Each week from here on out, I'm going to try to break down what we saw each week from Taylor Martinez. He's a polarizing player, but I'm going to try to keep this as balanced as possible, while also giving criticism if necessary. LET'S DO THIS.
His footwork is atrocious. This is obviously old news, but my goodness. Even where there is no rush he's bouncing around back there. And when he finally decides where to throw, he steps in the wrong places, jumps, etc. It's just bad. His interception was the most obvious, he stepped one way while throwing another. This has to be fixed moving forward, not only into this season, but his career as a whole. If not, he's going to continue to throw interceptions like this. This is something that he, as well as the coaches, need to work on.
Outside of that, I was very impressed by him in this game. His decision making was a ton better than what we saw from him in Madison. The option continues to be an area where I've been impressed with him as the season has gone on. His pitches are better. As is the moment when he decides to pitch. Seems like he's able to wait a bit longer and still get a decent pitch off. There was one pitch that was really bad, but still caught by Burkhead.
His decision making in the passing game was also much improved. Finally saw the checkdowns to Rex, obviously culminating in the touchdown that tied the game. For the most part, it seemed like he made decisions quick in this area. He would look to the designated route runner, and checked down to Rex.
Even when he didn't throw to Rex, he made good reads. Saw Kyler involved. Saw Turner involved. Saw Bell involved. And the throw to Enunwa, while being a tad long, still scored. And that was on a play where he was open, as was Aaron Green.
Finally, I thought his decision making on the zone-read plays got better as the game went on, especially on the play where he scored the touchdown. That play was designed and executed absolutely perfectly, mainly because the read that Taylor made.
Overall, there was a lot of good to take from the Ohio State game. While the injury to Braxton Miller is obviously the biggest reason why Nebraska won, the team still had to make plays. Rex is the MVP of this game, no doubt. But Martinez made sound decisions as the game went on, which gave Nebraska a chance to win. This obviously needs to keep up if the Huskers are going to win the Legends division (I still don't think they do), but the final quarter and a half show us that the opportunity is there. Playcalling remains the wild card. We all know Taylor isn't a throwing quarterback. Tim Beck needs to realize that there are weapons a plenty around Martinez. Take advantage, this will only allow Taylor to make plays late in the game.
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