Everyone who was paying attention to the Green Bay Packers’ first day of training camp practice was fixated on quarterback Jordan Love. It was the first time that he was the starter in camp and people wanted to see how he would handle the change.
After being the backup for Aaron Rodgers for three years, people within the organization are confident that Love can get the job done. But, like anyone in a new position, his first day had some ups and downs according to Brandon Carwile of Packers Wire.
No one expected Love to be perfect on Day 1 of his new job, so it was encouraging to see that he did have some highlights. While there is still plenty of work left to do, Love did impress some of his teammates.
One player who noticed a difference in Love was cornerback Rasul Douglas. He has been going against him in practice for two years but you can tell that something has changed for Love this time around.
“It’s different, I want to say it’s different,” said Douglas. “I’m just going off the first day…but it’s different. I think this year he’s got an aggressive mindset. He’s not holding back this year.”
There will be plenty of bumps in the road as the Packers’ offense pales in comparison to their defense in many regards. Love, entering Year 4 but first as a starter, is surrounded by even less experienced players.
There isn’t a wide receiver on the roster with more than one year of NFL experience and he could have two rookies atop the tight end depth chart. Despite the edge that the defense should have in practice, Douglas isn’t worried about the offense and thought Day 1 went well overall.
“He made some good throws today, underthrew a couple of things today, but it’s just his touch of how he’s seeing things. He’s still getting that feel of where the receiver is going to be at, but he’s going to be good. And our offense, they’ll make plays, and we already know (AJ Dillon) and (Aaron Jones) are going to run that ball, so, we’ll be fine.”
Matt LaFleur would be smart to lean on his most talented and best players in the early going. Not only do the Packers have an excellent duo in the backfield, their offensive line is among the best in the NFL when healthy.
The running game and defense will be what leads Green Bay to success in the early going. If Love and the offense develop quickly, they could really surprise some people in 2023.
