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Packers coach Matt LaFleur talks about Jaire Alexander’s status
Packers coach Matt LaFleur talks about the loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the latest news on Jaire Alexander and preparing for the Chicago Bears.
GREEN BAY − With their strong finish to the 2023 season, it appeared that the Green Bay Packers‘ rebuilding after Aaron Rodgers was a year ahead of schedule.
Jordan Love‘s stunning performance in the Packers‘ Pinching Dallas in the wild-card round of the playoffs, followed by taking the eventual NFC Super Bowl representative San Francisco 49ers to the wire in the divisional round, raised the bar for the young 2024 Packers.
But the ’24 regular season showed that the Packers and Love aren’t there yet. That was evident in their 0-5 record against the three best teams in the NFC and an 11-0 record against everyone else on their schedule. That includes the Packers’ 27-25 loss to the 14-2 Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Love is a second-year starter who has been outplayed in all five losses by veteran quarterbacks (Jalen Hurts, Jared Goff and Sam Darnold) who have at least twice as many NFL starts as him. In big games, and especially in the playoffs, it often takes great quarterback play in key moments to win, and Love hasn’t been able to deliver against those teams.
Love’s performances against the Cowboys and 49ers in last year’s playoffs set a standard he wasn’t ready to meet in Year 2 as a starter. He isn’t the only second-year starter to run into such issues this season. Houston’s CJ Stroud hasn’t followed up his stellar rookie year with an even better second season at the helm. Stroud, like Love, has his team in the playoffs, but with a 9-7 record and a lower passer rating (86.0 to 100.8) and more than twice as many interceptions (12 to 5) as in 2023. He didn’t do that. grew into a top quarterback in year 2.
Love’s main problem in the first half of this season was that he was too careless with the ball (10 interceptions in his first 6½ games) and thought he could make every play. He corrected that in the second half (one interception in the last seven games, none in the last six). The Packers are 5-2 since their bye.
But the pendulum has swung too far, and in that time Love has become too cautious and cautious. While playing this way against lesser teams can work, beating the best in the league will require finding a happy medium between taking too many risks and loosening up enough to make the plays that win big games.
It showed up on several plays against the Vikings, each of which can be explained by circumstances, but which collectively point to hesitation in his play in response to his interception run to start the year. It can manifest itself in taking a safer throw, ball retention, or inaccuracy, but it likely stems from the same source. The game hasn’t slowed down for him as much as it has for the league’s best or more experienced quarterbacks, and he doesn’t trust his eye or tear it often enough.
Here are four such plays from Sunday:
∎ Early in the game, on the first play of the Packers’ second possession, Love missed a deep out to Romeo Doubs. Tight end Tucker Kraft was wide open between the hashes for a quick dart, but Love appeared to be stuck with Doubs.
∎ Two plays later, on third-and-10, Love was pressured with an outside rush and threw high and behind Jayden Reed over the middle. Love looked a little shy on the throw, unlike Darnold, who was slightly calmer under pressure on Sunday.
∎ About halfway through the second quarter, Love hit Doubs on third and fourth on a short crossing route that took some time to develop. Doubs was tackled for only a two-yard gain. But directly behind Doubs’ crossing route, Dontayvion Wicks was wide open between the hashes at the Vikings’ 15 for what would have been a first down and possibly a touchdown. Doubs was probably the first read and therefore the easier play, but Wicks was in Love’s line of sight.
∎ On a second-and-9 nearly midway through the third quarter, Love let linebacker Blake Cashman get to him on a delayed blitz, while Reed broke free on a crossing route over the middle. If Love had been more decisive, he could have stood and delivered the ball as he got the hit. Instead, he broke the pocket to his right and attempted a difficult throw on his way to Reed, who dropped the ball or was interfered with by cornerback Byron Murphy Jr.. Love has always shown a willingness to stand in the pocket and to take hits, so his The decision to scramble showed hesitation to pull the trigger.
Now it may seem like we’re talking out of both sides of our mouths after criticizing Love earlier this season for taking too many risks and not just taking the easy shot. But the best quarterbacks in the league ultimately find a sweet spot between playing too risky and taking the calculated chances necessary to take their teams to the next level and beat the best opponents.
Love hasn’t found it yet. Former Packers coach Mike Holmgren always said that as a starter it takes until Year 3 to really know what you have in a quarterback, so maybe it won’t be until sometime next year for Love. Or maybe he’ll never quite get there.
But in the here and now, the question is whether he’s close enough to make it happen in the next two weeks when the playoffs begin with a 13-3 matchup in Philadelphia.
The Packers defense is doing enough to win
Coordinator Jeff Hafley’s defense gave up 27 points, which doesn’t look good on paper. But basically his defense did what it had to do.
First, the Packers defense picked off Aaron Jones. The former Packers running back is a dangerous man with the ball in his hands, and the Packers defensive line had to stay home during Jones’ patented zone runs to prevent him from beating them with his exceptional cutting talent.
The Packers defensive line did it. Jones finished with just 47 yards on 12 carries (3.9 yards average) and a long run of just 13 yards.
Hafley’s defense also kept Justin Jefferson, the game’s leading receiver, from going off. Jefferson had eight catches, but for only 92 yards (11.2 yards per catch), a modest day by his standards.
Essentially, Hafley’s defense forced Darnold and the Vikings’ other receivers to beat them. To Darnold’s credit, he did.
Darnold isn’t fast (4.85 seconds in the 40 at the NFL scouting combine), but he’s slick enough to escape trouble in the pocket and get the ball to a checkdown or throwaway. The Packers’ pressure was spotty, but when they got some, Darnold was unable to break away or get the ball out just once. His 377 yards passing was a career high, and his passer rating of 116.1 was the second-highest the Packers have allowed this season.
So yeah, the 27 points and 441 yards of total offense the Packers allowed look bad. But this was a game they needed their offense to win. Coach Matt LaFleur and Love scored just three points in the first two and a half quarters, and by the time they got things going in the fourth quarter against a prevent defense, it was too late. Considering the Vikings’ weapons, the Packers’ defense played well enough to win.
Extra points for Josh Jacobs, Javon Bullard
∎ Josh Jacobs’ 19-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run, which was negated by a holding penalty, was as good a run as he has had all season. Jacobs stiff-armed Murphy to the ground at the 10, then barreled through safety Harrison Smith for the final four yards for the touchdown. He wouldn’t be denied the end zone.
∎ Rookie safety Javon Bullard returned after missing two games with a sprained ankle, but he wasn’t the Bullard we saw before the injury. He played cornerback early and then moved to safety when Zayne Anderson left the game due to a concussion. Bullard played 68 of the Packers’ 72 defensive snaps, but in coverage he appeared to be playing half a step slow on the injured ankle.