Pete Dougherty: In order to improve his footwork this offseason, Packers quarterback Jordan Love is returning to school.
GREEN BAY — During his first three NFL seasons, Jordan Love had only completed 50 passes during game action.
Consequently, in Love’s first season as the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers and his first time playing week after week since his final year at Utah State in 2019, something that consistently cropped up startled Steve Calhoun, who is approaching his twelfth year as Love’s offseason throwing coach.
Love, who had an abundance of throwing prowess, resorted to throwing off his back foot or while tripping over obstacles more often than necessary. Perhaps he picked up the habit from observing Aaron Rodgers’ sporadic, non-basic throws during practices and games over the preceding three years. Alternatively, it might have been because Love could get away with it quite a bit.
However, Calhoun observed what anyone observing Love’s throwing mechanics could see. The two of them will thus start working on improving Love’s footwork in preparation for his second season as the Packers quarterback later this month once he meets down with Love to go over footage of some of those back-foot throws and talk about what Love was or wasn’t thinking on them.
It is the first priority, as Calhoun recently stated. “In the eleven years that I have worked with Jordan, the key has always been basics; accuracy is created through balance. .. Since I haven’t watched Jordan play this much since college, I was unaware that he would develop the nasty habit of letting go of his back foot and tripping. He recognizes that it’s something he can surely get better at now that we know it.
Love was the main reason the Packers were playing as good as anyone in the league by January, capping off an incredible first season as the starting quarterback. Despite all the criticism directed at his passing efficiency throughout the first half of the season, Love finished the regular season with the third-highest completion % (70.3) and second-highest passer rating (112.7) in the NFL in the last eight games. He earned a rating of 108.6 and completed 67.3% of his passes in two postseason games.
Nevertheless, it remains a reality that he needs to improve his footwork. One of Love’s greatest qualities is his ability to throw from a variety of arm angles and body positions—something that not many quarterbacks can do. A quarterback who believes he can make almost any throw when necessary should also exhibit arm arrogance.
However, as former NFL backup quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan noted in one of his numerous in-depth game assessments of Love on his QB School YouTube channel last season, it’s one thing to be able to put someone off guard; it’s quite another to do so by default.
Love occasionally had rushers in his face and had to dribble with his back foot to get the ball out quickly and create a good play. However, he made at least a few throws when he didn’t have to in most of the games, and eventually that will always catch up with a passer.
“He did it a little bit more than he needed to this year because he definitely got away with it a few times,” Calhoun said. “That will undoubtedly be one of the focuses as I put together this offseason plan, as it’s something he needs to work on.”
Since 2013, Jordan Love and Steve Calhoun have collaborated.
According to Calhoun, Love will only take a brief break from training to allow his body to heal from the season, but the two are unlikely to meet until mid-to late-February when Love begins to gradually increase his offseason throwing.
Since shortly after Love’s freshman season at Liberty High School in Bakersfield, California, when he played under coach Bryan Nixon, the two have collaborated. Calhoun had previously worked with Cody Kessler, a former USC quarterback and three-year NFL backup. Kessler was another one of Nixon’s quarterbacks. Nixon inquired about tutoring Love as well. Ever since, Love and Calhoun have been working out together during the offseason.
Love typically works with Calhoun for one and a half hours three days a week, with Mondays and Fridays being the busier throwing days.
It’s a well-known fact in sports that when pressure mounts, players often turn to their routines. In order for Love to rely on them even in the heat of a game, it will be important to instill basic footwork in him. The Packers work on it during individual practice sessions as well, but the offseason gives them the opportunity to do it without having to dedicate the majority of their time and resources to opponent preparation every week.
Love won’t pass to receivers running routes during his off-season workouts; instead, he will toss into accuracy nets.
“Quarters want to complete passes and not focus on what we’re trying to fix or adjust if there are receivers out there,” Calhoun remarked. “It will just be him and me working on some details outside with an accuracy net.” I don’t pull the receivers until I think he’s got it down pat. I say, “Okay, let’s throw to live targets now that we have that muscle memory and still be able to compete through your technique.”
Calhoun records every session on film, which Love sends to quarterbacks coach Tom Clements and head coach Matt LaFleur so they can keep an eye on him.
Running backs Aaron Jones of the Packers and Cordarrelle Patterson of the Atlanta Falcons, as well as receivers Keenan Allen of the Los Angeles Chargers and Tyler Lockett of the Seattle Seahawks, are among those who train with Calhoun at his Armed and Dangerous Football academy and will thus be working with Love when he throws to live targets.
Love reiterated his previous season-ending announcement that he will invite teammates to an off-season passing minicamp in California. Jones, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks collaborated with Love for a week last year.
While footwork will always come first, they’ll also focus on accuracy with the deep ball.
Calhoun’s other top aims will be to increase Love’s accuracy on deep balls on a regular basis. Love’s deep throwing was a major issue during training camp and the first part of the previous season. He primarily threw underthrows with the occasional overthrow thrown in.
“Seeing him miss some of the deeper throws down the field early in the season was kind of surprising,” Calhoun remarked. “When he’s out there with me during practice, I’ve watched him do it countless times, like incredible. I have no idea what was happening.
Pete Dougherty chat: The PackersNews columnist responds to queries from readers
However, the coaching staff was excellent at figuring out what he was doing and making the necessary adjustments, and as the season progressed, he improved. We’ll examine a few things in addition to off-balance tosses. We’ll investigate the reasons for his improved deep-ball accuracy early in the season.
Nevertheless, footwork must come first. It’s wonderful that Love may act in unexpected ways when necessary. But the main goal of a quarterback play is to regularly place the ball on the money, and the most effective method to achieve that is to throw the ball as often as you can in the correct direction.
