Falcons Coach Jerry Gray Breakdowns Key to Stopping Packers QB Jordan Love
From one young quarterback to the next, the Atlanta Falcons will face the Green Bay Packers and third-year signal-caller Jordan Love on Sunday as they look to make it a 2-0 start to the season for the first time since 2017.
With the Aaron Rodgers era at an end, the Packers handed over the reins to the former first-round pick, who, despite making his first career start against the Chicago Bears in Week 1, Atlanta's assistant head coach Jerry Gray gives the Falcons prior knowledge about him from his time in Green Bay.
"The biggest thing is that when you get ready to go against him, what can we do to make him hold it a little bit so the rush can get there," Gray said. "Do things like that, and that’ll get help our team going against a guy that I kind of have a little insight on.”
Gray worked in Green Bay for three seasons starting back in 2020, which gave him a close-up look at Love every day in practice. After seeing Love develop behind the scenes, Gray said he wasn't surprised by what he saw from the third-year quarterback against the Chicago Bears. The former Packers' assistant coach said that Love excelled at getting the ball out in practice when he served as Rodgers' backup.
Love completed 15 of his 27 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Packers to a 38-20 win over the Bears, and was only sacked once.
Getting pressure on the quarterback was a struggle for the Falcons' defense in their Week 1 win against the Carolina Panthers, despite the stat sheet showing they had two sacks on Bryce Young, both of which came in the fourth quarter.
Aside from sending blitzes, a good way for the Falcons to get more pressure on Love will be from, as Gray alludes to, strong coverage in the secondary. Atlanta's secondary, which included the debut of safety Jessie Bates, forced three turnovers in the win against the Panthers, with two coming from the free agent signing via interceptions, while the other came on a forced fumble.
The Falcons will host the Packers on Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. EST.
