Understanding the importance of his effectiveness as an improvising passer, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love prioritized improving his running game during the offseason.
Love said he worked on keeping his arms in a straight line and on completing throws when moving both left and right.
“One of the things I’ve been working on a lot in the offseason is throwing on the run,” Love said in Bleacher Report AMA Video“I think that’s a big part of my game. Being able to extend plays when you’re not going on schedule, whether you’re going left or right, being able to get your shoulders down to the plate and being able to finish shots. I think that was a huge part of my game last season and something I really want to build on this year.”
The stats support Love’s desire to improve in the run game, even if some of his best plays — like his incredible third-down pass to Jayden Reed against the Buccaneers — were throws on the run. He can certainly do it, but improving his consistency is always a leap required to go from good to great.
According to Pro Football Focus, Love ranked fifth in the NFL in passer rating when he threw the ball in under 2.5 seconds — the typical time it takes to complete a pass within the structure of a planned pass play. When he held the ball for longer than 2.5 seconds, his passer rating dropped by more than 10 points, and his percentage of plays worthy of turnovers was nearly four times higher.
Love certainly wasn’t bad when he played off the schedule — his 27 big-time throws when he held the ball for more than 2.5 seconds were second in the NFL. But he also threw 11 interceptions (third most) and completed fewer than 60 percent of his throws.
Of course, his final pass of the 2023 season was an interception thrown while buying time to his right slow in the Packers’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC divisional round.
Improving his accuracy and decision-making when running to either side of the field could make Love one of the NFL’s most unsafe off-schedule quarterbacks.
The chaos factor increases when things don’t go as planned. Defenders are flying all over the field, and receivers have to break out of routes and stay on the same page as the quarterback. When moving, correct throws can become more challenging, and sloppy turnovers often become more likely.
Future NBA Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers was a master at buying time and creating something out of nothing, but that’s no way to live as a point guard who’s on and off the field.
Still, quarterbacks need to be able to improvise when plays fall apart and create huge plays out of structure. And in an offense like Matt LaFleur’s, throwing on the move is a prerequisite.
In May, Love said he also wants to work on improving his “pocket movement,” especially in terms of staying balanced in the pocket and making sure he’s able to make the right little moves to buy time. While improvising outside the pocket can sometimes create huge plays, especially in huge situations like third downs and the red zone, the best quarterbacks can play consistently and effectively from the pocket every Sunday.
