If one were to take a quick glance across social media it would be easy to think that this year’s Green Bay Packers team is the worst football team in NFL history. The criticisms and hot takes have run wild as the packers have sputtered out of the gate to a 3-5 start.
Perhaps it was the high-profile quarterback change? Maybe it was simply the constant expectations surrounding one of the league’s most impressive and historic franchises? Whatever it was, the current mood surrounding the team is likely directly tied to flawed expectations.
This is a young team with young weapons. We all knew that would be a process. But on top of that not enough attention has been given to losing their left best playmaker, Aaron Jones, for almost the entire season thus far. This is something that Kay Adams noted as she insisted people not sleep on the Packers on her morning show Up And Adams.
“People forget that even when Aaron Rodgers was out there winning those MVPs it wasn’t all Hackett that was the reason guys.” Adams said. “Aaron Jones was a key part in making that offense go. And the Packers are not dead yet…they are 3-5, the NFC don’t tell me [it’s] not shaky on the back end…and if they beat the Steelers they’ll be right in the mix for a playoff spot.”
As Jordan love faces the constant comparisons to his predecessors, this is an incredibly important fact. Jones is the teams best playmaker and he’s just getting on the field! It is incredibly unrealistic to assess any quarterback or team without their best playmaker.
RG3 Has been pushing that same narrative for quite some time and celebrated what Jones’s return meant for Love after the win against the Rams.
Needing weapons present has been the constant refrain from team supporters. Just a week ago Brett Favre backed the young quarterback while discussing the difference in weapons between what he and Rodgers had and Jordan has.
“He[Rodgers] was loaded at receiver. Loaded. And a good, solid, consistent offensive line. Big difference from what he took over and what Jordan is taking over. And again, no offense to the guys. I think they’re young. they’re talented. But they’re young. They haven’t established themselves yet.” Favre said on Tyler Dunne’s Go Long Podcast. “They haven’t logged the miles that Sterling had logged prior to me getting there. He established himself as a true number one receiver, one of the tops in the league before I got there. So I had that to fall back on. When all else fails, throw it to Sterling and good things happen. And that was true. Jordan doesn’t have that.”
Ultimately Adams is right. The NFC isn’t anything special this season and if the Packers go and get a win against Pittsburgh on Sunday they will be at 4-5 with a serious chance to make noise. Having Jones on the field will help immensely. Hopefully, it will also help us get a realistic perspective on who Jordan Love really is as the second half of the season progresses.
