It's time for Jordan Love to borrow a page from Aaron Rodgers' playbook
Jordan Love and Aaron Rodgers are obviously two different quarterbacks and one of the biggest differences between the two is how they handle situations that go awry. If it were something the Green Bay Packers could control, such as a bad penalty, miscommunication, or whatever – Rodgers had no issue laying into his teammates in […]
Jordan Love and Aaron Rodgers are obviously two different quarterbacks and one of the biggest differences between the two is how they handle situations that go awry.
If it were something the Green Bay Packers could control, such as a bad penalty, miscommunication, or whatever – Rodgers had no issue laying into his teammates in an constructive (albeit an intense) manner. Love, on the other hand, is more even-keeled and doesn't really get ramped up.
That may have to change after Week 8, however. In fact, it has to change.
The Packers are in a bad spot on offense and they are responsible for the overwhelming majority of their issues. It's mind-boggling to watch the same sloppy product on the field each week. Nothing has changed, at all, and it's costing the Packers games.
A sense of urgency has to be instilled in this group and that starts with Love. Fortunately, he's well aware of what needs to happen.
"Yeah, I think we do," Love told reporters when asked if he needs to "get after guys", in a sense. "… All we can do is right back to work. But the urgency definitely has to be there. We're going to continue to push guys. The leaders offense, we push each other every day, we push everybody on the team. The coaches push us – it's definitely not a lack of leadership. I think it's just like you said, we have to find that urgency. We have to understand that every play has to be the best play of our game. We can't have these little mistakes that are hurting us and just be like, 'You know what, we'll find it on the next play or we'll find it in the next drive.' We have to take advantage of every opportunity we have.
"But yeah, I mean, it comes down to getting back to work this week. And you know, pushing everybody, everybody's gotta look at themselves in the mirror, hold themselves accountable and just know that obviously, we're not where we want to be."
Words are great, but as we know in the NFL – actions mean everything. No one is saying Love should just turn into a different person, all of a sudden. That would be unfair. But, in this particular situation, he does need to break out of his shell, a bit, and let his guys know this brand of football is completely unacceptable. The Packers are going to find themselves with at top-3 draft pick at the end of the year if things keep up like this.
The support from teammates has been well-documented, so there would be no issue with the young QB getting after guys. In fact, it would probably be a welcomed sign of growth and maturity. It would be pretty impressive to see Love flip that switch in just his first year as a starter, as well. It takes some guys a while to find that voice, at times. Seeing Love take the reins would just show how he does have control over this team in terms of being "the guy".
It's the first -and obvious- step toward getting this train wreck fixed. And like most things, it starts with Love.
Jordan Love thinks Packers offense is ‘right there’ and he couldn’t be more wrong
His assessment is way off.
