By the numbers, Jordan Love didn’t regress in 2024. He ranked ninth in EPA/play, seventh in adjusted EPA/play, and 10th in EPA combined with completion percentage over expected. Love also finished fifth in adjusted net yards per pass attempt despite being among the top three quarterbacks in drop rate.
“I love Jordan Love,” Matt LaFleur
Despite LaFleur’s praise, the eye test revealed flaws in Love’s game. He displayed inconsistent footwork, accuracy issues, and questionable decision-making.
On those mistakes, LaFleur added, “There are tough lessons along the way, especially when you face defeat. It’s hard to deal with, but I think he’s very critical of himself.”
His receivers’ frequent drops didn’t help, nor did LaFleur’s play calling. The offense often relied on checkdowns to Josh Jacobs or Tucker Kraft, or low-percentage deep shots.
In 2024, Love recorded one big-time throw and six turnover-worthy plays on shot plays, compared to nine big-time throws and five turnover-worthy plays last year. His passing grade also dropped from 87.8 to 65.7.
The Packers operated primarily out of the shotgun in 2024 due to Love’s MCL injury in Week 1. The issue was that this approach went against the biggest strength of Green Bay's offense in 2023: the under-center, play-action game.
The Shanahan tree’s scheme relies heavily on play-action to attack the middle of the field, but Love’s injury forced LaFleur to shift to more shotgun formations. However, doing so undermined Green Bay’s ability to build on their biggest offensive strength from the previous season.
In 2024, Green Bay’s offensive playmakers had only 84 targets on intermediate concepts, down from 133 the year before. That drop reflects the wide receivers' struggles to catch and get open, as well as Love’s accuracy issues.
On true dropbacks, Love completed 57.75% of his passes, with 15 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, 7.5 yards per attempt, and a 77.6 passer rating. Without the threat of play-action from under center, defenses could focus more on countering Green Bay’s shotgun-heavy approach, further limiting Love’s effectiveness.
Tom Brady’s criticism that Green Bay’s intermediate passing game wasn’t "detailed" was the most damning critique of the team this year. Everything seemed out of sync. Occasionally, two receivers ran similar concepts. At other times, all routes were either past 10 yards or at most five yards. The communication was off. Moving forward, everyone, from coaches to players, needs to do better.
Improvement starts with a healthy Jordan Love, who can unlock the under-center and play-action elements of the offense. That would help create more space for receivers in the middle of the field. However, with Christian Watson out until December, Green Bay must add another deep threat to stretch the safeties.
Without Watson, Green Bay averaged 1.30 yards per route run (13th) and 2.4% explosive plays per route (19th). With him on the field, those numbers increased to 1.67 yards per route run (first) and 3.7% explosive plays per route (first).
Green Bay fans could see their beloved franchise reunite with Davante Adams this offseason. His addition would give Love a go-to option, create more one-on-one opportunities, and take pressure off the young receivers.
There’s no single factor to blame for Love’s struggles with intermediate concepts. However, as Green Bay’s $55 million man, he’s expected to elevate his supporting cast when things aren’t going well, and that didn’t happen in those situations. That said, the fact he didn’t regress despite dealing with knee and groin injuries all season leaves room for optimism that he will be a more efficient quarterback in that area next year.
Think you could write a story like this? Hockey Wilderness wants you to develop your voice, find an audience, and we'll pay you to do it. Just fill out this form.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.