The opening practice of training camp perhaps didn’t go as well as Jordan Love, the Green Bay Packers’ newest starting quarterback, would have hoped.
The former Utah State product completed seven of his 14 pass attempts during the team portions of practice on Wednesday, July 26. After the early-morning showers had cleared up in time for the Packers to host practice in front of bleachers that were jam-packed with observers, all that remained was a breeze that could have impacted some of Love’s throws.
“The wind accounts for that, but you can never make excuses for that — you have to play through it,” he admitted in a post-practice interview at his locker.
At least two of Love’s incompletions were drops courtesy of second-year wideout Christian Watson, who saw his fair share of struggles in that department last season. Two more of Love’s misses were deep balls that he underthrew — two of which targeted Luke Musgrave, the rookie tight end whose speed, remarkably, allowed him to get behind cornerback Corey Ballentine and Keisean Nixon on separate plays.
The incompletions will call for attention and presumably even criticism, but Musgrave‘s 6-foot-6 frame creating separation with ease is the real headline of the play; it’s merely a glimpse of the big-play potential he can provide the Packers’ offense.
Albeit with a few misses, Love’s sporadic performance at the first day of training camp offered some good with the bad. To end the day, he completed a 20-yard dart across the middle to second-year wide receiver Samori Toure. He didn’t throw a single interception, nor did he ever appear like he was out of place.
“I take it day by day,” said Love. “We have a day like this, we go in there and watch the film, evaluate it, see where I stand with the plays I had, and tomorrow I’ll evaluate that day. The thing you want to see is not making the same mistakes twice, building on things. If you made a mistake one day, just grow from that, learn and not make these mistakes twice. It’s a progression over the course of training camp and the course of the season.”
Of course, any shortcomings Love experiences this early into his tenure at the helm of the offense are to be expected. With just 83 regular-season pass attempts under his belt — an assortment of throws that took place either at the end of a blowout or to replace an injured Aaron Rodgers — there’s been very little evidence to suggest that the Packers know what they have in Love.
Love Knows What He’s Doing
As a former first-round pick in the spring 0f 2020, Love has spent three years in Green Bay with a fourth on the horizon. He’s served under Matt LaFleur for every year of his tenure as head coach but one, so there’s a sense of belief — and maybe even comfort — in Love’s ability to run the offense.
Love has played in five of a possible six exhibition contests over the past two summers, with a minor shoulder injury keeping him out of a sixth. He practically redshirted his entire rookie season due to the COVID-19 pandemic; he didn’t dress for a single game.
“I’ve been a backup, but I’ve been here for three years. I’ve been around these guys, I got a good feel for these guys, I have good relationships with all these guys,” he said.
“It’s not like it’s anything new. It’s not like I’m a rookie coming in trying to learn things. I’ve been here. It’s just entering that new role, getting more reps in practice, more eyes on you and things like that. At the end of the day, it’s the same thing for me as what I’ve been doing.”
Rasul Douglas: ‘We’ll Be Fine’
Iron sharpens iron, and that’s precisely why Love will benefit from throwing against angsty cornerbacks such as Jaire Alexander and Rasul Douglas. It’s also why some of Love’s misses may have to be taken with a grain of salt — the Packers sport arguably the best cornerback tandem in the league. That’s not even including Eric Stokes, who sustained season-ending ankle and knee injuries in a November 6 loss to the Detroit Lions last year.
“He’s a good quarterback, he made some good throws today,” Douglas said after practice. “It’s just his touch. He’s still getting that feel of where a receiver’s going to be at. He’s going to be good. Our offense — they’ll make plays and we already know [AJ Dillon] and [Aaron Jones] are going to run that ball. We’ll be fine.”
Douglas is among many who don’t perceive the 2023 campaign as a year where the Packers begin the process of a rebuild or even a year where they roll over and submit to the opposition for the sake of evaluating the youthful talent on their roster.
However, the trajectory of this year’s team will be dependent on Love’s ability to commandeer the offense and limit his mistakes. Some of the subtle nuances that aren’t necessarily talked about in terms of evaluating the quarterback position — cycling through his progressions, making sure 10 other men are where they’re supposed to be before the snap, etc. — will be critical.
The arm talent is there; that was never a question. It’s a matter of making the necessary mental leaps and showcasing a mastery of the offense that will determine Love’s future.
Winning over your teammates helps, too.
“As a player, you want everybody to respect you. You want the support of the team,” Love said. “Everybody’s been great, very supportive; it comes down to those relationships we have with each other. It’s been great, man. Even if I didn’t have the support of the team, I’m still going to go out there and do my best every day because, being the leader, that’s what you got to do.
“It’s never going to be in your favor sometimes, but you just got to go out there every day, put your head down, no matter the good, bad, indifferent — just go out there and work every day.”
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Packers QB Jordan Love Has Sporadic Opening at Training Camp: ‘We’ll Be Fine’