I won't discuss or debate the part of your post where you claim Pryor played plenty of SS last year under Rex and has played plenty of FS this year because I've only been able to see them play once this year and maybe twice last year. What I do want to discuss are the bolded portions. First, how do you know that Pryor's dad sat him down in the offseason? Did I miss an article or interview or something? I haven't seen anything about that. If you could point me towards that article or interview, I'd appreciate it. Second, how do you know he missed team meetings? Again, I haven't seen an article or interview where that was mentioned. If it is correct, then why/how is that so, if Rex can't be blamed? Rex was his boss. Rex created the culture on the team. If you had been the HC, what would have happened after Pryor missed his first team meeting? I suspect that there would have never been another missed meeting. We ALL know that one of Rex's problems was his own lack of discipline, and his failure to instill discipline in his players by holding them accountable. He kept playing his guys no matter how poorly they played. Miss assignments, play poorly, commit stupid penalty after stupid penalty, and there were no consequences. Look at the failure of Coples of how he was played out of position, not developed. A wasted #1 pick. Rex and his CS also had a very spotty record of young player development. Part of that has to be the lack of accountability and discipline, but also not teaching the players and then putting them in positions to succeed. Third, how do you know why Pryor's confidence is off the charts this year? Again, is that from some article or interview, or just your speculation/reasoning? There's no doubting that a player's confidence grows with success on the field and in practice, so I'm sure you're right at least partly, but I can't help but believe that Pryor has blossomed due to Bowles and his CS. Bowles is disciplined, expects discipline out of his players, and holds them accountable. He adapts his D to fit the talents and skills of his players as opposed to Rex, who supposedly does that, but more often than not didn't have players in a position to succeed. I think Bowles and his staff are also doing a better job with player development and teaching. We all know how the team has constantly made adjustments under Bowles, yet under Rex, there were never any adjustments if his game plan didn't work. I think this aspect is huge. It instills confidence not only in one's self, but in one's teammates, and in the CS, and there's something more than just the HC's bloviating to make one believe that you're going to play well and win.
Imo Pryor's hit on Matthews is overrated. What's so tough about hitting a defenceless player who didn't see the hit coming?
Pryor talked about it recently. http://www.northjersey.com/sports/football/jets/jet-comes-of-age-1.1460137 And no, I didn't break down the numbers. I just know he played lots of SS last year, in the box, and he would just flat out miss tackles and take poor angles. Against the Dolphins he played a lot of centerfield, probably half the time he either lined up back there at FS and the other half he was in the box. I might do a quick breakdown on that tonight, I was gonna bring up Sheldon Richardson as well with how Bowles is using him now, playing him at OLB (obviously not every down), dropping him back in coverage, coming off the edge. As for Pryor's confidence you can clearly just see it on the field with the way he plays, he doesn't look lost, he's not out of position, he doesn't look confused. He knows the calls, he knows what the offense is doing, he knows his assignments, all that helps him be in position to make plays. Everybody keeps talking about how he sets the tone for this team, not just the defense. He knows it, too. One big hit and everybody around him suddenly knows what time it is, that they have to step their game up and match his intensity. The way he plays right now is what Polamalu was like in his prime. Is he Polamalu? No. The guy did it for a decade almost, Pryor is half a season into it. We'll see.
to the OP's defense there is a article of Pryor speaking on how his dad helped him mature as a player and person and that it helped him a lot with confidence coming into this year. He said his dad helped him with things like missing meetings and things like that, that would help him be a better pro. I believe you can find that on bleacher report. heres the link http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/11/jets_calvin_pryor.html Basically that article will answer your 1st 2nd and third question because that was basically what the whole article is about haha
Timing and effect. It's hard to make a clean bone-rattling hit in the NFL these days. Lots of flags get thrown around those. Now people will be hearing footsteps in the middle against the Jets, which will have an effect on balls caught over time. It just takes a couple of hits like that and you don't have to make many others, guys will give up on the ball and get alligator arms when they think you're coming.
I understand the psychological reasons but if Calvin Pryor continues to make hits like that with that technique he's going to injure/hurt himself. If he tried that on Gronk or bigger guys he might have dislocated his shoulder. Didn't he get injured vs Pats trying to make a big hit in the 1st quarter? Instead of trying to be a macho man/fake tough guy he should save himself we need him healthy in the 4th quarter when the games are tight to make big stops.
he did not even leave his feet. It was crazy clean, yet it broke the guys ribs. I agree with Pryor. Tannehill's pass was just a responsible. But receivers do not like hearing about cracked ribs. especially from a guy who just basically handed out one of his love taps
This is football. 90% of the game is psychological. We need a guy like Pryor who can inspire fear in the hearts of his opponents. When was the last time we had an enforcer like that? Ronnie Lott on the downside of his career?
What excites me most about Pryor is the next logical progression for him: interceptions. He has the tools to play the ball. Some of his big hits could have been picks if he was looking for the ball instead. I am confident he will learn to play the ball when given the opportunity going forward.
He injured himself vs. The Pats crossing up his feet running with a receiver down the sideline. Fear of injury is the last thing you ever want a player to play with. This is a pretty poor way of thinking and it displays you've never played a contact sport.
Methinks you'll need to ask Petrozza about that. I don't think Jesus is a programmer or software engineer!
