Tag: matt lafleur

Aaron Jones and Green Bay’s run game could decide who wins Packers-Cowboys

With Jordan Love and Dak Prescott, the Packers-Cowboys wild-card game is dead even from a QB perspective. RB Aaron Jones could make the difference.

From a quarterback perspective, Sunday’s wild-card matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys is as evenly-matched as it gets.

Let’s start with Jordan Love, who’s been among the NFL’s best quarterbacks in the second half of the season. Since Week 9, he’s completed 237 of 345 passes (68.7%) for 2,666 yards (7.7 yards per attempt), 21 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 108.2. These are wildly impressive numbers for a first-year starter with a highly aggressive mindset – in that time, Love has completed a league-high 23 passes of 20 or more air yards for 724 yards, seven touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 126.4.

Under pressure, which Love will see from the Cowboys, he’s also been outstanding, with 42 completions in 92 attempts under pressure for 742 yards, seven touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 100.9. At this point, there isn’t much you can do to fluster Love, and the extent to which head coach Matt LaFleur has handed the offense over to his young quarterback tells you all you need to know about his development. 

Here’s the issue for the Packers – we have a situation in which Dak Prescott is saying, “Everything you can do, I can do… perhaps better.” In that same period since Week 9, Prescott has completed 254 of 370 passes (68.6%) for 2,882 yards (7.8 yards per attempt), 26 touchdowns, four interceptions, and a passer rating of 110.7. And yes, Love does have the league lead in deep completions, but Prescott it tied with him – 23 completions in 49 attempts for 741 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 127.3. Under pressure, Prescott has completed 62 of 103 passes for 864 yards, five touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 99.3. 

So, we’re splitting hairs. The advantage would seem to be in Prescott’s direction because of something neither quarterback can control. Dallas’ defense has been outstanding all season long, though they’ve dropped a bit in Pass Defense DVOA since Week 10 – eighth in the first half of the season, and 13th in the second. However, and as all Packers fans are aware, there are issues all over Joe Barry’s defense. Green Bay ranked 22nd in Pass Defense DVOA in the first half of the season; they’ve dropped to 27th since. 

The quarterbacks are as even as you can get. That’s not the problem for the Packers. The problem for the Packers is the same problem they’ve had all season. It’ll be up to Barry and his staff to close the gap with a quickness.

Let’s now assume that Joe Barry isn’t going to close the gap with a quickness, and move on to how the Packers can gain an advantage elsewhere. And that advantage could easily be gleaned in the run game cultivated by head coach Matt LaFleur.

Over the last three weeks, running back Aaron Jones has 63 carries for a league-high 359 yards, 5.7 yards per carry, and four runs of 15 or more yards. Only James Conner of the Arizona Cardinals has more (five), and Conner got to face the Eagles’ and Seahawks’ run defenses over the last two games. The 14-yard run against the Bears last week was a great example of how the Packers get Jones going.

They motioned tight end Josiah Deguara from right to left, and tight end Tucker Kraft moved from the right side of the formation to deal the left inside edge against linebacker T.J. Edwards. Left tackle Rasheed Walker kicked up to take linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (taking him about 20 yards upfield before depositing Edmunds on his butt), and Deguara took out safety Jaquan Bricker. Meanwhile, receiver Romeo Doubs was busy keeping cornerback Tyrique Stevenson out of the play. The Packers are on point with their blocking concepts for such a young team on that side of the ball. 

This approach could work against the Cowboys, who run a ton of big nickel and dime defense with a stunt-heavy front four. Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, who returned last week from the high ankle sprain he suffered in Week 14 against the Philadelphia Eagles, With Hankins on the field this season, the Cowboys have allowed 4.2 yards per attempt, and 2.2 yards after contact per attempt. Without Hankins, Dallas has allowed 4.9 yards per attempt, and 2.7 yards after contact per attempt. On-off splits don’t take all factors into account, but this one’s pretty simple, and the tape backs it up.

“He’s been toting that rock,” Hankins said this week of Jones. “He’s fast. He can run through blocks. All in all, he’s a great running back. They have a good combination of running backs, a great scheme. They’ve been doing everything they’ve needed to do to get where they’re at. It’s up to us to go out there and stop the run.”

“Hank don’t move,” Dallas edge demon Micah Parsons said this week of the big man in the middle. “He’s a crucial piece to this defense. It’s real crucial to have Hank back – especially with how good their gap schemes and pullers are – to get him back in this lineup and get ready for Sunday.”

As for LaFleur, he couldn’t be happier that he has Aaron Jones on his roster, and he probably understands just how crucial Jones could be to his advancement in the postseason.

“He’s a guy that tilts the field in your favor,” Lafleur said of Jones after the Bears game. “He’s so dynamic, so explosive. Take all his ability as a football player out of it. He means so much to this locker room by his actions, by what he says and what he does on a daily basis. He’s a real leader in this locker room. Real leader for our football team. He inspires everybody and comes to work each and every day with a great attitude. I can’t say enough great things about him. I’ve said it a million times about the kind of person he is. 

“You cannot have enough Aaron Jones[es] on your football team.”

The Packers have one Aaron Jones, and they’d better deploy him generously.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys dive deeper into the importance of Green Bay’s run game against the Cowboys.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” previewing every game in the wild-card slate, right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Making the case for Packers coach Matt LaFleur to be NFL Coach of the Year in 2023

Matt LaFleur is not going to win NFL Coach of the Year in 2023. But he still has a terrific case to be argued.

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur is not going to win NFL Coach of the Year in 2023. At some sportsbooks, LaFleur is not even a top 10 candidate. This might be a reflection of the volume of excellent coaching jobs done across the NFL this season, and also the fact that the Packers just barely snuck into the postseason. Not many coaches who finish with nine wins become NFL Coach of the Year — Brian Daboll at 9-7-1 last year was the first to win the award with fewer than 10 wins since 1990.

But there’s still a real case to be made for LaFleur as the NFL’s best coach in 2023.

The Packers improved by just one win this season, going from 8-9 last year to 9-8 in 2023. This fact is only unimpressive on the surface.

The Packers traded away future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers, let eight veteran players who were on the field for at least 250 snaps last season walk in free agency and didn’t re-sign veteran kicker Mason Crosby. General manager Brian Gutekunst hit the reset button and handed LaFleur the youngest team in football, and the Packers not only improved but made the postseason.

LaFleur expertly navigated through a transition from Rodgers to Jordan Love at quarterback, handled the ups and downs of the early-season inconsistencies expected of a young team, oversaw drastic and meaningful development/progression on the offensive side of the ball and powered the Packers to the playoffs on the back of a quarterback and offense playing as well as any in football over the second half of the 2023 season.

Love’s rapid ascension is a direct reflection of LaFleur, both as a developer of the quarterback position and a playcaller. In almost every possible way, Love — despite a rocky early stretch — outplayed the 2022 version of Rodgers. He became the Packers’ first quarterback to lead the team to the postseason in his first year as a starter. He threw for 32 touchdown passes and over 4,000 yards, joining Patrick Mahomes and Kurt Warner as the only first-time starters to hit both numbers. Once LaFleur and Love got in a rhythm as a playcaller and quarterback, Love played on par with Rodgers’ 2021 MVP season over a brilliant 10-game stretch to end the year.

The Packers offense depended on more rookies and first-time starters than any other in football but still finished third in sacks allowed, sixth in giveaways and fifth on third down. Only the Packers and 49ers were in the top six in all three categories in 2023.

LaFleur couldn’t even lean on veterans. David Bakhtiari played one game. Aaron Jones missed or was limited in as many as nine games. Christian Watson missed eight games. Injuries affected the gameday roster each and every week. The offensive explosion was fueled by Love and a host of rookies, including Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft and Dontayvion Wicks. The Packers got big contributions from second-year players such as Zach Tom, Rasheed Walker and Romeo Doubs. By the end of the year, the Packers had set NFL records for catches and receiving yards by rookies.

LaFleur deserves blame for the defensive struggles because he made no significant changes and willingly kept Joe Barry in charge for the full duration of a third season. His lack of action on the defensive side likely cost the Packers a chance to winning the NFC North. This is probably a much different argument had the Packers finished 12-5 and won the division.

Still, it’s hard to ignore everything the young Packers accomplished, especially down the stretch. Wins over the Lions and Chiefs in back-to-back primetime games ignited the season, and a three-game win streak to end the season was enough for the Packers to get back over .500 and into the playoffs as the No. 7 in the NFC. LaFleur’s team had zero Pro Bowlers yet still finished 6-2 over the final eight games.

Winning nine games is an incredible accomplishment especially when considering the Packers essentially lit $60 million in cap space on fire by trading Rodgers and voiding the contracts of several veterans this offseason. When Bakhtiari went out after one week, another $20 million in cap commitments wasn’t available. The Packers went through the 2023 season while missing almost a third of total salary cap, creating a massive (but also self-induced) handicap.

Voters ignored LaFleur as a candidate when he won 13 games in back-to-back-to-back seasons because of the quarterback, forgetting the fact that LaFleur was a big reason why Rodgers revived his career and regained MVP status. Now, LaFleur is getting no love despite everything he’s done to turn his current first-year starting quarterback into one of the most valuable players in football over the final 2.5 months of the season. And he turned what everyone labeled as a rebuilding year in Green Bay into an inspired playoff appearance despite no meaningful additions to the roster outside of rookie draft picks.

Did LaFleur do an “outstanding job of working with the talent as his disposal,” as outlined by the award? The answer is a triumphant yes.

No, LaFleur is not going to win the award in 2023. Many others have an equally compelling case, and Kevin Stefanski is the odds-on favorite as of Wednesday. But the 2023 season did prove one important thing to open the post-Rodgers era in Green Bay: LaFleur is one of the NFL’s very best coaches, regardless of award recognition.

Jordan Love might lead the Packers to the promised land sooner than you think

Packers quarterback Jordan Love has been as good as any QB in the second half of the season. Here’s one play that proves it.

If the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday, quarterback Jordan Love will have done something that Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, his predecessors at his position, were unable to do — lead his team to the postseason in his first full year as a starter. The 1992 Packers just missed the boat at 9-7, and the 2008 Packers were 6-10. The 2023 Packers, who currently stand at 8-8, are on the precipice, and they’re on the precipice with a young group of receivers who are still figuring it out for the most part.

One thing we know — in the second half of the 2023 season, Love has been as good as any quarterback in the league. Since Week 9, Love has completed 210 of 313 passes (67.1%) for 2,350 yards (7.5 YPA), 19 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 105.5. Love has also completed 22 of 44 passes of 20 or more air yards for 665 yards, seven touchdowns, one interceptions, and a passer rating of 125.9. So, he’s not only one of the league’s best passers overall; he’s also one of the best aggressive passers, and that can take you a long way if you get into the tournament. 

Let’s get into one play in the Packers’ 33-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday night. Love completed 24 of 33 passes for 256 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 125.3, and he did that against a Vikings defense under Brian Flores who will throw the entire kitchen at you schematically — they just start with the sink, and move on from there. Love’s first touchdown pass, a 33-yarder to rookie receiver Jayden Reed, showed how well Love can deal in the face of just about anything right now.

With 5:15 left in the first quarter, the Packers went four verts on second-and-10 from the Minnesota 33-yard line. Minnesota showed a single-high safety look pre-snap,  but as the Vikings have played the NFL’s highest rates of Cover-0 (11.5%) and Cover-2 (27.5%), Love probably had a pretty good feeling that the middle of the field would be open eventually. It was, but as is often the case with Flores’ defenses, it was in ways you might not expect. The Vikings went with inverted Cover-2 to the boundary with cornerback Mekhi Blackmon dropping to two-deep, and linebacker Jordan Hicks as the middle hole defender.

Love also had to deal with pressure here, as defensive tackle Harrison Phillips pushed center Josh Myers into the pocket. Love made a little hop out of the pressure, righted his body, and made the throw with ideal accuracy and velocity.

“Yeah, they kind of disguised it, went to a cover-two-ish coverage and we had four verts on, and I knew I was going to have J-Reed right there,” Love said after the game. “Kind of didn’t see him at first where he was at, and then he came into my vision, so just let it out there, let him go get it. It was an awesome play.”

Postgame, head coach Matt LaFleur couldn’t wait to talk about his quarterback.

“I can’t say enough great things about him. Just his ability to hang in there versus some tough looks, drifting away from pressure, putting the ball in play, allowing his guys to go make plays. I think he is playing at an incredibly high level. I’m super happy for him because he’s put in a ton of work to get to this point, and I really think the sky’s the limit for him. I think he’s just showing a glimpse of what he can ultimately be, and he’s been more consistent as the season has progressed with a young group around him.”

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into how much Love has progressed as a passer this season.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Vikings vs. Packers: 4 defensive keys for week 17

It’s do or die time for the Vikings. Minnesota’s defense has to follow these four keys if they want to win on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.

This is their last chance.

The Minnesota Vikings get one more chance to salvage their playoff chances as they face the Green Bay Packers in U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday Night Football at 7:20 p.m. CST. 

Minnesota has a chance to atone for dropping the past two with a good performance against a surging Green Bay team. 

After starting 3-6 this season, the Packers have found a way back into the playoff conversation, and it’s been behind the play of their offense. 

Since their meeting in week eight, Green Bay’s offense has been fourth in EPA/play, sixth in success rate, third in EPA/dropback and tenth in EPA/rush. Jordan Love has come into his own as a passer. He’s sixth in Adjusted net yards per pass attempt, second in passing yards (2095) and third in passing touchdowns (16) in that span.

On the other hand, Minnesota has been in a bit of a slump after their improbable 3-0 win against the Raiders at the beginning of the month. In the last two weeks, they have allowed 57 points, more than the four games before them combined. They’ve allowed the fourth-most EPA/play and are third-worst in success rate.

This defense must follow these four keys to success to get back on track and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Miscommunication at root of Packers defensive issues, starts with coaching

Packers coach Matt LaFleur pointed to multiple failed points of miscommunication as the biggest reason why the defense has struggled.

You name it, and it probably went wrong for the Green Bay Packers pass defense against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At the root of it all, according to Matt LaFleur on Monday, was a lack of communication.

“When you’re having basic communication problems,” said LaFleur, “and you’re supposed to be in a certain coverage, or certain rotation and we’re not getting that communication, that’s what’s disappointing to me.

“The fact that it was poor communication. And it always starts with us. It starts with myself and it goes to all of our assistant coaches. So obviously, the coaching wasn’t up to the standard and our performance on the field showed that as well.”

The lack of communication from the linebackers and back-end of the Green Bay defense resulted in several broken plays with defenders out of position. In general, there were a lot of pitch-and-catch opportunities for Baker Mayfield and his receivers as they consistently found the soft spots in the Packers’ heavy zone defense.

The end result was Baker Mayfield completing 22-of-28 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns. LaFleur said on Monday that he counted 14 explosive plays surrendered by his defense and on eight possessions, the Bucs scored on six of them, including three touchdowns in the second half.

“It happened by people not talking and setting the front a certain way,” said LaFleur. “Or making sure the safety rotation is the right way. So you’re backers aren’t glossed over one way and you’re rolling that way. There was way too many examples of that. As dumbfounded as you are right now, that’s how I felt watching it.”

When things go this poorly, especially in a de facto playoff game for the Packers, everyone is to blame, including the players. However, if multiple players throughout a game don’t know what to communicate or where to line up, that ultimately falls on coaching—defensive coordinator Joe Barry, specifically, for not having his group prepared in Week 15.

These issues aren’t new to Green Bay. They just so happened to rear their ugly head over and over again in a crucial game. Keisean Nixon said after the game, “they knew what we were in,” referencing that the Bucs’ offense knew what was coming. This shows a predictability and lack of creativity of the Packers defense, along with a lack of adjustments being made.

When an opponent finds instant success on the first few drives of the game, you can blame the gameplan. When they find success in the third quarter, it can often be chalked up to a lack of adjustments. When individual players aren’t progressing throughout the course of the season or are making mistakes that should have been cleaned up in training camp, it’s a lack of development. All of that happened on Sunday and all of it falls on coaching.

However, with all of that said, at least for the time being, there won’t be any changes to the Green Bay coaching staff.

“Yeah, that is the plan,” said LaFleur when asked if he would keep Barry as defensive coordinator for the remainder of the season. “If I thought that was the best solution today, then we would make that decision.”

Perhaps with the Packers playoff hopes still alive, LaFleur doesn’t want to shake things up with a drastic change—although the 10-3 Philadelphia Eagles just made a change of their own at defensive coordinator over the weekend. Or perhaps LaFleur is sticking with Barry because there is no clear cut replacement for him on the current coaching staff.

We will likely never truly know the answer to that question. But when LaFleur was asked why now wasn’t the time for a change given how Sunday unfolded, well, it’s because this defense has previously been able to execute on all the things that went wrong against the Bucs.

“I’ve seen us execute this stuff before,” LaFleur said. “It’s unfortunate that it happened this time of the year in such an important game. But I’ve seen us execute it in previous games.

“Now, certainly are there some calls, I’d be the first to admit, there’s a couple play calls I’d like to have back in that game. I know there’s some Joe would like to have back, in particular. Some of those third and three to four yard plays where we are playing soft zone and they can easily get a free completion. Just like there were a couple of calls I’d like to have back in the red zone. But hopefully we can learn from that and not make the same mistake twice.”

To add more accountability and to make sure that everyone is on the same page, LaFleur said that throughout the week he will take on a larger role with the defense, making sure the coaching staff is aligned and the communication responsibilities among the players are clear.

Understandably so, Barry has and will continue to take the brunt of the heat as the defensive play-caller. However, at the end of the day, LaFleur is the head coach and the one in charge. He decided to bring Barry back for a third season. He signs off on the game plan each week. And as the Bucs were shredding the Packers throughout the game, he didn’t step in and force Barry to make changes.

Already the offensive play-caller, is having to be fully engaged on the defensive side of the ball a lot on LaFleur’s plate on game day? Absolutely. But it’s his team and it’s the position that he and the Packers find themselves in. The status quo isn’t working and if Barry is going to remain the defensive coordinator for the final three games, as LaFleur said on Sunday, he needs to find solutions. But I’m not sure that they exist as things are at the moment.

“I’ve got to be more present with those guys and making sure we are all on the same page,” LaFleur said on Monday. “Football is, if you don’t have all 11 on the same page, obviously it starts with our staff. Making sure all our coaches are in lock step, but if you don’t have all 11 on the same page, it takes one guy and then everything goes to crap after that and you get exposed. And unfortunately, we got exposed in a really bad way.”

Barry was LaFleur’s hire. Barry was brought to Green Bay to run a specific style of defense that LaFleur wanted. The two are already very much connected, but the longer this relationship goes on, especially if this unit continues to struggle over the final few weeks, the more this situation reflects negatively on LaFleur.

Matt LaFleur sticking with Joe Barry as Packers defensive coordinator to finish 2023

Matt LaFleur is sticking with Joe Barry as Packers defensive coordinator to finish the 2023 season.

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur is sticking with Joe Barry as his defensive coordinator to finish out the 2023 season.

LaFleur confirmed Barry will remain his defensive playcaller over the final three games despite the Packers defense giving up 34 points and almost 400 yards passing to Baker Mayfield during Sunday’s crushing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Yeah, that is the plan,” LaFleur said Monday.

Why will Barry remain?

“If I thought that (firing Barry) was the best solution today, then we’d make that decision,” LaFleur said.

The Packers coach went through all three phases of the film on Sunday night and came away “disappointed” with what he saw on offense, defense and special teams.

LaFleur said “poor communication” on defense was the biggest problem during Sunday’s defeat and he’ll take on a bigger role in making sure the communication problems get fixed this season.

Mayfield completed 22 of 28 passes for 384 yards and four touchdown passes. He didn’t have an interception and finished with a perfect 158.3 passer rating. The loss — Green Bay’s eighth of the season — put a big dent in the team’s playoff chances.

The Packers finish the year with games against the Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. LaFleur’s team likely needs to win out to make the postseason as a wildcard team in the NFC field.

Matt LaFleur noncommittal on Joe Barry’s future after blowout loss to Buccaneers

Matt LaFleur didn’t want to talk about a potential change at defensive coordinator following Sunday’s loss to the Buccaneers.

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur repeatedly said his team got out-coached but mostly avoided the line of questioning when asked if he would be making a change at defensive coordinator following Sunday’s 34-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Joe Barry’s defense gave up 452 total yards and six scoring drives, including 381 passing yards and four touchdown passes by Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.

LaFleur didn’t want to talk about an immediate coaching change and said he wanted to watch the tape before proceeding. At no point in the press conference did LaFleur commit to Barry as defensive coordinator moving forward.

“Now’s not the time for that, to be honest with you,” LaFleur said. “I’m trying to find solutions. I have to go back and take a look at the film.”

Barry has been the defensive coordinator in Green Bay since 2021. Sunday at Lambeau Field — the site of a pivotal December game in the NFC playoff race — might represent rock bottom.

The Buccaneers took the first lead 3-0, led 13-10 at halftime and then scored touchdowns on three straight possessions to open the second half.

“They whooped us in every phase. They out-coached us, out-played us. It’s disappointing,” LaFleur said. “We have to play better, have to coach better.”

LaFleur pointed to allowing too many explosive plays and not producing enough stops as the biggest problems defensively. Mayfield averaged over 17 yards per completion and had a perfect 158.3 passer rating.

“We have to challenge much better on the back end,” LaFleur said.

The Packers have lost back-to-back games after disappointing defensive efforts against the New York Giants and Buccaneers.

“Right now, we’re looking for solutions. I want to go back to it,” LaFleur said. “You have to give me time to go back and look at it.”

The Packers face Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers next week.

“We haven’t found solutions that are good enough,” LaFleur said. “It’s extremely disappointing.”

Giants stun Packers, 24-22: Here’s how X reacted

The New York Giants kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired to stun the Green Bay Packers and Big Blue social media went wild.

The New York Giants came into their Week 14 matchup against the Green Bay Packers riding a two-game winning streak and well rested following the bye week.

With a win, as crazy as it may seem, the Giants would be a game out of a playoff spot. A loss would have the Giants slated to pick 4th overall in the 2024 NFL draft.

The Packers also came in riding a winning streak of their own — a three-game winning streak where they had not turned over the ball.

Monday Night’s matchup would be different as the Giants would force three Green Bay turnovers.

In a weird and eventful game, the Giants had the lead late in the fourth quarter but the Packers were able to take advantage of a Saquon Barkley unforced fumble and score with 1:33 remaining on the clock to take a one-point lead.

However, Tommy DeVito had some late magic on the ensuing drive to put the Giants in position for the game-winning field goal to extend the Giants winning streak to three games.

Here’s how X, formerly known as Twitter, reacted to the win.

Jordan Love is beating the blitz, and he’ll need that ability against the Giants

Packers QB Jordan Love has become much better against the blitz in 2023, and he’ll need that against Wink Martindale’s Giants defense.

One of the most positive aspects of Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love’s development in the 2023 season is how he’s performed against the blitz. Against five or more pass-rushers this season, Love had completed 80 of 130 passes for 859 yards, 479 air yards, six touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 93.1. Against the Kansas City Chiefs in Green Bay’s 27-19 Week 13, Love had 15 dropbacks against the blitz, and 11 completions on 15 attempts for 91 yards, 39 air yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 128.1.

This will serve him very well when the Packers play the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, and Love has to deal with Wink Martindale’s pressure concepts.

Only the Vikings have a higher blitz rate this season (47.6%) than the Giants’ 41.0%. But while the Vikings have allowed 10 touchdowns to two interceptions and an opponent passer rating of 114.5 when sending five or more rushers, the Giants have allowed just two touchdowns to one interception and an opponent passer rating of 72.9 when sending six or more pass rushers. When sending five or more pass-rushers, the Giants have five interceptions, and they’ve allowed three touchdowns.

Now, two of those five picks came against the New England Patriots in Week 12, when Mac Jones threw a cross-body pick that Bailey Zappe later replicated, and a disasterbacle of a Jones throw to linebacker Bobby Okereke. Another was a Sam Howell WTF throw in Week 11 in the fourth quarter against the Washington Commanders. So, this is another case, as always, where you have to watch the interceptions. 

Still, it will be fascinating to see how Love deals with the Giants’ aggressive tendencies, because he’s not only playing well against extra rushers; he’s doing it against all kinds of pressure concepts. 

“With this defense, you never know when they’re going to bring it,” Love said post-game of Steve Spagnuolo’s Chiefs squad. “They do a really good job disguising their stuff, so you kind of always have to be alert for it, try to pick up on the little tells, little keys. On that one to Christian they did end up bringing it, we got to a protection that picked it up, was able to give me enough time to kind of buy some time and let Christian work. I put it up for him and he went up there and made a great play.”

Love was talking about his second touchdown pass of the game to receiver Christian Watson, which came with 5:38 left in the third quarter from the Kansas City 12-yard line. The Chiefs brought a seven-man pressure look with six rushers and linebacker Willie Gay Jr. dropping into coverage in a Cover-0 blitz look. Love had pressure from end George Karlaftis from his front side, so he had to abbreviate it throwing motion, and he still made a great throw to Watson over the head of cornerback Joshua Williams.

Love on the blitz overall:

“I think me personally, it’s just being able to see the stuff. I’ve got more reps, I’m more comfortable, understanding where I need to go with the ball. I think the O-line is doing a great job just being able to pick this stuff up. It’s not easy when they’re bringing all-outs, some of these blitzes, things like that, but they’ve been doing a great job giving me time and then receivers obviously, they’re having awareness of when they need to be open and how long I’ve got and then just going out there and making plays. It’s definitely something we as a team practice. We know some teams are going to bring it and we’ve got to be able to execute and go out there and make sure they don’t do it again.”

Love’s 27-yard throw to receiver Dontayvion Wicks with 13:41 left in the first half was another example of how he dissects those extra rushers. Pre-snap, the Chiefs had a four-man front with linebackers Willie Gay and Jack Cochrane showing off-ball pressure looks. Cochrane dropped and Gay blitzed, which made it four-on-four to Love’s front side. The Packers picked it up well, left tackle Rasheed Walker kept George Karlaftis at bay, and Love hit Wicks on a deep over route against Cover-3.

“There’s a lot,” Love concluded, when asked how he’s grown as a quarterback in the last two seasons. “Two years ago, we weren’t able to pick up the blitz and execute, myself included. I wasn’t playing great. I wasn’t able to capitalize on those moments and now I think we are. I think just from an execution standpoint we played a lot better tonight. We were able to put up a lot of points, which is great, which is something we weren’t able to do the last game. But overall, it was a great win.”

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys got deeper into Love’s success against the blitz of late, and how it’s turned the Packers’ offense around.

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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Jordan Love is beating the blitz, and he’ll need that ability against the Giants

Packers QB Jordan Love has become much better against the blitz in 2023, and he’ll need that against Wink Martindale’s Giants defense.

One of the most positive aspects of Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love’s development in the 2023 season is how he’s performed against the blitz. Against five or more pass-rushers this season, Love had completed 80 of 130 passes for 859 yards, 479 air yards, six touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 93.1. Against the Kansas City Chiefs in Green Bay’s 27-19 Week 13, Love had 15 dropbacks against the blitz, and 11 completions on 15 attempts for 91 yards, 39 air yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 128.1.

This will serve him very well when the Packers play the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, and Love has to deal with Wink Martindale’s pressure concepts.

Only the Vikings have a higher blitz rate this season (47.6%) than the Giants’ 41.0%. But while the Vikings have allowed 10 touchdowns to two interceptions and an opponent passer rating of 114.5 when sending five or more rushers, the Giants have allowed just two touchdowns to one interception and an opponent passer rating of 72.9 when sending six or more pass rushers. When sending five or more pass-rushers, the Giants have five interceptions, and they’ve allowed three touchdowns.

Now, two of those five picks came against the New England Patriots in Week 12, when Mac Jones threw a cross-body pick that Bailey Zappe later replicated, and a disasterbacle of a Jones throw to linebacker Bobby Okereke. Another was a Sam Howell WTF throw in Week 11 in the fourth quarter against the Washington Commanders. So, this is another case, as always, where you have to watch the interceptions. 

Still, it will be fascinating to see how Love deals with the Giants’ aggressive tendencies, because he’s not only playing well against extra rushers; he’s doing it against all kinds of pressure concepts. 

“With this defense, you never know when they’re going to bring it,” Love said post-game of Steve Spagnuolo’s Chiefs squad. “They do a really good job disguising their stuff, so you kind of always have to be alert for it, try to pick up on the little tells, little keys. On that one to Christian they did end up bringing it, we got to a protection that picked it up, was able to give me enough time to kind of buy some time and let Christian work. I put it up for him and he went up there and made a great play.”

Love was talking about his second touchdown pass of the game to receiver Christian Watson, which came with 5:38 left in the third quarter from the Kansas City 12-yard line. The Chiefs brought a seven-man pressure look with six rushers and linebacker Willie Gay Jr. dropping into coverage in a Cover-0 blitz look. Love had pressure from end George Karlaftis from his front side, so he had to abbreviate it throwing motion, and he still made a great throw to Watson over the head of cornerback Joshua Williams.

Love on the blitz overall:

“I think me personally, it’s just being able to see the stuff. I’ve got more reps, I’m more comfortable, understanding where I need to go with the ball. I think the O-line is doing a great job just being able to pick this stuff up. It’s not easy when they’re bringing all-outs, some of these blitzes, things like that, but they’ve been doing a great job giving me time and then receivers obviously, they’re having awareness of when they need to be open and how long I’ve got and then just going out there and making plays. It’s definitely something we as a team practice. We know some teams are going to bring it and we’ve got to be able to execute and go out there and make sure they don’t do it again.”

Love’s 27-yard throw to receiver Dontayvion Wicks with 13:41 left in the first half was another example of how he dissects those extra rushers. Pre-snap, the Chiefs had a four-man front with linebackers Willie Gay and Jack Cochrane showing off-ball pressure looks. Cochrane dropped and Gay blitzed, which made it four-on-four to Love’s front side. The Packers picked it up well, left tackle Rasheed Walker kept George Karlaftis at bay, and Love hit Wicks on a deep over route against Cover-3.

“There’s a lot,” Love concluded, when asked how he’s grown as a quarterback in the last two seasons. “Two years ago, we weren’t able to pick up the blitz and execute, myself included. I wasn’t playing great. I wasn’t able to capitalize on those moments and now I think we are. I think just from an execution standpoint we played a lot better tonight. We were able to put up a lot of points, which is great, which is something we weren’t able to do the last game. But overall, it was a great win.”

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys got deeper into Love’s success against the blitz of late, and how it’s turned the Packers’ offense around.

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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.