Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers complimented Jordan Love, his likely heir-apparent. He’s already better than Brett Favre at that, at least.
Rodgers has sat out all preseason, and for good reason — he’s a back-to-back MVP — he’s earned the right to do what he wants.
But that doesn’t mean he’s not watching. No. 12 has been at every preseason game, watching from the sidelines with a keen eye. And just like head coach Matt LaFleur, he’s been impressed with what he’s seen from third-year quarterback Jordan Love.
“I’m always harping on the little things,” Rodgers said, via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “The reads and stuff, just understanding the offense, I think he’s definitely become a master of the offense. But it’s just the little things that are really going to help him level up, and a lot of it is footwork and little things like arm angles on run action, his keeper fakes, his hard-action fakes, his run solutions and RPO game, helping to marry up with the running game. That’s what I like seeing.”
The statistics don’t suggest Love is making much improvement, but we’ll trust Rodgers, given he has no liability to make such comments like LaFleur.
Packers: Aaron Rodgers praises Jordan Love
Dare I say, it almost looks like Rodgers is mentoring Love!
No. 12 dealt with a far different approach from previous signal-caller Brett Favre. If anything, Favre was distant. And that was best-case scenario. Favre, like many veteran quarterbacks, was unhappy when Green Bay drafted his successor and expected him to play the role of mentor.
By now, the two Packers have made nice, but at the time it was quite frosty. It took Mike McCarthy altering Rodgers’ mechanics in Year 3 for him to fully grasp the position at the professional level.
These things take time. Love barely gets any playing time considering Rodgers recent success, but the end is near. LaFleur maintains the plan is for Love to get the reins when Rodgers leaves.
Small victories like this one could go a long way in determining if that transition is a successful one.
