Love Enjoying Calm Before What Could Be Historic Storm

“It was fun out there today,” Jordan Love said after a sensational Wednesday performance. Will the fun continue if the quarterback circus of 2008 returns to town for training camp?

Author:
Bill Huber
Updated:
Jun 10, 2021 10:08 AM EDT
Original:
Jun 10, 2021

GREEN BAY, Wis. – When training camp opened in Summer 2008, Aaron Rodgers was an innocent bystander as fans lined Clarke Hinkle Field in support of the legendary Brett Favre.

Who knows how Summer 2021 will unfold for Jordan Love. Perhaps he’ll be an innocent bystander as fans fill Ray Nitschke Field in support of the legendary Rodgers.

Depending on the status of the reigning MVP, the prospect of the quarterback circus returning to town is something to ponder for about seven weeks from now. That’s when the Green Bay Packers will convene for what could be a training camp unlike any other. Or, at least, unlike any other since Mike McCarthy proclaimed the “train had left the station” and Favre was shipped to the New York Jets.

On Wednesday, yet another scorching summerlike day in Green Bay, Love had a moment in the sun at the same Hinkle Field where Rodgers endured a public trial by fire. One glorious pass after another left Love’s right hand and landed in his receivers’ mitts. With each completion, the buzz on the practice field grew louder. After one of them, a splendid deep spiral into the hands of running back Aaron Jones, tight ends coach Justin Outten grabbed a towel to fan off the red-hot Love.

“It was fun out there today,” Love said. “The coaches do a really good job of helping us just get back to how the game’s supposed to be played. It’s a kid’s game. We’re supposed to be having fun out there and just enjoying it while we’re out there, making plays. And I think our coaches and all the players on this team do a great job of just going out there and having fun. Sometimes, you’ve got to remember that this is a game and it’s supposed to be fun and we’re supposed to enjoy it.”

Will the fun continue during training camp? That Rodgers is skipping minicamp isn’t a surprise and, in the grand scheme of things, not a big deal. The situation will get a lot more real if Rodgers isn’t present for the start of training camp.

If that’s the case, a chaotic circumstance could await. Much like Rodgers during the Summer of Favre in 2008, when Favre came out of a brief retirement and pressed to get his job back, only to be told that he’d have to compete with Rodgers, Love has been thrust into circumstances that are beyond his control. Sensing the franchise wasn’t committed to him, Rodgers decommitted from the franchise. While he is skipping the minicamp, there remains some hope the relationship can be salvaged.

So, will Love be the starting quarterback? Rodgers’ backup? Those are enormous questions, of which Love will have no say in the outcome.

Whether Love spoke with honesty or in cliches, he said he’s tuned out the controversy.

“Yeah, I mean, the way I do it is I just don’t listen to any of the outside noise,” Love said. “I just try and stay true to myself and understand that I can’t control anything that’s going on outside of the building. I can just focus on how I can get better each day and, like I said, control what I can control. That’s all I’m trying to do. I’ve got good people around me who are able to help me keep a level head.”

Under the best of circumstances, being a young quarterback isn’t easy – especially being a young quarterback who was a rookie during a pandemic. Some days, such as Tuesday, will be struggles. Other days, such as Wednesday, will be sensational.

“There is some ups and downs, no doubt about it,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Wednesday. “Every day is a new learning experience. And [as a rookie] when you have limited reps and you weren’t getting the bulk of the reps all throughout the course of the season – and this is never an excuse, it’s just reality, right? – there’s no preseason, so there’s just a ton of learning that’s going on. It’s great to see when he does have success because that will build the confidence, and that’s really what we’re looking for.”

For now, it’s a relatively stress-free life for Love. While the Packers signed veteran Blake Bortles, Love has been the unquestioned QB1. Of the first 34 plays of 11-on-11 on Wednesday, Love took 30 snaps compared to two for Bortles and two for Kurt Benkert. With all those reps, the coaches only want to see improvement and growth in the offense. And the Rodgers saga, while obviously an overwhelmingly important issue for the franchise, isn’t really a big deal for the players. Vacation is coming, and the reporting date for training camp is 47 days distant.

The pressure would be ratcheted up if Rodgers is a no-show for the start of training camp or traded during training camp. It would only grow as Sept. 12 – the date of the regular-season opener at New Orleans – draws near.

So, Love will focus on getting ready because, really, that’s all he can do.

“Whether Aaron was here or not here, that’s going to be my mindset regardless,” he said, “because I have to get myself ready to play and be able to go out there and take charge of the team and be able to perform at a high level and do my best so everybody else can do their jobs, as well, and just be able to perform at a high level. My goal is just to take it day by day, get better, find areas I need to improve.”

After the third and final week of organized team activities last week, Love will be waiting – just like everyone else – to see if there’s a resolution with Rodgers and if he’ll be the team’s new starting quarterback.

He’ll be ready.

“A hundred percent,” he said. “That’s what I’m here for. I was drafted here to play quarterback, so I’ll definitely be ready Week 1.”