As Jordan Love steps into his second year as the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, he remains undeterred by the prospect of defenses scrutinizing his gameplay with a full season of film to analyze.
Facing Defensive Adjustments
The Philadelphia Eagles and other rival teams will undoubtedly dissect Love's 19 starts from the previous season. Love understands that defenses will have a better grasp of his strengths and strategies. Despite this, he exudes confidence in his coaching staff, who are committed to placing him and the team in the optimal positions to succeed.
Coaching and Development
Tom Clements, a seasoned coach, is well-prepared to aid Love in refining the skills necessary to counter defensive tactics. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has also modified practice routines to foster Love’s growth, including the addition of a 7-on-7 period to offseason practices—despite LaFleur's previous reservations about its lack of game-like conditions.
Clements and the Packers' offensive staff have proactively speculated on the defensive adjustments Love might face, devising strategies to preemptively counter them.
Performance Under Pressure
Last season, Love faced challenges when under pressure, ranking 27th and 26th among NFL quarterbacks in key metrics. His inclination was to go deep away from coverage, a tactic that surprisingly resulted in only one interception under pressure. Nonetheless, Love has diligently worked on his pocket awareness and movements, honing his ability to stay balanced and make judicious decisions.
Adapting to Change
Love has demonstrated significant progress in adapting his game, particularly in making plays on the run. Coach Clements noted this development towards the end of last season, where Love increasingly chose to look downfield for passing opportunities rather than taking off and running. This shift in approach has shown promise, as it can lead to substantial gains during the scramble phase.
With an eye on continual improvement, Love focuses on refining fundamental aspects such as footwork and pocket awareness. The coaching staff emphasizes "perfect feet," ensuring players go through their progressions meticulously.
Preparing for Defensive Schemes
The anticipation is that defenses, perhaps bringing more pressure and employing deceptive tactics, will intensify their efforts to disrupt Love’s rhythm. Clements stresses the importance of film study and quick adaptability in response to defensive schemes. Love echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the need to stay poised and balanced, make concise movements, and understand when to escape the pocket.
"The biggest thing for me is just staying poised in the pocket," Love said. "Being able to stay balanced in the pocket."
Love acknowledges times when he gets out of whack with his feet, which can lead to drifting in the pocket excessively. By fine-tuning pocket awareness and making minor adjustments, he aims to enhance his overall gameplay.
Off-Schedule Plays
Another critical area of development is Love's ability to perform off-schedule plays—throwing on the run and making successful plays when the original plan breaks down. Early in the season, Love predominantly ran the ball when scrambling. By the season's latter half, he shifted toward seeking passing opportunities downfield, an evolution noted positively by Clements.
"Early in the season, when Jordan scrambled, I'd say 95 percent of the time he ran the ball," Clements observed. "Second half of the year, that maybe flipped—maybe not 95 percent but a larger percentage he was moving around, looking to throw the ball downfield."
This strategic adjustment underscores Love's capacity for growth and adaptation, as creating big plays during the scramble phase can significantly impact the game's outcome.
As Love navigates his sophomore year as the Packers' starting quarterback, he focuses on continual improvement, adapting to defensive strategies, and capitalizing on off-schedule plays. With the steadfast support of a seasoned coaching staff and a commitment to meticulous preparation, Love is poised to build on last season's experiences and lead the Packers to new heights.
"We know going into this year teams are going to have a better feel of what we do, what we did good," Love stated. "That's their job—to try to figure out how to stop that. That's the fun part about the NFL."
As the Packers gear up for another challenging season, Love and his team remain confident in their ability to adjust on the fly and execute their game plan effectively, delivering excitement and competitive spirit to the NFL.