The preseason is in the books! Admittedly, the last preseason game isn’t the easiest to judge from a film standpoint. The starters didn’t play, the top reserves only played about a quarter, and the competition the Bears went up against wasn’t the Chiefs’ best either, obviously.
Having said that, given the uncertainty seemingly always surrounding Nate Davis’ availability and Ryan Bates’ injury during camp, Matt Pryor has found himself in a position to earn some playing time. Pryor ran with the starters in the second preseason game against Buffalo and played well. In the third preseason matchup with Cincinnati, he was replaced in the starting lineup by Davis who was just OK. Last week🍷, Pryor was reinserted into the starting lineup as the Bears rested all of their starters.
Matt Pryor got a little more than a quarter of playing time on Thursday against the Chiefs, and he did not disappoint. Was it the most dominant effort I’ve ever seen? No. But he did a lot of little things right that I liked from a technique standpoint.
And that, in my opinion, is what you want from your reserves on the O-line. You want players who can come in, hold their own, and put themselves in the right place at the right time. I watched all of Pryor’s plays from Thursday, and I thought he did a lot of the little things right. Here are just a few examples of three different types of assignments that stood out to me for the right reasons.
As always, my disclaimer. Anyone who breaks down the film on the internet can never really know with 100 percent certainty what a player’s assignment is on a given play. However, we’re usually able to take pretty good educated guesses and I think these three plays were pretty straightforward.
Matt Pryor Play #1 – Outside Zone
I’ll dive deeper into why I liked these plays in the post, but wanted to get them out here first.
First play was a simple outside zone — Matthew Rooney (@mrooney23)
The first play is just a simple outside-zone run. It was the first snap from scrimmage for the Bears offense. On an outside zone run, each offensive lineman’s assignment is usually to block the player a gap over and to try and seal their outside shoulder. In this case, given that Pryor’s man is more than a gap over, it’s a tough reach block.
His first step I don’t love. Instead of gaining ground with his play-side foot, he kind of just pivots. Having said that, his second step makes up for it. Jake Curhan does a nice job at right tackle of getting a hand on the defender to help Pryor out. Pryor is helped out a little by the DL turning his shoulders, but he’s able to turn his man along with Curhan.
Now he’s not fully able to seal that shoulder, but maybe with a better first step, he’s able to. However, when you’re unable to seal that shoulder after a few steps, usually on zone OL are taught to just get your hand on a hip and run your man. Pryor runs with the DL here and finishes him here with a pancake.
A solid play from the Bears guard, though maybe with a better first step, it’s even better.
Matt Pryor Play #2 – Screen In Space
The second was a screen out in the open field
— Matthew Rooney (@mrooney23)
Ok, so this second play was less about techniq🐎ue and more about just going out and making a play.
This one appears to be just a standard slip screen out to the right side. Usually, linemen are taught to pass set for a second, then sprint down the line of scrimmage toward the screen, but since it’s to the short side of the field and this one is a slower developing screen Pryor can take his time. There’s no one on the line outside of him, so off the snap, he does a nice job of making the interior DT doesn’t cross his face.
He’s got help on the outside with the WR blocking, so he will have the next man inside of the corner which is No. 48 on Kansas City. Pryor starts to shuffle outside when he sees #48 drop into coverage. He does a great job of slow-playing this block as he gets outside. Blocking a quick linebacker or DB in space is one of the most difficult asks for an OL. Pryor does a great job keeping his shoulders square to his man, being patient, and then attacking at the right time.
Now, ideally, he’d have hit No. 48 on that inside shoulder and blocked him outside, but on a screen like this, you’re more so tasked with just getting a piece of your man. Pryor gets enough of his assignment to allow Ian Wheeler to get by. Could it have been a little better? Sure. He could have hit that inside shoulder and taken a little bit more of an inside-out angle toward the LB. That said, he got a piece of his man out in space and allowed the RB to pick up yards. We’ll take it.
Matt Pryor Play #3 – Pass Pro
The 🐠last was a pass pro set on hi🌟s final play of the night
— Matthew Rooney (@mrooney23)
This was the last play of the night for Pryor. It’s not the sexiest block. It doesn’t end in a pancake and in all honesty, the pass rusher doesn’t appear to be trying too hard to get to Brett Rypien. However, pass protection is all about knowing your assignment and knowing what man or gap you’re responsible for. Matt Pryor executes his assignment perfectly here.
The Bears have a 3/4 slide to the right on for this play. That means the C, RG, and RT are all sliding to the right. The LG is essentially married to the DT on his side. If that player is lined up inside, he slides to the right too. If he’s outside of him in three-technique as he is here, then he stays on him. Then the LT is responsible for the defensive end on his side.
Pryor’s gap pre-snap has no one in it, but there is a one technique splitting him and the center. In this case, while Pryor is responsible for any potential blitzer that might come into his gap, he doesn’t have to get moving hard right off the snap. Instead, he’s able to soft step to the right, but also help his center out with his left hand/shoulder.
Some linemen, in this case, might bury themselves in helping the man inside. When that happens, it leaves that guard’s gap unaccounted for and susceptible to a delayed blitz. In this case, Pryor does a great job punching the one technique with his left side and allowing the center to easily square him up. Here though, Pryor does a great job of keeping his right side out of the block and still ready to pick up any potential blitz, though that never does come.
It’s a fantastic execution of providing help to your center without sacrificing your assignment. He punches, makes life easier on his center, but stays available to do his job if and when that time comes, even though it doesn’t in this play.
In Conclusion
All in all, it was a very solid day for Matt Pryor. He got limited reps, but from what we saw in terms of technique it made me more confident in his ability to step in if Nate Davis isn’t ready on a given week. Pryor wasn’t pancaking guys left and right, but he was fairly technically sound and he executed several different types of blocks like you’d hope a reserve would.
