We are at the point of the season, with the Packers’ record standing at 2-4, and with Jordan Love’s offense having withered down to 30 total points against two beatable defenses in the last two weeks, to consider something drastic.
And what former star pass rusher Chris Long had to say on Twitter (X) this week sure makes sense: “Need to turn him loose (sic) more.”
Indeed, there is a growing chorus of former players—mostly quarterbacks, plus Long—who are pushing the Packers to open their minds and their playbooks when it comes to Love. While it has been Jordan Love who has been taking a high level of criticism for what’s happened to the Packers offense in the last two weeks (181.5 yards per game passing, four interceptions and two touchdowns), increasingly, former players are piling on to the team’s scheme and play-calling.
Long also continued: “They take forever to loosen the reigns. Predictable on 1st down. Take more shots outside the #s. He put the ball right on Doub’s (receiver Romeo Doubs) hands. More deep crossers to 9 (Christian Watson). Feels like they like him to know where to go w the ball immediately.”
HOFer Defends Packers’ Jordan Love Offense
The chatter about Love was kicked off by an observation from Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, who defended Love after the team’s very disappointing showing in the loss to Denver.
“Another (question) after watching film – someone who’s saying #JordanLove played bad last week, please show me the plays you wanted him to do something different? Where he had guys open & didn’t see them? I saw 2 plays on final drive that I questioned… but very few others!? #WhatIMiss” Warner wrote.
Another ? after watching film – someone who’s saying #JordanLove played bad last week, please show me the plays you wanted him to do something different? Where he had guys open & didn’t see them? I saw 2 plays on final drive that I questioned… but very few others!? #WhatIMiss
ESPN analyst and former Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky agreed about Jordan Love, and went on to criticize the Packers’ offense approach in general—especially their use of “mirror concepts” in which receivers on both sides of the field run the same routes. The approach is a simplistic one and does not allow receivers much room to operate.
“Spacing bad,” Orlovsky wrote. “Mirror concepts vs bad coverages. Missed some checkdowns but other than that …”
Coach Matt LaFleur, in Long’s view, does not trust Love enough in the early going to open up the playbook.
“It’s funny bc I think Jordan throws a good ball,” Long wrote. “But MLF must be worried about his processing bc it’s like a preseason offense especially early in games and some of the places he goes are so predetermined.”
Packers’ Matt LaFleur Gives Vote of Confidence
This week, LaFleur expressed confidence in Love’s play for the Packers offense, despite the recent poor showings and despite the fact that Love is now 29th in the NFL with a 79.4 quarterback rating. Still there is no doubt that the Packers are keeping the offense simple (maybe too simple) and encouraging Love to get rid of the ball, sometimes before the play develops, as Long suggested.
Love has the third-quickest time-in-pocket rating among starters at Pro Football Focus, holding the ball an average of 2.46 seconds before he lets it go.
“It all works in unison and, so, the better everybody is around him, the better he’s going to look,” LaFleur said, via NBC Sports. “Our confidence in him is not wavering one bit. Certainly, I think, as the play-caller you put a lot of onus on yourself when things aren’t going well. We’ll continue to do that, but we’ve got to find a way to generate more points because when you’re generating points, it’s just a totally different narrative.”
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Packers Urged to ‘Turn Loose’ Jordan Love’s Offense by Ex-NFL Stars