It’s been a rookie year of highs and lows for Aidan O’Connell, but there won’t be many games this season where the Raiders will need a stronger performance from their quarterback than this week against the Chiefs.
Compared to previous years, the Chiefs have not been as dynamic on offense, but their defense is as good as it’s ever been.
Last week, the Dolphins were able to confuse O’Connell at times, and the Chiefs are going to try to do the same. Steve Spagnuolo is one of the best defensive coordinators in the league and will throw a lot of different looks at O’Connell in his fifth NFL start.
The Raiders like O’Connell, but they are still trying to figure out what they have in him. Like any rookie, there are details to his game that need to improve.
If the Raiders are going compete with the better teams in the league, O’Connell is going to have to develop quickly in a few key areas. Radio host JT The Brick talked this week on his Raider Nation Radio program about a few of the concerns he has with the O’Connell’s game headed into a difficult matchup against the Chiefs…
“What do we need to see from Aidan O’Connell? I’ve seen the good. I’ve seen the bad, and I’ve seen the ugly. I’ve seen it all. I think I know what his ceiling is, but I’m not sure. His ceiling could be really good. I mean, I think he has a cannon when he steps into a beautiful ball. You saw that touchdown to Davante Adams… the first play of the game that was scripted to Michael Mayer. Perfect throw, nice gain…
But in between I’m seeing some warning signs. I’m seeing the fact that he holds the ball too long. I’m seeing the fact that he’ll give up the ball if he’s hit. There’s a lot of things that I don’t think are conducive to beating Kansas City and that has to be fixed...
Aidan O’Connell has got to be better in this game. We’re not going to win in spite of Aidan O’Connell.”
O’Connell held up well against the Jets two weeks ago, so there’s no reason he can’t play just as well against the Chiefs – especially if his offensive line is getting healthy.
To that point, though, it’s going to take more than 16 points to beat the Chiefs.
If he has it in him, now would be the perfect time for O’Connell to come through with breakout performance. And if the Raiders are going to stay relevant to the playoffs, they are probably going to need it to happen.
twitter: @raidersbeat
JT was in love with Jimmy G, And now he says this? I don’t trust anything this guy ever says! He’s a true Giants fan. Let the kid grow. Stop it JT…….. your a Raider?
Raiders definitely need to play more aggressive on offense and that starts with our terrible play calling and why are they not using Jacobs more as an outlet for O’Connell. Teams are going to try and shut down the run and keep the ball in O’Connells hands give the kid areas to dump to Jacobs instead of him forcing the ball into coverage, and for Gods sake come up with some decent plays in the red zone he looks like Carr, it’s killing us.
JT The Brick is not a independent content provider nor is he on the payroll of any sports news organization, he is paid by the Raiders organization to provide media content so it is never a surprise for him to come across as a homer.
That is why when Jimmy G was brought in all you heard from him were platitudes….The quotes attributed to him above are the closest you will hear/read from him in regards to criticism of any player or the organization.
#1, great comment Mr Souza. 2nd, JT’s comments are as dumb as are his best; is he really someone (former player? Nope!) to use such rhetoric? Plus his use of the term “in spite of” is as confusing as his noticeable ingenuity.. Freakin New York..
It doesn’t matter at all who the QB is with that Offensive Line!!!
If we are to have success winning games, Josh Jacobs has to be priority 1 carrying da ball effectively 20 times or more. And da use of Tre Tucker’s speed has to be utilized to da fullest in creative ways in da running game. This will keep da defense at bay guessing and da passing game will flourish!