Yesterday, the Oakland Raiders surrendered a 2012 third round draft choice to take Terrelle Pryor in the NFL Supplemental Draft. Given Al Davis’s lust for players with speed and size, the fact that he went to the Raiders is not shocking. What did surprise a number of pundits was that the Raiders used their third round selection to take him.
On the surface, this seems like a bit of a reach. Most people figured that he would cost a fifth or sixth round draft choice. If the Raiders were concerned that a team worse than they were would have selected Pryor, the logical move was to use a better pick. However, the Raiders did not have a fourth round selection in next year’s draft, hence why they had to use the third round selection.
With Pryor now being taken by a team, people now wonder what position he is going to play. He was a tremendous college quarterback, much like Tim Tebow. Also like Tebow, many think that the best chance for him to make an impact would be to switch positions. Yet, unlike Tebow, Pryor’s entire throwing motion does not need to be overhauled to the extent Tebow’s needs to be. Pryor certainly has the arm and ability to play quarterback in the NFL, unlike Tebow.
Oakland is also a solid landing spot for Pryor, which is a moderately shocking concept. He can be groomed as a quarterback of the future, which is something the Raiders need to develop. Having Jason Campbell, a solid NFL quarterback and a good citizen as a mentor, will help Pryor’s acclimation to the league. Once the mental part of the game is there, Pryor could be quite dangerous as a quarterback. With that speed and the threat of his arm, Pryor will be able to make plays with his legs, either by getting time for his receivers to get open or by running for first downs. While it is unlikely that Pryor turns into a game changing player in the mold of a Mike Vick, there are a few similarities in their abilities. Should he turn into anything even close to Vick, the Raiders got a steal.
Terrelle Pryor has a future in the NFL. And it will be as a quarterback for the Raiders.
Showing posts with label Terrelle Pryor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Terrelle Pryor. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Don't Blame Tressel
After a five month saga involving investigations into Ohio State University and several of it's players, Jim Tressel resigned on Memorial Day. The fact that he left the university is not surprising on it's own, but what is surprising is that he left of his own accord.
Tressel was originally suspended for two games by the university due to his players getting deals on cars, selling championship rings and jerseys, and parting with team items for money. Meanwhile, the players that were mainly involved were suspended for five games. With all of the outrage over the token suspension that he was given, Tressel added on another three games to his own punishment. Now, as the scandal continues to deepen and his knowledge of the situation has proven to be more extensive than previously thought, Tressel has resigned rather than continue to face the scrutiny that he is under.
Sure, it is easy to vilify Tressel for looking the other way, and not being forthright with investigators. It's easy to make him the bad guy in all of this, and the fact that very few people are running to his defense speaks volumes. But what is lost in all of this is that Ohio State University and Jim Tressel are not the only ones doing these things. This happens everywhere.
Colleges provide scholarships for their athletes - this is true. But what do they provide for housing and for meals? Where do these kids get the money to go out and have fun? It's easy to say that they should get a job, but if they are expected to carry a certain GPA, AND practice forty hours a week, where is the time to be employed? The rigors of a full-time college schedule can be quite daunting on their own, never mind trying to learn a playbook and be a part of a team expected to contend for a national championship every year.
If the NCAA really wanted to dig into every program, they would find skeletons in every closet. However, the NCAA likes the status quo, where they slap down a few schools dumb enough to get caught and turn a blind eye to the rest. If Tressel is truly guilty of anything, it is getting caught.
The NCAA and these schools make obscene amounts of money from their college football and basketball athletes, yet none of the players see a dime of it. If the NCAA was serious about stopping these situations, they would give the athletes a weekly stipend to take care of their day to day, and not have to resort to selling a jersey to make rent. If the choice is to break the rules and have a place to stay or follow the rules and be homeless, which would you do?
But the NCAA is more concerned with upholding the facade of the 'student-athlete' and the supposed amateur aspect of their game, claiming that it is for the good of these kids. If they truly cared about the students, they would find ways to keep them from having to worry about whether or not they should be signing an autograph to get food.
Tressel, while at fault, is hardly the only bad guy in all of this. The entire system is rotten to the core.
Tressel was originally suspended for two games by the university due to his players getting deals on cars, selling championship rings and jerseys, and parting with team items for money. Meanwhile, the players that were mainly involved were suspended for five games. With all of the outrage over the token suspension that he was given, Tressel added on another three games to his own punishment. Now, as the scandal continues to deepen and his knowledge of the situation has proven to be more extensive than previously thought, Tressel has resigned rather than continue to face the scrutiny that he is under.
Sure, it is easy to vilify Tressel for looking the other way, and not being forthright with investigators. It's easy to make him the bad guy in all of this, and the fact that very few people are running to his defense speaks volumes. But what is lost in all of this is that Ohio State University and Jim Tressel are not the only ones doing these things. This happens everywhere.
Colleges provide scholarships for their athletes - this is true. But what do they provide for housing and for meals? Where do these kids get the money to go out and have fun? It's easy to say that they should get a job, but if they are expected to carry a certain GPA, AND practice forty hours a week, where is the time to be employed? The rigors of a full-time college schedule can be quite daunting on their own, never mind trying to learn a playbook and be a part of a team expected to contend for a national championship every year.
If the NCAA really wanted to dig into every program, they would find skeletons in every closet. However, the NCAA likes the status quo, where they slap down a few schools dumb enough to get caught and turn a blind eye to the rest. If Tressel is truly guilty of anything, it is getting caught.
The NCAA and these schools make obscene amounts of money from their college football and basketball athletes, yet none of the players see a dime of it. If the NCAA was serious about stopping these situations, they would give the athletes a weekly stipend to take care of their day to day, and not have to resort to selling a jersey to make rent. If the choice is to break the rules and have a place to stay or follow the rules and be homeless, which would you do?
But the NCAA is more concerned with upholding the facade of the 'student-athlete' and the supposed amateur aspect of their game, claiming that it is for the good of these kids. If they truly cared about the students, they would find ways to keep them from having to worry about whether or not they should be signing an autograph to get food.
Tressel, while at fault, is hardly the only bad guy in all of this. The entire system is rotten to the core.
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