Numbers don't back Matt LaFleur's defense of Jordan Love
Look, Jordan Love has played pretty well, so far, as the Green Bay Packers' starting quarterback. His accuracy is clearly the downside of his game, right now. There have been plenty of moments over the course of the first four weeks where he's missed open targets in whatever form or fashion. Sure, his overall mark […]
Look, Jordan Love has played pretty well, so far, as the Green Bay Packers' starting quarterback.
His accuracy is clearly the downside of his game, right now. There have been plenty of moments over the course of the first four weeks where he's missed open targets in whatever form or fashion. Sure, his overall mark of 56.1% isn't just on him – it takes all 11 guys to make a success play in football. But at the same time, it's fair to say he still has work to do.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur added his two cents when asked about Love's accuracy on Thursday. The response seemed legit on the surface, but the numbers don't match up when breaking things down.
"I know that with the completion percentages is. Quite frankly, we've thrown the ball further downfield than we ever have here," LaFleur told reporters. "We've taken less, probably, of those quick run alerts, which definitely impact your completion percentage. And there's been times where we've dropped balls that should have been caught. So I think overall, he's he's done a pretty good job. Are there times when he could be a little bit better? Yeah, absolutely. But that's everybody.
"That's every quarterback in this game that's ever played. You're always gonna want a throw or two back but I've been super impressed with really every facet of his game."
Right now, 14.4% of Love's passes are considered to be deep passes of 20+ air yards, per Pro Football Focus. That's good for the sixth-highest rate in the NFL among QBs with at least 11 attempts (22 qualifying players).
But, since 2019, Aaron Rodgers threw the ball downfield at a higher rate. 16.3% of Rodgers' passes met the requirement in 2019, 14.6% was the number in 2020, 13.0% was the lowest of the group, and then he finished with a 15.5% rate in his last year with Green Bay.
The drops haven't helped, but they're not as near as prolific as LaFleur made them out to be: The Packers currently have the league's 12th-highest drop rate at 6.3%. Though, they have zero drops on passes that are 20+ air yards downfield.
Regardless, the good news is Love can always get better. There have been numerous QBs that developed their deep ball -and their accuracy in general- over time. To think Love can't do that himself would be counterintuitive and assumptive.
"A guy that kind of comes to mind, just watching him in college, then at this level in the NFL; is a guy like [Buffalo Bills QB] Josh Allen, who didn't have the greatest completion percentage," said LaFleur. "And then now you watch him, and he's dropping dimes all over the field. So I think absolutely, that is something that can improve if you're training yourself the right way."
Now, in that instance, LaFleur's 100% right.
And he's also right about Love's potential. It just takes reps to get there – like all NFL QBs.
