What is Luke Getsy looking for in Raiders’ quarterback competition?

Offensive coordinator talks quarterback battle and impression of Aidan O’Connell

From now until around the end of training camp, expect to hear a lot of talk about the Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback competition between Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew. Granted, there’s already been a ton of discussion on the topic but the point is that it’s not going to stop until someone emerges victorious.

Naturally, during OTAs on May 21, new Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was asked about what traits he’s looking for to make the team’s biggest decision of the offseason.

“I don’t think ‘traits’ necessarily is the right word. I think the evaluation is of the performance on a whole,” Getsy replied. “I think there’s a lot of parts to it. I think it’s the operation, making sure we’re taking care of the football. And then the production part of it.

“This is a long process. We’re at the beginning stages of it. Everyone is trying to get a grasp of what we’re trying to accomplish, not just the QBs but everybody. And so, the good thing is we have a good group in that room. Those guys work their butt off and they’re competitive, but they’re great teammates too at the same time. So, the beginning part of this thing has been a lot of fun.”

It’s interesting that the coach first mentions taking care of the ball when diving into specifics. Based on last season, that would favor O’Connell as Pro Football Focus credited him with 10 ‘turnover-worthy plays’ (TWP) at a 2.6 percent rate while Minshew’s figures were 22 and 3.8 percent.

Granted, a big factor in the free-agent signing’s numbers is a brutal two-week stretch that accounted for 12 or over half of his TWPs. The figures above dip to 10 and 2.1 percent when removing those contests from the equation, balancing out the competition in that regard.

On the other hand, not putting the ball in harm’s way can come at the expense of not pushing it down the field and creating explosive plays. It’s a balancing act and often the numbers that show up on the stat sheet don’t provide enough context, as Getsy explained during his press conference.

Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images

“[Balancing aggressiveness and protecting the ball is] really important,” the coach said, “but all those factors go into it, right? If you’re looking at a QB and say they had nine interceptions and seven of them were at the end of a half with a Hail Mary, you just looked at the ratio and said it was 2-1, right? 18-9 or something like that. But let’s evaluate the ‘why’ or the ‘how’. I think that’s what you get into.

“And then as you start to connect to the concepts and connect to the scheme and what your approach is and why you’re trying to do what you’re going to do, you start paying attention to the defense. And so now you say, ‘Okay, I know the way this hook defender is going to react, so I’m going to be aggressive to this throw.’

“But when you’re in those unknown worlds, and you’re throwing with kind of like an uncertainty, those are the ones that you can’t have. And so, I think as everyone starts learning the system and learning what we’re trying to accomplish with each and every play, then that’s how you become more aggressive and more confident in what you’re going to do. And then that’s also leaning on your teammate too, trusting in that they know what they’re doing and why they’re doing what they’re doing as well.”

On a related note of adding context to numbers, the offensive coordinator was asked about his impressions of O’Connell after diving into the tape on the quarterback’s rookie season.

“For him to get thrown into it the way got thrown into it and to see the adversity, I mean, I think it was like zero and they didn’t score, and then they go score all those points,” Getsy said, presumptively, referring to the Raiders and Bears Week 7 matchup last fall. “I mean, that’s a really cool reflection of the type of kid that he is and the approach that he brings.

“If there’s one thing that I would definitely pat him on the back for at this point is just the willingness to be to be taught, a willingness to be vulnerable in this opportunity to get better. I mean, it’s really cool to see a guy who’s had success now really excited to learn some new stuff.”

With a little more than three months until the season opener in Los Angeles, this certainly won’t be the last time Getsy is asked about O’Connell and Minshew. But it’s good to have an idea of what the coach will be looking for heading into training camp and the preseason.