Davante Adams Has High Praise For Rookie QB Aidan O’Connell
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell is now 2-1 as the starter after last night’s victory over the New York Jets. The Raiders recently cleaned house and benched Jimmy Garoppolo after weeks of poor performances. Star wide receiver Davante Adams has seemed particularly happy about the organization’s recent changes.
“It was impressive, man. He’s as cool as the other side of the pillow,” Adams said. “Dude is not a rookie. By years he is, but by action — and like you said, that poise that he has in those types of situations, you don’t see that often from a rookie quarterback.
“Like I said last week, the way he commands the huddle, the way he talks to us, the communication and confidence. Throw a pick down there early on in the game and the way he bounced back is impressive. So, I’m glad he is our guy.”
Although the victory last night wasn’t pretty, the Raiders got it done. It was painfully obvious that this team needed to relieve McDaniels of his duties. It felt like McDaniels was holding Davante Adams back and Garoppolo couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.
At 5-5, the Raiders are very much in the playoff race discussion, and it will be up to the coaching staff to use players like Adams properly to stay in it. The next two weeks will be tough, as they have to face the Dolphins and the Chiefs. Simply put, the Raiders cannot play the way they did last night against those two opponents and expect to win.
On the bright side, however, it seems like the Raiders have a great locker room right now, and the team’s chemistry is much improved. It was clear that players were unhappy with how the team was being run previously, and their record reflected that.
If Aidan O’Connell can be their guy moving forward, the Raiders could be in a position to build around him. If they can properly offload Garoppolo, they will save millions. Keeping players like Davante Adams happy should be a priority and right now, he seems to be content.
