Under Pressure, Love Delivers

Jordan Love struggled under the heat of a pass rush last season. On Tuesday at Packers training camp, he was excellent.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – There are two kinds of pressure confronting Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love.

One is the mental pressure. The supposed heir apparent to Aaron Rodgers when he was drafted in the first round in 2020, there’s the pressure of replacing a legend or, if Rodgers sticks around past his 40th birthday, showing enough to become a starting quarterback for his next team.

The other is the physical pressure. It’s the nerve to stick in the pocket, despite a bunch of angry men in the wrong-colored jerseys trying to knock you onto your butt, and delivering a big completion.

Without question, No. 2 will help make No. 1 possible. After struggling when pressured last season, Love’s performance was one of the most noteworthy developments from Tuesday’s practice.

On his first pass of the day, with a defender in his face, Love uncorked a marvelous deep ball to Sammy Watkins for a big gain. Later, with the pocket collapsing, Love threw a perfect long ball up the right sideline to Romeo Doubs but was denied by cornerback Kiondre Thomas. On his third-to-last pass of the day, with two defenders in his face, Love threw a touchdown pass to Doubs in the corner of the end zone. Doubs was covered tightly by Rico Gafford, and there wasn’t much real estate as the back pylon loomed, but Love threw a ball so perfect that he scarcely could have placed it better had he run forward and handed the ball to the standout rookie.

“That’s as game-like as you can get right there,” Love said at his locker. “In a game, they’re going to be coming for you and aren’t going to let up. It’s tough in practice because you’re not expecting it but, at the same time, you’ve just got to be able to find that calm to be able to see where the receiver is at and being able to make that throw with pressure in your face.”

Making quality passes under pressure is the hallmark of a great quarterback. Just about any of the NFL’s 32 starting quarterbacks and many of its backups can deliver a tight-window throw from the comfort of a clean pocket. Doing it with a defender in your face or closing hard from the blind side is a much bigger challenge.

Love was miserable in that regard during his limited snaps last season. With Aaron Rodgers out with COVID for the game at Kansas City, the Chiefs blitzed, blitzed again and blitzed some more. “They were eating us up and we just weren’t able to execute,” Love said after a 13-7 loss.

Getting six-plus quarters of playing time last season, Love was a woeful 6-of-19 when pressured, according to Pro Football Focus. Of 50 quarterbacks to face pressure on at least 25 dropbacks, Love was 49th in completion rate at 31.6 percent.

Throwing an accurate ball to the right person when pressured is the toughest part of quarterbacking, Love said. And there’s no way to train it other than to jump into the frying pan.

“I feel like practice, these situations when it does happen, those are the times you feel it,” Love said. “But, in a game, it’s just something that you’ve got to just trust yourself, trust that your receiver is going to get there and make the play for you at the same time.”

Love was under pressure throughout Tuesday’s practice. He wasn’t always perfect but he wasn’t close to making any mistakes, either. The connections with Watkins early and Doubs late are the kind of passes made by quality NFL starters. Now, he’s got to do it again on the practice field, during the joint practices with the Saints and in the three preseason games.

“I think it does show growth, just to be able to trust that I know where the receiver’s going to be with pressure in my face and still be able to try and slow it down a little bit to focus on where I need to put the ball,” Love said.

“When you first get here, I wasn’t able to make those throws under pressure. Plays like that, I’d just try to escape and maybe throw the ball away. But just being able to trust where the receiver’s going to be and know, it comes down to that.”

Packers Rookies Progress Report Card

Here is where the Green Bay Packers' rookie class stands after Week 1 of training camp.

Round 1: No. 22 – Quay Walker, ILB, Georgia

Quay Walker split time with Krys Barnes with the No. 1 defense during the offseason program. Since the start of camp, it’s been all Walker, all the time as the promising sidekick to All-Pro De’Vondre Campbell. Clearly, the Packers have huge expectations for what Walker could bring to the defense. As a potential-packed three-down tandem, the Packers haven’t run a single snap of dime defense (one linebacker, six defensive backs) during camp. They ran dime 24 percent of the time last season, according to Sports Info Solutions.

Round 1: No. 28 – Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia

When coach Matt LaFleur splits his team into two groups, with starters and key backups on one side of the field and everybody else on the other side, Wyatt has been with the “others.” Some of that is due to playing in what looks like a loaded position group. Kenny Clark, Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry are the starters and TJ Slaton looks primed for a Year 2 jump. That being said, Wyatt showed his explosiveness during the one-on-one pass-rushing drill but didn’t do a thing during team drills.

Round 2: No. 34 – Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State

With size and speed, Watson was The Great Hope to be an instant contributor for an offense in transition following the offseason trade of Davante Adams. Instead, Watson had knee surgery after the offseason program. He hasn’t practiced during training camp and, while the procedure was deemed minor, he doesn’t appear to be close to making his debut.

Said coach Matt LaFleur: “It’s tough because there’s nothing like getting those real live reps, even if it’s in a walk-through situation, just some of the subtleties that our quarterbacks can do at the line of scrimmage to maybe change a play or tweak a play. When you’re not out there doing it, it is an adjustment.”

Round 3: No. 92 – Sean Rhyan, G/T, UCLA

A three-year starting left tackle in college, Rhyan played right guard and right tackle during the offseason practices but has been locked in at right guard during training camp. He has not been given any first-team reps – he’s played practically every snap with the No. 2s and even some with the No. 3s for extra work – but it’s easy to see him pushing Jake Hanson for the starting job if last year’s starter, Royce Newman, is forced to bounce out to right tackle.

Round 4: No. 132 – Romeo Doubs, WR, Nevada

Doubs has been sensational in earning some first-team snaps. Having caught a lot of passes and scored a lot of touchdowns in college, Doubs has taken a been-there-done-that approach to his early success. From that perspective, he fits right in with a no-nonsense group of receivers. “I try to show them, because I’m not a huge talker. I just try to make sure that I’m there for the team and do whatever is best for the team, to the best of my abilities.”

Round 4: No. 140 – Zach Tom, OL, Wake Forest

In college, Tom was a season-long starter at center as a sophomore and left tackle as a junior and senior. Through six practices, he has worked with the No. 1 offense at left tackle and right tackle. He also has played center and guard. “I know it’s a different game, but he’s done it in college, and he’s got the athleticism and he’s got great technique, he really does,” LaFleur said of Tom as a left tackle. “For what he lacks maybe in sheer size, he can really sink his hips and anchor and does a great job with that.”

Round 5: No. 179 – Kingsley Enagbare, LB, South Carolina

The Packers released former Pro Bowler Za’Darius Smith during the offseason. The main addition was Enagbare, a productive pass rusher in the powerful SEC. The Packers badly need someone to step up behind starters Rashan Gary and Preston Smith. So far, Tipa Galeai and La’Darius Hamilton have been the No. 2 tandem and Enagbare and Jonathan Garvin have been the No. 3 duo. With the padded practices under way, perhaps his power will come to the forefront.

Round 7: No. 228 – Tariq Carpenter, S/LB, Georgia Tech

Big and fast, Carpenter was viewed as a potential safety/linebacker combo player, making him an option as a sixth defensive back. Instead, Carpenter is at the bottom of the safety depth chart. If he’s going to make the roster, he’ll have to start making some noise on special teams.

Round 7: No. 234 – Jonathan Ford, DT, Miami

On Green Bay’s loaded defensive line, Ford has had to settle for third-team reps. A massive man, position coach Jerry Montgomery will get a better gauge of Ford’s potential now that the pads are on. If the Packers keep six, like they did last year, he’s going to have to move ahead of Jack Heflin.

Round 7: No. 249 – Rasheed Walker, OT, Penn State

A starting left tackle from the rugged Big Ten, Walker opened training camp on the sideline with a foot injury. He’s being brought back very slowly. What gives him a shot is the lack of depth at tackle with David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins on the comeback trail. It’s obviously early but, at this point, he’s a long shot.

Round 7: No. 258 – Samori Toure, WR, Nebraska

Coming out of the offseason, Rodgers said Toure’s “got a lot of stuff to him.” He’s off to a good start but he hasn’t made any headway in closing the gap with Juwann Winfree if that’s the battle for the last receiver spot on the roster.

Undrafted Free Agents

By the end of the rookie camp, the Packers had signed 15 college free agents. Four of them (cornerback Raleigh Texada, safety Tre Sterling, defensive tackle Hauati Pututau and offensive tackle Jahmir Johnson) were released before the first practice and another (linebacker Caliph Brice) was released after the first practice.

At least one undrafted rookie has made the opening 53-man roster each of the past 17 years. Of the 10 remain, who’s got the best shot of making it this year?

Coco (No. 56 in the photo) is atop the depth chart at long snapper and kicker Gabe Brkic could make it, too, if veteran Mason Crosby isn’t ready for Week 1. At running back, Tyler Goodson’s pass-catching skill is impressive and B.J. Baylor showed his power by blasting through the middle of the line on Monday, but they remain behind Patrick Taylor for No. 3. Receiver Danny Davis belongs but the odds are stacked against him from a numbers perspective.

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