When will the Packers know if Jordan Love is the guy? I believe it’ll be by the end of September. I know that is quite the hot take but look at the schedule. In the month of September, the Green Bay Packers play the Bears, Falcons, Saints, and Lions.
None of these teams made the playoffs last year and three out of the four had bad defenses. The Lions and the Bears were both in the top five worst defenses in the NFL last year based on yards per game and the Falcons weren’t far behind. The Saints had a great defense but could not capitalize consistently enough.
These defenses should give Jordan Love plenty of opportunity to show his capabilities on the field to prove to the Packers that he has the right stuff.
If the Packers find themselves 3-1 or 4-0 in the month of September and Jordan Love has looked above average, then Green Bay will know whether or not Jordan Love is indeed the guy. However, let’s continue to look further down the schedule. What about the next quarter of the season?
The Packers play the Raiders, Broncos, Vikings, and the Rams in this next stretch.
Wait a minute! These teams, other than the Broncos, had defenses that weren’t much to write home about either. The Rams were the eleventh worst in yards per game and they lost Jalen Ramsey and others on that defense. The Vikings were already bad and have lost a ton of talent including Za’Darius Smith, who was traded to the Browns this past week. The Raiders were seventh worst in yards per game, while the Broncos were in the middle of the pack as the fifteenth best in yards per game.
Another noteworthy point of interest for this stretch of the season: the Packers will get a long rest through the month of October, which could be very beneficial. The Packers only have one game between the days of September 28th and October 22nd.
So, out of the first eight games, the Packers offense will have mostly favorable matchups that should give Jordan Love an opportunity to shine. I believe he will.
This is why, I think, the Packers will already know what they have in Jordan Love by the end of September. I will even go a step further and say that by the beginning of November, the Packers will have already offered Jordan Love a long term contract extension.
Green Bay has an opportunity to have a nice start to the season. Yes, they will have challenges later (i.e. the Chiefs) but if the Packers can make it to nine or 10 wins with this seemingly easy schedule, it could be good news for Jordan Love’s bank account.
If, however, the Packers find themselves losing these early games in the first half of the season (highly doubtful), then look for the Packers to maybe start positioning themselves to have a chance at a quarterback in the next season’s NFL draft.
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Damon is a diehard, fully-immersed cheesehead who currently lives in southern Missouri. He teaches at a local high school and has a family YouTube channel about all things Packers. You can follow him on twitter at @packersfamily and on YouTube at The Packers Family.
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