X’s and O’s with LeRoy Butler: How Matthew Golden is helping Packers
LeRoy Butler shows the growing connection that Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love and receiver Matthew Golden are displaying.
GREEN BAY − Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is in his third season as the starter.
Through the first five games of the season, Love has completed 103 of 147 passes (70.2%) for 1,259 yards, nine touchdowns with just two interceptions.
We ask our PackersNews team the question of the week and now we’re asking the fans.
How would you assess Jordan Love’s start to the season?
George: I think he is playing pretty well. He has some real flashes of incredible talent. I think if he keeps progressing as he has, he could compete with any other QB in the league.
Ralph Johnson: He is not a good quarterback.
Leo: Average at best. Losing Reed hurt as he lost his go to receiver. Getting Watson back will help also. Should rebound nicely last half of the season.
Boilermaker: While Love is good during no pressure regular game situations, he continues to make poor decision under duress in close games like throwing into coverage and holding the ball too long and sliding before the first down line to gain. This has been a trait since he has been the starter and doesn’t seem to change.
Mike: Top 10 and moving towards top 5!
Chisel: Grade B Love’s attributes are negated by his head scratching decision making at crucial moments in the last three games: the picks against Cleveland and Cincinnati. Clock management and poor play choices against Dallas and his decision to slide short of the first down at the two-minute mark against Cincinnati. He is determined to end my life at 66.
Karl: He is throwing the ball well but is not situational aware. Sometimes there is one thing you cant do but he does it
Jim: Flashes of brilliance brutally offset by all to often mindless interceptions and questionable decision making.
Bart: Poor to mediocre.
Matt Mosesson: Underwhelming- while he makes some nice plays he still makes inexplicably bad throws for interceptions and holds the ball too long without throwing it away and taking unnecessary hits and sacks.
Rick Starr: Overall, really well, I wish he wouldn’t hold on to the ball as long as he does at times.
John: Very good!
Oneangrybadger: Jordan Love has taken another step forward in his development as a starting QB. He’s been more accurate, and has a greater command of the offense. He’s using his legs more and has cut down on turnovers. Still needs to work on not letting his footwork get sloppy when he is being pressured. The long ball also still needs more consistency. Overall, I believe he has made, and is making the progress the team , and fans want to see from their QB if they are going to make a long run in the playoffs
Gregg: I think he’s played well overall. He’s showing more versatility in his skill set. It was good to see him pick up a first down with his legs vs the Bengals. He looks great when he has all day to throw (most NFL QBs do), but not yet convinced he can stand in there and make pinpoint throws under heavy pressure (at least I have t seen that yet). He’s making some nice touch throws but also has some bad misses (like overthrowing a wide open Kraft yesterday). His INTs appear to have been on him and shouldn’t be happening in his third year as a starter. Bottom line: I see progress toward being an elite QB, but he has quite a way to go yet. We should know more by the end of the season.
Jim: Good but not great.
Jack: I think he’s had a decent start except for the 3-5 mental vacations he has taken at key moments. It’s a tough job and we all need more patience. Many people forget all the tragic mistakes that # 4 made. That guy threw a LOT of balls to the wrong color jerseys.
Neil: Extremely inconsistent and seems to be gun shy.
Rich Albert: I hope he continues to improve because I don’t think he’s among the top ten quarterbacks in the NFL regardless of his stats.
Michael: Excellent
Paul: Jordan needs to make his reads a bit quicker.
Mike: Done pretty well, but still too many plays making bad decisions. Throwing one up for grabs and sliding and not going for first down that would have clinched the game against the Bengals.
Leon: 8 out of 10, 10 being best.
Roger: Mediocre at best.
Joe: Slightly above average play. Poor situational awareness.
Heather Salimbeni: Needs some work, but good start.
Joe: Average at best.
Kevin: JLove is a very good QB. He’s made some mistakes. But I have more concerns with the play calling than with Jordan Love’s performance. Too many horizontal plays are being called. Let’s get vertical. That’s when our offense finds its rhythm.
Allen Wilson: I thought he was consistent, but I wish he would show a little bit more emotion on the field, and that would really fire up his teammates
Keith: Satisfactory but wanting to see over the rest of the season if he can elevate his play further.
Martin: Love is playing well, all be it with a handful of errors of judgement. His play will improve with a settled O-line, better run game, greater role for Golden and the return of Watson.
Mark: 50 million for what looks like a bench player? Dude’s been in the league for several years now – why does he still stink up the joint?
Ted: Second tier quarterback – two bad interceptions and a fumble cost them a loss, a tie and this week being too close
Terry Nilles: Solid. Not outstanding, but better than average particularly with an underperforming offensive line.
Steve: He seems to be gaining confidence in running the offense and is making plays. He and Josh Jacobs carried the team in their victory over the Bengals.
Bill: Just OK.
John: This is an interesting year for Jordan. Playing with a massive contract, there’s a lot of pressure to perform at a high level. Yet, he’s still working out some kinks with decision-making and timing that keep him from being the dominant QB many hope him to be. Throw in the QB legacy he follows at GB, and he faces a unique set of pressures that show up now and then with head-scratching plays. He’s still young. I trust more experience will help sharpen his situational awareness.
Bill: Frustrating. At times he looks like an MVP candidate but the, at least once a game he misses a wide-open receiver and/or throws a terrible interception. At this point, there are at least 1/2 dozen QBs I’d take before him.
Jack: He has been inconsistent and has made a few bad throws when pressured.
John: Good. Not great. But very promising.
Marsha: Okay – not bad – not great.
Jimbo: Mostly good but tends to faulter under stress.
Matt: He’s doing enough to be good, but I expect just a couple more “wow” plays each week than we are getting. Am still expecting him to grow from a B+ starter to a top 4 QB by end of the year.
Jeff: Very good. He just needs to master decision making in pressure moments, such as the Cleveland game or when he is being pressured either in or outside the pocket.
Larry: Ok but needs to make more plays through the ball deeper.
Tosafish: Imperfect. But pretty good compared to prior high QB standards in GB. Still work to do to sharpen up clock management and scan the entire field – been seeing more checkdown passes so that’s a sign of maturation. Next will be developing a killer instinct his off-script throw to Golden shows it’s in him.