The Oakland Raiders are not making the postseason, giving them plenty of time to start looking at players for the future. Obviously, the quarterback position is the first in question as the Raiders appear to have two capable starters on their hands. After years of inconsistencies, this is a welcomed issue. Head coach Dennis Allen promised both Matt McGloin and Terrelle Pryor would see action down the stretch of 2013 and on Sunday, he was right.
McGloin has been the starter the past few weeks not just because of an injury to Pryor, but because he is proving he can handle the job. The undrafted rookie might not be getting the Raiders wins, but it certainly is not for lack of effort. He got the start again in Week 14, but a package of plays showed Pryor is ready to compete.
After being sidelined with a knee sprain for the month, Pryor returned to run a specific package of plays that included more read-option calls than McGloin normally runs. The quarterback entered the game in the third offensive possession, a decision made by Allen.
"We knew we wanted to get him in early in the game, get him a series and then evaluate and see how it went after that,'' Allen said, via the San Mercury News. "As we went back with Matt, we really had something going in the second half offensively, so we stuck with what we were doing."
McGloin finished the day going 13 of 21 for 174 yards in passing with two touchdowns and an interception. Pryor went 2 for 5 for 20 yards. His one drive led to a field goal. Pryor's time at quarterback was inconsistent with results, while McGloin has been more of a steady performer. Pryor posted a 69.0 passer rating, tossing five touchdowns and 10 interceptions earlier in the season. However, he does have 504 yards rushing this year.
McGloin notes that the rotation is not the easiest thing to deal with. The quarterback faced a rotation while in college and said it can be hard to find a rhythm when he is constantly coming in and out of the lineup.
"Anytime you have quarterbacks going in and out, especially in cold weather, it gets difficult sometimes, but it's not an excuse for the way we played (in the first half),'' McGloin said.
The quarterback better get used to this system. Allen said he is using these last few games to fairly determine the future of the quarterback position for Oakland. While he likes McGloin, he said it would be unfair to name him the future if Pryor did not get a shot to continue proving himself. Allen along with Reggie McKenzie have made it a goal to find a quarterback that can be the face of the franchise and it could come down to McGloin or Pryor.