Matt Pryor
 

Matt Pryor doesn't get much love around here or with the national media. Almost everyone thinks he is not the answer at LT. I am just a fan, not great a breaking down these players, so I am wondering why? Is it reputation or the fact that he was a low draft pick we got for a song from Phili? The reason I am asking is his performance seems pretty damn good when he played. In 266 snaps at right tackle and 96 at left tackle the guy gave up 6 pressures, 2 hits and zero sacks last year. With the signing of Kelly, a swing tackle if there ever was one, it looks more and more like we may be rolling with Pryor. Is this a case of Ballard/Reich trying to be to cute or are they just believing what their eyes tell them?

I believe Ballard + Reich view Pryor as an insurance policy.

I think Ballard + Reich hope that Raimann shows enough in the offseason workouts + camp to give the rookie the job. But if Raimann struggles, they will roll with Pryor instead.

I agree that Pryor played well last year when his number was called upon. Even with all the foot injuries to the line last year, Prior only played in about 40% of the snaps on offense, however.

Yes I get that everyone believes that Pryor should be replaced, my question is why?

Because he is not some high draft pick with press rep.

People thought the Steelers were crazy for playing Villanueva. Its not just cone drills and the bench press.

I dont know if Pryor is the answer. He has some good stats, he has some athletic ability if can play both sides of the line.

Just what I think. The offense is not based on 7 step drops, and sending it 80 miles deep. Its a progression read with outlet options for check downs. With a smart QB, and an ass kicking running game, ryan can kill other teams with play action. It allows for TE and RB help, its flexible.

I am an optimist by upbringing. I am positive that the front office knows more than anyone here. And if I am wrong, I will own it.

I really like the competition. Ballard said that the top 5 will play. I wonder if that means kicking Raimann inside for his first year.

Could happen, but I have doubts he would beat out kelly, Nelson, or Pinter if he can't top Pryor.

Watched Pryor's lone game of 2021 at LT just now. His play recognition, at least at LT, is bad. He let a blitz through the B gap because he just didn't see it, and several times he missed the guy he was supposed to block, allowing them to make a play. He was up against Yannick Ngakoue for most of the game and did better than I thought he would given the matchup, but there were a handful of times that Ngakoue beat him badly. On one play, Ngakoue had him completely turned around. Ngakoue was also able to coax a holding penalty out of Pryor. Ngakoue registered a sack in the game that did not come against Pryor, but there were several pressures by Ngakoue against Pryor, including one that was dangerously close to a perfectly timed strip sack. Overall it was a solid performance for a swing tackle making a spot start out of necessity, but it's definitely not a performance you'd want to see from your starting left tackle.

I could see raiman starting at LT and Pryor starting RG

Dam thanks. That is what I was wondering about. It doesn't sound like he was physically overmatched from what you wrote, just mostly mental mistakes. I wonder if given a full off season working at LT he can clean up a whole lot of those mistakes? Either way, the Colts don't seem to be panicking about the situation. He can't be worse than Fischer, at least I hope not. I am rooting for Pyror to take a step and be one of those dudes that took a little longer to mature. Hope he refuses to give up the starting job, earns it and is solid. If that happens we have depth like we need.

He wasn't necessarily physically outmatched, but his technique and play recognition were both bad. He gave up 5 pressures to Ngakoue, and at least one more in the game. In a 60 snap game, that's a 10% pressure rate coming from his position alone. That's not what I want to see from my starting LT, and I don't know if the fix, if there is one, is purely a coaching thing.