Shatel: Pelini might deal wild card

LINCOLN — The dice sit on the table. They tease and taunt Bo Pelini, a man with a top-10 football team, a plan to win a championship and one conspicuously missing piece to the whole thing.

A quarterback.

You gonna roll the bones, Bo?

You gonna start redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez, put it all on red No. 3?

Go for it, Bo. What's to lose? Oh sure, I hear how this would be a bad gamble. An unnecessary gamble. I hear that you could wreck a potentially special season by putting it in the hands of a guy who's never taken a serious collegiate snap. I hear that the safe play is to go with senior Zac Lee, put it on Jared Crick's broad back and Alex Henery's strong leg. Yeah, I hear that NU came this close to winning 11 games and a Big 12 flag last year with a shaky Lee under center.

But do you win championships by playing it safe?

It's an interesting question, and we'll know the answer as soon as 6 p.m. Saturday in one of the more intriguing Nebraska football season openers. Reading the tea leaves and hearing the insiders cluck this week, there's every indication that Martinez will race out to conduct the first huddle of 2010.

Why not?

If this is a gamble, it's an aggressive gamble. And it blends comfortably with the wave of swagger that carried this team back from San Diego and into August. By putting a relative rookie in the cockpit, Pelini is telling his team: “We can put a new guy in there and still win. We're that good.'' It's a subtle, yet powerful message.

Forget messages. Martinez might just be the best guy. We don't know, of course. We've never seen him in a college game. We saw him wheel and deal in the spring game, where one-hit wonders are born, but nobody has seen Martinez handle the heat when the director says “action'' and there's real film in the camera.

What we have heard is Pelini and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson crow about the kid's athleticism and his ability to make play after play with his feet. We've heard NU receivers talk about a strong, accurate arm. We hear the defenders half-jokingly say, “Man, I'm tired of chasing that guy.''

So here's the thing: If Martinez can make a play, get 4 yards when the route breaks down or the pocket collapses, then sign him up. We saw Lee last year, time and again, reluctant to run on his own, forcing the ill-advised pass, unable to move the chains. Not every time, but often enough.

Now maybe Lee can be the guy he was in San Diego, making play after play. But here's your warning light: Lee entered August with the edge on experience. If he hasn't won the job outright by now, that should tell you something.

If Martinez starts tonight, it tells me Pelini has had enough of the defense having to carry the load. He wants an offense to do its share and a quarterback who can make that happen — and maybe a whole lot more.

If you have a play-making Martinez knocking off chunks of yardage with his legs alongside Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead, then that's a potential major headache for the defensive coordinator of the week — not to mention an early Christmas for Niles Paul, Brandon Kinnie and Mike McNeill.

If Martinez is just another one-hit wonder from April, then Lee — or Cody Green — can come in and pick up the pieces. Lee did it last year, and it almost worked for a league title. There's that word again: almost.

By the way, NU lost another linebacker on Thursday. Not devastating, yet, but now there's even more onus on the offense to raise the bar.

Let the balloons fly. Let the fun begin, in more ways than one.

Contact the writer:

444-1025, tom.shatel@owh.com

« Sports - Main

Share