Getty Davante Adams had praise for Raiders rookie Aidan O'Connell
No, it was not a pretty performance from the Raiders’ Aidan O’Connell. He is, of course, a rookie quarterback and no one is expecting perfection. But when the Raiders really needed a touchdown to pull out a mucky win over the Jets in Week 10, O’Connell was there, hitting fellow rookie Michael Mayer for a critical score early in the fourth quarter.
One of O’Connell’s biggest backers this season has been receiver Davante Adams, who was boosting O’Connell even when Jimmy Garoppolo was the team’s starter.
Despite only posting 16 points in the difficult Sunday night win, Adams gave O’Connell the thumbs up.
“It was impressive, man. He’s as cool as the other side of the pillow,” Adams said in his postgame interview. “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.”
Big Leap for Raiders Aidan O’Connell
O’Connell was the team’s fourth-round pick in this year’s draft, an unlikely NFL starter given that he was so lightly recruited in high school that he was a walk-on at Purdue. He did not win the job for the Boilermakers until his senior year, and he added a second senior year because of Covid-19 rule changes.
Now, here he is starting for the Raiders and on a two-game winning streak since the firing of Josh McDaniels.
The win over the Jets was especially difficult, because of New York’s vaunted defense. Additionally, the Raiders were playing without offensive lineman Kolton Miller. O’Connell hit Davante Adams for six passes and 86 yards, including an incredible one-handed catch with cornerback Michael Carter draped on him.
Dear lord Davante Adams is him
“It was a tough game, it was up-and-down, obviously we were down and had to come back,” O’ Connell said on Sunday. “Even the second half, up-and-down, each drive there were ups-and-downs. … Kind of all over the place, definitely not a superclean performance from us. But it is really hard to win in the National Football League . Really proud of our guys.”
Davante Adams: O’Connell ‘Shows the Right Way’
For the season, Aidan O’Connell has now completed 63.5% of his passes for 675 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions in four appearances this season. He is 2-1 as a starter, and though his numbers were not great on Sunday (16-for-27, 153 yards), he did, as Adams said, keep his cool.
Considering how unhappy Adams appeared to be playing with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, that’s a good thing.
“He just continues to show the right way, the way to take care of his body, the attention to detail, he’s here early, he’s here late,’ Adams said last week. “It’s impressive to see because there’s been a lot of things, a lot of distractions in a way. He’s been one of the most focused people probably in this building since the beginning, waiting for his opportunity. Not praying on anybody’s downfall, but just, there in the event that his number gets called.
“And it has a couple times. He’s answered. He has a lot that he’s done to feel confident going forward.”
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Raiders’ Davante Adams Sends Strong Message to ‘Cool’ Rookie