Everyone from Lincoln was undoubtedly hurting last Saturday when their Nebraska Cornhuskers got whipped by the Wisconsin Badgers 48-17. It was a tough, season-changing defeat and one that the Huskers will need to heavily analyze in an effort to right the ship.
Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez was clearly a huge reason for the loss. He threw three interceptions. He looked sloppy from the second quarter on forward. He didn’t make good decisions. He let the team get smacked around by Russell Wilson and his burly offensive line.
None of that, however, warrants the abuse that he has reportedly been taking in the subsequent days. According to a recent piece by Sam McKewon in The Omaha World Herald, Martinez and his girlfriend have been harassed and critiqued by annoyed fans who have criticized the quarterback’s play at the most inopportune of times in the worst of places – at school.
McKewon recounted what senior left tackle Yoshi Hardrick said on the matter after a recent practice:
"It finally hit him," Hardrick said. "He'd been holding in a lot. He said he couldn't take it anymore. .. It's the first time I've ever seen him, like, mad.
"Some girl told him: 'Stop throwing interceptions,'" Hardrick said. "It's just too much. He's in a Spanish class and they're talking about interceptions."
Hardrick also pointed out that Martinez’s girlfriend catches a lot of undeserved flack as well, for no reason other than her obvious link to the program’s offensive leader.
"He told me he's sick of it," Hardrick said. "These next seven games, he just wants the world to get off his back, so he had to do something about it.
"He's trying to keep everybody happy, trying to keep everybody upbeat. He's not holding his head down. He's trying do the extra things and be a lot better on his passing. He's trying to go through his extra reads."
Although pay-for-play scandals usually take the cake as the worst and most seedy parts of college football, this type of harassment that kids like Martinez have to take on a daily basis is definitely another black mark on the whole thing. It’s one thing to boo or come out against the quarterback’s play at the game or at rallies; however, to pester him in class is simply unbecoming of any fans – particularly fans as ardently loyal as Husker fans tend to be.
Martinez is what he is, there is no changing that. He’ll try his best to right the ship over the course of the next few games, but there is nothing to be gained by building up unrealistic expectations.
The worst thing that can be done, though, is forgetting that at the end of the day – it’s just college football. And, similarly, Martinez is still just a 21-year-old trying to grow up with the eyes of Lincoln all over him.
Regardless of what ends up happening throughout the rest of the 2011 season, fans and students of Nebraska owe it to the legacy and standards in place to behave like good, quality members of the community, and not needlessly harass players that don’t live up to their lofty expectations.
Yes, these players are supposedly amaterus. Hmmm, how much money has this QB brought to the Nebraska program and brought to the networks and clothing manufacturers. Amazingly those people who make Nebraska jersesy in sweatshops in some developing nation, make more money than Martinez.
Jerome McCollom
Good god people it's a game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get over it!!!!! I have to live with this crap in Denver everyday and I always believed NU fans were better than this!!!!! I am an NU alumn and am ashamed of this treatment!! Yes Taylor threw some costly interceptions BUT the black shirts are NOT the black shirts I remember!! These guys were supposed to be better than last year and even better when Su was here but that isn't the case!! Maybe instead of placing blame on Martinez you should look at the coaches! Now I am not a fan of Martinez but who else is there right now? There is enough blame to go around but last time I looked NU has only 1 loss!!!! Most teams would kill for that right now and I tell you now you better be looking forward and not back because after Saturday there could be even more to complain about!!!!!! Card carrying member of Husker Nation!!!!!
GBR!!!!
Look I've ragged on Martinez too - not accurate, poor decisions etc. But let's at least keep it fair and not blame things on him that he has nothing to do with. Your article stated this: "Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez was clearly a huge reason for the loss. He threw three interceptions. He looked sloppy from the second quarter on forward. He didn’t make good decisions. He let the team get smacked around by Russell Wilson and his burly offensive line."
So Taylor Martinez let the team get smacked around by Russell Wilson and his burly offensive line? REALLY? Next thing you know is that the kicker was responsible for the play calling. Give me a break and don't start blaming everything including the weather on the kid.
If Taylor isn't mentally strong enough to hear his coach b#tch at him for several times during the last game not checking down( going quickly through his receiver progressions) to hit a wide open Rex Burkhead for a easy 1st down--instead he throws late over the middle( a sin as far as quarterback play goes), or hear some 18 year-old, blonde, ditz criticize him for throwing too many interceptions, then he should play golf or some other psuedo-sport.
Don't be such a prima donna. Taylor is just pissed cause she's right. If fans we're vandalizing his locker or car, then that would be over the top. If people were talking to or bugging him for his autograph because he was playing great and was a favorite to win the heisman trophy, he would love it. But when he plays like poop he expects no one to say anything?!. You gotta take the good with the bad.
If you can't take the heat, do what Sarah Palin did. She quit and went to work for Faux News.
Plain and simple the coaches thought they had peyton manning out there.they don't they have a running qb that is good at hitting recievers that are not covered that well after a few run plays have the d off balance.if the coaches keep calling plays like they did the first quarter or so the game would've been close at end.badgers still win cause of wilson but only by 7 or so,play calling was awfull..where's tom osborne at, run for 4 or 5 yards a few times then boom play action down field wide open that's big red football.win or lose to the end.you can't make martinez throw lasers into coverage that's expecting a pass,he can't....period.he never will he's not pure passer.time possesion boys keep the wilsons off the field their hard to stop.but if huskers have ball 7 minutes a pop and score you can limit those long td passes.go big red stick to that and you'll do ok 2 losses maybe
Well put Stephen. Go Huskers!
I think all this neg talk about Taylor really needs to stop. Especially when people do not know what they are talking about. No where in Nebraska's offensive game plan should Taylor be asked to throw the ball in 15 out of 17 plays. That is what Beck called. If you do not like the results, call Beck on the carpet. Everyone will admit that Martinez has exceptional rushing ability. But you really need to look at his passing numbers. His career completion percentage is 56.1 percent. That is actually higher than Eric
Crouch (51.5), Scott Frost (53.5), Tommie Frazier (49.5) and even David Humm (55.1) achieved at NU.
So everyone really needs to just lay off and let him play.
Taylor was a huge reason for the loss? Do you not know that football is a team game? Obviously you have never strapped on
a jock, never been part of a team, NEVER were anything but a
disappointed wannabe. And to say that Taylor "let the team get
smacked around" just points to your ignorance of the game.
You need to get a life and quit trying to be someone who can
write intelligently about the game...