Packers hope Jordan Love’s practice participation, health will be a game-changer
GREEN BAY — Afterward, Jordan Love had a confession to make. Apparently, the bye week had given him a mild case of amnesia.
The Green Bay Packers' starting quarterback had spent part of his usual Wednesday Q&A session with reporters at his locker downplaying the amount of practice time he'd missed during the first half of the season.
From the left knee injury he sustained in the Sept. 6 regular-season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil that sidelined him for two games, to the left groin injury that knocked him out of the team's Oct. 27 game at Jacksonville, Love had dealt with far more health issues than he had in his first year as a starter last season, when he started all 19 games, including the playoffs.
And yet, Love insisted, "The past couple weeks, I've been able to practice and be out there moving around."
Um, no, Jordan. No, you haven't.
Heading into the Packers' pre-bye 24-14 loss to the Detroit Lions on Nov. 3 , Love didn't take part in the Wednesday practice that week, then did only individual drills that Thursday.
He was then listed as a limited participant in the Friday practice, but Friday practices are lighter workloads than Wednesday and Thursday sessions are. So essentially, Love had barely practiced before completing 23 of 39 passes for 273 yards with no touchdowns and a pick-6 interception (69.7 passer rating) in the loss.
After the group dispersed, Love admitted that he'd forgotten how little he'd practiced that week — and acknowledged that made his full participation in Wednesday's practice heading into Sunday's matchup with the Chicago Bears at Solider Field a significant development.
"Anytime you miss a day and aren't able to practice is obviously not ideal," Love admitted. "But (you) control what you can control. You've got to go out there and get those mental reps, be great in the film room throughout the week.
"But being out there, 100%, feeling good, is what I'd like to keep it throughout the rest of the season."
Although Love was still technically listed on the Packers' injury report, his full participation meant that having a bye week to heal could be transformative for him, because he hasn't truly been healthy since injuring his knee in the final minute of that season-opening loss to the Eagles.
And the numbers certainly support that. Playing in 61⁄2 of the Packers' first nine games, Love has completed 61.3% of his passes for 1,820 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 INTs (88.2 rating).
That's a far cry from what he did during the second half of last season, when he was playing quarterback better than anyone else in the league down the stretch — as evidenced by his through-the-roof numbers (70.3% completion percentage, 2,150 yards, 18 TDs, one INT, 112.7 rating) in the final eight regular-season games.
Asked if he would admit that the injuries had affected his play, Love replied, "I mean, whenever you're not 100% with injuries, it's going to affect (you). But if I'm good enough to be out there, I'm feeling that responsibility to be at my best, so that's never an excuse.
"Obviously, there's things that you're limited doing — moving out the pocket, things like that — but any time you're out there on the field, you've got to be able to go out there and play your best for myself, for the guys around me and for this team. So, that's never an excuse I'm going to use."
Nevertheless, Love's leg injuries didn't just limit his mobility inside and outside the pocket. They also affected his footwork and throwing mechanics, as he was hesitant to step into throws with his left leg, which seemed to diminish his accuracy.
"Everybody's dealing with something," Packers coach Matt LaFleur said, adding that the goal for the week will be for Love to take every single first-team snap in practice all week. "But certainly when you're limited in your lower half as a quarterback, that can have a big effect on your ability to just move around in the pocket or throw accurately.
"It'll be good to just get him some practice under his belt where he's fully healthy. (We're) confident that a full week's of worth of practice and then stacking those days will definitely be beneficial for him."
