Three things Jordan Love learned from Aaron Rodgers, according to Matt LaFleur
Drafting a first-round quarterback to be a backup for three years has an obvious drawback: he will spend most of his rookie contract on the bench, and when it's time for him to start, it's almost the period where the team has to make a decision about a long-term, expensive extension. And that's what has […]
Drafting a first-round quarterback to be a backup for three years has an obvious drawback: he will spend most of his rookie contract on the bench, and when it's time for him to start, it's almost the period where the team has to make a decision about a long-term, expensive extension.
And that's what has happened to the Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love, since he's a first-year starter in his third season in the NFL. However, there are also benefits from that process, and Love had the chance to learn behind future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers for three years, while Love himself developed his skills and the pro game.
In an interview with the Rich Eisen Show, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur shared three aspects of the game, on and off the field, in which Love benefited from that relationship.
1) Preparation
The level of detail for an NFL game is much different than in college. It's usual to see young quarterbacks getting behind in that regard, and many can't recover from bad habits — Johnny Manziel is the most obvious example, but he's not the only one.
"He's learned a lot from Aaron," LaFleur said. "Just in terms of how to go about preparing for a game."
Even though it's impossible for a first-year starter to be as efficient and prolific as Rodgers right away, LaFleur stressed that he allows Love to have ownership of the structure of the offense, and the new starter in fact has always seemed mentally ready to perform.
2) Throwing creativity
In this era of football, quarterbacks are much more creative outside of structure, but also inside the pocket with arm movements and angles, and different ways of throwing the football or moving defenders with their eyes. When Rodgers became a star, that wasn't so frequent, but he was part of a vanguard in the league and helped change the game.
“There's been so many things. Just how he has been changing his arm angle, he's done that more than I've ever seen him do it, and I think that's something that Aaron could always do," LaFleur mentioned. "You'll see it in practice more so than in the games. All these guys, they'd love to throw these no-look passes nowadays, sometimes successfully, and some other times not. But that's something that I know that he got from Aaron as well."
3) Cadence
Aaron Rodgers was widely known as a great quarterback to force the defense to jump before the snap, getting free plays. We haven't seen it from Jordan Love to that extent yet, but he's been praised since training camp because of his cadence.
"One area that, and Aaron's the best at this, is the cadence," LaFleur said. "I've seen Jordan's cadence getting better and better and better. Matter of fact, we got to have a little bit more discipline on the offense line, because he's drawn our own guys offside a few times."
Jordan Love is still a young quarterback and has a long way to establish himself as a top-tier passer. But his development is evident from his first appearances in the 2021 preseason, and his close relationship with Rodgers for three seasons is a big factor behind that.
Jordan Love’ running ability is a big factor for the Packers offense
Between weeks 1 and 4, Love is fourth in rush EPA among quarterbacks
