Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur provided crucial context on what happened after Jordan Love threw three interceptions to the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday’s playoff loss.
After reviewing the tape, LaFleur noted the lack of detail on routes and ball placement to explain why the interceptions were made, and credited veteran cornerback Darius Slay with making an incredible play with the first pick.
On the first play of the second quarter, Love threw the ball to Dontayvion Wicks, but Wicks failed to effectively “set” Slay down the field, Love threw the ball a little too far inside, and Slay made a veteran move to get into position and made a complex catch.
– The cube that Slay had. That was a really good play,” LaFleur said Tuesday. “You want to talk about the smallest details. We had the opportunity to punish him. Yes, the ball was a little inside. However, we need to be sure that we can cope with a draw in this situation. It was a great job because (Slay) grabbed him by the wrist and slingshotted him and he really caught it.
Wicks gained separation from the ball against Slay on a vertical route, but was unable to “stack” the ball, which takes advantage of the coverage of the player behind the receiver and creates a better window for the quarterback to throw. Slay was able to win the leverage battle and beat Wicks in football.
Later, a misdirected route to an open window allowed Zack Baun to get an simple interception.
According to LaFleur, Malik Heath ran for 15 yards instead of 20, which closed the window down the middle and allowed Baun to chop the throw.
“Second choice, details again. This route must cover a distance of 20 meters. We are 15 meters away,” LaFleur said. “That ball should never have been that far. So I saw what Jordan saw. There is an open gap in the defense. But when you’re not at the right depth on the route, bad things happen.”
If Heath had run the route at the right depth, the timing would have been in sync, the window would have been more open, and Love probably could have engineered the throw to the danger side and created a great play. Instead, the Eagles had another loss.
Love is not without guilt, yet he tried to quit. But details matter.
Love was down 12 points overdue in the game, looking for a much-needed substantial play and threw a third down, but LaFleur felt there should have been a defensive pass interference penalty against Baun in coverage against Bo Melton in the end zone.
“The last one, I don’t know what you were thinking, of course it was a prayer, that means we throw it away. We had Bo against a defender,” LaFleur said. “Was the ball thrown from under the ground? Yes, it was. Did he make contact before the ball was in the air? Yes, he did it. It is what it is.”
Baun clearly made contact with Melton before the ball arrived and made it complex for him to get back to the ball, and Quinyon Mitchell easily intercepted the ball in the end zone. The penalty would have wiped out the turnover and given the Packers a first-and-goal from the first yard line.
Football is incredibly detailed. It often sounds simple on the surface, but in even the simplest games there are a million details that count. This is especially true in the passing game. It has to be timed to find gaps in the defense and beat good players. All details must be correct, otherwise something bad will happen.
Once again, the quarterback is not blameless. Love’s throws with all three picks weren’t perfect. However, a quarterback usually performs poorly when others fail at the position.
