Jordan Love is enduring record-setting pressure behind a crumbling offensive line. To save their quarterback, the Green Bay Packers must abandon long-developing shots for a revitalized, lightning-fast passing attack.
The Green Bay Packers are in a funk. Everyone knows it, and to their credit, the Packers seem to be doing everything they can to get out of it.
The crux of the issue is on the offensive line. The Packers are dealing with injuries, yes. Losing Zach Bako-Bewele just two games into the season was a crushing blow, without a doubt.
The players who have been on the field have been terrible, though.
Quarterback Jordan Love has been hit 20 times through three games. He's on pace to be hit 113 times this season, which is untenable. The offensive line has given up 51 total pressures and 21 knockdowns — the most by an offensive line unit in the past 20 seasons.
That's why general manager Brian Gutekunst has been hitting free agency to try to find solutions. The Packers have signed veteran offensive linemen in Laken Tomlinson and Mekhi Bekton, and they've met with Kevin Zeitler.
If it's a personnel problem, and it very well could be, Gutekunst is throwing darts at the board trying to fix it.
This could also be a scheme problem, though, and head coach Matt LaFleur addressed that earlier this week.
Both LaFleur and Love have an affinity for long-developing plays that lead to deep shots. Deep shots lead to explosive plays, and explosive plays usually lead to points on the board.
For all their struggles this season, the Packers are averaging 315.3 yards per game and Love's 844 passing yards are top five in the league.
Perhaps it's time to look at the quick game, though, because Love has no time to efficiently run a long-developing offense. LaFleur was asked earlier this week if Love could benefit from a scheme that gets the football out of his hands faster.
“I would say there are certain situations, yes, but then there’s a lot of times where the rush has been hitting home quick,” LaFleur explained. “So again, you gotta look at what you’re asking your guys to do and what you’re doing schematically. And you’ve got to do a better job of mixing it up, I would say, so it’s not just all these longer developing plays. Certainly we love explosives. He loves them. I love them. They typically lead to points, but we just gotta be a little bit more timely, I would say, when we’re calling them.”
The deep shot has become a staple in Green Bay's offense, and with speedy wide receivers like Christian Watson and Matthew Golden at Love's disposal, that makes sense.
With that said, both Watson and Golden have good hands and are decent route-runners. Both have the ability to run a quick slant or a five-yard out. They may not be exciting plays, but they move the chains.
And how about Tucker Kraft? He's been barely involved in the offense through three games, but if there's anyone who can take a quick pass and turn it into something via yards after the catch, it would be him.
More importantly, those "three-step drop" routes get the ball out of Love's hands quickly, which takes away the opportunities for him to get hit.
If the offensive line can't protect him for more than a few seconds, then LaFleur would be smart to "protect" them by calling more plays that don't require them to...well...block.
It may not be as exciting, but it would be smart, and the Packers need smart right now.
