Marty’s performance Saturday was a real pick me up. He has been, as multiple posters have pointed out, a gamer, and in each game he has played he has made a significant contribution. It’s easy to succumb to euphoria and see him as a savior for the season. I think it is probably a good idea to calibrate expectations, and try to assess what he might do the rest of the year.
On a limited sample size, he contributes by being a physical runner, and a passer with a fairly strong but not spectacularly accurate arm. His passing numbers have been great, but the Duke and Illinois defensive backfields were not great, and Minnesota was playing a little soft with a big lead when he came in. My guess is he is a good enough passer to keep defenses honest, but he might have consistency issues on intermediate balls and throw a few more interceptions than the norm.
To me, he seems to be a lot like Adrian Martinez, and the defenses Martinez has succeeded and failed against, Marty will do similarly. We could do worse, but I am expecting his performance to come back to earth a little as the defenses he plays get tighter. I hope the OL gets its act together and the defense plays with positive consistency: with Marty, that combination could lead to some good wins the rest of the year.
On a limited sample size, he contributes by being a physical runner, and a passer with a fairly strong but not spectacularly accurate arm. His passing numbers have been great, but the Duke and Illinois defensive backfields were not great, and Minnesota was playing a little soft with a big lead when he came in. My guess is he is a good enough passer to keep defenses honest, but he might have consistency issues on intermediate balls and throw a few more interceptions than the norm.
To me, he seems to be a lot like Adrian Martinez, and the defenses Martinez has succeeded and failed against, Marty will do similarly. We could do worse, but I am expecting his performance to come back to earth a little as the defenses he plays get tighter. I hope the OL gets its act together and the defense plays with positive consistency: with Marty, that combination could lead to some good wins the rest of the year.