The Green Bay Packers offseason was full of twists and turns.
However, when they finally reported to camp and the Aaron Rodgers situation got squared away, things went smoother.
For one thing, the limelight was removed from second-year quarterback Jordan Love.
He could concentrate on improving his game and learning from Rodgers.
Jordan Love says he has a "great" relationship with Aaron Rodgers. The MVP coaches him up on details, and Love has learned a lot by watching Rodgers' footwork. "It's kind of like a master and the Padawon kind of thing," Love said. "Just trying to learn as much as I can from him."
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) August 5, 2021
With preseason games finally on the horizon for the first time in Love’s career, he shined brightly.
He played in two of the three games; the first and third.
The second one he was sidelined with a rotator cuff injury.
In those two games, he earned an A- grade.
Let’s look at his stats to figure out how he got such a high grade.
Love’s Preseason Stats
Against the Houston Texans on August 14, Love completed 12 of 17 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown.
Love also had a fumble in the game; his passer rating was 110.4.
Against the Buffalo Bills on August 28, Love had similar stats as he did against the Texans.
He completed 12 of 18 passes for 149 yards.
Jordan Love connected with Malik Taylor in double coverage down field.pic.twitter.com/cwNuTuNFRZ
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 28, 2021
Love threw his first NFL interception in the Bills game.
Big mistake by Jordan Love. Stumbles and just throws one up. Micah Hyde with the INT. #Bills pic.twitter.com/1UJW7bbXN8
— Bradley Gelber (@BradleyGelber) August 28, 2021
In both games, he was 24 of 35 with 171 yards, throwing one touchdown and one interception.
He earned a 89.1 passer rating and completed 68.6 percent of his passes.
Love’s Demeanor
Beyond the stats, Love possessed a calm and collected demeanor on the field.
In the Texans game, the Packers under Love went three-and-out in the first two possessions.
However, Love stuck with it, and things improved on the third possession.
Following the game, Love talked about how it felt to finally step on an NFL field in a game situation.
“Being able to find that rhythm is huge. Getting that first completion and being able to move the sticks, that’s kind of my takeaway from it. … Just being able to get that rhythm, move the ball, see the field, obviously in this game, it’s what wins.”
After the Bills game, Love talked about how playing in the two preseason games benefitted him.
“Obviously, it was a lot better this year to finally get those preseason games and get some action in there. I think I got a lot better, got some game reps that I can learn from and experience that I can build upon going forward.”
Love talked about his preparations now that the preseason games are over.
Jordan Love just gets it. Packers got a good one pic.twitter.com/zjsp1yj0B6
— Joe Kipp (@joepkipp) August 28, 2021
“I’m gonna be the backup quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, back up Aaron Rodgers as best I can and help him. He’s gonna go out there and do great things this season. Just trying to do whatever I can to get him ready for the season, get him ready each week and just do my job…Obviously being a backup, you still gotta be ready. So (I’ll) keep doing what I’m doing.”
Love is growing into the role of being the future of the Packers franchise.
So this happened at #Packers practice today…..@Jordan3love nails the long range throw into the basket and looks over to @AaronRodgers12 to do a *nice* gesture.😂 pic.twitter.com/1MjCIHXUbV
— Kyle Malzhan (@KyleMalzhan) August 26, 2021
His preseason preparations and having Rodgers as a mentor are going a long way to help him be ready when his time comes.
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