Photo: Dave Anderson / Unsplash
By Chuck Duane Collier
It’s hard to believe, the start of the upcoming Packers’ season is a little over a month away. Packers’ fans have grown accustomed to their team making the playoffs. The Packers have made the playoffs a total of 35 times since their inception. Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers have combined to start a total of 31 years and the Packers have made the playoffs 23 times and won a combined two super-bowls during that span. Aaron Rodgers won the NFL MVP four times and is considered by many NFL analysts the most talented QB of all time.
General Manager Brian Gutekunst will forever be known as the guy who ran the great Aaron Rodgers out of town. Time will tell if that was the right decision. On April 26, 2023, the Packers traded Aaron Rodgers to the Jets. The trade ended Aaron Rodger’s tenure in Green Bay and they officially handed over the keys to the kingdom to Jordan Love. Jordan Love was the 26th pick in the 2020 draft. Many NFL draft experts believe Love was not worthy of a firstround pick. Gutekunst’s future will be contingent on Jordan Love’s success.
To say Jordan Love has big shoes to fill is an understatement. Jordan Love is inexperienced and needs to produce this season. Jordan Love played in 6 games in his career with one start in 2021. He has completed 36 of 62 passes (58.1 passing percentage) for a total of 411 yards with a (68.7 QB rating). Love’s statistics are dismal, however it’s a small sample size. The Packers should commit to Love as the starting quarterback and let him prove he can be a winning QB in the NFL and develop confidence without the fear of being benched. As insurance, the Packers signed former USFL MVP QB Alex McGough.
Matt Lafleur is 47-19 as the Packers’ head coach. Lafleur’s record last year was a dismal 8-9 and his career playoff record is 2-3. The majority of Lafleur’s 47 career wins have been with Aaron Rodgers as the starting QB. If the Packers are to make the playoffs this season, Matt Lafleur needs to prove he can win without Aaron Rodgers. In addition, Jordan Love needs to play winning football and the Packer’s defense has to play at a high level.