Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love will be taking over as the team’s starter this season replacing future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers. Thus far, Love has started just one game in the NFL during his first three seasons which he spent learning behind Rodgers. Now it’s time to see what Love can do.
But what would constitute a successful first season as a starter for Love?
Following Aaron Rodgers
Obviously, Love will not be the next Aaron Rodgers. Few people except Love to be ready to play at the level Rodgers played at during his four MVP seasons in his first year as a starter. That’s just not realistic. But even Rodgers himself had his struggles in 2008 when he took over for Brett Favre.
Although the Packers finished 6-10 that year, Rodgers showed the team he was ready to be a quality starter in the league. He threw for 4,028 yards, 28 touchdowns and 13 interceptions which gave him a quarterback rating of 93.8. By midseason, the Packers had signed A-Rod to a contract extension that showed they were committed to him as their starter for the foreseeable future.
Despite the strong overall numbers, Rodgers still had his struggles as a first-year starter. His biggest area of concern came in the red zone and as a result, the Packers lost 10 games despite outscoring their opponents by 39 points over the course of the season. Seven of their 10 losses came by four points or less.
Green Bay Packers QB, Jordan Love’s Potential
If Jordan Love can also show can be a quality starting quarterback in this league and looks better at the end of the season than he did at the beginning, that will be deemed a successful season. There will almost certainly be growing pains as Love learns what it takes to play in this league. How he responds when things break down and he gets frustrated will be an important factor in his success. How does he lead? How does he adjust? How often does he repeat the same mistakes? These are key questions that Love needs to answer in his first year as a starter.
Obviously, if the Packers make the playoffs this year, that will be a successful season for the new starting quarterback, but that’s not the only way he can prove he’s equal to the task. If Love shows ability, growth and leadership over the course of the season, he will earn another season to prove he can be the next quality quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. If he can do that while putting up respectable numbers, Love’s first season as the starter in Green Bay will be considered a success.
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