What Cleveland Browns wide receiver (or hybrid offensive weapon, you could say) did in Week 3 against the Miami Dolphins was impressive. There’s no denying that he finally showed the upside and skill set that many fans had been clamoring to see.
Unfortunately, even after Pryor’s game that was complete with 144 receiving yards, 35 passing yards, and 21 rushing yards, his team still lost 30-24, dropping them to 0-3 on the season. At the very least, there’s reason for optimism, right?
Well, if you ask Pryor, there’s reason for much more than that, as he stated that the Browns can run the table over their final 13 games.
Via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com:
“We’re so close to getting over that hump,” said Pryor, who played 14 wildcat snaps. “Once we get over that hump, I think we’re going to have a lot of success, even this year. … I think we can win all the rest of the games. It depends on our mindset. It depends on how we look at it. It’s just one week at a time.”
You didn’t misread that sentence there in the middle. Pryor stated that he thinks the Browns can “win all the rest of the games.” While it’s great to be confident and believe in your team, it’s a whole different thing to be realistic. This game was, and probably will remain, Pryor’s best of the 2016 season. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
The issue is, in Pryor’s (assumed) best game of the season, the Browns still lost. Yes, they will get Josh McCown back at some point, and will get Corey Coleman back at some point. They might even get Robert Griffin III back at some point. But for now, heading into Week 4 against the Washington Redskins (and probably Week 5 against the New England Patriots), it’s going to be Cody Kessler likely under center, and still no Coleman.
Pryor’s confidence in his team is great to see. This is a guy who has obviously worked hard to make the transition from quarterback to wide receiver, something that very few people believed he could do. He deserves all the praise in the world for actually being able to do it, but he may want to just pump the brakes a bit on the hype train behind the Browns.
This isn’t to say that the excitement and hype behind the Browns shouldn’t be growing because it should. If not for injuries, the Browns would probably be 1-2, or maybe even 2-1. Even while taking that into account, saying that this team could potentially run the table ia just be over the top.
Respect what Pryor has done, love what he brings to the table, but for right now, the young quarterback-turned-wideout needs to focus more on playing while improving his craft and helping his team.
