Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is confident his young, developing offense needs to be on the field and playing together during the preseason, including on Saturday night against the New England Patriots.
Expect to see Jordan Love and most of the rest of the offensive starters for at least another preseason game and likely more before Week 1.
“It’s important for our offense to play together,” Gutekunst said Friday. “You’ve heard me say a million times, (Love) needs to play, and a lot of it is to see things over and over and you develop the instincts and the callousness to know what you can and can’t do with our offense, with this particular group. It’s not just him, it’s our entire offense together. We’ve got a lot of young guys that are seeing things for the first time…reacting to them, learning from it, growing from it. That’s why. It’s not just our young players, some of veteran players, just learning how to play together and just being the best we can be.”
Entering Saturday night, Love and the Packers have gone through three days of joint practices (one vs. Bengals, two vs. Patriots) and one preseason game. Love was on the field for two drives, 12 plays and 10 passing attempts in the preseason opener, but he’s had plenty of on-field work during joint practices. Two more preseason games provide the opportunity for more.
Gutekunst said the Packers, regardless of the experience level of the offense, went into the process wanting starters playing in the preseason. Development and evaluation of players and an attempt to avoid the slow starts that have plagued the Packers over recent seasons all factored into the equation, even if injuries are a concern.
“I think it’s important, it’s not always comfortable for us, especially me, because you want everyone healthy and get them to that first game, but I think it’s necessary,” Gutekunst said.
The Packers are still determining playing time parameters for Love and the starters for games against the Patriots and Seattle Seahawks to finish the preseason schedule. Green Bay goes to Chicago to play the Bears on Sunday, Sept. 10 to open the season.
“We need to see what these guys can do together, what they do well, so we can move forward. Without playing, I don’t know how you do that,” Gutekunst said.
Along with rookies such as Jayden Reed, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft and second-year players such as Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Zach Tom, the Packers need more on-field time for Love, who is entering his first season as the starter.
“He’s been doing a lot of good things,” Gutekunst said of Love’s camp. “Tomorrow night will be another really good step for him. I’ve been really pleased with his command, his confidence back there, some of the things he’s doing, how he’s leading our football team. Very excited for him.”