We're Still Very Far From Calling Jordan Love "The Guy" But You're Blind If You Don't Think He Took a Step In The Right Direction Yesterday

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We're nine games into the 2023 Packers season and I'm not gonna lie, I still don't know what to think of Jordan Love. Three games into the year there was a ton of optimism. The next four games were dreadful and saw a drastic regression. People were looking at the upcoming list of the rookie QBs and wondering which would fall into our lap. The last two games have showed some legitimate promise. It's been a rollercoaster of emotions and opinions. 

No one is near a conclusion on Jordan Love, but a performance like yesterday's certainly helped his cause. Sure the Packers lost the game, but the tape from Love was solid. This guy Zack put together a good mashup. 

Here's a better look at the deep ball to Reed. Beauty of a throw. 

Am I being crazy to really like what I see there? The box score won't blow you away at all. 21-40, 289 yards, 2 TD/2INT. Bears fans will look at that and smile, but if you watch the film I think it tells a different story. There's some impressive throws that will make you stop and think for a minute. 

The two interceptions weren't terrible either. The first one Patrick Peterson flat out makes an amazing play. Kind of just have to tip your cap here. Would it be nice for Christian Watson to try and fight for one ball in his life? Sure would, but that doesn't happen on this play. You could say the ball is under-thrown a bit, but for the most part I'm not mad at this. 

The Love-Watson connection has really been offline all season to this point, which has bee pretty disappointing. Doubs, Reed, and Wicks sure. Musgrave? Improving by the minute. But Watson just hasn't clicked at all. Five of his targets have resulted in interceptions. Factor in his injury problems and I'm way more worried about Watson's future than Love's. 

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The second pick came on the final play of the game with a chance to win it. There was nothing there. 

So don't mind me as I pay little to no attention to Love's two turnovers. I'm choosing to focus on the strong, confident throws down the field as I attempt to convince my dumb brain he can be the guy. Seemingly for the first time all year the play calling allowed for chunk plays early and often. With the season lost at this point there's nothing to lose by being aggressive from the jump. You've got eight games remaining to show the front office and fanbase he can do this consistently. That version of play-calling will bring out the best in Love and show us what we need to see, for better or for worse. 

Here are some more stats that point to a positive opinion of Love. 

Keep in mind Green Bay has the youngest offensive unit in the league. They have an all-pro left tackle who can't get on the field. The coaching stuff behind Love doesn't help at all. LaFleur is a fucking moron who hid behind Aaron Rodgers for years. Starting this offseason they'll begin to have cap space that'll help surround Love with seasoned talent. They're also going to have a top 10 pick. With games against the Bears, Giants, and Panthers I doubt they crack the top 5 unless they really tank those games. They're not that bad though, so somewhere in the 7-10 range is probably where they end up. 

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So far with what we've seen and all the information we have with his weapons, on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being he's not the guy and 10 being he is the guy, I'd give him, a 4. Keep in mind that number was like a 2 a few weeks ago. Hopefully we see more of Sunday's tape over these next eight games. If not, fire everyone. Still fire Joe Barry no matter what though. 

P.S. I still don't understand how this got reviewed and ruled a forward pass. You can see where Pickett lets the ball go and where it ends up. It's a lateral and should have been a fumble. Nothing makes sense.