The offense must run through Jones and Dillon

[gopkrs]

I don't think the O runs through the backs this year. I think we will have a very balanced attack. And that will help the backs and the O line.

 

[Curly Calhoun]

I don't think the O runs through the backs this year. I think we will have a very balanced attack. And that will help the backs and the O line.

My guess it will evolve as the season progresses and will being more complex as Love gains experience.

I think LeFleur has a certain offense he wants to run, and it is not three yards and a cloud of dust.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

How many yards rushing will Jordan Love have in 2023?

Rodgers had 94 yards rushing last year (2.8 YPC). His best was in 2010, when he rushed for 386 yards. His career most yards was in 2016, when he rushed for 369 yards. His career best YPC was in 2014 and 2018, when he averaged 6.3 YPC.

I do think Love can help himself and the Packers offense, if he can find some success in tucking the ball and picking up some yards.

 

[OldSchool101]

How many yards rushing will Jordan Love have in 2023?

Rodgers had 94 yards rushing last year (2.8 YPC). His best was in 2010, when he rushed for 386 yards. His career most yards was in 2016, when he rushed for 369 yards. His career best YPC was in 2014 and 2018, when he averaged 6.3 YPC.

I do think Love can help himself and the Packers offense, if he can find some success in tucking the ball and picking up some yards.

Yes. That’s another really important aspect of the Running game.

Jordan is very similar athletically to young Aaron Rodgers. Aaron was very crafty at gouging teams on the ground earlier in his career. There’s a reason he’s top 10 passing and top 10 rushing in NFL history.

I suspect we’ll see Jordan quietly in that 200-400 yards rushing and 3-4 TD’s. Rushing will make up a substantial part of this years Offense, mark my words. Matt made that mistake earlier last season and it cost us dearly. He admitted it and addressed it. We shall see how good his memory is.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Yes. That’s another really important aspect of the Running game.

As well as the passing game. If Love can earn some respect with his legs, the LB's and secondary won't be able to just sit back and wait for him to throw the ball. When it comes to taking off and running, I always think of Collin Kaepernick and how he just gashed the Packers in the divisional playoff game and I believe at least 1 if not 2 other meetings.

I don't think Love is going to make a name for himself as a running style QB, but if he at least makes it something the defense has to respect, it can only help the entire offense.

 

[OldSchool101]

As well as the passing game. If Love can earn some respect with his legs, the LB's and secondary won't be able to just sit back and wait for him to throw the ball. When it comes to taking off and running, I always think of Collin Kaepernick and how he just gashed the Packers in the divisional playoff game and I believe at least 1 if not 2 other meetings.

True I don’t even want him running too much. There’s a healthy balance. However if Love gets an over aggressive pass rush that leaves a nice lane up the gut for 5-10 yards be prepared to take it and slide.

The same goes if he’s flushed and our opponent loses contain. Jordan is just good enough to make them pay and keep them honest. Scramble out of bounds for 10+
Keep the foot on the throttle a little and Draw a late flag or out of bounds personal foul.

 

[mradtke66]

Yes. I considered that also and that makes a lot of sense. Especially considering Aaron Jones 2022 statement.
My thought is I’d normally expect a slight regression, except that we should run at a slightly higher %. The YPC drop some, but they will be compensated for by increased carry load.

I'm still not certain it'll work out that way. Not because MLF and even Love won't want to run more, just that the Other Guys®©™ will sell out to stop the run. First year starter at QB and only one somewhat proven WR (Watson)? 8 1/2 man boxes against base will likely be the norm. Love will have to punish them for that choice.

If he can't, then yes, the total carries might go up, but YPC might go down.

 

[OldSchool101]

I'm still not certain it'll work out that way. Not because MLF and even Love won't want to run more, just that the Other Guys®©™ will sell out to stop the run. First year starter at QB and only one somewhat proven WR (Watson)? 8 1/2 man boxes against base will likely be the norm. Love will have to punish them for that choice.

If he can't, then yes, the total carries might go up, but YPC might go down.

As far as all these defenses that are so Run dominant? Where are they?Those Defenses allowed us 2,500 yards between just 2 RB’s. That after we largely ignored our Run game earlier in the season. Had we started the season running more we would’ve easily been 2,700-2,900 area APurpose For our RB1/RB2. As fans, We’ve grossly underestimated our RB’s. We are watching historic levels of production and these guys aren’t even slowing down.

I’m going to test those 2 guys early and often in both Run and Pass and make you stop me. Then if they get overzealous and try to play 8-9 in the box? I’m going to burn them and burn them bad for a couple quick scores. I’ll let Musgrave, Reed, Doubs and Watson explicitly know to expect the ball very quickly off the LOS with lots of daylight in front of them and be prepared to exploit it. Forcing Love to get the ball out quickly is actually feeding right into the strength of what Love did at Utah St. His short game is a big part of why he was scoring 50+ points a contest. Also ask Dillon how he fared at Boston College and routine stacked boxes? You’d probably get a nice front tooth, gap smile.

Matt’s Play action and moving parts and disguising looks is going to hurt a team playing 9 in the box (there’s no 1/2 players) imo Opponents would be smart to make Love earn TD’s the old fashioned way. Not give him easy help.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Does anyone know what kind of a runner Love was at Utah State? It's hard to make much out of his "rushing stats", since the NCAA considers a sack to be a rushing attempt by the QB and subtracts the lost yardage from his rushing yds. NFL subtracts sack yardage from the team passing yardage. Personally, I prefer the NFL's way of doing it.

 

[Jayzee1981]

Ok which grown *** man needs a timeout and go in the corner now? Cmon guys, petty name calling and badgering doesn’t help the class of this forum. Wanna be children, go to prosportsdaily.com. Lots of intellect over there.

 

[OldSchool101]

Does anyone know what kind of a runner Love was at Utah State? It's hard to make much out of his "rushing stats", since the NCAA considers a sack to be a rushing attempt by the QB and subtracts the lost yardage from his rushing yds. NFL subtracts sack yardage from the team passing yardage. Personally, I prefer the NFL's way of doing it.

He was very pedestrian if I recall correctly. Yet he’s very similar to Rodgers in 2008. He’s just quick enough to hurt you if left unattended. He’s not easy to take down either. When watching him under pressure he’s got above average low center of gravity. He fights off arm tackles, and seems to have good short area quickness. That coincides with an “Elite” explosion grade (RAS)
More average 4.7 long speed, but he’s 6’4” 224lb so he’s a big kid. Lance Zerlein posted Love’s ability to use athleticism exiting the Pocket under pressure as a + Strong suit.

 

[mradtke66]

I’m going to test those 2 guys early and often in both Run and Pass and make you stop me. Then if you get overzealous and try to play 8-9 in the box I’m going to burn you and burn you bad for a couple quick scores.

Of course, that is what we want, but if Love can't hold up his end of the bargain, it's going to be a tough season. Playing 8-9 men in the box also helps clog up slants, flats, nearly everything else that isn't a deep shot.

Assuming Love can diagnose, check to the right play, and make them pay, we're (currently) dependent on Watson's health/availability. If we lack a deep threat, not only will the other guys play heavy, but they'll play tight on the outside, which also negates "quick shots."
Play action can work, but other than dump offs, isn't necessarily easy. Your 1st year starter has to turn his back to the defense, do whatever kind of rollout action, turn around, and find the open man.

Matt’s Play action and moving parts and disguising looks is going to hurt a team playing 9 in the box (there’s no 1/2 players) imo

There may not be 1/2 men, but you can cheat it a little bit. Put the SS in the box (+1) Have the FS cheat 1-2 yards toward the LOS (+1/2)

Opponents would be smart to make Love earn TD’s the old fashioned way. Not give him easy help.

Against a first year starter? I'm playing "prove you can do it." No matter his ceiling, he'll have growing pains. Pressure him. Make the hard passes the "right" read. Make him have to throw 70% of the time. If and when he puts it together, then sure, play him honest.

 

[OldSchool101]

Against a first year starter? I'm playing "prove you can do it." No matter his ceiling, he'll have growing pains. Pressure him. Make the hard passes the "right" read. Make him have to throw 70% of the time. If and when he puts it together, then sure, play him honest.

Sure. Obviously teams will test us. That said if they sell out on the running game I think it’s going to be very costly and it’s just a matter of time. Jordan Love may not be Aaron Rodgers but he’s very efficient in that short to intermediate area already. The Eagles witnessed it and they are fortunate our Defense gave up a late score or he was into the Redzone looking for a tie or a Win. He can’t control our D giving up quick scores, but he’s shown enough to display a quick release and accuracy. Once The ball gets to its target it’s not Love anymore it’s a LB trying to cover an extremely fast TE or WR with minimal help in the secondary.

Some people are too caught up in his first ever live game &KC. He didn’t even get a full preseason. 2021 @KC was his Preseason. I pray other teams’ defenses underestimate Jordan as much as some Packer fans do in 2023.

 

[OldSchool101]

https://www.si.com/fantasy/2023/06/21/the-replacements-green-bay-packers-jordan-love-christian-watson

 

[Schultz]

How many yards rushing will Jordan Love have in 2023?

Rodgers had 94 yards rushing last year (2.8 YPC). His best was in 2010, when he rushed for 386 yards. His career most yards was in 2016, when he rushed for 369 yards. His career best YPC was in 2014 and 2018, when he averaged 6.3 YPC.

I do think Love can help himself and the Packers offense, if he can find some success in tucking the ball and picking up some yards.

Agree Love should be able to rush for more yards than the recent Rodgers. Dude you have to help me here. Isn't 386 more than 369? I guess what I am asking is wouldn't his best also be his career most?

 

[mradtke66]

Sure. Obviously teams will test us. That said if they sell out on the running game I think it’s going to be very costly and it’s just a matter of time. Jordan Love may not be Aaron Rodgers but he’s very efficient in that short to intermediate area already. The Eagles witnessed it and they are fortunate our Defense gave up a late score or he was into the Redzone looking for a tie or a Win. He can’t control our D giving up quick scores, but he’s shown enough to display a quick release and accuracy. Once The ball gets to its target it’s not Love anymore it’s a LB trying to cover an extremely fast TE or WR with minimal help in the secondary.

Some people are too caught up in his first ever live game &KC. He didn’t even get a full preseason. 2021 @KC was his Preseason. I pray other teams’ defenses underestimate Jordan as much as some Packer fans do in 2023.

An important distinction is I’m not basing my opinions on the KC game.

Until he can really show it, I’ll doubt him. Anyone for that matter. Sure we can project, but we have a small sample size. The aforementioned KC game and part of the Eagles game. That’s it.

Regarding the intermediate game, Love being good there will only help so much. We’re dependent on Watson playing about as well as he did last year (reasonable) and play more games (is this a toss up?) to keep the defense honest.

Our rookie pass catchers are TBD. Traditionally, TEs have one of the hardest transitions to the pros. Im not counting on good, reliable production in year 1 from either.

Dobbs looked good, but I don’t k ow his ceiling. Is he a perpetual 2/3 tweener or can he solidly be a 1? Hell, was he just a flash in the pan last year?

My worry is we’ll face a lot of cover-3, heavy boxes that’ll shut down the run and short game. 2014 and 2022 had that happen. Ergo, we live and die on the Love to Watson connection. If both are healthy and play well, all roses. If not, rose fertilizer.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Yes. I considered that also and that makes a lot of sense. Especially considering Aaron Jones 2022 statement.
My thought is I’d normally expect a slight regression, except that we should run at a slightly higher %. The YPC drop some, but they will be compensated for by increased carry load. Then the additional 250 yards could easily come between both RB’s in the passing game and 2 phase involvement. Both are very capable in that aspect and both are viable veteran options to lean on this season. It’s not a stretch to think the RB combined carry load increase by a couple targets/carry per contest.

That said I think it’s very doable to get into that ~2,750 area (yards) and even more probable that a 3rd RB gets us into ~3,000 territory.

I would be fine with Jones and Dillon combining for the same amount of yards from scrimmage as last season. If they truly can improve on that number I will be impressed. Unfortunately I don't believe it's as easy as you want to make us believe.

As well as the passing game. If Love can earn some respect with his legs, the LB's and secondary won't be able to just sit back and wait for him to throw the ball.

I don't think that's the plan opposing defenses will use anyway.

As far as all these defenses that are so Run dominant? Where are they?Those Defenses allowed us 2,500 yards between just 2 RB’s. That after we largely ignored our Run game earlier in the season. Had we started the season running more we would’ve easily been 2,700-2,900 area APurpose For our RB1/RB2. As fans, We’ve grossly underestimated our RB’s. We are watching historic levels of production and these guys aren’t even slowing down.

I’m going to test those 2 guys early and often in both Run and Pass and make you stop me. Then if they get overzealous and try to play 8-9 in the box?

Jones and Dillon faced 8+ defenders in the box on one of the lowest percentages in the league last season because teams respected the Packers' passing game because of Rodgers. Dillon ranked 37th among 48 running backs with at least 90 carries in the area at 16.13%, Jones 46th at 10.80%. That will definitely change early this season as long as Love doesn't make them pay for it.

Does anyone know what kind of a runner Love was at Utah State? It's hard to make much out of his "rushing stats", since the NCAA considers a sack to be a rushing attempt by the QB and subtracts the lost yardage from his rushing yds. NFL subtracts sack yardage from the team passing yardage. Personally, I prefer the NFL's way of doing it.

Here are the numbers for Love rushing the ball during his college career at Utah State:

2017: 33 attempts for 214 yards, 6.48 yards per carry, 52nd out of 101 quarterbacks with the most attempts
2018: 34 attempts for 110 yards, 3.24 yards per carry, 101st out of 104 QBs
2019: 42 attempts for 266 yards, 6.33 yards per carry, 62nd out of 106 QBs

Too bad you will never read that information

Sure. Obviously teams will test us. That said if they sell out on the running game I think it’s going to be very costly and it’s just a matter of time. Jordan Love may not be Aaron Rodgers but he’s very efficient in that short to intermediate area already. The Eagles witnessed it and they are fortunate our Defense gave up a late score or he was into the Redzone looking for a tie or a Win. He can’t control our D giving up quick scores, but he’s shown enough to display a quick release and accuracy. Once The ball gets to its target it’s not Love anymore it’s a LB trying to cover an extremely fast TE or WR with minimal help in the secondary.

Some people are too caught up in his first ever live game &KC. He didn’t even get a full preseason. 2021 @KC was his Preseason. I pray other teams’ defenses underestimate Jordan as much as some Packer fans do in 2023.

Unfortunately Love won't face prevent defenses all the time while being the starter. While I agree there's no reason to put too much stock into his performance against the Chiefs I advocate to do the same on the nine passes he threw against the Eagles.

Agree Love should be able to rush for more yards than the recent Rodgers. Dude you have to help me here. Isn't 386 more than 369? I guess what I am asking is wouldn't his best also be his career most?

It was a typo, Rodgers rushed for 356 yards in 2010.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Agree Love should be able to rush for more yards than the recent Rodgers. Dude you have to help me here. Isn't 386 more than 369? I guess what I am asking is wouldn't his best also be his career most?

Thanks for catching 2 mistakes. It was 356, not 386. I meant to say that he had his career best rushing yds/game in 2010 (23.7yds).

 

[tynimiller]

Jordan Love listed as having averaged 4.47 rushes a game / 403 yards total / 9 TDs / 2.4 yards per rush...BUT folks gotta remember how college stats track sacks.
Aaron Rodgers listed as having averaged 6.4 rushes a game / 336 yards total / 8 TDs / 2.1 yards per rush...BUT again folks gotta remember how college track sacks.

Neither are guys feared for their legs...BUT can Love be elusive and smart with his timing and efficient with his running/roll out and run decisions like Rodgers was early in his career especially....

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

An important distinction is I’m not basing my opinions on the KC game.

Until he can really show it, I’ll doubt him. Anyone for that matter. Sure we can project, but we have a small sample size. The aforementioned KC game and part of the Eagles game. That’s it.

Fully agree.

While I am ready and excited to see Love start, I really have no clue what we are going to see, especially in 2023. While I don't expect all out failure, I also don't expect to see a QB that shocks the NFL and lights it up every Sunday. What I expect, is to watch an up and down season for both Love and the Packers. We should see a relatively raw Love progress and regress. Hopefully, by seasons end, we see a guy that should have a bright future in the NFL.

If that happens, it should also make it pretty fun to watch the highs and lows of some of the posters in this forum. Someone might want to attach a permanent sticker onto the shout box/game day threads "Online grief counseling available @ www.overreativenflfan.com."

 

[Heyjoe4]

Fully agree.

While I am ready and excited to see Love start, I really have no clue what we are going to see, especially in 2023. While I don't expect all out failure, I also don't expect to see a QB that shocks the NFL and lights it up every Sunday. What I expect, is to watch an up and down season for both Love and the Packers. We should see a relatively raw Love progress and regress. Hopefully, by seasons end, we see a guy that should have a bright future in the NFL.

If that happens, it should also make it pretty fun to watch the highs and lows of some of the posters in this forum. Someone might want to attach a permanent sticker onto the shout box/game day threads "Online grief counseling available @ www.overreativenflfan.com."

Yeah actually I'm more relaxed as a fan for this season than I've been for the last 10 seasons with Rodgers. With Rodgers, rightly or wrongly, the expectations were always SB or bust. So that's a lot of busts and a lot of disappointing seasons.

Expectations have been, or should be, reset for a young team with a new QB. I don't put much into projections for 2023 because there is so much that just can't be known, yet.

Sure, we'd all like to have a SB or playoff-worthy team, and we have for most of the past 30 years. There are a lot of good players on this team. How good and how they will all play as a team, well we'll see. Again, I'm looking forward to it. Ya know - for now......

 

[tynimiller]

Fully agree.

While I am ready and excited to see Love start, I really have no clue what we are going to see, especially in 2023. While I don't expect all out failure, I also don't expect to see a QB that shocks the NFL and lights it up every Sunday. What I expect, is to watch an up and down season for both Love and the Packers. We should see a relatively raw Love progress and regress. Hopefully, by seasons end, we see a guy that should have a bright future in the NFL.

If that happens, it should also make it pretty fun to watch the highs and lows of some of the posters in this forum. Someone might want to attach a permanent sticker onto the shout box/game day threads "Online grief counseling available @ www.overreativenflfan.com."

No one knows, but truthfully Love likely washes out somewhere between Hurts 2021 season and Burrow 2021 season.

Likely though I think a 2022 Trevor Lawrence like campaign is possible given his RB room, OL should be improved and MLF hopefully getting back in his bag more.

For memory Lawrence's second year as starter last year he put up:

4,113 yards passing / 66.3Comp% / 25 TDs / 8 INTs / 241.9 YPG / 95.2 rating / 54.5 QBR

For memory last three seasons from Rodgers:

2022 - 3,695 yards / 64.6Comp% / 26 TDs / 12 INTs / 217.4 YPG / 91.1 rating / 39.3 QBR
2021 - 4,115 yards / 68.9Comp% / 37 TDs / 4 INTs / 257.2 YPG / 111.9 rating / 69.1 QBR
2020 - 4,299 yards / 70.7 Comp% / 48 TDs / 5 INTs / 268.7 YPG / 121.5 rating / 79.8 QBR

AND Rodgers very first starter year:

2008 - 4,038 yards / 63.6Comp% / 28 TDs / 13 INTs / 252.4 YPG / 93.8 rating / 62.9 QBR

Personally, I think from a structure stance Love is farther along because he and Rodgers had a MUCH better relationship than Favre and Rodgers did...MLF to me is a MUCH better offensive mind and our RBs are much better IMO which helps a young QB.

You averaged Rodgers 2008 and Lawrence 2022 you get a reasonable expectation from him. Personally speaking I think he out performs this but maybe not by a ton.

4075 yards / 64.1% / 27 TDs / 12 INTs / 234.9 YPG / 92.45 rating / 51.1 QBR

My prediction as of now is 4200 yards / 63.5% / 30 TDs / 10 INTs / 247 YPG / 85 rating / 55 QBR

 

[Heyjoe4]

No one knows, but truthfully Love likely washes out somewhere between Hurts 2021 season and Burrow 2021 season.

Likely though I think a 2022 Trevor Lawrence like campaign is possible given his RB room, OL should be improved and MLF hopefully getting back in his bag more.

For memory Lawrence's second year as starter last year he put up:

4,113 yards passing / 66.3Comp% / 25 TDs / 8 INTs / 241.9 YPG / 95.2 rating / 54.5 QBR

For memory last three seasons from Rodgers:

2022 - 3,695 yards / 64.6Comp% / 26 TDs / 12 INTs / 217.4 YPG / 91.1 rating / 39.3 QBR
2021 - 4,115 yards / 68.9Comp% / 37 TDs / 4 INTs / 257.2 YPG / 111.9 rating / 69.1 QBR
2020 - 4,299 yards / 70.7 Comp% / 48 TDs / 5 INTs / 268.7 YPG / 121.5 rating / 79.8 QBR

AND Rodgers very first starter year:

2008 - 4,038 yards / 63.6Comp% / 28 TDs / 13 INTs / 252.4 YPG / 93.8 rating / 62.9 QBR

Personally, I think from a structure stance Love is farther along because he and Rodgers had a MUCH better relationship than Favre and Rodgers did...MLF to me is a MUCH better offensive mind and our RBs are much better IMO which helps a young QB.

You averaged Rodgers 2008 and Lawrence 2022 you get a reasonable expectation from him. Personally speaking I think he out performs this but maybe not by a ton.

4075 yards / 64.1% / 27 TDs / 12 INTs / 234.9 YPG / 92.45 rating / 51.1 QBR

My prediction as of now is 4200 yards / 63.5% / 30 TDs / 10 INTs / 247 YPG / 85 rating / 55 QBR

I think that is very optimistic Ty. You mentioned the thing that may make this possible, Love’s relationship with Rodgers.

One reason he might fail is that the classroom is so different from real games. IMO the biggest factor in Love’s success or failure is how quickly he can process what he sees, and make decisions based on that.

 

[tynimiller]

I think that is very optimistic Ty. You mentioned the thing that may make this possible, Love’s relationship with Rodgers.

One reason he might fail is that the classroom is so different from real games. IMO the biggest factor in Love’s success or failure is how quickly he can process what he sees, and make decisions based on that.

I see the bottom of my expectations as Jalen Hurts' first year as a starter at least through the air:

3,144 yards / 61.3%Comp / 16 TDs / 9 INTs / 209.6YPG / 87.2 Rating / 48.5 QBR

But Love has proven to be a much more pure passer IMO than Hurts and I strongly feel Love is more comfortable in the pocket than Hurts...Hurts even last year didn't break 4,000 but that is because that mans' diverse mobility outside the pocket structure is special (not Lamar special but still...)

Passing wise Love is better than Hurts IMO was in 2021 without blinking....question is does it come through when the games matter.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Yeah actually I'm more relaxed as a fan for this season than I've been for the last 10 seasons with Rodgers. With Rodgers, rightly or wrongly, the expectations were always SB or bust. So that's a lot of busts and a lot of disappointing seasons.

Expectations have been, or should be, reset for a young team with a new QB. I don't put much into projections for 2023 because there is so much that just can't be known, yet.

Sure, we'd all like to have a SB or playoff-worthy team, and we have for most of the past 30 years. There are a lot of good players on this team. How good and how they will all play as a team, well we'll see. Again, I'm looking forward to it. Ya know - for now......

Agree

I can safely say this (for me). If the Packers make the playoffs in 2023, I would be over the moon happy. I can't say that about the team that was expected by most to do the same, for the last what, 15 years?