Packers Ready to Fight for Love
The Green Bay Packers went through a seismic shift this offseason.
Players come and go all the time. Mike McCarthy used to say he expected a roster turnover of about 25 percent from one year to the next.
That being said, it's different when the team changes a starting quarterback.
It's even more different when that quarterback is arguably the greatest player in the history of a storied franchise, one who publicly feuded with that franchise after it drafted a player he consistently referred to as his replacement.
That is what was set in motion when Brian Gutekunst drafted Jordan Love.
Such a move could anger the locker room. It could cause resentment.
Worst of all, it could cause players in the locker room to pick sides.
A divided locker room is one of the easiest ways to sink a ship before it even gets off the dock.
An example from the past could be the 2005 Philadelphia Eagles.
They had players who sided with quarterback Donovan McNabb. Other players were on the side of wide receiver Terrell Owens as he feuded with the franchise and quarterback over a contract dispute.
A team that had reached the Super Bowl just one year prior finished last in the division. Owens was released, and the team went through a transition.
As big of a divide as that could have been in Philadelphia, the potential for such a divide in Green Bay was even greater.
The Packers are mostly young, but have a mix of veterans who are in the end stages of their prime.
Could anyone blame players like Preston Smith, Aaron Jones or Kenny Clark if they wanted the Packers to hold onto Aaron Rodgers for one more shot at a title?
David Bakhtiari called what the Packers are going through a rebuild.
Semantics aside, the Packers were Super Bowl favorites with Rodgers under center. They no longer are, at least for now. That comes with the territory of uncertainty at the quarterback position.
The players have said all the right things this offseason. To their credit, they've said the right things since Gutekunst drafted Love.
That was an unfair situation for the players, but part of doing business in the NFL.
Since Rodgers left, the praise of Love has been noticeable. Sometimes even unprompted.
"He's more than ready," Jones said in an interview with Rich Eisen. "He's very poised, he's calm in any situation and he's a true leader. Us guys who have been there with him over OTA's and camp and all that, we know what kind of player we are getting and we are excited to go lay it on the line for him and make his job easier."
Sometimes laying it on the line comes in the form of making plays.
Other times, it's standing up for a player who is on the ground.
On the Packers' third possession of Saturday's preseason game, Love saw an opening and took off. As Love slid, he was hit by Patriots defensive lineman Sam Roberts.
Love didn't like it. The play drew a flag.
What happened next was the most important part of the play.
Love's teammates, offensive linemen Zach Tom and Jon Runyan, took exception to the play, leading to a bit of a scrum.
Chippiness had been part of the Packers' week with the Patriots, but this was an altercation that the quarterback loved.
Zach Tom (50) sticks up for Jordan Love while AJ Dillon plays peacemaker.
Benny Sieu - USA Today
“For me to feel that those guys have my back, it's awesome,” Love said after the game. “I feel that already, but to see it you love to see that, and I appreciate those guys stepping in and having my back right there."
It was just a small moment in a preseason game, but for a new quarterback stepping into a leadership role he hasn't had before, it was much more than that.
"I think it does build some community, camaraderie," Love said.
"Obviously going back to practice, some of the incidents that happened in practice, you love to see guys having each other’s back and fighting for each other, just not letting any of that kind of stuff slide.”
The Packers are going through a transition this season. There will be rocky moments.
It's incidents like offensive linemen having the quarterback's back that will help get them through everything.
One thing seems certain. If the Packers struggle this season, it won't be due to a lack of confidence in their new quarterback.
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