Should Martinez be on a short leash?

When it comes to the Nebraska football fan base, there is no in between how they feel about quarterback Taylor Martinez. There are those that believe he should unequivocally be the starter, no questions asked. Then, there are those clamoring for him to be replaced by Brion Carnes or even Tommy Armstrong.

Martinez enters his junior year as a third-year starter but has been a lightning rod for criticism among the fans and media, more so the former. In an effort to improve his unorthodox mechanics, Martinez spent time this past offseason with quarterback guru Steve Calhoun. Even with Martinez taking the time to address his mechanical flaws, there’s a segment of the Husker fan base that believe Martinez should be on a short leash if not already replaced. The truth of the matter is that Nebraska’s hopes of winning the conference title, something that has eluded the Huskers since 1999, are hinged on Martinez’s maturity and growth as a passer.

However, I do not buy the notion that head coach Bo Pelini coddles Martinez. Those who believe that conveniently forget that Pelini’s public comments had the tone of “let’s not build this kid up too quickly” when Martinez was a big play waiting to happen as a freshman. Later on that same season, Pelini had a sideline tirade at Martinez that was seen on camera during Nebraska’s 9-6 loss to Texas A&M. That’s not the sign of coach that coddles. I do think players end up in Pelini’s dog house for inordinately long stays, but coddling doesn’t seem to be his Modus Operendi.

Of course, some would argue to get the backups enough snaps in order to properly develop them. That idea sounds all well and good but when the game is in the balance you need to play your best players in order to win. Carnes got into games last season when Nebraska defeated UT-Chatanooga (40-7), Wyoming (38-14) and Minnesota (41-14). The other six Husker wins were close enough that Martinez needed to play the entire game. My only criticism was that Carnes saw no playing time at all in the Huskers’ blowout losses to Wisconsin (48-17) and Michigan 945-17).

So should Martinez be on a short leash? No. Does he need to improve to keep his job? Yes. The head coach makes the decision who does and who should play and if he wants to keep someone on a short leash, so be it. However, I do not see Pelini operating that way, nor do I agree that he keeps guys in his doghouse too long. If you are in the doghouse, you must have done something to get there and I believe that those that stay in it for a long time are there because they haven’t rectified the problem.

Pelini, in my opinion, is a fair coach and a respected coach by the players. Martinez will be the quarterback this year and next year until someone is more capable, in the coach’s opinion and not the opinion of people on message boards, than Martinez is to be the playing quarterback.

A lot of people want to point the finger at Martinez, and I feel unjustly due to some animosity from his freshman year. Those are the same fans that hyped him into being the next Eric Crouch and calling him T-Magic. Then when injuries reduce his effectiveness and teams figure out how to depend him, the complaints come.

I really think Martinez grew up a lot last year, and showed much more maturity. The only game he really played that bad in was Wisconsin. Hopefully he won’t have a leash, and that will allow him to relax and play his best.