QB/WR Terrelle Pryor ('10 Rose, '11 Sugar MVP)

[NJ-Buckeye]

Outs and deep balls give him fits because he continues to throw off that back foot...

 

[tonystarx]

Don't know if this has been brought up already so bear with me, but...

Several recruits have cited playing with TP as a factor in their interest in playing for tOSU. So far I assume it's worked in our favor. But does anyone think his struggles will scare recruits, especially off. skill guys, away if this continues into next year? I'm with those of you who believe the switch can come on at anytime, but I can see other schools negatively recruiting against us using TP's struggles as ammo.

Hope this is an appropriate question for this thread...

 

[daddyphatsacs]

Don't know if this has been brought up already so bear with me, but...

Several recruits have cited playing with TP as a factor in their interest in playing for tOSU. So far I assume it's worked in our favor. But does anyone think his struggles will scare recruits, especially off. skill guys, away if this continues into next year? I'm with those of you who believe the switch can come on at anytime, but I can see other schools negatively recruiting against us using TP's struggles as ammo.

Hope this is an appropriate question for this thread...

I don't think so, because I think he's going to be very good by the time things really heat up with recruiting.

 

[Bill Lucas]

Don't know if this has been brought up already so bear with me, but...

Several recruits have cited playing with TP as a factor in their interest in playing for tOSU. So far I assume it's worked in our favor. But does anyone think his struggles will scare recruits, especially off. skill guys, away if this continues into next year? I'm with those of you who believe the switch can come on at anytime, but I can see other schools negatively recruiting against us using TP's struggles as ammo.

Hope this is an appropriate question for this thread...

At this point those recruits are 2-3 years behind him. The vast majority of them won't see the field with him on offense.

 

[MaxBuck]

I want what everyone wants.. an offense that is solid and able to move the ball consistantly.

See, what I want is a women who is like Jenna Jameson in bed, like Laura Ingalls Wilder's mom as a parent, like Sandra Day O'Connor when confronted with minor legal issues, and like Paris Hilton when it comes to her inheritance.

I think YOU're more likely to get what YOU want.

 

[Merih]

Wow, it has gotten to the point where Michigan fans are defending Pryor to Ohio State fans. Check out MGoBlog. Brian says he remembers Troy's sophomore year where at the beginning he looked more like Denard than Troy Fucking Smith. Then he went all Troy Smith on them in the Michigan game and never really looked back.

-1 for Ohio State fans giving up on a kid halfway through their second year on campus.

 

[Taosman]

After I gained the stomach to watch the Purdue game, again, I think the O line made some adjustments that helped give TP the time he needed to make plays. The short passing game worked, again and looks like something TP can do which will help with pass pro issues. I really think a combo of running game and short pass game is our best bet going forward. Obviously, the turn overs have to be eliminated as much as possible.

 

[NFBuck]

I, personally, drew some encouragement from the 4th quarter. Hopefully that was the light coming on.

 

[craigblitz]

The short passing game worked, again and looks like something TP can do which will help with pass pro issues. I really think a combo of running game and short pass game is our best bet going forward. Obviously, the turn overs have to be eliminated as much as possible.

Not being a jerk I promise but I disagree with that evaluation. Pryor has not been good on the short routes, passes to the backs behind them, slant and quick outs have been low. Mid routes have been late, etc.

Even though this offense does not have a top caliber NFL back in the back field this the best thing to help Pryor is to get any type of running game going. Obviously everyone and their mother wants to have a good running game but this will help the most IMO.

Lots of talk about how Pryor has regressed and to me the biggest difference between him last year and this year is that go to running game. Defenses had to accounts for Beanie at all time which gave Pryor some more running lanes. Stopping the run game and Pryor beating you with his legs opened up a lot of simple passing options Pryor could do.

This year defenses are not concerned at all with the running backs making throwing lanes and reads that much harder for a young QB.

 

[osubartender23]

Not being a jerk I promise but I disagree with that evaluation. Pryor has not been good on the short routes, passes to the backs behind them, slant and quick outs have been low. Mid routes have been late, etc.

Even though this offense does not have a top caliber NFL back in the back field this the best thing to help Pryor is to get any type of running game going. Obviously everyone and their mother wants to have a good running game but this will help the most IMO.

Lots of talk about how Pryor has regressed and to me the biggest difference between him last year and this year is that go to running game. Defenses had to accounts for Beanie at all time which gave Pryor some more running lanes. Stopping the run game and Pryor beating you with his legs opened up a lot of simple passing options Pryor could do.

This year defenses are not concerned at all with the running backs making throwing lanes and reads that much harder for a young QB.

+1

I also think that we have the tendency to abandon the running game entirely too soon in some games. Saine was far from dominant in the 1st half of the Purdue game, but he only got 1 TOTAL carry in the 2nd half of the game. It seemed to me like the coach was hell bent on trying to get something established with Pryor, that he completely forgot about everything else. I think TP has tons of potential, he just needs to learn how to play with in himself. He needs to stop worrying about making himself into an "NFL caliber QB", and worry about making himself into a good college one first. Right now I just think he probably feels like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and is probably not emotionally or mentally ready to be able to handle it. This offense needs someone to take charge and not let him feel like he has to do it by himself. I would love to see someone like Sanzenbacher/Browning or Boren come off the field with him just one time, helping him to keep his head up instead of having him go to the sidelines and isolate himself. In college football it seems like its the physical ability that gets a player on the field, but its the mental aspect of the game that keeps a player ON the field. Right now I think TP is struggling with both. Good things seem to happen when he has confidence in himself. If you watch his play, when good things happen he seems to have an extra pep in his step and seems to have a smile on his face. When even one little thing goes wrong, that smile disappears and he seems to become much more frustrated(which you can see by his expression). Someone on this Offense just needs to step up and show a little guidance for him, and I also think TP just needs to realize to play within himself and the scheme and everything else will take care of itself from there. I like many people are somewhat down on TP right now, but he also is probably as down as anyone is right now about his play. Hopefully he can find something with in himself to get over any self doubt he has and continue to work towards being a great college QB. Sorry for the rambling, I just had alot of random thoughts that I kind of threw together in a haphazard way.

 

[matcar]

I, personally, drew some encouragement from the 4th quarter. Hopefully that was the light coming on.

I think it was Grad who mentioned elsewhere that the big change in the 4th quarter was that Purdue took their foot off the pedal on D for a while. Once they upped the pressure again, the problems resumed. There wasn't a great deal in the 4th quarter that really changed other than Purdue's defensive strategy.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

I think it was Grad who mentioned elsewhere that the big change in the 4th quarter was that Purdue took their foot off the pedal on D for a while. Once they upped the pressure again, the problems resumed. There wasn't a great deal in the 4th quarter that really changed other than Purdue's defensive strategy.

Yep. Purdue definitely backed off.

 

[mendensa]

The best things the coaches and team can do for Terelle Pryor, the defense, and Ohio State football:

4. Play calling. Short slants across the middle. Screen passes. Stop the secondary from committing to stopping the run by throwing short passes that keep them off-balance.

You made some good points but this is my favorite. Tressel throw a screen pass on a blitzing down? It makes sense to us but apparently not to him. Instead, keep getting your QB sacked. That makes more sense. I've been waitng about 6 years for the Buckeyes to utilize the screen more frequently. How many have we run? A hand full in the past 3-4 years?

You don't run a draw or screen on 3rd and 15 when the entire world knows what is coming (unless you are backed up in your own end and are just protecting the ball). And that's the only time we see it in OSU's offense. The key to a screen is catching a d and d-cordinator in a blitz call on a down where they aren't expecting it. We have probably the best pass-catching back out of the backfield in the Big 10; that being Brandon Saine, and we hardly use him.

Tressel talks about running the plays they run best. Well the other team is preparing for the those same 5 plays that you supposably run best too Jim. Knowing what is coming is half the challenge in being a successful defense. First, recognizing the formation, possible plays from those formations (which OSU is so predictable) and then actually executing the stoppage of that play.

I think the ridiculous play calling goes back to the confidence (or lack of) they have in TP to digest the offense and execute it. Obviously they have scaled things back to help w/ the learning curve. Too bad when they scale back, everyone else that is playing us gets to scale back what they need to prepare for as well. I would get excited being a defensive coordinator preparing to play OSU. "D-line: stay in your gaps/lanes, don't let TP break contain and we are going to blitz 2-3 times every 5 plays".

1st down: A delayed option read/handoff for a 1 yd gain.

2nd down: TP tries to elude the pressure of the pass rush. Instead of throwing it away he will run OB 5 yds behind the line of scrimmage or take a sack for a 5 yd loss.

3rd down: Throw in a false start or a holding call in there some where against the O-line and all of a sudden the Bucks are 3rd and 15-20. Then you get Pryor trying to throw the homerun ball on 3rd down and it's 10 yds underthrown to his WR and it gets picked or it flutters incomplete. Result: 3 and out or INT.

Sound like a typical OSU drive this year? It gets old. I watch HS offenses on "the game of the week" on Friday nights run more smoothly than OSU's.

 

[Wingate1217]

Pryor seems to be lacking confidence and it looks to me he is just trying to aim the ball instead of just throwing it.......

 

[daveeb]

Turnovers. That's my big deal with Terrelle Pryor. My beef with Terrelle Pryor started with a short yardage situation against Penn State.

Turning the ball over puts the defense out on the field. By the third quarter, the defense was tired and exhausted. Unacceptable. Tresselball relies on field position and a + turnover margin. A lack of execution on offense should be expected from a sophomore. However, I expect incompletions, not interceptions. I expect sacks, not fumbles. Four turnovers is ridiculous. And, each of those turnovers were caused by Terrelle choosing to hold off and try to make the big play, whereas he could simply play it safe.

At this stage in his career, Terrelle Pryor should be a game manager. He is, without a doubt, improving. As I have said in the past, he has made a few throws this year that have made my jaw drop. And, to give credit where credit is due, he looks better than he did last year.

But, aside from limiting turnovers, TP needs to do five things:
1. Actually move his head off of his primary read.
2. Throw to checkdown receivers.
3. Tuck and run when the opportunity arises.
4. Stop believing that his athleticism will alleviate the effects of double coverage.
5. Quit trying to force something that simply doesn't exist.

But, really, who didn't expect for problems to arise this season? He is only a Sophomore.