GREEN BAY — There was, as you would expect, a difference of opinion about what had happened on the play.

It occurred midway through last week, during the Green Bay Packers’ second in-pads practice of training camp. Defensive end Lukas Van Ness had beaten his man off the edge and was closing in fast on quarterback Jordan Love, who was looking for tight end Tucker Kraft on a corner route to the left.

This is where the details get murky — or, more accurately, it depends on who you talk to.

Love — feeling healthier than he ever was last year after sustaining a knee injury in the closing moments of the team’s season-opening loss to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo, Brazil — saw Van Ness coming and, rather than taking off running, moved up in the pocket, sidestepped to his right and sidearmed the ball to rookie Matthew Golden crossing the field to the right sideline.

Love, of course, was in the customary quarterback red non-contact jersey, so we’ll never really know if Van Ness would’ve gotten him or not. But when asked about what the play showed about his elusiveness and pocket awareness, the first words out of Love’s mouth were, “First off, it wasn’t a sack [by] Van Ness.”

And Van Ness’ view? Predictable.

“Sack,” he said. “That was a sack.

“As a D-lineman, I’m going to have my bias and my opinion, and as a QB, he’s going to have his bias and his opinion. That’s the game — we all think we made the play.

“But you’ve seen him do it in games, where he has guys in his face and make that move to make the throw.”

And that was the actual point of the conversation: Fully healthy again, Love is once again making those subtle-but-vital movements inside the pocket to elude pass rushers and create space to throw.

“That’s one thing he’s very good at,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said leading up to Saturday’s “Family Night” practice inside Lambeau Field. “And I think [it’s] his just personality — he’s calm in the pocket; he’s a calm guy. He’s not going to get rattled.

“He’s able to make incredible throws when he’s about to get hit, and that, I think, is one of the special things about him as a quarterback. So yeah, it’s impressive to watch, and I think he’s shown you know so far this camp his ability to keep that going.”

While it was something his predecessor, Aaron Rodgers, also did well — remember that Houdini spin move he made in the pocket against the Atlanta Falcons during the 2010 Packers’ run to the Super Bowl XLV title? — Love has shown a knack for those in-pocket adjustments from the beginning of his time as the starter.

Even when other aspects of quarterbacking might’ve taken him a bit longer to develop.

“I think the movement aspect of my game, being able to move in the pocket, was something that was limited for a good amount last year when I had my injuries,” Love said before the “Family Night” practice. “But [it’s] definitely something I want to focus on going into the season, to amp up and do more of.

“There’s so many instances where a defense does a good job covering the first couple reads, [but] you can work the pocket, [or] get out and scramble and just keep that play going.

“I always have that mindset to try to never get sacked and try to keep the play alive and try and work the pocket. It’s one of those things where you just have to keep working through things and keep adding that aspect to my game. But it’s one of those things I think will really come alive this season.”

Through his two seasons as the starter, Love has been sacked 44 times in 32 games, including only 14 in his 15 starts a year ago.

While he took 30 sacks in 2023 in his first year, he was headed in the right direction at season’s end. He was sacked only twice during the Packers’ three-game winning streak to end the regular season, and wasn’t sacked in either playoff game, as he led the Packers to a blowout win in Dallas and had the San Francisco 49ers on the ropes heading into the fourth quarter.

“That’s part of playing that position. And some guys are a little bit better at the pocket manipulation than others,” head coach Matt LaFleur explained. “I always look at the number of sacks guys take, and he has a good feel in the pocket.

“[He] understands when he needs to use his legs to try to manipulate the pocket or, [when] there’s nowhere to go, ‘Oh, shoot, where’s my checkdown?’ So I think he’s done over the course of two years a pretty good job with that, whether he’s got his legs or not.”

Although the Packers No. 1 offense struggled during Saturday night’s practice — especially in the red zone, where none of the four quarterbacks managed to lead their unit to a touchdown — and Love’s initial 2-minute drill ended with him throwing an interception to Carrington Valentine when he overshot Golden, his camp on balance has been a strong one.

And, more importantly, a healthy one.

“The one thing I’ve seen from him — especially over the last few practices — is he is moving around pretty well, and I think he is playing pretty decisively,” LaFleur said. “And I think he’s going to continue to improve.”

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