Packers' Matt LaFleur 'really excited' to see Jordan Love play preseason games
Packers fans will see an immediate change in training camp. Coach Matt LeFleur says that quarterback Jordan Love will receive many more snaps in preseason games.
When Aaron Rodgers owned the keys to the offense, especially late in his tenure in Green Bay, he didn’t need to do much in the practice games. So why risk injury?
But Matt LeFleur knows it’s different with Jordan Love. Sure, the quarterback has three years of experience in Green Bay since the Packers selected him in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. However, he doesn’t have much game experience. You can know the playbook by heart. But how well do you remember a hot route when a free safety comes on a blitz? That takes live-action reps. Love has 10 game appearances in three seasons. He’s completed 50 passes for 606 yards and three touchdowns.
“There’s a lot of things I’d like to see out of him,” Matt LaFleur said of Jordan Love during a pre-training camp press conference. “It’s more or less just the process of becoming better each and every day and the command that he has. Certainly, you want to give him every opportunity.
“You can’t give him enough reps. Just making those incremental improvements and becoming more consistent on a daily basis. I’m really excited. He definitely has complete command of our offense. There’s no doubt about it. He’s put the work in, he knows the ins and outs. Now it’s going to apply that in a real situation.”
Matt LeFleur could get Jordan Love extra reps in practice sessions with Bengals and Patriots
Like the rest of the NFL, the Packers are readying for training camp. The first practice is Wednesday. It’s kind of like Thanksgiving for football fans. That’s because it’s a major holiday, but you know the best one of all (the start of the reguar season) is within sight.
The first NFL preseason game is on Aug. 3 between the Jets and Browns. The Packers begin their three-game slate on Aug. 11 against the Bengals. They’ll get to Cincy early and have a joint workout with the Bengals on Aug. 9. Then, the Packers will conduct joint practices with the Patriots on Aug. 16-17, followed by a preseason game. They’ll finish with a game against the Seahawks.
The Packers begin the season with a bang, playing the Bears at Soldiers Field in Chicago. They’ll stay on the road in week two with a date at Atlanta. Then the Love era at Lambeau Field begins Sept. 24 with a date against the Saints.
And while Matt LeFleur sees Jordan Love receiving more game reps, GM Brian Gutekunst isn’t so sure. He admitted that he’d like to wrap some of the younger players in bubble wrap.
“I think, talking to Matt and working through those conversations,” Gutenkunst told reporters. “I think that’s going to be something that as we go, he feels,” Gutekunst said. “And luckily we have a couple of these (joint) practices that we will be able to go against some other teams, and that will be really important for us as well.”