Post game thread: Green Bay Knocks off Detroit 29-22 on Thanksgiving

[GBP4EVER]

On pass to Reed for TD Jordan Love: “We actually messed that play up … I’m not even sure how the ball got in there.”

Looking at it back in slow-mo I am guessing pass was intended for Watson and either Watson was to early on route or Love was late on throw and just dumb luck Reed was in right place at right time.

 

[Mark87]

The Green Bay Packers’ depths of five weeks ago seemed more like five months ago while watching Jordan Love shred the Detroit Lions on Thursday.

That’s how fast things can change in the NFL.

Of course, one really good game does not a good quarterback make. The only way to rank among the league’s best is to do it consistently over a long stretch of time.

But the Packers’ 29-22 upset win over 7½-point favorites makes four straight games now where Love has played better than the previous week. And this one, the best yet of Love’s young career as a starter, was in front of a Thanksgiving Day national TV audience and against the best team in the NFC North Division. If the Packers are heartened by Love’s prospects after Thursday’s winning performance, it shouldn’t be just that he played an excellent game (125.5 rating, three touchdowns, no interceptions) against a good team in a hostile environment. It’s that Thursday was continuation of a four-game trend in which Love has put up a 103.1 rating (eight touchdown passes, two interceptions), and the Packers are 3-1.
“He’s playing with so much confidence,” left guard Elgton Jenkins said after the game. “You can tell the way he’s talking in the huddle, what he’s saying, like, ‘Give me time, this is what’s going to happen.’ That’s some of the same things 12 (i.e., Aaron Rodgers) would say, ‘Just, give me time and this is what’s gonna go down.’ It gives you confidence he knows what’s going on. It’s definitely a big difference seeing so much growth in him in these last two months.”

Watching Love throw strikes and escape trouble Thursday was a little like watching Rodgers and Brett Favre on their good days at the start of their careers. Now, to be absolutely clear, that’s not a prediction Love will be as good as them. It’s way early for that kind of talk. But what’s obvious is Love’s command and play speed have picked up in recent weeks as his game snaps have accrued and the young pass-catching crew around him has grown up.
Passes that were either off target or not caught earlier in the season have more often been completions lately, and were even more so Thursday. It started with Christian Watson’s contested 53-yard reception on the game’s first play and included several deft throws, such as to Watson in the corner of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown in the third quarter, and multiple connections with Watson (five receptions for 94 yards), Romeo Doubs (three for 37), Jayden Reed (four for 34) and Malik Heath (four for 46).

“I think it’s night and day,” coach Matt LaFleur said of Love’s command Thursday compared to earlier in the season. “I mean, I don’t know how you guys feel, I’d have to go back and look at it. But certainly, it certainly appears that way. It’s given us a lot of confidence to be a little more aggressive with some of the calls.”

This performance by Love and the Packers overall surely will get the attention of the rest of the NFL, being on national TV and all. It was especially eye-catching that LaFleur and Co. did it with a scary inactive list that included six injured starters or important rotational players (Jaire Alexander, De’Vondre Campbell and Rudy Ford on defense, Aaron Jones, Luke Musgrave and Dontayvion Wicks on offense).

Earlier in the season, playing without Jones meant disaster for the Packers offense. But the Packers put up 377 yards and 23 points (the other six came on safety Jonathan Owens’ fumble return for a touchdown) without Jones on Thursday. Suddenly, general manager Brian Gutekunst’s plan for going young at receiver and tight end, with the idea they’d grow up with Love, isn’t looking so stupid. That approach made for a really tough October for everybody in the Packers football operations. For a while there, the Packers were among the worst offenses in the league.
But they’re looking like a real offense now. The moved the ball up and down the field Thursday, even when they weren’t scoring, and had nary a three-and-out. Love found whomever was open (22-for-32 passing) and escaped trouble for completions or sack-saving throwaways when plays broke down.

“The receivers are starting to understand exactly the timing of plays,” Love said. “I’m having better feel and timing of plays, when they’re getting open for certain looks, like, just when and where they need to be.”

Said LaFleur: “I thought (Love) was awesome the entire game. He is a cool customer, and you can have really good conversations with him. I just never see him get too high or too low, whether it’s going good or not so good. He’s just a guy that’s really matured over these last four years.”

The Packers’ win also will fuel playoff talk that would have been absurd several weeks ago. The Packers at 5-6 and just won a game nobody expected them to win and are in the running for that seventh and final playoff spot. At least for now.
But it’s worth remembering they’re still a very young team, even if on a recent upswing. There’s a good chance they’ll still have some big ups and downs in the final seven weeks of the season. The playoff talk probably should wait until Christmas.

But this season was always going to be more about Jordan Love than anything. Does he have what it takes to be a winning quarterback in this league? Is he a keeper?

No one game can answer that. But the Packers have to be feeling a lot better about him based on what they’ve seen over the past month.

 

[GBP4EVER]

If not for the team pretty much shooting themselves in the foot in the Falcons, Raiders, Broncos, Steelers game you are looking at a team that could be 9-2

 

[Budman]

If not for the team pretty much shooting themselves in the foot in the Falcons, Raiders, Broncos, Steelers game you are looking at a team that could be 9-2

Margin for error across this team, and the NFL, is very narrow. Some get down on people playing the coulda, woulda, shoulda game but it's kind of neat sometimes to really dig deep and see what little tweaks, or clean ups, may have done to affect the outcome of a game. It gives me hope that if they can clean up some of that sloppy play, some of those types of games can now become wins.

Also, @Mark87 , great article and the last sentence says it all. That's what's so exciting is that the last month has been on the uptick. That first game against the Bears had a lot of people, including me, riding high on Love. Then the growing pains happened and it got sketchy or muddled for a bit. This past month is where the renewed excitement can feel real again. Still a lot of season left to play but it's nice to see Love string together some success.

 

[rpiotr01]

Margin for error across this team, and the NFL, is very narrow. Some get down on people playing the coulda, woulda, shoulda game but it's kind of neat sometimes to really dig deep and see what little tweaks, or clean ups, may have done to affect the outcome of a game. It gives me hope that if they can clean up some of that sloppy play, some of those types of games can now become wins.

Goes the other way too, they’re a missed FG and dropped pass away from being a 2 win team.

 

[Cheesedog]

On pass to Reed for TD Jordan Love: “We actually messed that play up … I’m not even sure how the ball got in there.”

Looking at it back in slow-mo I am guessing pass was intended for Watson and either Watson was to early on route or Love was late on throw and just dumb luck Reed was in right place at right time.

That’s a testament to Reeds awareness…

 

[rpiotr01]

On pass to Reed for TD Jordan Love: “We actually messed that play up … I’m not even sure how the ball got in there.”

Looking at it back in slow-mo I am guessing pass was intended for Watson and either Watson was to early on route or Love was late on throw and just dumb luck Reed was in right place at right time.

I think it was Watson who goofed the route and carried himself and his defender right into Reeds route, no way that pass was intended for Watson.

 

[Mark87]

I think it was Watson who goofed the route and carried himself and his defender right into Reeds route, no way that pass was intended for Watson.

That's another double route they goofed up...no way Watson is supposed to cross on that but in this case, it messed with the defense as well

 

[TW]

That's another double route they goofed up...no way Watson is supposed to cross on that but in this case, it messed with the defense as well

Hopefully, Watson will learn to be more precise on his routes. It could turn him into a top receiver.

Anyone who can't see the growth in confidence between our receivers and Love isn't seeing the nuances of offense that makes the difference between winning and losing. As limited as our run game is, with the injuries, these guys are hammering out some pretty good plays. At least enough of them to move the chains. As for Love himself, you can see his progression, game after game. He's gaining self confidence, and starting to believe in himself more and more every day. That will rub off on his receives, and their routes will become more precise.

What I like most about Love's development is how he's learned to throw the ball at all arm angles, to avoid the rush. This is something most QBs never learn to do. He does it accurately.

 

[Mark87]

Hopefully, Watson will learn to be more precise on his routes. It could turn him into a top receiver.

Anyone who can't see the growth in confidence between our receivers and Love isn't seeing the nuances of offense that makes the difference between winning and losing. As limited as our run game is, with the injuries, these guys are hammering out some pretty good plays. At least enough of them to move the chains. As for Love himself, you can see his progression, game after game. He's gaining self confidence, and starting to believe in himself more and more every day. That will rub off on his receives, and their routes will become more precise.

What I like most about Love's development is how he's learned to throw the ball at all arm angles, to avoid the rush. This is something most QBs never learn to do. He does it accurately.

It's slowing down for him now.... by this time next year, those little overthrows etc will be ironed out. All the pundits saw the arm and the athletic ability now and get why they went with him. Will he be a 10-year all-pro? Probably not, but he's got all the tools to be a top-15 starter for years and you can build around him.

If it was up to me I would beef up his OL and get a stud RB..... then add the pieces on defense to be lights out. Oh and add 1 vet sure hands WR so he has an outlet.