Ryan WoodGreen Bay Press-Gazette
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GREEN BAY – Jordan Love had the powerful right arm a year ago. The Green Bay Packers quarterback could make any throw. He was also young and, in the wake of replacing a legend, eager to prove it.
So Love would fire his cannon anytime the opportunity presented. And he would fire his cannon plenty of times when the opportunity did not. He was indiscriminate throwing downfield. It could be exasperating watching Love uncork a deep pass into double coverage, sometimes triple coverage, overlooking the open, 5-yard checkdowns underneath. Maybe it was subliminal, maybe intentional, but those checkdowns were no way to improve a franchise that spent the past three decades being rewarded with some of the prettiest passes in NFL history.
The checkdowns were vital to the Packers passing game, though. As Love continued forcing the football downfield, defenses ignored anyone closer to the line of scrimmage. They dared Love to throw short, erasing his downfield targets with umbrella coverage.
“He’s always had the arm talent to make the throws down the field,” quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said. “I think just at the beginning of the year, you can call deep passes and if you get the right coverage, then you have a shot to take it downfield. If you don’t get the right coverage, then you can’t force it downfield. I think maybe at times we were trying to go downfield when the defense didn’t allow it, and I think from midyear on we hit a lot of checkdowns to the backs for big yards.”
The splits from Love’s first season as starter showed, amid drastic and sudden improvement, no phase of his game developed more than his downfield passing. In his first nine games, Love completed 6 of 22 passes (27.27%) for 256 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and a 37.69 rating when targeting a receiver at least 30 yards downfield. Starting with a 35-yard touchdown to Jayden Reed in Pittsburgh, Love completed 7 of 16 passes (43.75%) for 269 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 127.7 rating when targeting at least 30 yards downfield.
Fewer throws. More yards. A night-and-day difference in efficiency.
Love’s improved deep ball late last season was unmistakable. The sample size was still small enough to wonder if it could be a consistent element in his passing repertoire, despite his coaches entering this offseason believing their quarterback would get there. Love has steadily backed their confidence since the start of camp, culminating with his preseason debut Saturday in Cleveland.
It’s more than Love’s 65-yard touchdown pass to receiver Dontayvion Wicks against the Browns, a dart that might have shut down his preseason these final two weeks, that has indicated his deep ball efficiency from late last season will be the norm. But the pinpoint bomb to Wicks has been the most visible example yet. Officially, Wicks was 29 yards beyond the line of scrimmage when he caught Love’s pass, but it was the kind of throw that was too inconsistently targeted early last season.
And the type of throw Love has been strikingly more proficient with since last November.
“I think it’s just the rapport with the receivers,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “Getting more reps with those guys. Understanding when to put air under the ball and when you’ve got to drive the ball. That was great to see, though. That was a big-time play.”
It wasn’t the first time in camp Love has showcased his deep ball. He’s already connected with Christian Watson on a pair of go routes, something that remained elusive last season. It wasn’t until the opening play Week 12 in Detroit – when Love connected with Watson for 53 yards – the two finally started to click downfield.
Love has also been productive in the intermediate range daily in practice, but Saturday’s opening drive was a significant step toward rounding out the passing game. Before the snap, Love recognized Wicks lined up against a safety in the slot. A mismatch. Wicks blew past Ronnie Hickman, working himself 2 yards open by the time Love’s pass arrived.
It was notable that Wicks was on the receiving end, showing Watson is not the lone target Love trusts deep in the Packers offense.
“One of his emphasis in camp is just winning on the deep ball,” passing game coordinator Jason Vrable said. “Last year, there wasn’t a ton of them that he caught down the field. So we’ve just been working on in practice his stride and tracking the ball up over the top of his shoulder. Everything that we wanted to talk about from his offseason point of attack. Got on the toes, hit the red line right where we want the ball to be thrown, and Jordan obviously put it up. Came down with it and scored.
“I think in practice he’s kind of really put an emphasis on tracking the ball over the shoulder a lot down the field. He just didn’t have a lot of opps last year. I think that’ll take his game to the next level.”
That it took the Packers offense just three plays to find the end zone in Cleveland is not a surprise. All offseason, the potential of this unit has been clear. The Packers believe they are loaded with playmakers, from a deep, young and talented group of receivers and tight ends, to one of the league’s best running backs in Josh Jacobs. They have the makings of a high-octane group starting Week 1.
The key piece will be a quarterback who relentlessly reads what the defense provides. When opposing secondaries drop into zone, Love has the ability to find targets underneath. When they line up in man coverage, Love has the cannon to throw deep. Mastering that balance will be critical to the offense’s efficiency.
“Early on in Jordan’s career, he probably would’ve forced the ball,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “You know, ‘OK, I think it’s this coverage, and I think I’ve got to throw it here.’ And the defense fools you, and he still throws the ball there. As you mature as a quarterback, yeah, you can kind of drop back, let it develop and take what they give you. So you’re not really preconceiving your throw before the play happens.”
