The Raiders’ news frenzy this week began with Jimmy Garoppolo’s “bad day” in Monday night’s loss to the Detroit Lions. It escalated late Tuesday night when the Raiders fired GM Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels. With the big picture in mind, the decision to turn from Garoppolo to O’Connell wasn’t far behind. And it was the right move with the Raiders quickly falling out of contention. It’s no secret that Garoppolo wasn’t playing his best in 2023. He’s dealt with injuries and though he’s historically thrown the ball down the field well, I always viewed his numbers as inflated due to playing in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, which expects receivers to rack up yards after the catch. We know what Garoppolo is; now it’s time to see if O’Connell has what it takes to lead the franchise.
Now, no one really knows just what the Raiders’ offense will look like following the coaching staff shakeup, which included the firing of OC Mike Lombardi, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. O’Connell has made one start this season, completing 24-of-29 passes for 238 yards with an INT while taking seven sacks in a 24-17 loss to the Chargers. With Bo Hardegree being promoted from QBs coach to offensive coordinator, per Rapoport, Las Vegas has to put O’Connell in a position to succeed. Using a lot of Josh Jacobs in the run game and getting a frustrated Davante Adams involved is a good place to start. The rookie has shown he’s not afraid to throw into coverage and push the ball downfield.
2023-11-01 21:48:00
#Agree #disagree #decisions
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