34 Days Until Training Camp: Biggest Question at Quarterback
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Based on the first practice being set for July 26, there are 34 days until the start of Green Bay Packers training camp. Our annual Training Camp Countdown Series will get you ready.
Leading off: A series of stories featuring the biggest question at each position group. For quarterback, it’s the question that will define the entire 2023 NFL season: Is Jordan Love a good quarterback? A bad quarterback? Or something in between?
We don’t know that answer today. We won’t know the answer halfway through training camp. And we might not know the answer halfway through the season.
The Packers, obviously, are betting that Love is going to be good.
If Love is good – better yet, if he’s really good – the franchise will be set for another sustained run as perennial championship contenders.
If Love isn’t good – if it turns out general manager Brian Gutekunst was wrong to draft Love instead of a player at a position of need in 2020 and was wrong again to trade Aaron Rodgers this offseason – then heads might roll.
Remember, Packers President Mark Murphy’s mandatory retirement will come in 2025. Generally, the new boss wants his own guys in key roles. How can the new team president have any confidence in the general manager and coach if they messed up the most important position in the sport?
Having seen just about every one of Love’s passes over his three-plus years in Green Bay. I feel like I should have a pretty good grasp of what’s to come.
I don’t.
Jordan Love (Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports Images)
There have not been many practices when I left the field thinking, “Wow, he was really good today.”
However, there was one such day.
In 2021, when Rodgers skipped the mandatory minicamp and Love was running with the A-team of receivers, he shredded the No. 1 defense. What I’ll remember is the atmosphere on the field. The more passes Love threw, the louder it got. It was as if all the team’s veteran players were like, “Damn, this guy’s good!”
That day was an outlier.
Love got significant playing time in two games in 2021. Neither performance was inspiring.
In a midseason loss at the Kansas City Chiefs in which Rodgers was sidelined with COVID, Love was 19-of-34 passing for 190 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Good quarterbacks beat blitzes and make plays under pressure. Love did neither.
In a loss at the Detroit Lions to close the regular season, Love was 10-of-17 for 134 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. His lone touchdown was a 62-yard screen to Josiah Deguara.
In Love’s defense, circumstances have conspired against him. His rookie season was a washout because COVID eliminated the offseason practices. His lackluster practices came mostly while playing behind younger/lesser offensive linemen while throwing to younger/lesser receivers. Playing at Kansas City isn’t easy for any quarterback, let alone one making his starting debut. Playing at Detroit, he was surrounded by mostly backups.
Love’s growth last year made Gutekunst comfortable in trading Rodgers. The only public evidence of that growth was Love’s sharp performance in relief of an injured Rodgers at Philadelphia. Love played 10 snaps and was 6-of-9 passing (one drop) for 113 yards, highlighted by a 63-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson.
There were circumstances there, too. The Eagles led by double digits for Love’s two possessions so were in prevent mode. They blitzed one time and got burned, with Watson turning on the jets for 53 yards after the catch in outrunning the Eagles to the end zone.
Surrounded by the starters, Love practiced five times in front of reporters this spring. He wasn’t bad. He wasn’t great. He threw a couple ugly interceptions and a handful of wounded ducks. He was also playing with a bunch of young receivers and seemed intent to stay in the pocket rather than get on the move, which should be a strength once the regular season begins.
What we know is Love has all the ingredients to be a really good quarterback. From hand size to arm talent to athleticism, he checks all the boxes.
What we don’t know is if Love can turn the raw ingredients into a three-course meal filled with stats, accolades and playoff victories.
It’s worth remembering Rodgers in 2008 led the Packers to a 6-10 record even with an established group of receivers because he routinely failed to deliver in close games. But the potential was obvious after he finished fourth in yards and touchdowns and sixth in rating.
Love will be playing with the youngest group of receivers in the NFL but should be supported by a better running game and defense.
So, getting back to the heart of the matter: Is Love a good quarterback? So long as he’s trending in that direction headed into December, the Packers will be happy with the season, no matter the final record.
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