From that Scott Petrak article I hyperlinked yesterday:
First, he must get off the line of scrimmage against press man coverage.
“He is a big man and he’s a long-strider and long strides don’t help you get off press coverage,” Phillips said. “Fast feet help you get off and strong hands, which he has, and being physical, which I think he is versus the press. So we’re just trying to get him to use his size and his quicks.
“And the first release that we had, I wasn’t really sure if he understood how to turn his feet over and his hands and it was like he had done it forever. And the next one, it was like he hadn’t ever done it. So he’s just got to learn to be consistent at doing all the techniques.”
If he can get open, then he has to make the catch. That hasn’t been a problem, as he’s gone four days without a noteworthy drop.
“He’s handled the ball, obviously, and I think he has really, really good ball skills, has really strong hands,” Phillips said. “He’s able to pluck the ball. He’s not a body catcher.
“His hand placement is correct the majority of the time. I don’t have to coach that.”
When Joshua Cribbs tried to make the move from Kent State quarterback to Browns receiver, then-receivers coach Terry Robiskie said non-wideouts don’t understand just how much running receivers do. Their lives are running long sprints, then running some more.
“Yeah, but he’s overcome that,” Phillips said of Pryor. “It takes a couple of days.
“For a quarterback, probably 5 yards is the most you’re going to sprint and that’s going backwards, and at receiver we’re always on the move. I guarantee the GPS’s they put on those guys are exploding right now and he understands it.”
As Pryor makes a run at a roster spot, he’s added another new responsibility: special teams. Reserve receivers are required to block and tackle on kicks.
“He knows that. The guy’s a smart guy,” Phillips said. “He’s got to be able to help you on special teams. For you to get a 6-5 guy that can run like him, has shown he will be physical, he’s got to play special teams.”
Throw in learning to block, and Pryor’s got plenty on his plate.
“A million little things makes you a lot better football team and Terrelle’s got a million little things that he’s got to get better on,” Phillips said. “But we have time. He’s getting a lot of reps technique-wise out here and sometimes it’s frustrating for him because he’s not getting a lot of reps in 11-on-11, but the technique thing is what I’m evaluating him on right now.
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