Davante Adams: Aidan O'Connell is as cool as the other side of the pillow
When the Raiders moved on from Josh McDaniels as head coach, they also moved on from Jimmy Garoppolo as their starting quarterback.
So far, the changes are working out well, with Las Vegas moving to 2-0 under interim head coach Antonio Pierce with last night's 16-12 victory over the Jets.
Rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell's stat line wasn't the most impressive, going 16-of-27 for 153 yards with a touchdown and an interception. But O'Connell did make a key throw to rookie tight end Michael Mayer for a 7-yard, go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Receiver Davante Adams told reporters he likes what he’s been seeing out of the young signal-caller.
“It was impressive, man. He's as cool as the other side of the pillow,” Adams said postgame. “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.”
A fourth-round pick in this year’s draft, O’Connell has now completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 675 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions in four appearances with three starts this season.
After defeating one of the league's better defensive units in the Jets, O’Connell will be tested again in the next two weeks with matchups against Miami and Kansas City.
