Raiders' QB O'Connell Entire Presser Chargers Week

HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders (5-8) have a short turnaround this week as they host their AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers (5-8) on Thursday Night Football.

There is frustration in Raider Nation, and not just from the fans. Everyone in "The Nation" knows that the Raiders beat themselves on Sunday, and they are chomping at the bit to get back on the field and get back to winning.

Rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell spoke moments ago ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers game on Thursday. You can watch the entire press conference above, and read the transcript below.

Quarterback Aidan O’Connell

Q: This is your first quick turnaround to a Thursday game in the NFL, so what has this process been like so far?

O'Connell: "Yeah, it's been a little crazy. We've had some crazy weeks here in the last few weeks, with short weeks and Monday night games and stuff like that, but yeah obviously everything is accelerated. So, we're trying to just fit in as much as we can each day."

Q: Yesterday I asked Coach (Antonio) Pierce about getting the ball down the field, going vertical and he talked about it's something he talks about he wants. Does it need to be called more? Do you have to see it more? What has to go into the Raiders being able to attack down the field?

O'Connell: "Yeah, it's a good question. I think it definitely is a combination of things. I think when there are opportunities and sometimes we don't get a lot during a game -- teams have played a lot of two high against us and try to limit our opportunities down the field because they know we have good skill players, and so it's just trying to be patient, take them when they come, but also be smart with it. It's not unique to us, but we're trying to find the balance of being aggressive and being smart."

Q: What do you feel like you've improved on since the first time you played the Chargers in your first career start?

O'Connell: "Yeah, I think every game I'm learning more and more about the NFL, about what it takes to play well on any given day, any given drive, or any play and really just trying to learn how important, as I've talked about before, how important each play is. So, I think my intensity to detail on each play has gotten better, but I still have a long way to go obviously, but I'm trying to just execute play-by-play better."

Q: Just your thoughts on going up against Khalil Mack again and what makes him so difficult to slow down?

O'Connell: "Yeah, obviously he's been doing this for a long time, is a really great player. They have great players throughout the entire field, so it's going to be a great challenge for us. We're going to have to play really well, do our job well and it's my responsibility to make sure we can move the ball down the field as an offense."

Q: When the team is struggling, has lost three in a row, what do you do to stay centered? What do you do to just kind of continue to grow, but keep peace in your heart and just keep moving along?

O'Connell: "Yeah, I think trying to keep football in perspective is a big thing. I'm a guy who's going to work as hard as possible, try to get here early and stay late to try to do everything in my power to make sure football is a high priority in my life. But I think something that helps my perspective is just relying on my faith and try to make sure it doesn't become the end of the world. I think when you make football sometimes too much, you can get bogged down by it, but rather just being able to work as hard as you can at the end of the day and still having joy with it."

Q: Center Andre James went down in the game and he's still nursing an injury. What changes, what are the adjustments when you have someone different snapping you the ball?

O'Connell: "Yeah, Andre [James] is obviously a great player for us, a great leader. He's been our center the entire season and has done a great job, so it'll be an adjustment given his status. We'll see what happens, and we're super confident in the rest of the guys. We get reps with other guys throughout the week and they prepare for stuff like this. We're not the only team, obviously, going through injuries and stuff like that. It happens."

The Silver and Black will turn around quickly and host their AFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers, on Thursday, December 14, at 8:15 p.m. EST/5:15 p.m. PST.

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