Terrelle Pryor Tape Study: What We’ve Learned from Watching Raiders QB

Things were ugly for the Oakland Raiders on Monday night as they got blown out by Peyton Manning's Denver Broncos, but it wasn't all bad for the Silver and Black. Oakland's starting quarterback, Terrelle Pryor, emerged from the game with the best performance of his young career, even though he also sustained a concussion.

Pryor completed 67.9 percent of his passes for 281 yards and a touchdown, adding 36 yards rushing on four carries. It was the first time Pryor accumulated 300 total yards with at least one touchdown without turning the ball over. Maybe for the first time, Pryor actually looked like the future at the quarterback position for the Raiders because of what he was able to do with his arm and not just his legs.

However, since Pryor did most of his damage as a passer playing from down multiple scores, there's a risk that his performance was fool's gold. The only way to really know if Pryor's performance was as good as the stats seem to indicate is to review the coaches' film.

Unfortunately, Pryor's performance wasn't nearly as impressive after second review. It may have still been a step in the right direction, but it was more of a baby step than a quantum leap. 

There are only 13 games left this season, and beyond that, there are no guarantees for Pryor. If Pryor can continue to progress for 13 more games, he might get where he needs to be. The review of his film indicates that he'll take a few steps back, so a couple giant steps forward at some point are going to be necessary.

 

Reading the Defense

One of the things Pryor was given credit for on Monday night was staying in the pocket and going through his progressions. That's what good NFL quarterbacks can do, so this seemed like a very positive sign for him.

However, just because Pryor was going through his progressions and reading the defense doesn't mean he was doing it well. There'...

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