The Green Bay Packers are heading into their Week 6 bye with some work to do. They are 2-3 on the season and have watched what was a great start to the season by quarterback Jordan Love go by the wayside.
Love struggled mightily on Monday Night Football against the Las Vegas Raiders, a game the Packers lost 17-13. He threw three interceptions in the game, giving him five in his last two outings.
The biggest issue facing Love is his inaccuracy when throwing the ball beyond short routes. Against the Raiders, he was 3-for-11 when attempting a pass beyond five yards with three interceptions. In the last two games, he is 14-of-32 on such attempts, with all five of his interceptions occurring.
That has led to some people souring on the Packers’ first-time starting quarterback. One of those people is Colin Cowherd. On an episode of his radio show, the Herd, he made a bold statement about Love. Cowherd doesn’t see it with him and believes he is a backup quarterback in the NFL.
“Several signs say Jordan Love is a little more than a backup. Green Bay’s coach Matt LaFleur warned us multiple times in the off-season to temper our enthusiasm. They didn’t do that with Burrow, Herbert, or Mahomes. Watch how Green Bay coaches him. They don’t trust him and it’s hyper-conservative. They’d rather not throw. Analytics and data prove he is AWFUL in the first half. Can’t be a good quarterback if you’re always trailing, and Jordan Love can’t play it trailing and win games. Even on-script he’s bad. Simply put, he cannot throw it down the field accurately. Last night he was 3 for 11, with three interceptions on throws just 5+ yards down the field. This season, 20 yards down the field he has a 35 passer rating, 6 for 26. He can’t throw it down the field accurately. The chances of going from Favre to Rodgers, to a star quarterback were ZIPPO. Let’s get out of the ‘star’, he’s not a tier 1. Can he be Derek Carr, Dak, Kirk Cousins? I’m 50/50 with a strong lean he’s a backup. Aaron Rodgers never had a three-pick, no touchdown game. It’s getting worse. Now everybody’s got film, people have got tape, he’s losing confidence, and they see what he can’t do – throw the ball down the field. Packers fans will suggest ‘INJURIES!’, ‘DROPPED PASSES!’, ‘INFERIOR PLAY-CALLING!’… That’s what fans do with bad quarterbacks. Burrow, Mahomes, Herbert, you either got it or you don’t, and I don’t see it [with Jordan Love]. CJ Stroud has a defensive coach, a rookie offensive coordinator, rookie play-caller, and missing four offensive linemen… Game one he was viable. Everything was set up to succeed here. Offensive coach, stable organization… You think the Texans were stable for CJ Stroud? You had September 28th to October 9 to prepare for a weak defense, and NOTHING in the first half. I understand the great quarterbacks can do stuff in the second-half off-script, I’ve eliminated that for Jordan Love. That’s off the table. Can he be tier 2? I don’t see it. He’s a backup. You can still win games. Tim Tebow, who is not even an NFL quarterback won seven straight games. He appears to be a backup that doesn’t throw the ball effectively down the field, everybody now has tape, and it’s getting worse. My source told me in the off-season there’s no ‘special’, and he’s a ‘game-manager.’” (H/T MSN)
Things have certainly not been pretty the last few weeks for Love. Coincidentally, Aaron Rodgers also threw five interceptions in Weeks 4 and 5 during his first season as the team’s starting quarterback replacing Brett Favre.
While Love certainly needs to improve his performance, he has been dealt a less-than-ideal hand. The Packers have been working through injuries to multiple key players as they haven’t had their full allotment of skill position players available in a game yet this season.
Running back Aaron Jones has yet to play a full game while wide receiver Christian Watson missed the first three games because of a hamstring injury. The offensive line, which was considered a strength coming into the season, has turned into a weakness with their two best players, David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins, being sidelined by knee injuries.
Love definitely has some things to iron out during the bye week, but he hasn’t been afforded the greatest of circumstances. The Packers are a team to keep an eye on ahead of the trade deadline as a few additions would go a long way to aiding Love in elevating his game.
