{"id":38537,"date":"2023-09-26T14:10:16","date_gmt":"2023-09-26T18:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=38537"},"modified":"2023-11-23T14:50:01","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T19:50:01","slug":"the-break-out-these-young-packers-are-proving-theyre-worth-building-around","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2023\/09\/26\/the-break-out-these-young-packers-are-proving-theyre-worth-building-around\/","title":{"rendered":"The Break Out: These young Packers are proving they\u2019re worth building around"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Photo Courtesy of AP Photo\/Matt Ludtke)<\/em><\/p>\n

The Packers offense is so, so, so young. But they remain firmly on the tracks, and they continue to flash.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

By Sam Robb O\u2019Hagan<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a weird day at Lambeau. Packers fans will probably need to get used to those.<\/span><\/p>\n

A 76-yard punt return touchdown conceded. A failed trick play that ended with Jordan Love throwing the football in the splits. A frightening Love interception, then a perplexing missed fourth-down conversion in the red zone. An endlessly frustrating Jayden Reed drop.<\/span><\/p>\n

And an <\/span>18-17 win over the unbeaten New Orleans Saints<\/span><\/a>, exactly as it was planned.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never been part of a win like this,\u201d Head Coach Matt LaFleur said after the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the Packers have never had a team like this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps most important in those errors \u2014 a comedy of errors, at times \u2014 is the age of the accused. Patrick Taylor, one half of the miscommunication on the failed fourth-and-2, is 25. Love is 24. Reed, a rookie, is 23.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sympathy will be required with these young Packers. Lost in Green Bay\u2019s commitment to surrounding Love with playmakers the past two seasons \u2014 the Packers have drafted seven pass-catchers in the last two drafts \u2014 is the historic youth of this Packers\u2019 offense.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s more than the volume of young receivers in the building. It\u2019s the lack, the complete absence, in fact, of a veteran presence in the receiver room.<\/span><\/p>\n

The oldest relevant Packers\u2019 receiver is Christian Watson, at 24, who\u2019s in his second season. Beyond him, it\u2019s Romeo Doubs, another sophomore, and then Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and tight end Luke Musgrave, who are all rookies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Love, the quarterback in his fourth season, has thrown less than 200 NFL passes.<\/span><\/p>\n

These are all impressive players. But they\u2019ve barely played any football.<\/span><\/p>\n

Widen the scope to the entire team, and LeFleur\u2019s <\/span>roster is the youngest in the NFL<\/span><\/a>. It should come as no surprise that their head coach, who\u2019s accumulated the fourth-best winning percentage in NFL history for a coach in his first four seasons, is seeing things he\u2019s never seen before.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a young group. I think that\u2019s something we\u2019ve got to re-evaluate as a coaching staff,\u201d LeFleur conceded Sunday. \u201cWe had a lot of mistakes offensively. Just didn\u2019t execute most of the plan.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

By the start of their first-fourth quarter drive, as Green Bay trailed 17-0, the mistakes had become an enigma. The Packers had committed 10 penalties. Minutes earlier, a <\/span>disastrous fourth-and-2 on the Saints\u2019 13-yard-line<\/span><\/a> \u2014 what looked like a combination of a miscommunication between quarterback and receiver and an inaccurate Love throw.<\/span><\/p>\n

Love\u2019s inaccuracy was a problem throughout the game to that point. Moments of questionable decision-making appeared, too. Particularly at the start of the second half, when Love made the bizarre decision to throw a bracketed deep ball to Doubs, complete with an inaccurate pass placed inside the hashes to give the middle-field safety a free interception.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than halfway through the third quarter, Love had completed nine of 21 passes for 87 yards.<\/span><\/p>\n

Love finished the game with 259 yards, and the Packers finished one-point winners. Such is the roller coaster of the league\u2019s most inexperienced offense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But along that roller coaster, critically, there are things to hang on to. And there are so, so many of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even along Green Bay\u2019s 17-point comeback in the fourth quarter, mistakes were made. Reed dropped a gorgeously placed slot fade to the end zone from Love on a critical second-and-7 \u2014 a drive that two plays later ended with just three points. But within that mistake, there are places to hang on. The ball from Love was perfect. The route from Reed created separation, against press coverage from rookie cornerback Alontae Taylor, who already looks like a star. Reed\u2019s body control, as he tracked the ball coming over his shoulder, was flawless. The ability to resist Taylor\u2019s invading hands at the catch point \u2014 perfect. He just needed to catch the football.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s it. One young mistake, on an otherwise veteran play.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reed has been a success through three professional games. He\u2019s Green Bay\u2019s leading receiver, he\u2019s caught two touchdowns and he\u2019s averaged over 16 yards per reception. <\/span>Pro Football Focus gives him a 67.9 overall grade<\/span><\/a> \u2014 <\/span>perfectly <\/span><\/i>acceptable, and rather promising \u2014 for a rookie of his pedigree. Impressive routes liter his film.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, there was a point on Sunday when the finger was firmly pointed at Reed. What happened next was emphatic. An eerily similar slot fade, once again against Taylor, once again on second-and-long, once again at a critical moment in the game. The route created separation. The hand-fighting before the ball arrived was won. The catch \u2014 which required extended arms and a dive \u2014 was finally made. Three plays later, the touchdown that gave the Packers the lead. A mistake learned from, and a statement made.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another crucial constant between those two plays were the passes from Love. Green Bay\u2019s quarterback has been quite the roller coaster himself, such is the reality of a pseudo-rookie who\u2019s in his fourth professional season but has only made five professional starts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Baked between the mistakes, though, is a remarkable level of soundness. Love\u2019s attitude in the pocket has been especially convincing. On long-developing plays, due to the concept, the lack of separation downfield, or both, Love remains calm. In the face of pressure, instead of dropping his eyes to the rush in front of him, Love keeps his eyes surveying down field. When forced to move his platform, Love easily shuffles up and down, and side to side, to find a new window to throw.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take a look at <\/span>Love\u2019s first throw of the second quarter against New Orleans<\/span><\/a>. It\u2019s a third-down incompletion, yes, but Love\u2019s navigation of the pocket is so tranquil \u2014 despite interior pressure and a play that requires him to hold the football for over five seconds. That is veteran stuff, plain and simple.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Love is a creative passer, too. The wide variety of arm angles Love has used to deliver accurate throws has become a phenomenon in Green Bay, and it isn\u2019t difficult to figure out which particularly astute veteran he learned them from. When Love can\u2019t shuffle to find a perfect platform, he\u2019s made impressive throws down the field off of his back foot, like on the end zone slot fade to Reed. When Love has been forced to create with his legs, he\u2019s found ways to extend and complete plays, like on the critical, game-changing two-point conversion midway through the fourth quarter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each of these qualities, individually, is a worthwhile block to build upon. Together, they\u2019re more than halfway to a legitimate NFL franchise quarterback.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, again, sympathy will be required with Love. Just as it will with Reed, and Romeo Doubs, who made the game-winning touchdown catch and appeared like Green Bay\u2019s consistent veteran presence on Sunday because he too is only in his second season. It will be required when Christian Watson returns from injury, who looks to build off an exciting rookie season infested with drops.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt certainly wasn\u2019t pretty,\u201d LeFleur said.<\/span><\/p>\n

No, it certainly wasn\u2019t. But the Packers aren\u2019t looking for \u2018pretty\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Packers are looking for proof. Proof that such an extraordinarily young offense is equally talented, that the inevitable bad that comes with such inexperience is offset by the good that comes with such talent. The Packers are looking for places to hang their hats.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like a nightmare that turned into a dream,\u201d LeFleur said. Such is the roller coaster of these Green Bay Packers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, the dream is all that matters.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Photo Courtesy of AP Photo\/Matt Ludtke) The Packers offense is so, so, so young. But they remain firmly on the tracks, and they continue to flash. By Sam Robb O\u2019Hagan It was a weird day at Lambeau. Packers fans will probably need to get used to those. A 76-yard punt return touchdown conceded. A failed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21477,"featured_media":38538,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1024,1050,1035,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38537"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21477"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38537"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39603,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38537\/revisions\/39603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}