Packers insider: Love has knack for passing from different arm angles - Packers News

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GREEN BAY − Monday’s takeaways from the Green Bay Packers' training camp practice:

Jordan Love a passer of all angles

One trait as a passer that stands out about Jordan Love through 10 training camp practices is his comfort throwing from various arm angles to get the ball around pass rushers and cover men.

In just about every practice so far in camp, Love has delivered a sidearm throw or two, including on a red zone touchdown pass to Aaron Jones on Family Night. Love had another in practice Monday, when he dropped to sidearm to get the ball past Quay Walker in coverage against tight end Luke Musgrave for a touchdown on a third-and-goal from the 4 on the final play of practice.

Throwing from a variety of arm angles is something Aaron Rodgers often did in his 15 years as the Packers’ starting quarterback, as did Brett Favre before him. Patrick Mahomes probably does it more often and better than anyone in the league. But it’s not something many quarterbacks do as regularly as Love has in camp so far.

“That’s something I’ve been doing all my career,” Love said. “I pride myself being able to get balls off, and you’ve got to avoid rushers with their arms up, and O-linemen. I think it’s something I’ve gotten better at, too. Obviously Aaron did a lot of that. Just seeing him do it, it’s something I’ve gotten better at.”

On Family Night, Love dropped to a sidearm throw after breaking the pocket to his left and drifting toward the sideline. He threw sidearm and against his body to get the ball around linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, who was closing in on him.

On Monday, Love dropped to sidearm to keep the pass away from a cover man, Walker, who was on Musgrave’s hip as Love maneuvered in the pocket.

“It is a creativity, just try to find the best angle,” Love said. “There’s also a confidence thing in it, being able to know you can do it and then going out and doing it on the field.”

Love said he doesn’t include sidearm throws in his formal practice routine but experiments with them when he’s playing catch, such as before practice. Baseball infielders often have to throw sidearm while on the move, and it’s probably no coincidence that Mahomes, Rodgers and Favre played middle infield and were pitchers growing up. Love said he played baseball through middle school as a pitcher, first baseman and outfielder.

“It’s just something that naturally happens,” Love said. “I don’t really notice it sometimes, but just trying to find those angles. Some guys have it and some guys don’t.”

The Packers will be off to Cincinnati

The Packers conducted a brisk 1 hour, 21 minute practice Monday and then will have only a jog-through Tuesday before flying out in the afternoon for their joint practice with the Cincinnati Bengals on Wednesday. They then play the Bengals in their preseason opener Friday night.

Coach Matt LaFleur and Bengals coach Zac Taylor already have worked out the practice plan. The two worked together in 2017, when LaFleur was the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator and Taylor the assistant receivers coach.

“It just gives us an opportunity to bond,” LaFleur said of the trip. “That camaraderie is an important part of this process, just that team chemistry, the makeup, the more that guys hang out together, the more they get to know each other, the more they’ll fight for one another.

“It’s a unique opportunity going against one of the premier teams in the National Football League. I wish Joe (Burrow) was going to be practicing – not to say that he’s not but I’m guessing he’s not going to be. But I think it’s going to be a great test for our football team.”

Burrow, the Bengals’ quarterback, is expected to miss several more weeks of camp recovering from a strained calf muscle.

LaFleur is leaning toward playing Love and most of the other offensive starters against the Bengals on Friday night, but he said how much they play will depend in part on how Wednesday’s practice goes.

“We’ve definitely talked about (Love) going into this game and quite frankly playing everybody in this game,” LaFleur said. “There might be a select few that don’t play, but we’ll get more into it as we approach the game.”

Jordan Love throws second interception of camp

Love went into Monday with only one interception through the first eight full-speed practices of camp. But then Monday he was intercepted by Darnell Savage on the first 11-on-11 snap and was lucky to avoid another interception in the red zone period that ended practice.

Love’s previous interception was on the second day of camp, when his forced throw into a crowd was tipped by a defensive back, with the carom going to Campbell. Love also avoided a bad interception later in camp in a 2-minute drill when Walker dropped a pass that hit him in the chest.

But overall, Love has taken good care of the football. Then on the first team snap Monday, Savage jumped a slant route to Romeo Doubs and easily picked off Love’s throw.

Near the end of practice, Love was fortunate to avoid a second interception, this on a second down from the 15 in a red zone period. On the play, Love rolled to his right and threw a touch pass to Jayden Reed in the end zone. Rookie cornerback Carrington Valentine read the play well but had the ball skip off both hands as he tried to make the jumping interception. The ball went right to Reed, who made the toe-tap catch near the end line for a touchdown.

“Just have to next time in that situation just look it all the way through,” Valentine said.

Love finished Monday’s practice 6-for-11 with the one interception and four touchdowns. In a third-down period in the deep red zone (inside the 10), he went 2-for-5 with a touchdown to Reed. In the other red zone period of multiple downs and distances starting at the 18, Love went 4-for-4 with three touchdowns, including Reed’s catch of the ball that Valentine missed.

Injury update

Returned: OLB Rashan Gary (knee, off PUP), WR Grant DuBose (back, off NFI), LT David Bakhtiari (knee rest), G Elgton Jenkins (illness).

New Injury: S Innis Gaines (shoulder).

Did not practice: C Jake Hanson (elbow), TE Josiah Deguara (calf), RB Lew Nichols (shoulder).

Physically unable to perform list: CB Eric Stokes (foot/knee).

Bits and pieces

• Valentine, a seventh-round draft pick, worked extensively with the starting defense in team drills in place of Jaire Alexander, who did individual and group drills but not 11-on-11. That’s a sign Valentine is working up the depth chart, because up until Monday, Corey Ballentine was ahead of him. “I don’t know what to make of it,” Valentine said after practice. “I know they just tell me to go out there and do it. Wherever they put me in, ones, twos, threes, I just know I’m going to go out there and compete.”
• With Bakhtiari back after sitting out back-to-back practices, Zach Tom was the starting right tackle, with Yosh Nijman rotating in.
• The Packers signed running back Nate McCray (6-foot, 213) on Monday. McCray split the 2021 season between the Denver Broncos’ roster and Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad. He spent part of last season on Carolina’s practice squad and was with Cleveland this year until the Browns recently cut him.
• Kenny Clark had a sack of Love on the first play of one red zone period.
• Kicker Anders Carlson was 5-for-6 Monday on kicks ranging from 33 yards to 51 yards and going into the wind. His miss was a 45-yarder off the left upright.

More: Packers activate outside linebacker Rashan Gary from PUP list nine months after tearing his ACL

More: Here's how we see the Green Bay Packers depth chart (Aug. 7 update)

Quote of the day

“(Danny Etling) probably was coming off his best day, Family Night, ironically enough. But to your point, it is tough to rep four guys, especially when you have a young (starting) quarterback. Unfortunately, a necessary move to get everybody the amount of reps they needed.” − coach Matt LaFleur on the Packers cutting one of their three backup quarterbacks, Danny Etling, this week.

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2023-08-07 22:58:08Z

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