O'Connell Had a Better Start With Raiders Than Snake
Quarterback Aidan O’Connell had a brilliant start with the Las Vegas Raiders, completing 15-of-18 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown in leading the Silver and Black to a 34-7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The 6-3, 210-pound O’Connell was selected by the Raiders in the fourth round (No. 135 overall) out of Purdue, and while he has a long way to go to come even close to Kenny “Snake” Stabler, the greatest quarterback in franchise history, he got off to a much better start.
“I thought he generally handled himself well for the first (playing) opportunity,” Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels said. “He’s going to learn a lot from some of the things we might have been able to do a little bit better that would’ve helped us maybe sustain a few drives. He soaks it all in, and he’ll take every opportunity to improve.”
Said wide receiver Keelan Cole, who caught O’Connell’s touchdown pass: “Since Day 1, Aidan has been ready to go. So I’m not surprised at all about the performance.”
More than the numbers, in his NFL debut, O’Connell took charge of the offense from the start, was cool under pressure in the pocket, showed that he could throw the ball down the field in addition to making shorter throws, ran the ball well when needed and overall displayed that he might be the Raiders’ quarterback of the future.
His start was a lot different and better than Stabler’s.
The Raiders sent the 6-3 215-pound Stabler to play for the Spokane Shockers of the Continental Football League in 1968 after selecting him in the second round (No. 52 overall) of the National Football League Draft out of Alabama.
However, Stable didn’t play well in Washington state because he was unhappy to be in the minor leagues after being an All-American and winning a national championship with the Crimson Tide.
In addition, Stabler was the second quarterback the Raiders selected in the draft that season, having chosen Eldridge Dickey of Tennessee State with the 25th overall pick. However, they moved him to wide receiver when they realized Stabler was the better quarterback.
Still, Stabler languished on the sidelines after an unimpressive season in Spokane for five years behind starting quarterback Daryle Lamonica and backup quarterback-kicker George Blanda, mostly holding for field goals and extra points by Blanda.
However, the essential thing Stabler did was kneel on the sidelines with Blanda during games, soaking up all he could from the eventual Hall of Famer, who played 26 seasons in the National Football League.
When Stabler was ready, he took over as starting quarterback of the Raiders in 1973. He led them to a 69-26-1 record in the next ten seasons, plus five appearances in the American Football League Championship Game, in addition to a 32-14 rout of the Minnesota Vikings at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., in Super Bowl XI.
Stabler ranks second on the Raiders’ all-time list of passing leaders behind Derek Carr with 19,078 yards and 150 touchdowns.
“Kenny was the most accurate thrower,” said running back Pete Banaszak, who ran for two touchdowns in that Raiders’ Super Bowl victory, as Stabler engineered a brilliant offensive attack against the Redskins, often calling his own plays. “If you wanted the ball between the four and the zero, he’d put it there. If you wanted it in the ear hole, Kenny could put it there.”
Nobody is saying that O’Connell can be another Stabler. Still, after one game, he has shown that he might be another outstanding quarterback in Raiders’ history to go alongside Stabler, Lamonica, Blanda, Carr, Jim Plunkett, Rich Gannon, Tom Flores, Marc Wilson, Jeff Hostetler, Jay Schroeder.
Only time will tell if O’Connell can rank among them, but he got a promising start.
The Silver and Black return to preseason action when they play the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium tonight, Aug. 19, at 9 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. PDT.
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