Pack OC on playbook: All of it on table with Love

Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff WriterMay 16, 2023, 04:21 PM ET
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- Covered Packers for Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1997-2013
- Two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The running joke this offseason has been that with Aaron Rodgers out and Jordan Love in, the Green Bay Packers‘ offense will more closely resemble the scheme that coach Matt LaFleur wanted to implement all along.

“I’ve been hearing that a lot,” LaFleur said with a chuckle earlier this offseason.

Now that the transition process from Rodgers to Love is in full swing, it has become more evident to the coaching staff what the offense will look like. And different it might look indeed.

“It might yeah, it might,” Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said Tuesday. “I think it might. And it’s not just because of not having Aaron Rodgers. It might just be these other pieces that we’ve added as well. So, again, it’s OTAs right now so we’re just going to kind of see how it all fits and once we figure out kind of how we’re going to attack defenses, then we’ll roll from there. But I think it might.”

It could also be because Love may not have as much freedom to adjust plays at the line of scrimmage; LaFleur gave Rodgers the green light to do so often.

“Obviously he doesn’t have the playing experience that Aaron had, but from a playbook standpoint, I think pretty much all of it’s on the table,” Stenavich said. “He’s been around for three years and has really attacked it. Even last year, you could see him come into his own, felt a lot more comfortable, so this year he’s really hitting it on all cylinders so I’m really excited to see what he’s going to bring.”

While it’s Love’s first year as a starter, it’s not the first offseason in which he has worked as QB1. Rodgers skipped the offseason program each of the past two years, and it not only gave Love the experience in that role but also allowed the coaches to see what suits him differently from Rodgers.

Love has been a regular participant in the offseason program, which began April 17. That will ramp up next week when full practices begin during the organized team activity phase of the program.

“We’re starting on Step 1 instead of starting at Step 8, where you can start with Aaron Rodgers,” Stenavich said. “So, you’re going to take a step back and you’re just going to keep working ahead. Can’t really look at the end result right now. We’re just going to look at one day at a time and just go from there, but he’s ready, he’s excited. I think all the guys, you can feel good vibes, good energy around the locker room, so it’s going to be fun.”