Neither Aaron Rodgers’ contract nor his game can prevent rookie Jordan Love from seeing the field in 2020, but not for whatever reason he may think. Love will not win a training camp battle with the two-time MVP. Matt LaFleur rewards the competition, but even if Love looked otherworldly at camp, the initial job belongs to Rodgers. But could there be a way to sneak up on Love in the field? It’s actually much simpler than that, as injury odds say you will stand a chance without Green Bay preferring it to happen. Even so, there is still an opportunity to dream a little about love.
We know what it will not It seems. Just listen to former Packers star Brett Favre.
“I think there are ways to bring him in like Taysom Hill with the Saints,” Favre told TMZ. “Use it as half pass, half pass, but occasionally let him run just to show he will. Something like that.”
It is unlikely to happen for countless reasons. LaFleur said earlier this offseason that he hadn’t had much opportunity to think about creating a package for Love, but even if he had, there isn’t an intuitive way to play it as Hill, a demolition kinetic energy ball. Hill is an agent of chaos, not to mention the only quarterback on the Saints’ roster last year capable of driving a deep ball down the field.
Love was not a 4.5 sprinter the size of a tight end. He is not Hill or Josh Allen, someone who can win with his size and speed, as well as creating some tricks on a reverse pass. Calling a quarterback sweep or executing the read option with Love doesn’t satisfy his best attributes, and takes the ball from Rodgers. It is the proverbial lose-lose.
It doesn’t take much theorizing to understand why Favre may have come to such a wrong conclusion, but that’s exactly why we must ignore his advice. He did not see Jordan Love play and concluded that it is Taysom Hill. Or if he did … great lightning bolts, Brett.
Furthermore, Love will likely play in 2020, whether the Packers prefer it or not. It is possible, and indeed probable, that Green Bay will not have to craft ways to get its first-round quarterback on the field. You will find your way through injury. No Cheesehead wants to imagine another injury from their franchise player, but the odds say Love will be there sometime for major reps.
Last season, just 13 quarterbacks played the 16 games, with Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson and Kirk Cousins sitting week 17 in bubble wrap moves looking toward the playoffs. In other words, only half of the league’s starting quarterbacks played every game his team wanted them to play. Even “star” quarterbacks who receive star quarterback treatment waste time; Packers fans don’t need that reminder. Matt Ryan, Patrick Mahomes and Drew Brees missed all games last season due to injury last season, with Brees falling for a month and Teddy Bridgewater graciously intervening.
In 2018, the number only increased slightly, with 16 callers calling the signal starting each game and Brees sitting in Week 17. Every year, half the league loses its incumbent for a period of time. Odds are love, whether the Packers don’t like it, they will play this year.
Understanding this prevents Green Bay and LaFleur from having to plan ways to bring Love to the field. They don’t have to because they will most likely play anyway. And they certainly don’t have to use it in a silly style that’s not appropriate for their talents, as Favre foolishly suggests. But what if LaFleur just wants to have a little fun?
In Tennessee two years ago, the Patriots attempted to reverse-pass Tom Brady in a key third at the end of the game, but the grass monster caught him. The next possession, LaFleur called Marcus Mariota the same trick play … and it worked. It was a troll call against eventual Super Bowl champions in a game the Titans won.
LaFleur installed a Tyler Ervin bundle specifically for the Seahawks playoff game, the season’s biggest contest so far, to create favorable matchups. He has proven willing to try something unproven or out of the metaphorical box. Love, even as a lure, qualifies.
Instead of having a package for him, where he’s getting five snapshots per game, similar to what the Ravens did with Lamar Jackson, he has five plays in total. Just throw it randomly for a week. Give each opponent one extra thing to think about, and then remove the play that you truly believe will work in a high-leverage situation, such as in San Francisco.
Put Aaron Rodgers on the shotgun, use Love in jet motion and use the same fake that the Packers use all the time in the snap. See if anyone moves. Linebackers jump? Does security slip slightly? Does anyone think you could Really hand the ball over to him? Even if the answer to the last question is “No,” human nature can take over, especially with something so outlier. If not. 10 runs to the field and number 12 doesn’t come out, the defense radar beeps.
And even if the Packers are unlikely to send the ball in that direction, a cornerback probably still has to account for it in some way. You’re counting a body for a body, so even if Love is a sacrifice to occupy a defender, he has done his job without ever running across the field.
Maybe they only run it a handful of times throughout the season and never give it to Love. Or maybe, at the right time at a critical moment, the defense sees the play in the first half, reacts exactly how LaFleur wants, the ball finally goes to Love, and the trick play goes to the races. They create a play at a critical moment. There is little risk and the reward is not that high either, but it could be useful in the right situation. At least it would be fun.
