1. The QB situation: Martinez, Leadership, etc. 2010 was a two-part season: the filling in and out of love with Taylor Martinez. What did we like? His lightning speed, his dual-threat dynamic (of running inside or outside), and his fresh swagger. But after he quickly rushed for 1000 yards at the beginning of the season, defenses started to figure it out: Martinez likes to pull the ball, he tries to make something out of little, and, when he rushes, he doesn't put get his body low enough to protect himself. And they developed blitz-heavy schemes because Martinez--whose throwing motion and instincts as a passer were underdeveloped anyways--couldn't keep his composure under pressure, wouldn't stay in the pocket and instead ran around like a chicken with its head cut off.
Even worse, though: when he got hit, and eventually got hurt, he carried himself like he was the only one to carry. When he got hurt vs. Mizzou, instead of going straight to medical examination room (in the home team's locker room), he first made a roundabout trip to get his cell phone on the opposite side of the stadium so that he could call his dad. While there's a heart-warming element in that, it also showed that he was in little hurry to get back to a team that needed his presence.
Of course, that may be understandable, since some of the coaching decisions really prevented him from ever being the offensive head last season. "Who's going to start?" was the lead question going in last season. And it was a question that kept getting asked as the season went on. If, as a coach, you're going to give so much leadership responsibility to a QB, you have to give him a surer spot; he has to know his place.
With all of that in mind, here's what needs to change: Martinez needs to get in sync with his wide-outs during spring work-outs. He needs to learn both how to protect himself, and that there are times when you have to risk taking a hit. And all of that needs to happen under the assumption that, supposing Bubba Starling doesn't go in the MLB draft, there isn't a pre-season starter. Once September 3 comes around, there needs to be, if not a definitive decision, at least an impression of who's the team head. In the meantime, Watson's got to fine-tune that new offensive system to coordinate with the skills we've got at QB.
2. Not get shit on by the Big 12. Oh, hello Big 10. It's nice to finally meet you. And even though you've given a bit of a cold welcome (i.e. the toughest schedule in the conference, maybe in the league in general), at least we're confident that you won't totally fuck us come time to arrange bowl appearances. And no more Texas omens.
3. Find a replacement for Henery. For a defensive-minded coach like Pelini, special teams are everything. So I hope our head coach goes through the stats and realizes how many games we eeked a win out of by a mere field goal, oftentimes from the 50+ range. He was a sure shot for 3 points.
But he was also one of the most successful punters we've had in recent memory, not only in net punt average, but also in the number of times he put the ball inside the ten yard line (and, at the same time, out of bounds, safe from the reach of the return man). He swung the field position in our favor most every game.
Invest in that, Pelini. It's one of the most overlooked recruits we'll need for this upcoming year.
4. Discipline from top to bottom. You can't expect to finish up well when you're among the most top 20 most penalized teams in the league. When, in any given game, you've committed as much as 5x the amount of penalty yards as your opponent. Watson, get your offensive linemen ready to go on Saturday--too many false starts, holding penalties, personal fouls, God damn.
But I think this also starts at the top. Pelini, you've got more fervor than I saw in the Solich and Callahan eras combined. But you've got to control that hot head. You make yourself media fodder when you go off on the officials, players, or even when you give a pale interview to the media.You'll keep out of public criticism, and get a group that doesn't stray into its own way of things: that is, everyone will have more trust.
And we should. You've got some good things going.
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