Green Bay Packers: Is it Time to Start Jordan Love?

 

Let me start out by making something clear - I don't blame Aaron Rodgers for the Packers' 3-5 start and four game losing streak.

Title Town USA has a lot of problems - lack of talent/experience at wide receiver, injuries and a defense that (STILL) can't seem to stop the run. These things have also contributed to an offense that has become both stagnant and predictable.

However, while the 4-time league MVP isn't part of the problem (at least when he's healthy), that doesn't necessarily mean he's the solution either.

There's still a lot of football left to be played and it's hard to say the Packers should give up on their season when there are still nine games left in the season. However, there are just too many reasons to believe the team isn't going to be able to turn this around in time to make any real impact.

Ultimately, Green Bay has three options. They can hope something clicks with a player or players on their current roster and that's enough to start a win streak. They can give up draft picks to bring in mid-level talent and hope that will be enough to turn things around. Or they can focus on building for the future and put Rodgers' heir apparent, Jordan Love, behind center.

There are a couple reasons why Jordan Love would be the right call at this stage.

First, the Packers will soon need to decide on his fifth-year option and the guaranteed money that goes with it. At this point, all they have to go on is what they've seen in practice, what they've seen in preseason against shell defenses and his one NFL start against the Kansas City Chiefs last year. 

Starting him on a bad team probably isn't going to be a great way to evaluate him but, at minimum, the Packers would be able to see if there's a dramatic difference between him and Rodgers. If he's throwing interceptions on every play, for example, then it might be enough of a talent difference to make them think twice about committing more time/money to him. If the production level remains about the same, then a fifth year might be worth it.

There's also a very real possibility Love outplays Rodgers. Yeah, Rodgers still has the better arm, but Love would have a lot more mobility and would be a threat to run the ball. You don't see Rodgers scramble as much as he used to because of his age and there have been times when that has left him a sitting duck in the pocket. A dual threat at quarterback might be what this team needs at this point.

The idea of Rodgers sitting on the bench hurts, especially since he'd be a very highly paid backup. However, unless this team truly believe they are going to turn things around enough to have a legitimate chance of making the Super Bowl, they are better off using this season to figure out their future.