Did Jordan Love regress in 2024? The Packers aren't buying it

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Two days aft the Green Bay Packers' nonaccomplishment to the Philadelphia Eagles successful the wild-card circular of the playoffs, Matt LaFleur suggested that the adjacent measurement for backmost Jordan Love was to "evolve arsenic a vocal leader."

Four months later, the Packers manager likes what helium has seen.

It doesn't halt there, either.

On Wednesday, aft the archetypal OTA signifier that was unfastened for viewing this spring, LaFleur came acceptable to situation anyone who thought Love regressed past play successful Year 2 arsenic the starter.

"I deliberation there's similar a communicative retired determination for immoderate crushed that helium wasn't arsenic productive arsenic the twelvemonth before," LaFleur said. "Well, helium missed important time."

That missed clip came early, erstwhile Love sprained his near MCL successful the play opener, and had a lasting impact. Even erstwhile helium returned aft missing 2 games, Love's mobility was limited. In turn, it meant his footwork became compromised, which successful crook impacted his accuracy. Just erstwhile Love seemed mostly recovered from the genu injury, a groin wounded took him retired of the 2nd fractional of the Week 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Still, the Packers went 11-6, a two-win betterment implicit Love's archetypal play arsenic the starter. During that 2023 run, helium was lauded due to the fact that of a torrid agelong to adjacent the season, erstwhile helium threw 18 touchdowns and 1 interception implicit the last 8 games, and past blew the doors disconnected the Dallas Cowboys successful the playoff opener lone to suffer successful the last seconds of the adjacent circular to the San Francisco 49ers.

Yet determination was the cognition that the Packers -- and Love -- took a measurement backmost past play aft they failed to get retired of the archetypal circular of the playoffs.

"I mean, what is simply a measurement backmost is what I'd ask?" Love countered. "You cognize what I mean? Everybody has antithetic opinions, things similar that. You got to artifact that worldly out. It's each astir the goals of the squad astatine the extremity of the day. I'd accidental we won much games than we did the twelvemonth before. That's wherefore I inquire people, 'What is simply a measurement back?'"

Instead, Love is looking ahead. A change successful his presumption coach from the present retired Tom Clements to erstwhile NFL backmost Sean Mannion hasn't changed the absorption for Love's offseason work. Whether it was the injuries oregon not, Love's accuracy dipped somewhat from a 64.2 completion percent successful 2023 to 63.1 past season. Some of that could beryllium owed to each the dropped passes that plagued the Packers successful 2024 (they had the highest driblet complaint successful the NFL and the second-most drops overall, according to ESPN Research) due to the fact that his off-target percent really dropped past play from 16.1 successful 2023 to 14.4 past season.

"Just trying to beryllium arsenic accordant arsenic imaginable with accuracy, shot placement, things similar that, the timing of my feet, timing up with the routes, trying to wed each that worldly up," Love said erstwhile asked what he's moving connected this offseason.

And past there's the enactment evolution.

"Obviously, he's played a batch of shot and on with that has gained a batch of confidence," LaFleur said. "I deliberation he's surely comfy successful helping pb others and telling them what to do. He's a manager connected the field. He knows this discourtesy arsenic good arsenic anybody successful regards to the details and what we're trying to get accomplished. And I deliberation helium articulates that good to the different players."

But helium besides can't beryllium idiosyncratic he's not. In fact, 1 of the things receiver Jayden Reed said helium appreciates astir Love is his dependable nature.

"He's astir apt 1 of those astir calm quarterbacks I've ever been around, successful my opinion," Reed said. "He's truthful poised successful the huddle, whether we're going done adversity oregon anything, he's the aforesaid person. He's ever calm, he's cool, collected. I deliberation helium does a large job, we've conscionable got to assistance him, rally astir him and conscionable beryllium amended for him."

And Love knows a disingenuous oregon out-of-character attack tin easy beryllium exposed arsenic fraudulent successful an NFL locker room.

"I deliberation astatine the extremity of the day, with enactment and speaking vocally to guys, you got to beryllium yourself," Love said. "You ne'er privation to beryllium forcing things oregon dependable similar a connection isn't coming from you, it's coming from idiosyncratic else. It's ever trying to find that equilibrium of being yourself.

"But I deliberation that biggest happening is conscionable having those hard conversations with guys erstwhile thing needs to get done and it mightiness not beryllium getting done the close way."