After reading Sam's take on Sean Fisher, I have to agree: I hope Eric Martin can come in and take over that strongside job...which means, of course, he has to know the defense.

I've put my ear to the ground in terms of progress, and heard little on Martin. All the usual folks are doing their usual good work, though.

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Originally posted by MrGoodLife  After reading Sam's take on Sean Fisher, I have to agree: I hope Eric Martin can come in and take over that strongside job...which means, of course, he has to know the defense.

I've put my ear to the ground in terms of progress, and heard little on Martin. All the usual folks are doing their usual good work, though.

Some coach - whether it be Bo or Carl or Ekler or some combination, need to sit down with Martin and have a heart-to-heart and explain to him in no uncertain terms what is at stake for him. In other words, the sky is the limit if he gets serious about learning the defense, gets his head on straight, and applies his mind. Study, study, study. Humble himself. Quit showboating. Don't make personal fouls. Pay attention to your assignments, your checks, your reads. Take control of the defense and make its coordination your personal responsibility - be accountable for communication. Get in and study film. Ask questions and learn. He can be an All-American or a special teams guru. His choice. And hopefully it will sink in more quickly than it did with Thenarse.

I really don't worry about it. Bo and Carl will get him in the right frame of mind. After seeing what they did with Suh, I have no doubts about this def coaching staff. If Martin don't buy into it he won't play. Its all up to Martin.

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Originally posted by HuskerBoPower  Some coach - whether it be Bo or Carl or Ekler or some combination, need to sit down with Martin and have a heart-to-heart and explain to him in no uncertain terms what is at stake for him. In other words, the sky is the limit if he gets serious about learning the defense, gets his head on straight, and applies his mind. Study, study, study. Humble himself. Quit showboating. Don't make personal fouls. Pay attention to your assignments, your checks, your reads. Take control of the defense and make its coordination your personal responsibility - be accountable for communication. Get in and study film. Ask questions and learn. He can be an All-American or a special teams guru. His choice. And hopefully it will sink in more quickly than it did with Thenarse.

What makes you think he doesnt have his head screwed on straight or doesnt know whats at stake? Or he cant learn the defense? If he saw the field last year as one of few true freshmen I think he is doing just fine with his development at NU.

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Originally posted by BlackshirtfaninSCland  What makes you think he doesnt have his head screwed on straight or doesnt know whats at stake? Or he cant learn the defense? If he saw the field last year as one of few true freshmen I think he is doing just fine with his development at NU.

If I remember right, he had a couple of costly personal foul penalties earlier in the season. He said in an interview after the 2009 season that he really didn't try to apply himself to film study and learning the defense. He said that in high school that he got by on talent and athletisism and in college he hasn't really tried to learn the defense. That next season he will have to get serious about learning the defense. I guess the reason that I think that he doesn't have his head screwed on straight is that he has personally admitted as much. The guy may have been the most physically gifted of all the linebackers in 2009, including Dillard, yet Martin saw the field very little except on special teams. The same will be true this year if the light doesn't come on. I really like the guy and want to see him on the field and succeeding.

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Originally posted by HuskerBoPower  If I remember right, he had a couple of costly personal foul penalties earlier in the season. He said in an interview after the 2009 season that he really didn't try to apply himself to film study and learning the defense. He said that in high school that he got by on talent and athletisism and in college he hasn't really tried to learn the defense. That next season he will have to get serious about learning the defense. I guess the reason that I think that he doesn't have his head screwed on straight is that he has personally admitted as much. The guy may have been the most physically gifted of all the linebackers in 2009, including Dillard, yet Martin saw the field very little except on special teams. The same will be true this year if the light doesn't come on. I really like the guy and want to see him on the field and succeeding.

As far as personal fouls are concerned, they are bad, can kill a game, but you need someone on the Defense willing to tread that fine line, last year it was Asante, I don't doubt that come next year I will have the same love hate relationship with E. Martin as I had with Asante, I love the big hits, but the personal fouls are annoying.

Secondly, I remember that interview, didn't he also say that one of the reasons he was on the field was because he got into the film room and really started to learn the defense. That he realized that he could no longer get by on talent alone, like he did in high school.

The defense that the Pelini's run is something that requires a lot of knowledge especially at that linebacker position. If Bo or Carl didn't think that E Mart wasn't going to pick it up he would have redshirted last year.

I agree. The best NU defenses from the 90's played nasty. They had swagger, attitude, they were hard hitting, and in the process they got hit with more personal foul penalties than most defenses. But they more than made up for it with how dominant they were. They knocked a lot of opposing players out of the game, and they were playing to do so - although not necessarily through illegal hits. They just walked that fine line, as you said, and stepped over it a little more often than most. But that outspoken reckless leadership was infectious. I think that was something that was sorely missing under Cospuke. We need more guys like the Peters bros and Wistrom. Suh lead by example, but he was not real vocal to get other guys fired up. The leaders on this defense have been the same quiet, lead by example, type that Suh was for years now. Guys like Martin will help bring that back - and it will be a good thing if they contribute more than they hurt themselves.

Concerning Martin, I will be interested to see where he ends up come this fall. If he is ready and has the defense learned it will be huge for the Huskers. With NU playing less spread teams this year we are going to need legit hard hitting linebackers. Now that Phil Dill gone its going to be rough going against Washington with none of our linebackers having any quality time in the Big 12. If these guys don't pick it up I am worried about our defense playing anywhere near the level of last year. Hopefully by the time the Big 12 schedule rolls around everyone will be comfortable, but that Washington game could come early for a team replacing the middle of its defense.