill.  I think that we can go a long ways down the road this year, and will at a minimum be in a quality bowl game, but not a BCS game.  I hope they prove me wrong!
Hats off to Wisconsin, they played a great game last night!  I have no issues with what they scored or how they did it, it was up to Nebraska to stop them from scoring, and they didn’t.  I felt the same way when the Huskers ran up the score on opposing teams as well.  I do think that someone needs to make up some hats with that score on it, and wear it at practice, just to remind everyone of what can happen if you don’t play 4 quarters.
At the end of all of this, we need to stay behind them and support them!!  As we do every year!! 
GBR!!!!

Very good comments on a well informed, insightful website!  It seems the coaching staff is not getting their players in positions and schemes to be successful.  Panic seems to set in when the other team goes on a successful run.  In the case of last nights game, the idea would have been to control the ball and keep Wilson off the field.  Instead, panic sets in and Beck feels that Taylor needs to become a passing quarterback.  Taylor is most effective when the run is the plan, mixing in a moderate to long pass from time to time (kinda sounds like the teams of the 90’s does’nt it?)  When passing is key, defenses will pick him apart.  Also, they need to get their best players on the field…namely Jamall Turner.  That kid could be a beast along the lines of a Jeremy Macklin if he would get minutes.  Get the ball into your playmakers hands, Turner, Burkhead and even Martinez…let them run, it’s all good.
    Defensively, we are not tackling.  Give credit to Wilson, that guys is GOOD!  He made more than one of our best linemen look like high schoolers out there last night.  Plus, when we did bring the blitz, he picked it up and made them pay.  The secondary is extremely green, and needs to rely on pressure from up front and from the linebacking corps, which unfortunately, had no luck against a superior quarterback and a HUGE and mobile offensive line.  Precise and consistent blitzing, coming from all over the field would have helped, but only moderately.  The youngsters in the back are green and need time to grow.
    Halfway into the fourth quarter did I see that the entire first string defensive line sitting the bench?  Statement there…we’ll see how they respond next week against Ohio State…hopefully they will step it up, I have been invited to watch that game in person.

Since I didn’t see the game all I can comment on are your comments:
David, I’m disappointed at your comments, our Huskers are down and hurting so you kick them in the teeth?  What’s up with that?  I’m shocked/disappointed but will always be a Husker fan.  I read that Bo didn’t put Carnes, the 2nd string QB in the game,  is that true?  If that is true then I have to ask, what was Bo thinking?  I would question his concentration on the game.  Again, I didn’t see the game.  Beck is in his first year ever as an OC, maybe the pressure got to him.  Fortunately, it’s only one game and we still have the remainder of the conference left.  Right now both the Coaches and players need to reflect on the misques of this game and work hard on getting better.

I still feel we can make it to the B1G game and win.

Yes it’s true, Carnes did not play.  I’m not sure how bad Martinez has to play, or how lopsided the score has to be before we can make a sub, but the threshold must be beyond imaginable.  The one thing Carnes has, is the “it” factor at QB, as we saw signs of in the spring game…and Martinez does not.  Zero pocket presence is the number one sign we have a receiver playing QB.  As has been said on here before, if your players can’t execute your game plan after 4-5 games, change it up!  It’s not always the players fault…maybe, just maybe, their abilities aren’t developed enough or they don’t have the experience, etc.  Maybe we don’t have NFL caliber seniors all over the field this year (although we thought we had a few).  Another problem I think is appearing is the fear factor in the players.  That constant fear of making a mistake.  Whenever you have a coach that throws a fit when you make a mistake (i.e., subbing out Moore after a false start), you constantly focus on not making a mistake, instead of just playing.  Then of course, all you do is make mistakes.  Bo better learn how this philosophy can be detrimental when, again, you don’t have a bunch of NFL caliber players/experience out there.  And I don’t see how these coaches could honestly think things could have gotten worse with Carnes in there for a series in the fourth…

Mase: I’m stunned Bo didn’t put Carnes into the game in the 4qtr, the game was basically over and he needs that kind of experience.  So you think that the players are afraid of getting pulled from the game by making just one mistake that they play to tight?  Actually, what you said does make sense if you look at how the huskers have played the last several games.  What ever the problem is the coaches need to address it.  BUT I put the QB problem at the feet of Tim Beck because the OC is the one who normally makes the subs, but maybe Bo is so afraid of losing TM that he issued standing orders to all other coaches to leave TM alone.  As far as our secondary is concerned I’ve been concerned at the new secondary coaches teaching techniques and how he tells the players to cover receivers.  I think that is part of our problem with coverage in that he is talented/fast enough to play in the NFL and thinks that the huskers secondary should be able to cover like he did.  He had the talent/speed/experience of playing in the pros and should probably not be teaching these kind of techniques to players that will never make the NFL.  Last year we were a very physical secondary but that seems missing from this years team. This is not meant to blame a coach it is just my opinion on the entire matter.  Obviously, I’m not qualified to coach players at this level, it is just that when I see things a little differently.  The Husker will be back and fighting to get to the B1G title game.

Let this be a lesson to all of you who like to talk big about the big red.  It ain’t so big.  The glory days are over.  I had some serious doubts about joining the big ten.  Now we are a national embarassment.  Next time, keep your mouth shut and let your score do the talking.  I expect we will lose 3 or 4 more games yet this season.  Tickets prices should start dropping soon.

I’m not sure if it was Bo’s call or not, but I recall him pulling Moore out after the false start.  I think he can overrule anything.  I’m just going based on my own experience with the fear factor.  I know when I played for a hot-headed coach who acted like that, I was always thinking way too much out on the field.  Always worried about being pulled if I made a mistake.  Not saying some players aren’t cool with that, but when I saw Moore sitting on the sidelines with his head down, it reminded me of that.  How is that guy ready to play for you?  What’s his attitude?  Sometimes you have to let a person work it out and overcome some things.  I see some of that from the DB’s.  They are thinking too much and not just playing…probably because of the new secondary coach/strategy.  That being said, it appears some have too much leway…particularly where we’re thin (QB and LB).  Although I blame some of TM’s problems in this game on bad play calling.

Going back to the secondary, this soft coverage and refusal to jam receivers is really getting old.  Why are we doing this based on speculation about BIG officiating?  Make them prove that we can’t be more physical…we seem to be getting PI calls on us anyway.  How can giving up big passing plays be better?  I’m tired of seeing our DB’s giving WR’s 5-10 yards at the line of scrimmage and then watching them run a quick slant or out route for an easy 5 yd catch over and over…make a guy miss in the open field and it’s 10+ more.  All day, every game…same thing.  This year all of our DB’s act like they don’t know how to play their position anymore.  I think it’s because of the new strategy…which obviously isn’t working…Like you said Mark, we don’t have NFL guys, so we shouldn’t be running an NFL strategy…we saw that fail during the Callahan years.  Evans is a good example, showed promise last year…this year looks like a fish out of water.  Dennard has struggled some too.

Fred, which is it?  “We” or “you”?  Are you a fan, or a troll?  I think if you go back over previous articles/comments you’ll see pretty realistic expectations about this game.  Most people thought we would struggle without significant improvement, particularly on the defensive side, coupled with more consistency on offense…and our follow-up discussion reflects the failure to do so.  The glory days may be over, but I think the consensus is we want our team to play hard and give it their all, show improvement each week, etc.  We also want our coaches to develop the players, help them eliminate mistakes, and put together a game plan that caters to their strengths or make adjustments accordingly.  That is what most of our comments revolve around.  When we don’t see those things, yeah, we complain.  It’s only natural.  Signs of optimism before a game are also normal for a fan…get over it.

I always try to find the positive side of everything; so I’d like to point out that our offense had some really good form tackles after the interceptions.

As an Iowan and Hawkeye season ticket holder, I offer the following thoughts:
1) I confess I was hoping to see NB get whooped, not because of the team, but because Pelini seems like such an arrogant, profane coach.  He and the new Michigan coach are made for each other.
2) I picked Wisky to win Sat’s game because NB hasn’t faced an O-line with a power running game like Wisconsin’s since probably the Oklahoma teams of the ‘70s.  NB does not have the LBs to handle that kind of running game.  Yet.
3)  That said, you guys are being WAY too tough on your team.  You have some outstanding playmakers and your team as a whole won outright the first third of that game.  Wisconsin’s run defense is considerably weaker than last year’s, and I too was puzzled why the NB offensive coaches seemed to abandon the run midway through the 2nd qtr.  Your secondary coverages were not that bad—UW just made some fantastic catches in heavy traffic.
4)  Nobody in the B10 wants to play you, trust me.  The B10 is down this year and there are only 3 more teams that will give you any resistence at all:  Mich. St., Michigan, and Iowa.
5)  You will be in the hunt for a B10 title every year with your talent.

Seriously, all the blame can’t go to Martinez.  He kept being put in a bad position due to penalties.  It’s a team game, and mental focus and execution applies to all.  They need to start playing as a team, and ‘man-up’ and play full-on every down.  When the OC starts calling plays that play to the strengths of his QB, T-Magic’s talent will be unleashed.

The Bo Pelini era really hinges on the rest of the season.  It is on Bo on how his team is going to respond.  I really do not like the comment ‘the defense play was a joke.” and telling Erin Andrews that the “secondary quit on me” in the first half.  I just do not know how you can expect young men to respond to those kinds of comments.

Let’s face it, this was no surprise.  TM had the same completion percentage as other games and the secondary were still blowing coverages.  Beck made a HUGE mistake completely abandoning the running game!!!  I’m sorry, but this result did not surprise me in the least.  I just hope we get another crack at them!  In the meantime, we have to stay positive!  We have a young team, they have a lot to learn.  They will get better.

but there is no joy in Mudville_mighty Casey has struck out.

Fred: What is wrong with a group of fans telling other fans in this web site that they are upset, angry, etc. about the game?  That’s what fans do and as long as they are not disrespectful to the team or other fans what they are doing is fine with me.  Sorry you feel so badly about the Huskers!!!  And, even if the Huskers lose 4 or 5 games this season they will still be my mighty huskers. 

Mase: I agree with what you said.

Dywane:  Who made those comments and who is Erin Andrews?

Dywane:  In part, I disagree with your Bo Pelini era statement.  Even though it was a lop-sided score I can bet that the next time we meet the Huskers we will be up to the challenge.  Also, we have so much YOUNG talent this year it may take them longer to fit into their new roles.  Give them time.  If only the Husker coaches would rethink their strategy with our LB’s and DB;s, especially our DB’s, like someone else said here; return to our physical play against WR’s and let the refs sort it out.  I’ve watched several other B1G teams play against other B1G teams and have noticed that other B1G defenses run a very aggressive/physical play against receivers and only get called for interference when their is actually interference.  Lets return our defensive pass coverage to what it was last year and see what happens.

You are seeing the peter principle fulfilled.  Bo has been promoted to a level of incompetency.  He is a defensive coordinator and a good one.  But he is not a top ten head coach.  His personality is limited, can’t judge offensive talent (one of his main responsibilities) and has very limited public relations skills.  And deep down inside he knows this.  That’s why he is so guarded during press conferences, doesn’t want to say anything that will reveal him.  But his statement that this loss was a joke is very revealing.  When you pay a coaching staff thousands of dollars to coach and we see what we say.  It’s not a joke, it’s a total collapse and it actually started with our bowl game loss.  We’ll continue to beat the South Dakota’s and Wyoming’s, but we’ll lose to the big boys.  Someday the financial supporters will stop drinking the kool-aid and demand that “Bo must go.”

What in the heck will it take for Bo and his coordinators to “Man Up”, and take responsibility for that which they have wraught?  Putting TM into situations and calling plays for which neither he nor his receivers are capable of is ridiculous. Hell, do they really believe that TM is a good passer, well…I got News for them….He isn’t.  TM is not a QB that should be passing too much, he is very effective and talented operating from an I or power I formation.  Pulling Moore out for being offsides was a stupid and childish thing for BO to do, anybody could see that Moore already felt terrible about the call….why not allow players to focus on improving themselves as they obviously do when they make an error.  No need to treat them like children….(though I never treated my own children like that when they made a mistake.)

tyler moore should not have been in the game in the first place, that is choi’s spot, he earned it.  I don’t have a problem with moore coming out.  Honestly, pelini has given a lot of chances to a lot of pkayers.  Hasn’t pulled martinez, never pulled andrew green in the first few games when he was poorly performing, never pulled kinnie when he had like 7 dropped passes in 3 games.  Never pulled cassidy when he was getting beat, never pulled shaun fisher when he was missing tackles.  That said I do agree that pelini handled the press conference poorly.

to say that the glory days are over is a pretty ludiacris statement in my opinion.  We have the youngest team we have ever had as far as I an remember.  We have freshman and sophmores ALL across the board.  This makes this year tought to watch, but in 2 years when all these guys are seniors and juniors, watch out for the huskers. 

we keep talking about pelini giving the players more of a chance, I feel the same way about the thoughtless people on here saying bo is a bust as a head coach.  Give him some more time.  He has proven that he can prepare our team to compete with the elite.  Obviously not against wisconson, but our team is sooooo young.  You will see a different team at the end of the year, I just hope martinez isn’t asked to throw too much, or let brion carnes do the thorwing and just have martinez run a wildcat type of scheme when he is in the game.

View from the other side:

1) So one got away from you.  It happens, and it won’t be the last time.  Question is what now.  Getting down on your QB is not the answer.  Rub some dirt on it and move on.  Redemption is at hand this week with OSU (the Big Ten one).  I personally hope you kick their whiney little butts all the way back to Columbus.  That’s one thing you now have in common with the rest of us Big Ten fans!

2) I was there at the game. Even though the score didn’t immediately reflect it, it was clear to everyone early on (including Pelini obviously) continuing with the option was not going to result in a win for you (that ‘other’ Big Red).  Don’t fault the man for risking potential embarassment to go for the win.  The strategy didn’t work, but at least you went for it and learned a few things about your team in the process.

3) There were a lot of Husker fans in Madison.  Every one I met was respectful and very cool!  You’re a great addition to the Big Ten fan base, just as Penn State was.  Now if we could only get rid of those obnoxious idiots from Ohio and Michigan, but you’ll find out about them starting next week.  An additional note to the wise:  stay away from Columbus, they’re the worst crowd in college ball, and there’s nobody there that decent self-respecting fans such as yourselves will want to interact with.

Good luck.  Hope to see you in Indy in December!

Its 14 to 13. We’ve been running it well. Put up back to back touchdowns. Then beck says hey let’s throw the ball 14 out of the next 15 plays?????????? No excuse. Everybody in the world knows Taylor can’t throw so what possible excuse is there for that? Just a joke. 3 interceptions in a row and that’s what changed the game. Before that we were in it. Taylor just isn’t a QB, never should have been. That’s why every other school recruited him as a safety. Not all gis fault though. WHY WAS HE THROWING WHEN THE RUN WAS WORKING?

Bucky B.
Thanks for your comments, we always like hearing from the other side, win, lose, or draw!
You will come to learn that we are the biggest critics of this team, win, lose, or draw.  We support them no matter how bad or good they are, and follow them relentlessly.  I think sometimes the team would like to lose us for a bit of time.  But out here on the plains, we have no other team to follow as a state, so they get our undivided attention every week!
I would agree that the option (short side) wasn’t picking up the yardage, but that isn’t the only running play that they have, and to me by far it’s not the best one they have.  The option reads were working and we were gaining on the ground.  We needed something that was going to get 3 – 4 yards a run to keep you honest.  That is what we are saying here.
Martinez is ok as Husker QB.  He is not a prolific passer, make no mistake there, can’t think of a Husker QB that has been a prolific passer (Yep I am thinking about Frazier, Crouch, Lord, even Gill).  With our offense, you don’t have to be.  I think that many of the passes that he attempted, he should have hit, the problem is that the coaches called too many of them.
It was great to play Wisconsin, and look very much forward to the next one!  It is good to be in a division where you can play hard nose football, and not worry about the so many things.  I see these two schools have many good games in the future, if the first 1/3 of the game is any evidence. 
Good luck to you guys, it would be nice to say that the only team to beat us won the National Championship!

GBR!

TM & Company were doing just fine until the coaches decided to throw the game into the incinerator.  We just don’t have an offensive scheme that favors passing completions…and let’s face it TM is not the greatest passer in the NCAA though a surprise toss sometimes catches a defense off guard….. occasionally, anyway.

Martinez is not the answer at QB. He can not throw the ball well enough to compete in the Big 10. With him at QB Nebraska will not win because we become run oriented team only. They need to replace him with Carnes who is a better thrower and run’s just as well. Replace him now and save the season.