This offseason for the Green Bay Packers has been one cycle of ‘will-he, won’t-he’ circumstances involving the future of Aaron Rodgers – without its ending. With all the public comments from the decision-makers of the Packers, it is obvious that they want to move on and finally give Jordan Love his shot.
Rumors surrounding the interest of the New York Jets in acquiring Rodgers seemingly have been flying for weeks now, and with free agency starting in a few days, there likely will be a solution here soon. And through all of it, through all the uncertainty, Love has remained composed, exactly what you would hope for with your next franchise quarterback.
Having Love showcase the type of player he is, even if mostly just in an off-field way so far, is very important. But what he has shown in his limited on-field action is enough to at least show that he has the traits to become the guy.
College Traits
Confidence never has been an issue for Love, and that extends to both his on-field and off-field performance. During his time at Utah State, Love needed to do whatever it took to get on the radar of the NFL, and while he was not seen as the best QB in his class, he certainly had the traits to become a good one.
A confident throwing style helped keep him tall in the pocket. A tight throwing motion helped pinpoint his throws to his targets. A strong arm to be able to hit his targets across all levels. These are the reasons that Green Bay not only selected Love but moved up to draft him.
There were plenty of negative factors with Love too – from turnover-prone outings to some deep-ball accuracy concerns and consistency issues, Love was far from a polished product. But even these bad traits showed the kind of promise he had, and that helped propel him into the NFL.
NFL Ready
A recent PackersTalk post touched on some of Love’s great characteristics that don’t necessarily involve football stats, and that is what helps makes this whole roundabout process worth it – at least on paper.
There has been plenty of tape gathered on Love over the past few years, seeing as how Rodgers has been held out of most of those games. With Matt LaFleur putting Love up against opposing starting defenses, the Green Bay coaching staff has been able to get plenty of eyes on who they have as their backup QB.
But the biggest element to be excited about Love’s on-field production lies in his impressive showing against the Philadelphia Eagles last year in relief of Rodgers. Having been knocked out of a game late on the road, Green Bay turned to Love, who not only came in and led a late scoring drive, he looked confident and poised while doing it.
Having connected with rookie WR Christian Watson for the long score, Love demonstrated the ability to command the huddle on his multiple drives, lead a team down the field, and remain in control of the situation – all tough elements for an inexperienced QB thrown into the fire.
It seems like more of a when and not really an if any more about the status of who will be Green Bay’s starting QB next year. With the ongoing situation for Rodgers getting close to its final stages, it is almost time to pass the crown from one late first-round QB to another.
Expecting the same type of production from Love as Rodgers is unfair, but also is the standard for any starting QB for the Packers. So, let’s just enjoy the process and hope that, once a final decision with Rodgers is made, we as a fan base can appreciate what comes next.
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Mike Johrendt has been an avid fan of the Packers ever since he can remember. He is now a writer at PackersTalk and you can follow him on Twitter at @MJohrendt23
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