Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor sees the Black Hole as half full, even though the people who brought him to Oakland with a third-round pick in the 2011 supplemental draft are now gone with the autumn wind.
But at least one member of the new regime believes in Pryor. And that’s his position coach, John DeFillippo.
As our friend and corporate cousin Paul Gutierrez of CSNBayArea.com points out, Pryor couldn’t participate in the team’s rookie minicamp because he took one snap during the 2011 regular season. Still, Pryor has been involved in the offseason program, and DeFillippo has taken notice.
“The first thing is, everybody knows how hard he’s working,” DeFillippo, who served as quarterbacks coach in 2007 and 2008, said of Pryor. “He’s going to give himself a chance to be a good player in this league, because of his work ethic. He and I are in communication every day. He’s a gym rat here in this building. He loves being here, loves talking football, loves being around, playing the game. He’s getting better everyday.
“The fact is, his strides he’s made from his first day here in this offense to where he is now have been good. We’ve just got to keep doing that every day. We’ve got to keep moving him forward and he’ll do that with his work ethic.”
DeFillippo insists that Pryor is a quarterback. For now, though, he’s likely stuck at No. 3, behind Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. If Pryor can’t leapfrog Leinart, the talk will persist that the Raiders should take advantage of Pryor’s talents by using him elsewhere.
Even if it’s as personal protector on the punt team.