Jordan Love Is Not The Problem

The real culprit for loss vs Lions

Last night we witnessed a terrible game all around from the Packers. Going in I was pretty confident that we could come away with a win. 

I thought it would be close. I knew the Lions had a high powered offense and the Packers have yet to show that they can defend a high powered offense, but still, I was optimistic. 

But clearly my optimism was crushed after the first half. The second the game ended I realized that this team still has a long way to go. 

Here’s my biggest takeaway. Jordan Love is not the issue. 

It wasn’t his best game. He threw 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. The first one was clearly his fault. He made a bad read and the deflected ball turned into an interception. 

The second one was more so on Romeo Doubs. Doubs thought Jordan was going off-schedule and started to change his route the second Love let the ball rip. It likely would have been a completion if Doubs had not ended his route prematurely. 

But one thing is clear. The Packers offensive line depth is not as good as I thought. Jordan Love was pressured 22 times. He was pressured on about 47% of his drop backs. 

That’s not going to cut it. Even if Aaron Rodgers was back there his night would not have been pretty. If all you did is look at the box score you may say,. “Wow. What a bad game for Jordan Love.” But that doesn’t tell the whole story. 

With Bakhtiari now out for who knows how long and Elgton Jenkins still missing time with an MCL sprain, the Packers line is being tested. Facing off against the Falcons they fared pretty well. Only allowed 6 total pressures. Last night was a different story. 

Every offensive lineman struggled. Here’s how many pressures each allowed: Zach Tom 6, Jon Runyan 5, Josh Myers 2, Royce Newman 5, Rasheed Walker 4. 

Clearly the offensive line we put out there last night is no match for top tear defensive line units. We can squeak our way vs sub par teams, but top tier units will be a problem. Right now the Packers don’t have many options. They could try to sub in Sean Rhyan at left guard for Royce Newman. Tackle Luke Tenuta who made some noise in training camp could be coming off of the IR soon. But it’s a tough situation all around. 

You can’t expect any quarterback to find success when they have no time to throw. That’s what happened to Love last night. 

It’s only been 4 games and I still like what I’ve seen from Love. He can make any throw on the field. He doesn’t get rattled easily. He doesn’t start playing poorly when the game seems out of reach. He’s got fight in him. 

One thing is clear. The Packers need to learn how to get off to better starts. We can’t have them down multiple scores entering the second half. If this line continues to struggle LaFleur needs to scheme up quick passes to mitigate the pass rush and hope that the running game can get going. 

Sometimes bad games happen. It’s all about how you respond. Next week will be telling. Let’s hope they fix their issues and come out firing.