Packers mailbag: How to stop Jordan Love, secondary lineup, and quarterback room
The dead period of the NFL has arrived. OTAs and mandatory minicamp have come and gone for the Green Bay Packers, and now coaches and players can rest until the start of training camp in late July. Meanwhile, we have a few weeks to discuss the state of the roster and to debate about our […]
The dead period of the NFL has arrived. OTAs and mandatory minicamp have come and gone for the Green Bay Packers, and now coaches and players can rest until the start of training camp in late July. Meanwhile, we have a few weeks to discuss the state of the roster and to debate about our expectations for the season. The Packers mailbag is up!
They might try to blitz Love, but that's easier said than done. For the most part, defensive coordinators have already tried to blitz Love based on what he showed in 2021, but Matt LaFleur and Love himself had all the answers in 2023. He had a sack rate of 3.7% against the blitz, the lowest in the league. Brian Flores sent blitz on 76% of Love's dropbacks in week 17, and he went 18 of 25 with 8.0 yards per attempt and two touchdowns.
"I liked our plan last week with picking up the pressures," offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said after the Vikings game. "I thought Jordan did a really nice job of recognizing things. There were a bunch of adjustments that had to get made, that did get made."
Jordan Love might eventually suffer with some things, but he has handled everything pretty well, and that's what gives the Packers a lot of confidence.
The only kind of situation that puts Love at a higher risk of making bad mistakes is when the Packers are losing in the fourth quarter and then he tries to create a play out of nothing. But how do other teams put themselves in position to lead against the Packers in the fourth quarter if everything else is good for Green Bay? That’s more hope and eventuality than strategy. It can happen against better teams, but it’s not a specific defensive approach that will be the main cause.
This is a tough question to answer before watching the guys play, so the topic could evolve during training camp and throughout the season. Nonetheless, right now I would say that the starting cornerback trio will have Jaire Alexander, Keisean Nixon, and Carrington Valentine, and the ideal safety duo will be Xavier McKinney and Javon Bullard. Eventually, Bullard can play more in the slot, with Anthony Johnson Jr. and Evan Williams stepping in at safety.
While Jeff Hafley is a former defensive backs coach, I think his defensive philosophy is much more connected with what Robert Saleh does. This means the key to success it the defensive front, and not the secondary. But you obviously need both playing at a respectable level to be a good defense.
I would say the Packers' plan is to keep three on the 53-man roster, especially because of the third QB rule. The third-string can be inactive every game, but come in in an emergency situation. There are, though, two scenarios in which I foresee them keeping only two quarterbacks, and both involve Michael Pratt beating Sean Clifford for the backup quarterback job.
If that happens, the Packers could try to trade Sean Clifford or waive him with an expectation to sign him back to the practice squad. Being a rookie, it's harder for Pratt to go unclaimed.
The most likely outcome is Jordan Love signing a four-year, $220 million extension. That's $55 million per year. Based on Aaron Rodgers extension in 2018 (his last "normal" deal), Love's total guarantees can go up to $158.4 million. Ideally, the Packers would want a longer contract, but Love will certainly push against that. Let's see where they land.
Regarding Kenny Clark, the Packers are waiting to see how much Love will cost them before making a decision, because Clark won't be cheap and he is nearing the thirties. If an extension gets done, I suppose it will be something around a four-year, $100 million extension — here, I think the Packers could try a shorter deal, but that's difficult to adjust for salary cap purposes. And regarding Jaire Alexander, he is under contract through 2026, so I don't see a new deal coming to fruition anytime soon.
The main reason would likely involve Jeff Hafley getting the most out of the defensive front. This is an area where Joe Barry had a lot of talent to work with, but wasn't able to put up good stats and performances. The fact that Rashan Gary is as good as he is, but hasn't had a 10-sack season is bonkers.
And it's not like other guys are replacing that production or taking advantage of pressures generated by Gary to get clean-up sacks. Hopefully for the Packers, Hafley is able to fix the defensive front deficiencies, allowing the players to be what they've shown at different points, even if the collective results haven't been good.
We've talked about that for five years and it never happens, so count me out on that one until they show it. Sure, the defensive coaching hasn't been ideal, but the San Francisco 49ers still had one of the best defensive units in the league last year with a clear disconnection between Kyle Shanahan and Steve Wilks. When the players are good and there is a defensive culture in place, the performance will be at least decent.
Packers GM shares latest update on Jordan Love’s extension
Both sides want a new deal soon
