Post by TheShadow on Aug 26, 2013 17:36:59 GMT -5
www.insidebayarea.com/
By Jerry McDonald.
ALAMEDA -- Terrelle Pryor will get his chance to show what he can do with the first-team offense Thursday night when he starts at quarterback for the Raiders against the Seattle Seahawks in the exhibition finale.
Meanwhile, Matt Flynn will rest his sore right arm, left to wonder if his own opportunity to be a starting quarterback has slipped away for the second consecutive season.
Coach Dennis Allen said Flynn's arm trouble is the same as last season, when elbow tendinitis sidelined him for a portion of the exhibition season, with rookie Russell Wilson seizing the job as the Seahawks starter in his absence.
Throughout most of training camp, Flynn left the field house in Napa each day with a bag of ice wrapped around his right elbow.
"It's something that's been a little bothersome to him," Allen said. "I don't really anticipate it being a big issue, but I want to get his arm rested up, recovered. We'll get a chance to see Terrelle this week with the first-unit offense against Seattle, and we'll see how he does."
Flynn completed 3 of 6 passes for 19 yards and two interceptions in a 36-24 loss Friday to the Chicago Bears and was booed heavily by the home fans. Pryor came in with a 24-0 deficit and rallied the Raiders within 27-20 in the third quarter with a 25-yard touchdown run and a 19-yard touchdown pass to Nick Kasa.
"Coach told me what the deal was, that Matt was not playing and he wanted me to jump in with the first team and lead them into Seattle," Pryor said. "I'm going to study like I usually do."
After completing 7 of 9 passes for 93 yards and rushing for 37 more against Chicago, Pryor said he was "horrible" on his run fakes and found other areas that needed improvement.
"I'm definitely not all the way there in terms of the playbook, in terms of just being a quarterback out there," Pryor said. "I'm still learning. Don't get me wrong, I can lead if called upon, but I'm just out there getting better and getting in sync with the guys right now."
Although appreciative of the fan support, Pryor thought the booing of Flynn was unnecessary.
"We're all on the Raiders, and everybody is for each other, and I believe you have to be with each other through thick and thin," Pryor said. "When problems happen, you can't boo a guy. We've got to be better than that, and Raider Nation will be better than that, I believe."
While Pryor will be in the spotlight against Seattle, the most surprising story Sunday was Allen deciding to start second-round draft pick Menelik Watson at left tackle.
He will do so with exactly four days of practice at the NFL's most hostile road venue. Watson came out of the draft with precious little college experience, having played 19 games at Saddleback Community College and Florida State. All 19 of those starts were on the right side.
"Seattle is very talented up front," Allen said. "They've got a lot of speed that comes off the edges. It's a great opportunity for us to get a good evaluation to see where he's at."
Watson replaces Alex Barron, who started two exhibition games after left tackle Jared Veldheer had surgery to repair a torn left triceps, an injury that will keep him out well into the regular season.
Out with a calf injury until practicing in a team session for the first time last Thursday, Watson went to line coach Tony Sparano to tell him he was ready for anything.
"I'm the type of person, if you tell me to do something I'm just going to do it," Watson said. "Jared went down, so I knew there would be some shifts ... they trust me to play the left tackle position, so it's a privilege, and I've got to take it seriously and make sure I'm ready to play."
Wide receiver Juron Criner and cornerback Tracy Porter returned to practice.
By Jerry McDonald.
ALAMEDA -- Terrelle Pryor will get his chance to show what he can do with the first-team offense Thursday night when he starts at quarterback for the Raiders against the Seattle Seahawks in the exhibition finale.
Meanwhile, Matt Flynn will rest his sore right arm, left to wonder if his own opportunity to be a starting quarterback has slipped away for the second consecutive season.
Coach Dennis Allen said Flynn's arm trouble is the same as last season, when elbow tendinitis sidelined him for a portion of the exhibition season, with rookie Russell Wilson seizing the job as the Seahawks starter in his absence.
Throughout most of training camp, Flynn left the field house in Napa each day with a bag of ice wrapped around his right elbow.
"It's something that's been a little bothersome to him," Allen said. "I don't really anticipate it being a big issue, but I want to get his arm rested up, recovered. We'll get a chance to see Terrelle this week with the first-unit offense against Seattle, and we'll see how he does."
Flynn completed 3 of 6 passes for 19 yards and two interceptions in a 36-24 loss Friday to the Chicago Bears and was booed heavily by the home fans. Pryor came in with a 24-0 deficit and rallied the Raiders within 27-20 in the third quarter with a 25-yard touchdown run and a 19-yard touchdown pass to Nick Kasa.
"Coach told me what the deal was, that Matt was not playing and he wanted me to jump in with the first team and lead them into Seattle," Pryor said. "I'm going to study like I usually do."
After completing 7 of 9 passes for 93 yards and rushing for 37 more against Chicago, Pryor said he was "horrible" on his run fakes and found other areas that needed improvement.
"I'm definitely not all the way there in terms of the playbook, in terms of just being a quarterback out there," Pryor said. "I'm still learning. Don't get me wrong, I can lead if called upon, but I'm just out there getting better and getting in sync with the guys right now."
Although appreciative of the fan support, Pryor thought the booing of Flynn was unnecessary.
"We're all on the Raiders, and everybody is for each other, and I believe you have to be with each other through thick and thin," Pryor said. "When problems happen, you can't boo a guy. We've got to be better than that, and Raider Nation will be better than that, I believe."
While Pryor will be in the spotlight against Seattle, the most surprising story Sunday was Allen deciding to start second-round draft pick Menelik Watson at left tackle.
He will do so with exactly four days of practice at the NFL's most hostile road venue. Watson came out of the draft with precious little college experience, having played 19 games at Saddleback Community College and Florida State. All 19 of those starts were on the right side.
"Seattle is very talented up front," Allen said. "They've got a lot of speed that comes off the edges. It's a great opportunity for us to get a good evaluation to see where he's at."
Watson replaces Alex Barron, who started two exhibition games after left tackle Jared Veldheer had surgery to repair a torn left triceps, an injury that will keep him out well into the regular season.
Out with a calf injury until practicing in a team session for the first time last Thursday, Watson went to line coach Tony Sparano to tell him he was ready for anything.
"I'm the type of person, if you tell me to do something I'm just going to do it," Watson said. "Jared went down, so I knew there would be some shifts ... they trust me to play the left tackle position, so it's a privilege, and I've got to take it seriously and make sure I'm ready to play."
Wide receiver Juron Criner and cornerback Tracy Porter returned to practice.