Raiders' Antonio Pierce explains trait in Aidan O'Connell that all elite QBs have
This season hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows for the Las Vegas Raiders, and it certainly hasn't for whoever is the quarterback. In this case, it's been rookie Aidan O'Connell since Week 9, and he was named the starter for the rest of the year. He started against the Chargers early in the season, but […]
This season hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows for the Las Vegas Raiders, and it certainly hasn't for whoever is the quarterback. In this case, it's been rookie Aidan O'Connell since Week 9, and he was named the starter for the rest of the year. He started against the Chargers early in the season, but that opportunity presented itself when Jimmy Garoppolo got hurt the week before.
Aidan O'Connell has had some really good games where he showed potential and talent that could be the franchise guy, but he has also shown some really bad parts of his game, like the Miami Dolphins game and even the Minnesota Vikings game. Overall, it's been a bag of mixed feelings.
But man, against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football, he was "in his bag," as the kids say. He did everything right, but it's more impressive because it came after a bad game, and he bounced back as if it never happened. He may not have the skills to be a franchise guy at this moment, but he has one elite trait.
"I made that decision with Adan when we first, when I first took over, and I don't think you ever go back on your gut," Pierce told reporters after the in. "And Adan is a rookie. And when I was a rookie, and I played, I made mistakes. I had ugly games, and it's hard to play the position he plays.
"He's going to have rough days. He had a rough day in office last week. Did you know what he did on Monday? The first one to the building. You know, he did yesterday? He's the last one in the building. He didn't leave. He stayed there all day until he got it right."
O'Connell finished with four touchdowns in the first half, that is. He tied Derek Carr for the only rookie to have four passing TDs in Raiders' history, and he did that in the first half. So, there is obviously something there with O'Connell.
But that is an elite trait that Pierce is talking about. The ability to be the first one there and the last one to leave with guys like Josh Jacobs, Davante Adams, and even Maxx Crosby on your team and outwork them in a week, as crucial as this one was for O'Connell's career, is huge. That's an elite work ethic. That's Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, and Aaron Rodgers-level stuff.
Now, I'm not saying O'Connell will be as good as those guys, but the work ethic is amazing. Hopefully, he can show more the rest of the season and give the Raiders a better idea of if they need to target QB in this upcoming draft or not.
Raiders’ Aidan O’Connell does what only Derek Carr has
The Raiders rookie was balling.
