The Ringer NFL Show - The Play Sheet [VIDEO]: Jordan Love Looks Like the Future in Green Bay

Episode Date: November 29, 2023

The Ringer’s Ben Solak looks at the recent play of Packers quarterback Jordan Love, to try and discern whether he's the future of the franchise in Green Bay. Love's athletic talent and trick-shot throws have gotten a lot of attention this season, but Solak argues that his underlying mechanics are just as noteworthy. Love only has one year left on his contract after this season, but if his stellar play keeps up, he could be in Green Bay for a long time to come. Watch 'The Play Sheet' on YouTube or Spotify every Wednesday at 8 a.m. PT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, howdy. I'm Ben Solac. This is the play sheets. A weekly episode we do on Wednesdays, and it is a video pod. So click into the Spotify app, watch the video, see the film, have a good time. The opening script, Packers might have done it again. The Packers are 5 and 6, and they've won three of their last four games. That might not feel like a big deal, but it is. Firstly, it's just a big deal because the Packers, like, aren't used to losing and they weren't coping with it well. Matt LaFleur, their head coach, is one of the winningest coaches in history because of how successful they were with Rogers. still like pretty high up on the leaderboard, but when the Packers were two and five, he was very clearly frustrated. You're not accustomed to dealing with having a losing season. So when you just win three or four games, like it, it's a mouthwash moment. It's a cleansing moment. You feel like the ship has been righted. The coaching staff, the players, the front office,

everybody is reaffirmed and re-remembers that, yeah, we can do this, we can be a good team. Nice. Now, when one of those three wins is against the division leading Detroit Lions, divisional rival on a short week, on the road, now you start to feel like, hey, we might actually be good. And that's the second reason why the Packers' hot streak matters. They might actually be good enough to make the playoffs. At 5 and 6, impredictable, which kind of predicts team futures off of the betting markets, they have the Packers at a 52% chance to make the NFC wildcard race.

Like, this team is alive. So that's cool. It's good news for everybody, making playoffs feel nice. But this is like a short-term consideration, do the Packers make the playoffs or not. The important thing in Green Bay is the long-term consideration of quarterback Jordan Love. Is he our starter or not? This is the first year of Jordan Love is the starter, and it's serving as an audition year, but Jordan Love isn't like most first-year starters.

He's already in year four of his NFL career, and he's young, he's 25, but with only one season left under contract after this, Love's audition this year is critical. If he doesn't seem clearly the Packers' starting quarterback of the future, then the Packers have to start planning for his replacement like this upcoming off season. They have to do it right now. Meanwhile, if Love looks good enough this year to be the Packers starter of the future, then pretty quickly the Packers have to turn around and consider a contract extension for him and start building the offense around him. So this is really a very quick and immediate and important fork in the road. Now for most of the season, Love has been kind of like in the middle

of that fork. He's had clear great moments, a physical talent, those peak performances, those splash plays that make you think this guy can be a starter. But it's been inconsistent, and the rest of the offense has been really inconsistent too. Love's had bad timing, he's had bad turnovers, bad sacks. You don't really know where you fall on which side of things until the last few weeks. These last few weeks of football? Jordan Love looks like the future quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. Let's go to play action.

That's the sound of going to play action. Okay. I want to start with some of those peak plays from Love, those splash plays, because love is even like now as he's getting better. He's still a dude perfect quarterback. He's still hitting like no looker behind the back. He's a trick shot artist and that can feel like erratic, but it also just helps us detail like how good the future could be for the guy because he has a physical toolkit than not a lot of dudes have. This is second and 15 against the charges backed up against your own end zone. Plaction fake immediate pressure reset in the pocket, move to your left, find an open

throw. That like looks a little bit pedestrian. End zone view. Send him player motion. snap the football, land on that back foot, feel backside pressure, right? This is blind side pressure. Two hands on the ball, calm, climb the pocket, survive the contact, and now you're moving to your left. You have to get, you have to flip your hips, so you can get your right shoulder back because you're going to throw it through your right hand. But then with your momentum moving left, he's going to get the arm angle to throw this through the defenders and get it back to the middle of the field. Watch this throw. That is a tough, like I, this is a challenging, very challenging arm angled hit right here.

Oh! And then accurately right on the numbers. It's a gorgeous throw. Trick shot number two against the Steelers. This is an important play for love as we talk about the improvements he's made over the last few weeks. Against the Steelers here,

they're down late, they need chunk gains. And what they're going to do is they're going to have a little sit route right here, and then Christian Watson's going to wrap around that sit route on the basic. And this is going to be open, and we're running this little crawl route here to open this up.

So this is the design here. And then Jaden Reed is going to run through. And you just want him to, firstly, pull a safety. And then secondly, if you get Tampa 2, which is what you end up getting on this look, right? Tampa 2 defender right here. Reed's going to pull him, right? You want to take him down the field.

His back right now is to Christian Watson, so that when Watson wraps around, he wraps into space. So this concept works the way it's supposed to work. Love doesn't throw the rap, right? like you, this right here, you throw this. Like you can beat this linebacker to it. You get a first down, a little run after the catch, and then we build from there.

Instead, what Love's going to do is he's going to throw Reed on the clear-out route, which is not like when he, he's in a throwing position right now, and he throws this ball here. And basically he's just like ad-lib pulling Reed this way, saying, hey, the safety is looking this way. He's not going to like turn and find this ball. And he's right, but it's unbelievably ballsy.

And he's also a beautiful throw and gets an infeable range. End zone view. Okay. Firstly, watch Watson. He's coming on the left side of the screen. The tight end's going to sit down. Right? Like right here we should be stepping up and throw in this.

It's just, it's a good play. It's designed to hit this basic. Like this should be available to us. We should be throwing that. Love just decides, he's big game hunting. He just decides to go for the 10. buck and it's a ludicrous it's a ludicrous throw man look at this he's that falling away from it this is insane that's ridiculous arm talent now i want to talk about that throw that love didn't make

to christian watson because throwing to the middle of the field especially intermediate middle and understanding when it's going to be open and not going to be open is one of the like best signs of development for a quarterback in this offense right matt It comes from Sean McVey. We're going to use play action. We're going to open the middle of the field. And Love has been like worryingly uncomfortable at times, throwing to that area of the field.

But over recent weeks has found space there a lot better. This is early, first quarter against the lines on Thanksgiving. We're going to send Malik Heath in motion. When we send him in motion, no one player travels with him. So we're expecting zone coverage. That's our read pre-snap motion. Now we're running dagger, right? The most common concept you ever saw, we're going to go vertical.

And then the big dig behind it, We love dagger in the McVay tree. When you're running dagger against zone, you want to throw this dig right here. There's two things you're worried about. The first is this backside safety, right? If they do some sort of rotation where he becomes the whole player, right, go cover one or cover three and he rotates in,

and he's playing that hole, he can potentially take away our dig window. So you're worried about this safety rotating in. The other thing you're worried about is these linebackers are going to have underneath zone drops, right? We're going to drop underneath playing zone coverage, and they might occupy our dig window. So to handle the linebackers, what we do,

is we do play action fake, right? This is a Matlaffor offense, Sean McVeigh-Ba staple. We go on our center, we go play action. That helps pull our linebackers down, right? Then we can check our work on this safety, and he opens to this two-receiver's side. He wants to go see what's afoot,

but we're going to actually, instead of running this pure seam, we're going to run this clear-out route kind of down the pipe in hopes to hold this safety a little better, and he didn't immediately rotate down either. So right now we are looking good for this dig window. Like we are on script to throw this dig.

We're going to run a little more. right here to me with the depth these linebackers got with the success the clear-out route had the dig is breaking right here we are not pressured in the pocket to me this can be we can throw this dig

like this is a challenging throw with these players but you throw a layered ball over the top and we should be able to hit Romeo on the dig now throwing AJ Dylan on the release is not bad at all this is actually this is still a good decision in my opinion it's a mature decision because hey he's open

in. We can just get the ball to him in stride, turn up field, and it's a gain. And so I think we could have thrown the dig on that window, but I understand why we didn't, because this Dylan route was available to us. It's a mature decision. It's a risk-averse decision. I don't mind it at all. Now, later in the game, we're going to get a very clear throw-to-the-back opportunity, right? This is where it's pretty cut and dry. They go motion with Christian Watson. So again, we're going to go pre-snap motion. No one's going to run with him, so we're expecting zone coverage. And then what the concept is, we go clear out again from Reed. Watson on the motion has to get into the dig.

It's not as deep as the other one was, but it's still the dagger spacing. There's going to be a crawl route right here, and then AJ Dillon's going to get to the flat. So in part because the timing of the snap with Watson's motion isn't great. See how he's like slowed up? He hasn't started the turn up field yet.

You didn't really time this super great. You'd like for Watson right now to be here and breaking in time with the back foot of Jordan Love on the dropback. You don't actually get that. You also get linebacker Alex Anzolone. He's beautifully in the window, but he's got a deep drop. Corners deep. Dylan's getting out right now and you've got pressure coming off your left side.

And so love just immediately go find Dylan. And now Dylan's gonna pay off. Oh, break a tackle, big fella. Explosive gain. So this look right here, to me like, this is a very clear throw the check down. Jane Reid actually here asks for the wall. Reid's like, oh, come on, I was open.

But you know, you think because you got that one Steelers route, that you get to be open on this route. Absolutely, he should not be throwing this route. But this is a very clear throw to the back read. It comes later in the game. Then, on the very same drive, you get under center, 12 personnel. There's no motion this time. They're going to go play action.

Christian Watson and the dig with Romeo dubs. And now you've thrown the back out of the flat twice on them now. And it was a risk-averse decision. It was the right decision. But you've shown them you're willing to throw to the back here on this concept. So, you stand to football. There's a play-action fake. you had a big bite right here Dylan's about to leak out to the flat here's our clear out

dubs is about to break this when you have this aggressive of a bite here from the middle of linebacker safety's still in a position where he's not he's not biting down into this hole but he's actually he's dropping here he's worried about deep routes it finish him this is it this is the look you've been waiting for to throw this route so one pat on the ball throw with good timing see how Dylan's pulling these linebackers down big window for it and hit Romeo dubs, gorgeously in stride. End zone view. Two things to watch for here.

The first is the footwork, the timing of the feet and the dropback. Seven step, under center, land on that back foot. One hitch balls out, decisive. Excellent work. And then look at this ball, just right over Jack Campbell's Noggin, arrived to dubs before the safety gets there. It's a gorgeous throw. Excellent.

Now, this, like, looks mundane, but it isn't. And the reason is because a younger quarterback and an earlier Jordan Love is either going to try to throw that dig earlier. He's going to try to throw on the first rep or on the second rep when like maybe there's a window. He's going to force it in there because Matt LaFleur told him it would be open. And an older and a more mature quarterback, Jordan Love takes the back, takes the back, waits until he gets the nice window. And then when it's there, no hesitation.

Trust your work. Know that you have it. Seven step, land on that back foot, hitch and go. Right. It is an example of a quarterback now, understanding how, the offense works. If you want to see understanding how the offense works, getting the structure of the offense in just one play, it's this against the lines. Third and short, we're going to motion Romeo dubs, right? We're going to bring him and the safety is for the lines rock and roll, right?

We have one safety drop. The other safety comes forward. We're expecting zone coverage here again. All right. Immediately, Jordan Love is on the, he's on like one step drop timing, right? And he's initially looking to this two receiver side where they just have two outbreaking routes. They love to throw this outbreak and route outside of the numbers. But when you look there on Love, that one step drop timing, see that punch step with your left foot and then the right foot lands one step drop. You're seeing right, like outside leverage, outside leverage here, and then also this linebacker came and closed the window. Like if this was a curl, right, then the linebacker's there for that. So the lions dramatically reacted to that motion and expected these two outbreakers.

Love's already off it, right? Just in the amount of time, we can go, we can go and watch and process this. Just in the amount of time it took him to get in the drop. Look how quickly his helmets off it, right? That's real processing right there. It's not a lot. looking off anybody. He wants to throw that route on one step drop and he doesn't have it. Eyes to the middle of the field because if this linebacker came, then this wraparound route. Remember when he didn't throw Christian Watson on that basic? Well, this route right here is about to wrap into the middle of the field. It's going to get past Jack Campbell. You need to be ready to throw that route with timing. He can't get too far over here because then a linebacker's going to be in the window. He can't sit and wait

too long here because Campbell's going to be back and the safety's going to be back. So with expediency, quickly. Get your head around to this ball and deliver it on time. And it is perfectly on time and hits Jaden Reed in the face mask. Gorgeous work. What I want you to see here end zone view is the feet. Right. We're talking about a lot about footwork and timing in the dropbacks. All right here, I want to land on my right foot and throw these outbreaking routes, but I don't have them. So watch him bounce back into more now like three step drop timing, right? Give himself a little bit of tempo. Dig that back foot in the ground and throw with no hitch. excellent throw. It looks mundane. It isn't. It's him understanding how to tempo. Okay, front side. No, I need to get backside. Reset my platform and throw out no wasted movement from the feet in the pocket. Very professional stuff. All right, all the clips we've shown brings us to this moment here, this play. It's just a fun play to end on. We have Malik Heath on this comeback and Love likes to throw these comebacks here to the outside of the numbers. Got a good arm for it. We also have this in breaking route, like this basic that we've seen him say no to against the Steelers. We saw him say yes to it. against the lines. What's he going to do? Well, we're going to snap the football. We go three-step drop timing this time because this comeback route is a little bit deep. By the time Love sees it, he doesn't

like the look of it. And so now he wants to work to this middle of the field route. And we're going to seem to do the same thing he did in the pocket. He's going to reset that throwing platform, right? Dig that back foot in. And for whatever reason, and I think this is wrong, I think you should throw this. I think you can get this ball in with this lineback has a little bit of momentum this way. I think you can get this ball in right here. But for whatever reason, love sees this, and he sees this, and he sees this, and he maybe feels a little bit late to

and he says no. And so we stop here and we say, I think there's still room for improvement and would love throwing middle of the field. I think you can choose to rip that route right there, and he doesn't, whatever. Now we enter scramble drill mode. And the trick shot artist comes back.

What a ridiculous throw. Do attempt and do to complete, what a ridiculous throw. Snap the football. We want that comeback. We pad the ball. decide we don't like it. Reset to the basic. I think you can throw this. I think the coaching point is to throw this in my opinion. It gives it a little bit of a shoulder shake, but shrugs it off.

Enter scramble drill mode. Sure. Why not? So we started and ended on the trick shots, on the examples of physical talent. And that alone is enough of a reason, in my opinion, to keep playing Jordan Love through next season. You already have them under contract. You don't need to immediately replace him. You don't need to draft the first round quarterback and prepare for the future. Like, you've seen enough from this guy just on terms of physical talent alone to give him another year and to expect him to improve. But that's the realist's view. The glass is exactly half full and half empty view. That's like a very sober view. The optimist's view, all right, looks at the last few weeks of Jordan Love play, sees the improved timing, sees the comfort in the pocket,

the understanding of the offense, the way he gets to his spot and says, hey, if we can keep the trick shots, but continue to go stock up on the instructure stuff? We got a stu-going. We have a full real quarterback right here that's going to be an impactful player when we need him to be, and then also let our wide receivers be impactful players, let the design of our offense work for him. This is a full, three-down mature starting quarterback in the league. So Packers, rest of the season, make the playoffs, don't make the playoffs, I don't really

care. What I care about is Jordan Love. I want to watch him every Sunday and see that this hasn't been a flash in the pan, see that this hasn't been just a spark that dies out. If he can continue to do this over the month of December, I will expect the Packers to have their starting quarterback for years to come. The Packers can't keep getting away with this. And that'll do it.

For us here on the play sheet, thank you so much for watching. Thank you to Cory McConnell for producing the episode. Thank you to Jordan Love for throwing the checkdown and then the dig. We love to see that young man that's good quarterbacking. Subscribe to the videos, watch them, and comment, and I'll read them and I'll like them if they're funny.