Jordan Love, after 3 years of learning from Aaron Rodgers as a backup, finally stepped into the spotlight as the Packer’s starter in the 2023 season. Replacing Rodgers was no easy task, but Love has stood up to the test thus far. Stats aren’t everything, but Love’s 4,159 yards, 32 TDs, and 11 INTs made for an impressive debut for Packers and football fans everywhere.
Love’s success has made some comparisons to other great modern QBs, including Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes. It’s early, but Love went toe to toe with Mahomes and beat him in that Week 13 primetime thriller. While the performance was good enough to get payback after Andy Reid forgot who Love was, there are still some ways to go before Love can reach the success of the Chief’s dynasty.
Here’s what the Packers can learn from the Chief’s current success on how to build around their franchise QB.
Here’s How Matt LaFleur Can Emulate Andy Reid’s Hall Of Fame Scheme And Turn Jordan Love Into An All-Time Great
From a scheme perspective, Andy implements a Spread offense that utilizes a 1-2 punch that’s hard to stop. One play, Reid will call a play that utilizes Kelce’s ability to exploit the middle of the field. The next, MVS or Rice will be dialed up for a deep bomb with the defense keyed in on stopping Kelce. Despite the Chief’s drop problem, which has allowed defenses to double and even triple team Kelce, the Chief’s offense has done well enough to win yet another Super Bowl.
Considering that Matt LaFleur comes from the run-based Shanahan tree, not many would think he’d participate in such a Shotgun-heavy scheme. That may have been true at the beginning of the season when even Kurt Benkert called out LaFleur’s system, but as the season progressed, the Packers started using more plays from the Pistol and Shotgun formations. While the perimeter talent might not be there yet, if LaFleur can marry his Shanahan system with Reid’s Air Raid tendencies, the sky is truly the limit for the Green Bay offense. And who better to helm the system than someone like Love, who can make any throw and can hit the right check-downs when needed?
How Jordan Love Can Benefit From Having Elite Talent Around Him
You can’t speak about the Chiefs dynasty without bringing up the talent outside of Mahomes. Everyone at this point knows who Travis Kelce is. Sammy Watkins was also already a known variable before joining the Chiefs in 2019. Kareem Hunt led the league in rushing yards the year before Mahomes took over. Tyreek Hill, Isaiah Pacheco. The list truly goes on and on.
While Alex Smith was an underrated baller, Mahomes and his ability to throw a wicked deep ball has elevated the team’s success to new heights. Patrick and Tyreek were the perfect marriage, as Mahomes could chuck the ball deep to only where Hill and his blazing speed could get to it. Pacheco currently benefits from defenses refusing to stack the box, allowing him to go multiple yards before meeting his first defender.
How can the Packers emulate this with the talent around Love? Jordan plays well in the West Coast offense, and the combination of the short pass attack and Aaron Jones forces defenses to stack the box and play more physically. Jones in particular seemed to eleate the offense with his presence alone.
As the season went on, the Packers started taking advantage of Love’s other major talent – his ability to make jaw-dropping throws to receivers such as Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson. This combination, as noted earlier, is tough to stop for defenses.
The Packers can continue to capitalize on Love’s abilities by continuing to surround him with talents in both phases. It’s hard to run a West Coast offense in 2024 without solid receiving backs and physical receivers. As of right now, the Packers have that with Aaron Jones, Luke Musgrave, and Romeo Doubs.
How the Packers can accelerate Love’s game and bring him to new heights by adding speed into the mix to match Love’s cannon. Jayden Reed and Doubs certainly help in that regard, but Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins’s game-changing speed helped a young Mahomes out. After that crazy trade, Hill has helped Tua Tagovailoa develop into a top-tier QB.
While quality speed demons don’t grow on trees, the Packers must be looking for someone who can help add yet another dimension to the offense.
The Green Bay Packers And Jordan Love Are Going Nowhere Without An Elite Offensive Line
The Chiefs have also helped Mahomes by gifting him some really good offensive lines. PFF had the Chiefs O-line ranked 2nd in the 2022 season, and lo-and-behold, they won the big one. Lots of fans have complained about their line this year, but the Chiefs ended the year with the 17th-ranked unit. Yes, average is considered bad for Kansas City.
What about the Packers? It’s well known that Rodger’s benefited from some pretty nice OL units in the past. So far, the same can be said for Love. Pro Football Network had the 2023 unit ranked 8th by year’s end, and PFF had Green Bay as the best pass-blocking unit through the first 3 weeks of the season. Without a top-tier OL, the Packers (or any team for that matter) should be expecting to hoist a Lombardi trophy by season’s end.
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