ADVERTISEMENT

So Frost said tonight about Martinez ...

I don't have a reason to think Gebbia isn't better than Vedral or Bunch. Luke had some good moments but he was an underweight true freshman and also got banged up.

IMO the only thing they knew for sure by mid-season at the QB spot was they wanted to keep Luke's redshirt. Maybe he could have won them another game or two, maybe he couldn't. If he passes Martinez and is an elite QB, it sure will be nice to have that extra year.

I am not sure I have a reason to think Gebbia isn't better than Martinez. Hopefully we will get to see both play this fall.
 
See I am more concerned that Frost had to put Martinez on notice......

Be interested to see what all the uncertainty surrounding this year does to the players.

These are all young kids who are hearing a thousand times a day on news, in twitter, and probably from school themselves that significant disruptions are possible and "things will be different" this fall. From the classroom to the field.

Going to be hard to be 100% football focus all the time, when you aren't sure how the chain above you (all the way to the league commisioners) is going to roll. Frost has a coaching job ahead of him for sure. Going to be ez for a lot of guys to not take the year overly serious.

Edit: We used to sit and fight whether a dude was focused enough if he was riding a bike, or sitting on a bench or getting in the face of a teammate who made a mistake. Ought to be interesting what peoples take will be on the situation about "focus" when dudes, or maybe even an entire position group, is in quarantine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dinglefritz
See I am more concerned that Frost had to put Martinez on notice......

It's the same as any other job or any other athlete. You need to get the job done or you're going to get fired.
Having said that I hope the young man uses it like he did his freshman year and has a great year, wins the B1G, wins the heisman, makes kirk ferentz cry, and is the 1st overall draft in the NFL next year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: OzzyLvr
If AMart was giving less than 100% in prep because he has no competition that's a flaw in his makeup. You think Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes give less than 100% in their preparation? They know they don't have any competition and yet they bring it all the time. That's the difference between being a winner and an also-ran. Hopefully AMart learned that lesson and never deals with it again.

That's two guys, including one of the best to lace them up, out of thirty other guys in the league. And thousands of others who play that position at any level.

Alot, maybe most, will slack if not pushed (by competitors) or coerced (via coaching).
 
  • Like
Reactions: egaRdeR
It's the same as any other job or any other athlete. You need to get the job done or you're going to get fired.
Having said that I hope the young man uses it like he did his freshman year and has a great year, wins the B1G, wins the heisman, makes kirk ferentz cry, and is the 1st overall draft in the NFL next year.

Uh except, he didn't do his job in 2019 and he didn't get "fired". So it isn't the same as any other job.

There still isn't anyone on the roster that will beat him out. RS FR McCaffrey could turn out to be awesome in a year or 2 but he won't beat out Martinez this year. The Smothers kid is a nice player, but he doesn't throw a great ball, he is a great straight ahead runner, but most of that was when he was clearly the best athlete on the field. That won't be the case at the P5 level.

Point being, unless Martinez does a 180, what he did in 2019 will be similar to what he does in 2020.
 
That's two guys, including one of the best to lace them up, out of thirty other guys in the league. And thousands of others who play that position at any level.

Alot, maybe most, will slack if not pushed (by competitors) or coerced (via coaching).

Sorry, I just don't agree with that.
 
Uh except, he didn't do his job in 2019 and he didn't get "fired". So it isn't the same as any other job.

There still isn't anyone on the roster that will beat him out. RS FR McCaffrey could turn out to be awesome in a year or 2 but he won't beat out Martinez this year. The Smothers kid is a nice player, but he doesn't throw a great ball, he is a great straight ahead runner, but most of that was when he was clearly the best athlete on the field. That won't be the case at the P5 level.

Point being, unless Martinez does a 180, what he did in 2019 will be similar to what he does in 2020.
Stating the obvious here, Tuco... of course he needs to do a 180. It remains to be seen if he will. If Frost is to be believed, he is trending in that direction.

The season (should it happen) can’t get here soon enough.
 
Uh except, he didn't do his job in 2019 and he didn't get "fired". So it isn't the same as any other job.

There still isn't anyone on the roster that will beat him out. RS FR McCaffrey could turn out to be awesome in a year or 2 but he won't beat out Martinez this year. The Smothers kid is a nice player, but he doesn't throw a great ball, he is a great straight ahead runner, but most of that was when he was clearly the best athlete on the field. That won't be the case at the P5 level.

Point being, unless Martinez does a 180, what he did in 2019 will be similar to what he does in 2020.
From the sound of that, we better hope that Heinrich Haarberg turns out to be better than Smothers.
 
Sorry, I just don't agree with that.

Slack might have been a strong word. But I generally believe in a pareto distribution (80% of your impact comes from 20% of your people). Most humans are generally aware of when they are at risk of impacting their "station", be it starting QB or corner office and judge for themselves how much they can afford to let off the gas.

Inevitably people do misjudge that. But, "the man who never says die" wouldn't be such a cultural trope, if we came across it a bunch in every day life. Those folks are rare and generally highly valued.

Edit: Arguably, most of the conversations this board has had over 20 years about the lack of leadership in NU football comes down to the fact that we've had virtually no "never say die" leaders ala Grant Wistrom or Jason Peter. The latter who is sort of the topic of every leadership discussion here for that reason. I dare say that most folks who don't want AM benched for whatever reason, aren't exactly putting him in the Peter-esque camp either.
 
Honestly, first we actually have to have a season for any of this to matter. Hope we will but I'm less confident about it this week than I was 3 weeks ago. The recent big surge has me very concerned.

Second, as always, I think a lot of who plays at QB this year will be determined by health/injury status. Assuming that Luke is a legit QB, this year there are two QBs to choose from. Last year they wanted to save Luke's redshirt.

Third, I would think Martinez realizes there is competition for his position again and will be better - either healed up or more motivated whatever the problem was last year. And Luke should be quite motivated knowing that he could win the job.

Fourth, personally I'd really like them to both get meaningful reps in real games but I understand that's probably not in the cards with Frost's personality. With him it's always one guy.
 
Uh except, he didn't do his job in 2019 and he didn't get "fired". So it isn't the same as any other job.

There still isn't anyone on the roster that will beat him out. RS FR McCaffrey could turn out to be awesome in a year or 2 but he won't beat out Martinez this year. The Smothers kid is a nice player, but he doesn't throw a great ball, he is a great straight ahead runner, but most of that was when he was clearly the best athlete on the field. That won't be the case at the P5 level.

Point being, unless Martinez does a 180, what he did in 2019 will be similar to what he does in 2020.

Well, I don't think so Tuco. We "should" have a vastly improved OLine this year. If so, almost everything will be easier for AMart (or any other qb). Quite possibly, wayyyy easier.

We'll see partner.....
 
This team should be hungrier than ever. I have optimism that Adrian is fueled by his poor performance and dedicated to finding redemption. That really goes for the entire team.
Adrian should have improved play around him as long as WR group steps up. That improvement will help him a lot. I feel reasonably confident that he’ll look vastly better, but I’m not yet convinced he’ll even be the guy if McCaffrey (who is very driven) shows he can throw the ball around. His off season work with his family can’t hurt.

One question is if we have enough leaders “who know what it takes to win” since our players haven’t experienced much winning beyond a lot of impressive HS resumes.

Frost’s culture has to start taking hold. He’s commented on it being close to what he envisioned. It’s taken time. The roster is his now. Even Riley legacies have now been weeded out to hopefully only leave the guys who are fully bought in.
Even if a lot of talent is young and inexperienced, the staff need to find a way to get everyone ready.
They discussed simplifying on both sides prior to Covid19, which is now a necessity given circumstances- this helps injecting the inexperienced guys early into the mix.

Hopefully there’s a season to play.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Oldie but goodie
Well, I don't think so Tuco. We "should" have a vastly improved OLine this year. If so, almost everything will be easier for AMart (or any other qb). Quite possibly, wayyyy easier.

We'll see partner.....
I’m not quite so sure all of the blame can be the laid at the feet of the offense of line. The 180 needs to be done on his work ethic., That is what I was referring to with regards to the 180.
 
Honestly, first we actually have to have a season for any of this to matter. Hope we will but I'm less confident about it this week than I was 3 weeks ago. The recent big surge has me very concerned.

Second, as always, I think a lot of who plays at QB this year will be determined by health/injury status. Assuming that Luke is a legit QB, this year there are two QBs to choose from. Last year they wanted to save Luke's redshirt.

Third, I would think Martinez realizes there is competition for his position again and will be better - either healed up or more motivated whatever the problem was last year. And Luke should be quite motivated knowing that he could win the job.

Fourth, personally I'd really like them to both get meaningful reps in real games but I understand that's probably not in the cards with Frost's personality. With him it's always one guy.

If the season goes, we may have an opportunity to see more QB play than we normally would. Coaches generally love "a guy" which frustrates fans who want to see the backup.

COVID could force Luke to start 2 weeks or more. It may well force Smothers to start 2 weeks or more. Depends on how the contact tracing goes down.

That wouldn't probably happen in a normal season (still may not, but its more possible now than before).
 
Uh except, he didn't do his job in 2019 and he didn't get "fired". So it isn't the same as any other job.

There still isn't anyone on the roster that will beat him out. RS FR McCaffrey could turn out to be awesome in a year or 2 but he won't beat out Martinez this year. The Smothers kid is a nice player, but he doesn't throw a great ball, he is a great straight ahead runner, but most of that was when he was clearly the best athlete on the field. That won't be the case at the P5 level.

Point being, unless Martinez does a 180, what he did in 2019 will be similar to what he does in 2020.
I think you're selling Smothers short. I expect him to RS this year largely because he's so skinny, but he's much more dynamic running than just being a straight ahead sprinter.

He looks more elusive and aggressive in the open field to me than Martinez, and there's no doubt he's faster. I don't know about the level of competition but he shakes kids in his film and shows good vision when he runs. Doesn't strike me as a kid who loves contact, I don't see clips of him really running through guys. More of a Newcombe than a Frost as a runner.

Throws a real rainbow of a ball, not a ton of pop on his throws but he's solidly accurate and seems to keep his accuracy throwing on the run. You don't get to 74% on the year being an inherently erratic passer. And he's not just dinking and dunking little 5 yard hitches and swing passes all day either.

There are definitely times he locks onto a guy, throws a contested ball and gets away with it because his WR just emasculates the DB to go get the ball. But if you know your WR is gonna do that is it still a bad decision?

I wasn't dazzled with McCaffrey's passing coming out of HS either. You worry about Smothers getting WRs killed at the college level with how long the ball takes to arrive. Or getting picked off. But as his strength improves and they work on his motion, you'd except some more zip on the ball.

My main questions with Smothers are:

Can he get the ball down a bit and increase his velocity while keeping his accuracy?

Can he run through traffic and break tackles and be willing to cut up inside and absorb contact?

 
  • Like
Reactions: bshirt73
I think you're selling Smothers short. I expect him to RS this year largely because he's so skinny, but he's much more dynamic running than just being a straight ahead sprinter.

He looks more elusive and aggressive in the open field to me than Martinez, and there's no doubt he's faster. I don't know about the level of competition but he shakes kids in his film and shows good vision when he runs. Doesn't strike me as a kid who loves contact, I don't see clips of him really running through guys. More of a Newcombe than a Frost as a runner.

Throws a real rainbow of a ball, not a ton of pop on his throws but he's solidly accurate and seems to keep his accuracy throwing on the run. You don't get to 74% on the year being an inherently erratic passer. And he's not just dinking and dunking little 5 yard hitches and swing passes all day either.

There are definitely times he locks onto a guy, throws a contested ball and gets away with it because his WR just emasculates the DB to go get the ball. But if you know your WR is gonna do that is it still a bad decision?

I wasn't dazzled with McCaffrey's passing coming out of HS either. You worry about Smothers getting WRs killed at the college level with how long the ball takes to arrive. Or getting picked off. But as his strength improves and they work on his motion, you'd except some more zip on the ball.

My main questions with Smothers are:

Can he get the ball down a bit and increase his velocity while keeping his accuracy?

Can he run through traffic and break tackles and be willing to cut up inside and absorb contact?


Geesh Beav......that guy looks like a TMart clone......running away from the opponent's secondary like they're not even there.....Lol!!.....Wow!!

Thank you Beav!!
 
Geesh Beav......that guy looks like a TMart clone......running away from the opponent's secondary like they're not even there.....Lol!!.....Wow!!

Thank you Beav!!
I don't know that he's that fast. TMart his first year before injuries could get to top speed and be gone so fast it would leave everyone confused. Like you didn't think it was possible for that play to turn into a crease TD and yet there he went.
 
  • Like
Reactions: leodisflowers
I don't know that he's that fast. TMart his first year before injuries could get to top speed and be gone so fast it would leave everyone confused. Like you didn't think it was possible for that play to turn into a crease TD and yet there he went.

Yes sir, I understand your good point. It just looked soooo outrageous.....like TMart vs KSU. Yes sir, he's probably not "that" fast but he sure looks close. :)
 
I think you're selling Smothers short. I expect him to RS this year largely because he's so skinny, but he's much more dynamic running than just being a straight ahead sprinter.

He looks more elusive and aggressive in the open field to me than Martinez, and there's no doubt he's faster. I don't know about the level of competition but he shakes kids in his film and shows good vision when he runs. Doesn't strike me as a kid who loves contact, I don't see clips of him really running through guys. More of a Newcombe than a Frost as a runner.

Throws a real rainbow of a ball, not a ton of pop on his throws but he's solidly accurate and seems to keep his accuracy throwing on the run. You don't get to 74% on the year being an inherently erratic passer. And he's not just dinking and dunking little 5 yard hitches and swing passes all day either.

There are definitely times he locks onto a guy, throws a contested ball and gets away with it because his WR just emasculates the DB to go get the ball. But if you know your WR is gonna do that is it still a bad decision?

I wasn't dazzled with McCaffrey's passing coming out of HS either. You worry about Smothers getting WRs killed at the college level with how long the ball takes to arrive. Or getting picked off. But as his strength improves and they work on his motion, you'd except some more zip on the ball.

My main questions with Smothers are:

Can he get the ball down a bit and increase his velocity while keeping his accuracy?

Can he run through traffic and break tackles and be willing to cut up inside and absorb contact?

Watching Smothers films throughout his career answers those questions. His 10th and 11th grade tapes shows balls thrown as you are describing. Anytime his team had short yardage they ran a lot of power G with him. His Sr film shows a 70 td run on Trap Q. Power read was shown multiple times on his films. Power and trap are box runs/ downhill runs. One article showed a pic of him getting 8 stitches put in his chin at the half and he returned the 4th quarter to play. His former head coach at Athens was quoted saying above all his athleticism he said toughness was his best attribute. As far as breaking tackles from Big10 linebackers and DL he will definitely have to put weight on for that to happen.
 
I don't know that he's that fast. TMart his first year before injuries could get to top speed and be gone so fast it would leave everyone confused. Like you didn't think it was possible for that play to turn into a crease TD and yet there he went.
I'm sure he's not as fast or can't accelerate as fast as a pre-injury TMart - don't know who is. BUT he's also a better passer than TMart. You don't complete 70% or so of passes being a poor passer. So I'd gladly take that trade off vs. TMart, not as fast but a better passer. Fits Frost's offense much better IMO.

Regarding his passing, he may not always have the prettiest or strongest professional spiral BUT what impresses me is ability to complete passes while scrambling. That's deadly for a defense that has to respect his running and passing abilities at the same time. You can chase him but you can't sell out on his ability to complete a pass while he's scrambling.
 
Last edited:
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT