Jordan Love burst onto the scene in 2023, proving he is the Green Bay Packers quarterback of the present and future. But despite his eye-opening performance, the Packers know that Love is not yet a finished product.
Heading into year three, Green Bay wants Love to improve his footwork, head coach Matt LaFleur told ESPN's Rob Demovsky. Still early in the offseason, LaFleur is mainly focused on ensuring his quarterback has the mechanics down.
“What we're making a big emphasis on is having perfect feet,” LaFleur said. “Making sure the guys go through their progressions, having perfect feet. And when they're not, they hear about it. I just think again, offseason, where we're at, new defense, it's important for them to understand the drops that we want them to take, so we implemented it.”
Quarterbacks coach Tom Clements echoed LaFleur's remarks. For Love to be successful, Clements understands that mastering the fundamentals will be key.
“It's just more fundamental things, Clements said. “Footwork and how he moves in the pocket, and we're working on the drills, working on throwing a lot of routes on air because you can't have defenders out there at this point. It's just presence in the pocket, when to move, when not to move, things like that.”
Intangibles aside, Jordan Love proved to be an immaculate leader during his QB1 debut. He led Green Bay to a 9-8 record and a trip to the Divisional Round in the playoffs. Love helped orchestrate a 48-32 win over the NL East champion Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round. While the Packers fell to the San Francisco 49ers in their next matchup, Love had given fans more than reason to believe.
Now, Green Bay is making sure that Love continues to grow in his new role. Just because he is entrenched as QB1 doesn't mean there isn't room for growth. There will be plenty of eyes on Love after his 2023 campaign. The Packers' coaching staff is here to make sure he shines.
Jordan Love becomes perfect Aaron Rodgers replacement
The Packers got plenty of flack when they selected Love No. 26 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. Aaron Rodgers was still on the roster and fans believed Green Bay should be more focused on adding talent around him. Hindsight is always 20/20 but at least for now it appears the team's long-term gamble paid off.
Starting all 17 games, Love completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He ranked second in the league in passing touchdowns and seventh in yards. Love seemed to only get better as the year went on.
After throwing 10 interceptions through his first nine games, the quarterback had just one pick in the final eight. He had back-to-back 260+ yards, 3/0 TD/INT games against the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12 and 13. And in that playoff matchup against the Cowboys, Love threw for 272 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Packers believe they have the real deal in Jordan Love. Now locked in as QB1, Green Bay just wants to smooth out the edges.
Follow Us
Subscribe
