Preston Smith appeared on NFL Total Access recently and talked about the Green Bay Packers’ upcoming season. The Packers’ offseason has been anything but simple. The offseason started with the situation surrounding Aaron Rodgers and once he was traded to the Jets all eyes were on Jordan Love. Preston Smith got a chance to talk about what the team’s confidence level and perception of Love is as well as discuss the Green Bay Packers’ defense in 2023.
Preston Smith’s Comments on Jordan Love
Obviously, Preston Smith, and other players in the building, are better judges of Jordan Love’s ability than any insider or fan. Just last week Jaire Alexander was praising Jordan Love, so the team clearly has confidence in his ability. Smith went a little deeper into what the team sees in their new quarterback and his potential.
“Most people didn’t get a chance to really see Jordan and what he had to do. Us seeing him in practice, going against the scout team last year and when he got the chance. Jordan has a lot of ability, and we have a lot of confidence in him. He has a lot of things that could help this team and we feel like he has a lot of confidence. I feel like this is going to be a year for people to see what Jordan is really made of.”
“I believe he has a lot of potential, athletic ability, throwing ability and, overall, he has a lot of great quarterback attributes. I feel like he’ll be great. You just have to let him get in there and get comfortable and get the floor. I have seen him make some great athletic throws. I’ve seen him do a lot of things in practice where I was like, ‘Aye, that kid is almost ready’ in the past. I feel like, now, the Packers believe in him, the team believes in him, a lot of guys believe in him. We believe he’s ready to lead this team on offense.”
Preston Smith makes a very good point. No one really knows what Jordan Love can do. He has made one career start and it was on the road against the Chiefs. He has seen limited game action, but last year he opened some eyes in Philadelphia. Love came in for an injured Aaron Rodgers and played great. Smith also talked about the expectations being put on Jordan Love after taking over for 30 years of Hall of Fame quarterback play for the Green Bay Packers.
“Aaron has been here for 18 years, right? 18 seasons and when you hear about the Packers, it’s Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Now, there’s a new face at quarterback and now there’s more attention that needs to be brought to the quarterback position because before Aaron it was Brett. Then it was from Brett to Aaron, to now it’s Jordan, and if he’s going to live up to the legendary status and fall in line of the legends that came before him.”
Jordan Love has pressure on him that other young quarterbacks do not. Not many quarterbacks are going to have to deal with taking over for a Hall of Fame quarterback, let alone follow two Hall of Fame quarterbacks. That type of pressure can both help and hurt Jordan Love, but he seems to have the confidence of the guys in the locker room.
Green Bay Packers Defense
While Preston Smith and the Green Bay Packers have belief in Jordan Love, he understands that he is going to take time to get comfortable. That puts more pressure on his defense.
“Well, personally, we feel like last year was one of our best seasons as a defense. With so much talent on our defense, we know we have to step it up a lot, and knowing we have a young quarterback, we have to be tremendous this year. We have to make sure we step up and do our part to help [Love] to get comfortable out there on the field. Help him get the ball in great situations and get stops to let him get comfortable back there and make sure we put him in great situations.”
“It’s not just about him putting us in great situations, but helping us be comfortable to put him in great situations with the ball in great field position and getting stops. So he can go down the field and get us touchdowns and do his thing and gain his confidence throughout the season.”
The Green Bay Packers’ defense played well toward the end of the season and will look to reload and continue in 2023. They will be getting Eric Stokes and Rashan Gary back. They added an athletic pass rusher when they added Lukas Van Ness. They have plenty of potential, but they have to put it all together.
As Always
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