Paul Bretl | 9/9/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers will reportedly be without quarterback Jordan Love for “about three weeks,” as Ian Rapoport put it, with him recovering from an MCL sprain.
Filling in for Love until he returns—whenever that may be—will be Malik Willis said Matt LaFleur on Monday—assuming Love is unable to play.
“I couldn’t give you a percentage,” said Matt LaFleur when asked about the chances of Love playing Sunday, “but if he gets cleared, we’ll give him every opportunity like we always will. I know he’s doing everything in his power.
“I know he’s spending a lot of time trying to get back as soon as possible. But certainly we’re not going to put him in a position where if he can’t protect himself that he’d go out there.
Although Sean Clifford does have more experience in the LaFleur system than Willis, the Packers wouldn’t have named Willis the backup for their Week 1 matchup with Philadelphia if they didn’t believe he couldn’t handle any potential playing time that came his way.
Willis has only been with the Packers for exactly two weeks on Monday after the team acquired him in a trade from the Tennessee Titans for a seventh-round pick prior to roster cuts taking place.
“I think he’s put a lot of time and effort into this thing,” said LaFleur. “He’s grinded, he’s learned the terminology and is able to spit out the play calls, and we’ve got confidence in him. I think if he’s given a full week of preparation, a full week of practice, I’ve got confidence he’ll go out there and perform at a high level.”
The challenge, of course, for Willis during his short time in Green Bay has been getting acclimated to a new offense on the fly and with little runway to get those valuable reps in. Up to the Packers leaving for Brazil last week, there had only been a handful of practices for Willis to take part in.
“It’s kinda just cramming it in and just seeing what he can handle, seeing what he likes, what he’s familiar with and kinda building from there,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich. “You don’t have to put the whole playbook in for him, but you can kinda just find out his favorite plays, what he likes to do and go from there as you progress throughout the season.”
Helping Willis navigate this steep and fast moving learning curve is that this is now the fourth offense he’s had to learn in just his third NFL season. While that certainly isn’t ideal when it comes to his development, it has taught Willis how to adjust and do so rather quickly.
There also happens to be overlap between what the Packers are asking of him and what he did initially in Tennessee when he was first drafted by the Titans.
“It’s a lot of carryover,” said Willis at his locker. “It’s like transferring schools but they have a test when you come in and they’ve been studying certain material. I’ve been studying material – it’s NFL football – but it’s different terminology and a different system.
“I’ve been in systems that are more similar than this and there’s a lot of carryover. It’s really just getting those terms together and connecting the dots. It’s not new information so it’s not as much as your perceived notion of it.”
To state the obvious, Willis’ career up to this point hasn’t gone as planned. A former third-round pick, during his first three seasons with the Titans, Willis appeared in 12 games completing only 52 percent of his 67 passes at only 5.2 yards per attempt with no touchdowns and three interceptions.
However, what intrigued GM Brian Gutekunst to make the trade for Willis was the big step forward he took during the preseason. Over those three games with the Titans, Willis completed 74.1 percent of his 27 throws at 7.6 yards per attempt with two touchdowns to one interception, along with rushing for 101 yards at 9.2 yards per carry.
That progress Willis made this summer, and not only in the final numbers he produced but in how he acclimated himself to the new offense and the process component of playing the quarterback position, is what really stood out to Gutekunst. That growth coupled with Willis’ big arm and ability to make plays with his legs are what sparked the Packers’ pursuit.
“I thought this year in particular,” said Gutekunst “and there was a coaching staff change as well, took over the new system, but the way he kind of–his patience, the way he was going through his progressions and able to play from the pocket. When to run, when not to run–those kind of things.
“I thought, again, it’s a short sample size in the preseason, but I thought he did a nice job. Just again, I think his ability to win with his arm and with his legs was something that attracted us to him.”
With a new team and a new offense, along with Willis still being an unproven quarterback at the NFL level, LaFleur and his ability as a game-planner is going to have to shoulder quite a bit of the burden when it comes to getting Willis ready to execute as a starter.
As Stenavich said, Willis doesn’t necessarily have to know the ins and outs of the entire playbook at this time, but LaFleur has to put together a manageable game plan that works to Willis’ strengths and puts him in a position to be able to execute on those abilities routinely. Oftentimes it is familiar situations that can lead to fast and confident play.
Not having Love is also going to require some additional heavy lifting from the rest of the Packers’ offense. This means the offensive line giving Willis time in the pocket. It means having a run game to lean to avoid predictable passing situations, along with the pass-catchers creating consistent separation and picking up yards after the catch to help move the ball.
The Packers took a swing and bet on Willis’ traits when making the trade. Now it’s up to LaFleur to get the most out him until Love returns in a few weeks.
“He’s always shown the traits,” said Gutekunst. “He’s a really good athlete. A very strong athlete. Strong arm. Able to make all the throws.”