Can't knock the hustle and Terrelle Pryor has plenty of it. While the quarterback is coming off a very ugly loss against the Kansas City Chiefs, he remains confident the Oakland Raiders will turn things around a quickly. The tem might be 2-4 on the season, but Pryor is already guaranteeing a trip to the postseason.
In Sunday's loss, Pryor was sacked 10 times. It was ugly. While the Raiders offensive line has been decimated by injuries, the quarterback is taking full blame for the lack of offense, calling his performance shameful and noting the team simply lost because of him.
Pryor is clearly playing the role of team leader. Not all of the Raiders' woes can fall on him, although in this game maybe they do. Pryor tossed three interceptions and took three delay of game penalties which could have been avoided. However, Pryor spent most of his time on the ground, barely having an opportunity to attempt a pass or hand the ball off. Despite all of it, Pryor is thinking playoffs.
"We have to come together and start creating," Pryor said, per CSN Bay Area. "We'll be back; 2-4; we'll get to the playoffs. "This loss is on me. I'll take it. I'll make sure we get better. As the leader of the offense, I have to make sure it happens. It will."
That is certainly a bold statement from the young quarterback. The Raiders certainly have the emerging talent to make a nice run happen this season, but if the offensive line continues to keep Pryor on the ground, a postseason trip will be hard to come by. As of now Oakland is a two-win team with a lot of holes. Head coach Dennis Allen is well-aware that anything can happen at this point in the year, but the postseason is far from his mind.
"I'm not worried about playoffs," Allen said. "That's the last thing I'm worried about. I am worried about trying to get this team better. I do like this football team. There's no moral victories in pro football. We're competing. We've had chances to win games. We've got to figure out ways to win games when we have those opportunities. And that's really the bottom line. But we are what our record says we are and we've got to get better."
Oakland is still in a rebuilding phase so to even bring up the playoffs seems crazy, but with Pryor at quarterback and several young players ready to step up, this team could be capable of more than some give them credit for.
