Bear Digest

The Possible Boost Bears Could Get from Jordan Love Contract

Analysis: Jordan Love had two good games against the Bears last year but his run to the playoffs came against questionable competition and the big contract he received could be a gamble.

Gene Chamberlain

Bears safety Jaquan Brisker recovers Jordan Love's fumble after a hit in lsat year's 17-9 regular-season finale won by the Packers.
Bears safety Jaquan Brisker recovers Jordan Love's fumble after a hit in lsat year's 17-9 regular-season finale won by the Packers. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin /
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If you know the history of the Bears-Packers rivalry, or what used to be a rivalry, then you know he quarterback problem.

Green Bay went through two starting quarterbacks and a few while they were injured. Meanwhile the Bears started 39 different quarterbacks from the start of Brett Favre's career until Aaron Rodgers left.

The Bears took risks, started people like Chad Hutchinson or Jonathan Quinn, and the Packers were stable at the position.

They agreed to pay a ridiculous $126.7 million for Jay Cutler when he obviously was mediocre and eventually finished his Chicago career with a .500 record.

So in Chicago it was pure horror when Green Bay not only made the playoffs but won a game with Jordan Love at quarterback last year. Seeing him beat the Bears twice with two of his better games was terrifying enough.

This all suggested the future would be more of the same even with Rodgers and Favre now ancient history.

The contract Love agreed to for four years and $220 million means he is Green Bay's future. When the Love deal was done there were actually Bears fans on social media expressing angst because it meant their team will have to pay much more than that in several years for Caleb Williams' second contract.

Let him earn it first. At least let him play a game. They haven't had any success getting to this point with the quarterbacks they draft in Round 1 yet.

In this case, however, it's not difficult to see the potential twist in all of this.

Now, the very thing everyone is crediting for Love putting up good numbers in his first year starting, is the reason they have to give him $55 million a year when he is not a proven dominant quarterback.

This could be the basis for a flip in the rivalry, along with Williams producing the way the Bears anticipated.

What did Love accomplish last year to show he deserved that kind of money?

He beat Dallas in a playoff game, but what mediocre QB hasn’t?

The Packers playoff roll last year consisted of wins over the worst team in football, a Vikings team without a quarterback and the Bears without any incentive to win. And remember, the Bears started two rookie cornerbacks in the game with Jaylon Johnson out injured.

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As for Love, he went through his first nine games and only went over 60% completions in them three times. He had 14 TD passes and 10 interceptions, averaged a mediocre 6.7 yards per attempt and had an 80.54 passer rating.

Then his season changed when the Packers line finally started keeping the pressure off of him. He'd been sacked 22 times the first 10 games and only eight times in the final seven games.

Pressure can get worse if lines have injury issues or fail to handle the pass rush.

He had great passer ratings in four of his last five games but, as mentioned, the Bears, Panthers and Vikings? And the Packers lost to Tampa Bay and the Giants. They were losing by two touchdowns to the Panthers in that game.

This isn't much of a run to stake the entire future on. It's better to have three years worth of information on which to make such a decision, the way the Bears did with Justin Fields and Mitchell Trubisky when they opted to move on.

If it turns out the Packers overestimated Love's abilities, they'll be in a situation not unlike what happened to the Bears when they paid the ridiculous contract to Jay Cutler. As it is, they'll find it harder to add new talent with a quarterback eating up $55 million a year of cap spac

There's a lot riding on whether Love lives up to that money, whether he actually is the new Rodgers or Favre or just a quarterback with a few good games against weak teams or teams without incentive, like the Bears were then.

Upon such financial mistakes lopsided rivalries can swing.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.