Hall of Famer: ‘Indecisive’ Love Giving DBs Too Many Opportunities
GREEN BAY, Wis. – With 47 career interceptions and one bronze bust in Canton, Hall of Fame cornerback Ronde Barber knows a little something about making big plays.
In watching Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love, he sees a player who’s “indecisive” at a position that must be decisive.
“I think we want to anoint him,” Barber said in a video at The 33rd Team. “Matt LaFleur has a great system. Obviously, Aaron Rodgers executed it well. You would feel that Jordan Love would be in a position after watching that to take these next steps, but the truth to the matter is he’s very inaccurate and he holds onto the ball for a very, very long time.”
With just six starts under his belt, Barber acknowledged Love’s inexperience is a factor.
“I know that’s not saying anything profound,” he said.
Nonetheless, Love’s play is inviting big mistakes.
In Monday night’s loss at the Raiders, according to Pro Football Focus, Love was 6-of-16 with a time-to-throw of at least 2.50 seconds (37.5 percent; fourth-worst of 28 quarterbacks with at least 16 total dropbacks) and 10-of-14 with a time-to-throw of less than 2.50 seconds (71.4 percent; 18th out of 28).
Love has thrown five interceptions the last two games. He has zero touchdowns and three interceptions on those longer-developing plays. One of those interceptions, the killer deep shot to Christian Watson that might have won the game, would have been a touchdown had Love “let it go on time.” Instead, Amik Robertson recovered and made a leaping grab in the end zone.
“If you’re a defender, all you know is that you’re going to get opportunities to touch the football against him because he is so indecisive,” Barber said.
Packers QB Jordan Love has thrown five INTs the last two games.
Photo by Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports Images
Meanwhile, also at The 33rd Team, analyst Derrik Klassen noted how Love’s timing and confidence has faded after the opening two games. While Love wasn’t exactly sharp in the Week 1 victory over Chicago and the Week 2 loss against Atlanta, he threw three touchdowns against zero interceptions in those games.
After rallying the Packers past New Orleans with a big-play-filled fourth quarter, he’s thrown just one touchdown vs. the aforementioned five picks in losses to Detroit and Las Vegas. Like Barber pointed out, there is some indecision in Love’s game.
“The interceptions might be easier to live with if Love were making plays to keep the offense moving, but he’s not,” Klassen wrote. “That part has been true all season. It just wasn’t a problem when he was hitting on the schemed-up shot plays and avoiding interceptions. Some of the inconsistencies in his game that were getting glossed over early on have come to the forefront.”
All the youth on the perimeter has been a factor in Love’s play. At receiver, only second-year players Watson and Romeo Doubs entered the season having played a significant number of snaps. Of the primary targets, Watson missed the first three games with a hamstring injury and Jayden Reed and Luke Musgrave are rookies.
Receivers coach Jason Vrable acknowledged their failure to be in the right place at the right time every time has impacted Love’s play.
“You can find talent … but it’s a terribly inexperienced collection of players,” Klassen wrote. “They don’t have any answers that veteran pass-catchers might typically provide a young quarterback trying to find his sea legs. Everyone is trying to learn how to be a pro on the fly.”
At 2-3 and with little tangible progress being seen on offense, the season is quickly slipping the wrong way. Maybe, Barber said, the return of Aaron Jones from a hamstring injury will help get the offense going with some winnable games on the horizon.
However, the 2023 Packers aren’t about 2023. The Packers are young by design. General manager Brian Gutekunst wants the young receivers to grow alongside the young quarterback as the Packers try to build a strong future.
“The Packers entered a marathon, not a sprint,” Klassen wrote. “We can revisit the Packers quarterback question in December once Love has had the time to prove his mettle.”
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