Is Love Ready? McCarthy’s Experience Provides Insight

Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love have followed similar paths, including promising performances in NFC showdowns in Year 3 of their careers.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Mar 2, 2023 11:18 AM EST

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said Jordan Love is “ready” to start. How would he know?

Ask Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, who knew Aaron Rodgers was ready at the same juncture of his career.

“I'll tell you, a big moment for Ted Thompson and I with the development of Aaron Rodgers was against the Cowboys down there on Thursday Night Football (in) 2007,” McCarthy said on Wednesday at the Scouting Combine. “Both teams were I think about 10-1, it was a big game and Brett was hurt early in the game, and I think we were behind maybe two scores at that point when Aaron went in.”

McCarthy’s memory was just about correct. The teams, indeed, were 10-1. The only difference is that the Cowboys led 27-10 when Rodgers got his first snaps.

Rodgers’ second possession produced an 11-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings. His third drive, highlighted by a third-and-11 conversion, resulted in a touchdown run by Ryan Grant.

The Packers lost 34-24. Rodgers finished 18-of-26 passing for 201 yards and one touchdown. Plus, he added 30 rushing yards.

The following offseason, the Packers traded Favre and handed the offense to Rodgers.

“It was just one of those moments,” McCarthy continued. “I've been there before with Matt Hasselbeck, Aaron Brooks. When you hand them the ball and tell them the expectation, it was clear we weren't changing. We didn't pull back on the game plan and Aaron went in there and played extremely well that night.

“I do recall on the plane ride home, Ted and I talking about his performance. We knew then that he was ready. So, that was kind of a moment for us. But the reality of it is, you see it every day in practice. The way Aaron practiced, ask our defensive players form ‘06 and ‘07 and they’ll tell you that everybody knew that he had a chance to be a great player.”

The Rodgers and Love career tracks have run mostly in parallel.

In 2005, the Packers drafted Rodgers even though they had Favre. In 2020, the Packers drafted Love even though they had Rodgers.

Unlike Rodgers, Love got significant snaps during his second season, including a midseason start at the Chiefs when Rodgers was out with COVID.

Like Rodgers, Love’s play in his first two seasons didn’t inspire much confidence that he could be a winning quarterback.

Unlike Rodgers, Love’s inspiring play from his third season came in a lot fewer snaps than Rodgers played at Dallas, with just nine passes at the end of a decisive loss at the Philadelphia Eagles.

But, as McCarthy said, the body of work is much, much larger than one game off the bench in Year 3. There are countless thousands of practice reps, especially those with Love guiding the scout team against the No. 1 defense, to provide evidence one way or the other on Love’s career trajectory.

“I know just watching him through practice, not only in the offseason last year, training camp, but into the season how he approached the weeks, there was just a different level of intensity week in and week out than there had been prior,” Gutekunst said on Tuesday.

As for Rodgers, he is coming off one of the worst seasons of his brilliant career. A bright spot was the victory over McCarthy’s Cowboys. Rodgers went 14-of-20 for 224 yards and three touchdowns, good for a season-best 146.7 passer rating.

“I thought Aaron played exceptionally well that night,” McCarthy said. “I think he hit all his throws. I still think Aaron's playing top-level football.”