Against the Rams, Jordan Love of the Packers does well on intermediate and deep throws.
This season, the Green Bay Packers’ offence has had trouble connecting with Jordan Love on intermediate and deep passes. But Love turned in one of his best games of the season against the Los Angeles Rams.
According to PFF, Love completed 6-of-8 passes for 118 yards at 14.7 yards per attempt on throws of 10 or more air yards. Going two for three on passes of 20 yards or more for 62 yards is part of this.
Matt LaFleur believed Love’s performance on Monday was excellent, saying, “I thought he did a nice job of being decisive and taking what was there.” “A few plays remained where we let some pressure build up, meaning that if someone is passing through, you need to get to your checkdown a little bit faster. There were a few worthwhile teaching moments. He’s going to have those times, but for the most part, he’s the sack in the two-minute scenario when it comes to not trying to be too choosy and taking the shallow or going under on the backside. Most quarterbacks, I believe, do. Few people have ever played a flawless game.
“But overall, I felt it was a pretty good performance, especially considering that the guys made some plays for him and we needed some of those throws to kind of ice the game late in the game.”
In sharp contrast to the majority of the season, Love’s performance on Sunday on those intermediate and deep throws was impressive. Love’s completion rate on throws between 10 and 19 yards has him ranked 32nd out of 35 qualifying quarterbacks going into Week 9. In addition, his 6.6 yards per attempt on these passes put him in 32nd place. He also had four interceptions to no touchdowns.
It was the same story on passes that were longer than 20 yards. Love was ranked third in downfield pass attempts going into Sunday’s game, but he was 33rd in completion percentage and 30th in yards per attempt. Love has the second-most interceptions in football with four.
Regarding Love’s downfield passing, LaFleur remarked, “I just think he’s got to shut his mind off and let it rip.” “I believe that you won’t always be as successful if you try to aim or guide it. He’s been throwing for a while, and in my opinion, he’s gotten much better at placing air under the ball.
“I felt that was an incredible pass to Wicks, one of our two explosive plays in the second half,” He had pressure on his face, stayed on the platform, altered his arm angle, and hit Wicks with a ball that was exactly on target. I know it wasn’t a go-ball. The next play on the deep cross route to Musgrave was then followed up on. That pass was as exquisite. He can definitely make all of these throws.
It’s no accident that Love delivered a powerful performance when the commotion around him was lessened. First of all, the Packers could genuinely rely on their run game. Having that component creates opportunities in the passing game, especially downfield, as Love talked about after the game.
The offensive line did a great job not only opening up lanes for running backs but also giving Love time in the pocket. Love experienced pressure on the fourth-most dropbacks in football during the preceding four games. But of his 31 dropbacks versus Los Angeles, he only had seven pressed. As a result, we witnessed an improvement in his precision and decisiveness as he made his advancements.
Love profited from all of this, but so did the Green Bay receivers, who had more time to establish separation due to the offensive line performance and weren’t faced with clear-cut passing situations all the time. The Packers’ pass catchers were two for three on contested catches after starting the game 9 for 43 in those circumstances. PFF gave the Packers’ pass catchers credit for just one drop.
A quarterback will not always be in the best of circumstances, therefore Love needs to perform better when things are chaotic. For a quarterback starting for the first time, though, he was also expected to overcome a lot of uncontrollable problems.
With some consistency surrounding him against the Rams, Love was incredibly effective and his procedures were much better. He and the offence as a whole need to build on this performance going forward rather than becoming stale or even regressing as we have seen in the past.
“I felt he (Jordan Love) made some plays when we needed it,” LaFleur remarked. “Especially down the stretch late in the game.” With any luck, we can expand on it. Every time out will serve as a teaching moment, and some plays will make you wish you could take them back.
“I’ve never witnessed a quarterback experience a flawless game.” Although some players have received flawless ratings for games, nobody is going to be flawless. There is a lot of positive that can arise from it, provided we keep improving on the things he has done well and take lessons from the mistakes that have been made.
