Love Returns in Time to Turn Up Practice Competition

With the Defense dominating Packers camp practices, Love's return turns up the heat in the Offense's favor.

We're talking about practice. He's now the Franchise player, and we're sitting here, talking about practice. As famous as that reference to Allen Iverson's 2002 rant was, and how true it is sometimes to go a little overboard about practice, I'm not listening. Jordan Love's return to practice on Saturday was a big deal for the growth of this football team and helped turn up the competition between the offense and defense. 

In the event you're waking up from a week-long slumber, I'll catch you up. To start Training Camp, Jordan Love was in the building, apparently doing everything as he would normally do, except for practicing. This was a decision from his agency to not risk injury while negotiating a new contract. As much as I may not have liked the idea, it was a smart decision on their part. Love was about to become a very rich man. If he hit the practice field and tore his ACL, that would've been the end of negotiations. The Packers have some contract insurance when players are hurt but Love would not have had anything. As a result, backup QBs Sean Clifford, Michael Pratt, and newly signed QB, Jacob Eason were running the show. And, it was not pretty at all. Clifford was a turnover machine and Pratt and Eason didn't show much to write home about. So, the defense has absolutely dominated training camp up until Saturday. But that all changed once Love signed his new four-year $220M contract. 

There may have been a little rust to shake out at the beginning of practice where Love over-shot Dontayvion Wicks on a play where he was wide open. He also threw behind Christian Watson on another play and threw wide of Wicks on another attempted connection. Love was also picked off by Quay Walker on what was a bit of a broken tight-end screen play. Love was under pressure quickly and he just kind of lofted the ball in the area of Luke Musgrave. Musgrave wasn't ready for it, and Quay Walker made a diving catch for the INT. 

But after that, Love showed why the Packers are paying him the big bucks. Love hit Christian Watson on a 47-yard bomb over Eric Stokes which was just a thing of beauty. Stokes reportedly had good coverage but Watson is just that much faster and got away from Stokes when Jordan Love dropped the ball right over Watson's shoulder. Watson later said about this play that he couldn't ask for a better ball, it was just a dot, all he had to do was run straight and the ball just kind of dropped into his hands.  Love capped off that drive by hitting Romeo Doubs on a 10-yard out-route right at the pylon. It was the type of catch Doubs has become notorious for making and the ball placement by Jordan Love was in a place where only Doubs could touch it. 

In the end, for the first time in the 2024 Training Camp, the Packers' Defense was the one doing push-ups. 

Iron Sharpens Iron

The term, "iron sharpens iron" has been a favorite of mine for years when describing competition in Packers' practice. Charles Woodson once said that facing Brett Favre in practice every day helped raise his competitive spirit. Many Packers receivers said facing Charles Woodson in practice made them better. Davante Adams and Jaire Alexander would say their battles in practice made each other better. When you get good players lining up against each other day in and day out, they're going to get competitive, and tempers are going to flare, but in the end, they're all going to be better from the experience. Iron sharpens iron. 

The first four practices of training camp, with all due respect to Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt, have not been competitive. Clifford threw seven total interceptions in just two practices to start the week. My article released Wednesday talked about how Javon Bullard and Evan Williams were getting reps with the first-team defense and how that was a rarity for the Packers to see rookies running with the 1s to start camp. I stated then, that this could be attributed to coaches getting them some time with the starters to see how they do since Jordan Love isn't on the field yet. The more experienced, true QB1 might pick them apart in practice to start camp, but the backups may not. If so, this shows a big lack of competition in camp. 

The defense was not only feasting on interceptions in practice until Saturday, but they were also enjoying racking up the sacks. As of Saturday though, the tone was a bit different. Jordan Love is a little more capable of rolling out and escaping a collapsed pocket and locating his targets. So, the defense now has to work a bit harder if they want to be celebrating sacks again so often. 

This Packers team again may be young, but they are very competitive and unlike last year, the expectations are high for how far they can get. These next few weeks of training camp are going to be fun watching how the offense and defense build off one another. Tempers will flare, and we may see Rashan Gary yelling at Matt LaFleur again, but it's all in the competitive spirit. As long as they're not hurting each other or getting in fistfights, we want those minor scuffles. We want this team to push one another and set the tone to start the season much better than we did last year. I want to see Jordan Love hitting Christian Watson deep for a touchdown. But then I want to see Jaire Alexander jump a route and take a Jordan Love pass to the house. This is practice, you learn in practice and it gets you ready for when it's you and your team vs the rest of the league. I can't wait to continue watching it all unfold to create another great Packers team. 

 

 

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Greg Meinholz is a lifelong devoted Packer fan. A contributor to CheeseheadTV as well as PackersTalk. Follow him on Twitter @gmeinholz and Bluesky @gmeinholz.bsky.social for Packers commentary, random humor, beer endorsements, and occasional Star Wars and Marvel ramblings.

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Comments (29)

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LeotisHarris's picture

July 28, 2024 at 08:41 am

Push-ups are an underappreciated total body exercise.

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Leatherhead's picture

July 28, 2024 at 07:13 pm

Pushups absolutely improve your concentration and focus.

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LLCHESTY's picture

July 28, 2024 at 10:34 pm

I talked to a S&C coach at the UW in the early '90s that believed they should have the football players rotate pushups in for benches every 3rd or 4th bench day. But he wasn't just talking regular pushups but diamonds, wides and three different inclines. I was in the Guard at the time and would switch from lifting to pushups a couple weeks before doing a PT test. I don't know if they ever tried his idea but it made sense to me at the time, though the science behind strength training is leaps and bounds more advanced than it was 30 years ago.

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tonyorth's picture

July 28, 2024 at 09:24 am

The silence from all the former Clifford and Pratt lovers has been noteworthy this week. Yeah...let's start Cliff over Love, eh? Clifford mighr actually have played himself out of a job and has looked very bad indeed.

Love owes no one an apology over his contract situation so everyone should stop wringing their hands over it. Why is it when workers have leverage everyone goes nutto, like it is some kind of wrong, but when management has leverage it's 'just business'?

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Swisch's picture

July 28, 2024 at 12:05 pm

I'm mostly glad Love signed with the Packers, but I would still be quite willing to go with Clifford/Pratt.
As late as last November, many fans were thinking that Love looked very bad indeed -- so I'm not going to get all that concerned about the first week of training camp.
I like Love a lot, and hope he isn't going diva on us. I'm rooting for him to come through for the Packers as a player and a person.
***
I do wish Love would have shown leadership in not needing to be highest paid, and instead leaving more room for the other workers on the Packers who are his teammates.
His teammates aren't likely to complain about Love taking more; but I think they would have taken notice and appreciated it greatly if Love had taken less.
As others have pointed out, that would have been highly unusual; but my hope for Love is that he is in the process of becoming uniquely excellent in performance and character.
As QB1, he has a large role in setting the tone for the team.
I'm still hoping and praying and rooting for Love -- for his sake, that of his teammates, and us as fans.

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WestCoastPackerBacker's picture

July 28, 2024 at 03:13 pm

Every player playing with Love wants to get paid when it’s their turn. They are not begrudging Love getting paid. You think somehow this one player is going to do something no one else in the league does? That’s not what leadership looks like. Leadership looks like working your butt off to develop your skills, play at a high-level, get a good contract and then continuing to work to prove deserved it. That’s exactly what number 10 has done.

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Swisch's picture

July 28, 2024 at 06:01 pm

Leadership includes being willing to go against the crowd in order to look out for your friends.
I realize it's rare. That's what makes it so awesome when we find it.
Love could have still been exceedingly wealthy at $50 million per season, but stunned all of America by saying he was taking less to look out for his teammates.
He could have been a legendary example of camaraderie and generosity, because it would have been such a unique gesture.
He could have been a folk hero, really and truly.

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13TimeChamps's picture

July 28, 2024 at 06:57 pm

Enlighten us how many times you've taken less salary in your profession so your co-workers could get paid more. You could have been a folk hero, really and truly.

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Swisch's picture

July 28, 2024 at 08:53 pm

It's not about me.
It's about us bringing out the best in each other as Americans.
Why is the favorite movie of America, "It's a Wonderful Life"? George Bailey gives up a lucrative career as a mover and shaker in Big Business to help his townsfolk to be able to own their own homes.
The affluent and supposedly successful Mr. Potter calls them a lazy and discontented rabble not worth the trouble of helping.
George Bailey gradually comes to learn that his humble Savings and Loan is actually doing as much or more than if he were building the longest bridges and the tallest skyscrapers.
Why do we love guys like that?
Also, why do we prefer Bedford Falls to Pottersville?
At least I hope this is the case, because America is moving away from the simple pleasures and neighborliness of the former into the gaudy glitz and nightmarish isolation of the latter.
This upcoming election of November 5 seems to be a referendum on the society we want.
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Another great movie with the same director, same leading star, and other shared actors, is "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."
It seems to artistically and accurately sum up the state of America these days with Big Government and Big Business in cahoots to own almost everything in our nation, and in control of the establishment media -- with the rest of us subordinate, if not servile.
I may not be in the same league as the title character when it comes to being a folk hero; I may even be mostly a schmuck; but I'll be damned if I don't try to make whatever miniscule contribution I can for a better world.
As is said so powerfully in the movie: We fight for the lost causes most of all, and for one simple rule: Love thy neighbor.
By the way, in a deleted scene that was to have been the end of the movie, the idealistic Senator gently forgives the corrupt Senator.
It's not about condemning others; it's about lifting each other up.
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For other such inspiring tales in real life, see the two-part biography of Vince Lombard from the NFL Network in honor of his 100th birthday in 2013, plus documentaries about the Packer teams that won the first two Super Bowls.
I just watched one of these programs today that had been recorded from the NFL Network, as my cable system is programmed to automatically record all things Packers.
They may also be available on YouTube.

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Bitternotsour's picture

July 28, 2024 at 09:06 pm

Dude, the favorite movie of America is likely the Fast and Furious franchise. Go sell crazy some place else.

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WestCoastPackerBacker's picture

July 28, 2024 at 03:50 pm

I wonder how many games you would be willing to go with Clifford/Pratt. All of the draft profiles I’ve read on both of them indicate neither has anNFL starter quality arm. Neither has the mobility, ability to read defenses, or ability to turn a broken play into something good. Our starter has all of that.

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Swisch's picture

July 28, 2024 at 06:07 pm

Bart Starr.
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By the way, I was a loyal and enthusiastic fan of the Packers in the 1970s and 1980s, while growing up and then working in and around Chicago.

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Untylu1968's picture

July 28, 2024 at 03:59 pm

Any credibility went out the window in your first sentence..

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Swisch's picture

July 28, 2024 at 06:13 pm

I don't understand why fellow fans of the Packers have to insult one another by attacking someone's credibility.
We can disagree without dissing each other.
It's amazing to me how any fan could write off Clifford or Pratt so easily; then again, a lot of fickle fans did the same to Love over the years.
Now, he's beyond even questioning.

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13TimeChamps's picture

July 28, 2024 at 04:02 pm

"I like Love a lot, and hope he isn't going diva on us."

You keep posting this comment. What has Love done since he was drafted that would indicate he's a diva. Because he signed his contract that his agent negotiated for him? Is Tua a diva? Is Lawrence a dive? Herbert? Jackson?

Jordan Love has done nothing except show up for work since he was drafted. His teammates seem to love him, as does the coaching staff/front office. I think it's really unfair for you to keep linking his name to the word diva in most of your recent posts.

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Swisch's picture

July 28, 2024 at 06:31 pm

I think it's fair to question Love after he held out of a contract he agreed to just a year ago.
I think it's fair to question Love for wanting to be highest paid when it means his teammates will get less, and the overall quality of the team is likely to be lowered. He can't hide behind an agent; the agent works for him.
I didn't say Love is a diva, but that I hope he isn't going diva.
We've seen good guys like Favre and Rodges go diva on us, and the result has been dysfunction with the team and disappointment on the field, with heartbreaking losses to end the season.
I said I'm rooting for Love, but also that I'm concerned.
That doesn't seem unfair at all.
***
It's worth saying I've been one of the biggest supporters of Love since he was drafted.
I wonder if that's the case with those who criticize me for even questioning Love.
I'm still supporting Love in a big way, although my confidence in his character has been shaken somewhat.
It doesn't mean I think he's a bad guy; I was just hoping for him to do something uniquely good and not settle for being like just about everyone else.
To be a champion is to dare to be exceptional.
I'm rooting for Jordan Love to be truly great on and off the field.
I want for him to be more than Favre and Rodgers, both of whom I still appreciate as a fan of the Packers. I want for him to be Bart Starr.
I hope that as Americans we're always encouraging each other not to take the path of least resistance, but to be the best of ourselves.

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13TimeChamps's picture

July 28, 2024 at 07:37 pm

"I'm still supporting Love in a big way, although my confidence in his character has been shaken somewhat."

Who the hell are you to question this young man's character? Do you know his back story? Having to deal with his police father's suicide when he was a teenager.

Seriously...just stop.

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stockholder's picture

July 28, 2024 at 12:41 pm

Love was up and Down.
Regardless -
Clifford isn't going to hold the clip board.
I'd want out- Gute opened the door.
Why bust your tale for 3rd string?
He did start strong!.

Apology ? - The lions will win the division.

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Untylu1968's picture

July 28, 2024 at 04:00 pm

Spectacular comment as always!

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packer132's picture

July 28, 2024 at 04:08 pm

Atta boy, SH. Back to your old self with the black cloud above your head. Training camp just started and you are doom and gloom. Yes, why bust your tail to compete in anything?? SMH

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TarynsEyes's picture

July 28, 2024 at 09:41 am

Please fix this site. A carrier-pigeon seems faster. It's been days now. Yikes!!!

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stockholder's picture

July 28, 2024 at 12:31 pm

I think it's slower-

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Tundraboy's picture

July 28, 2024 at 11:57 pm

I wonder of App is any better, usually not for me. I'll check.

Better but would not call it blazing.

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NFLfan's picture

July 28, 2024 at 02:16 pm

Wouldn't it be revolutionary if some of these 'team players' grabbed less $$ and spread it around?
I've been watching 'Receiver' on Netflix. I think Davante/Tyreek Hill started the WR big money demands.
As I watched the episodes Davante disappointed me with his egocentricity. I finally turned it off. How much does it take to fill up someone's need to feel ok? I bet he thought he could make Derek Carr great too. Rodgers was the same. Frequent close-ups of these egos which includes the father of Amon Ra, the father of J. Jefferson, Kittle, Deebo is making me queasy. Straight up narcissism.
Football is now about the haves (QB's/WR's) and the have nots-(RB's etc) --as another poster mentioned, it replicates corporate America where CEO's, many of whom are shameless narcissists, demand obscene compensation. We've normalized this behavior.

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Swisch's picture

July 28, 2024 at 07:40 pm

I'm with you NFLfan.
It's one thing to say we can't change everything right away about the obscene chasms between rich and poor.
I don't want to vilify the rich. I'd rather think that some of them are good people who worked hard to get where they're at, and to hope that the others among them are more misguided than misanthropic.
However, to admire greed, to glamorize it, to celebrate it, is truly sad, if not tragic.
We live in an America in which a tiny few own almost everything and the most of us own almost nothing.
Nowadays, people can't even afford to own their own home.
A more fortunate American works his fingers to the bone to pay off a bank on a 30-year mortgage; then is reduced by exorbitant taxes to practically giving it back to the bank with a reverse mortgage.
For less fortunate Americans, it's so expensive to even rent in a safe neighborhood that families are actually deep in debt. They're close to having to live in their cars, if they can afford a car.
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To avoid the horrors of socialism, we need to reform capitalism.
One way to do this, to borrow from Chesterton, is for more people to have capital.
Instead of allowing Big Business to buy off Big Government with extravagant campaign contributions and backroom deals with lobbyists to truly rig the system -- we could write the laws to favor small businesses and small governments.
It's been called distributism, but I think a much better term is localism.
It's already working in microbreweries and farmers markets. It can be done simply by not favoring the already rich, and giving fair opportunities to ordinary people of all colors.
It can be done by not rewarding and applauding greed.
By the way, the NFL could participate by sharing some of its luxury with fans by employing many of them in making NFL merchandise in urban and rural areas of America which are depressed. The players could be contributors to this cause.
Wouldn't this be better than self-righteous slogans and empty gestures?
***
In the latter half of the 1800s, a Philadelphia heiress named Katharine Drexel (1858-1955) -- whose father and uncle helped to mentor J.P. Morgan in the world of high finance -- gave up all of her fortune to help people of color.
Not only did she give her money, but she gave herself as a nun to work with Native Americans and African Americans at a time when it was not only not fashionably woke to do so, but often detestable and even dangerous.
The rich can do great things and be saintly people.
They don't even have to give away most of their fortunes, if only they would do more to share.
The main thing, though, is for them not to monopolize. Give others an opportunity.
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We can't allow the wealthy and powerful to continue to conquer us by dividing us.
Almost all Americans have been exploited down through the decades since the Industrial Revolution created the Gilded Age.
It's a big reason why so many good people of all colors are afflicted with the epidemics of addiction and divorce and diabetes 2.
When they own almost everything and we own almost nothing, they can pretty much tell us what to do at work and at home. If we get out of line according to their determination, we can easily be ruined.
These days, almost all of us are working as dependents on the plantations of a very few.
I'm not going to start a violent revolution, but on the other hand I'm not going to pretend that it's a fair system, or that I like it.
When so many are suffering and falling into desperation, it's not the people failing America but America failing we the people.
To have freedom in America, we must have fairness.
To be independent, most of us must own property.
We need good jobs to support strong families; and we need strong families for the responsibility of good jobs. We need both.
Let's do whatever little we can, as urgently as we can, to make it happen.

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LLCHESTY's picture

July 28, 2024 at 10:54 pm

They could start by ending corporate welfare. To me that starts with shining a light on the companies that don't need government handouts to be successful. Unfortunately those companies usually aren't the ones greasing political palms.

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Swisch's picture

July 29, 2024 at 11:39 am

I agree.
It seems it's Big Business that is getting the most welfare in America.

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WD's picture

July 28, 2024 at 03:34 pm

Is it true that AJ Dillon will be the first casualty of the love contract?

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Bitternotsour's picture

July 28, 2024 at 09:14 pm

It looks as though the first casualty of the Love contract will be the Colts, followed by the Vikings, Cardinals, Texans and Lions.

You should absolutely tune into the Texans game, it's going to be the Super Bowl matchup.

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