Q&A: Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor

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ALAMEDA -- Raiders rookie quarterback Terrelle Pryor spoke with Bay Area reporters Friday for the first time since his five-game suspension to begin his NFL career ended following Sunday's game at Houston.

During the unpaid ban, Pryor could only attend team meetings and could not practice with the team. He spoke to reporters about how he spent his time improving his mechanics, how he has been received by his teammates and what his conversations with the late Al Davis were like.

Following then, an unfiltered Q&A with Pryor ...

Question: Thoughts on joining team?
Answer: It's all a new process for me, really. Trying to get used to the speed and stuff like that and the plays called and just getting used to being with my teammates again.

Q: Feel good to be on the field again, though?
A: Yeah, without a doubt, I get to do the thing that I love and go out there with my teammates and contribute and practice and help as much as I can. And however I can get involved, I'm back at it from that standpoint. I enjoy that kind of thing and I enjoy playing the game that I love so getting back out there is a big blessing.

Q: What did you get accomplished in your five weeks off?
A: Coach wanted me to do the drops the way he wanted, so I got that done. I was training by myself; I had a personal quarterback trainer for five weeks. And I really wanted to get the verbiage down a little more and I'm getting a lot better at it. Pretty much, that's it, and getting the plays, obviously, just keep studying the plays. So I was getting the plays down and also doing footwork and mechanics-stuff as well. Doing the verbiage and calling the plays out, that was quite different too.

Q: Is it easier for you knowing that Hue Jackson has said you're a quarterback and not have to worry about any other positions?
A: I mean, I knew what I was going to be. I mean, that's for people that go around, I guess, thinking that they know what they're talking about. But it is what it is. I knew what i was going to be. I'm just trying to get it down so if something were to happen, I could help my team continue on the path they're at.

Q: Jason Campbell said you're quiet but you speak out at meetings and asked you if you were the new QB consultant. How comfortable are you in speaking out and being part of the team?
A: I'm comfortable. Guys are pretty welcoming here. We have a lot of fun here. As you see, I know you guys are always in the locker room hearing guys always joking and stuff like that, and I'm a very friendly guy so I can get involved with my teammates and have them like me because that's just the way I am and, I don't know, I just like to fit in as well as I can and they made it pretty easy for me so, to answer your question, when I'm in there with Jason and Kyle (Boller) and Coach (Al) Saunders, I'm pretty comfortable because I feel like I know what I'm talking about. If I wasn't very comfortable in talking about what I thought, or knew, I wouldn't say it. But I feel like I'm confident and comfortable with it to feel like I can just spit it out and say what I feel. And they respect me for that.

Q: What did your conversations with Al Davis these past five weeks mean to you as you were waiting to get back on the field?
A: He pretty much, just with how passionate he was about the game, he just kept on telling me, Just win. And then the last time I talked to him, maybe like two weeks ago, maybe a little longer, maybe two-and-a-half weeks ago, he just said, 'Wait your turn.' And he said, 'Just win, baby.' He said that quite a few times. So just from talking to him, I just got how passionate and it just re-emphasizes just how passionate he is about football. How passionate you need to be to be successful. I feel like I learned that and I picked that up from him.

Q: You go up to his office, or he call you when you spoke?
A: He would always call me on the phone. I actually never met him in person.

Q: He give you quarterback tips, what you should work on?
A: Nah, pretty much overtime I talked to him he told me, 'Be patient, be patient' and that he believed in me, obviously I'm here, and also just be passionate about the sport and he just kept on saying, 'Win.' He was telling the tricks that you get to win -- working hard and things like that and just being a part of the team and he was just pretty much breakage things down to how to win. His phrase, he said that quite a few times, every time I'd get on the phone with him. So that was good to hear. It was cool just to have a guy like that that's a player's person like that, an owner like that. It just amazed me.

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