With Aaron Rodgers out of Green Bay and Jordan Love taking over as QB1, there is a lot of speculation on how Love will perform in his first full year as the starter. He could have a surprisingly good, MVP-type season. Or he could bomb. Even though we can’t predict how he’ll perform with any certainty, we can confidently say that the chemistry developing between him and his teammates can make a positive impact on his performance by Week 1.
Christian Watson is a good example of this type of connection. For a guy only in his second year to be coaching up the rookies and talking routes with Love during practice, it shows that he wants to help make it easier for Love to find him on the field and to build the type of rapport with Love that Davante Adams built with Aaron Rodgers.
If you go back and watch plays where Rodgers and Adams connected on passes, often Rodgers would throw to a spot that he knew Adams could get to instead of either where he already was or what the initial play called for.
Romeo Doubs and Jaire Alexander have also developed chemistry with Love, which may improve both of their performances.
In a recent interview, Alexander stated that when Doubs caught a touchdown on him during practice, he wanted to give him a hug and congratulate Doubs because he didn’t catch anything against Alexander last year.
Keep in mind that Alexander is an All-Pro defensive back, so the more reps that Love and Doubs can get while practicing with him will only help them get ready for league play. Also, it seems pretty clear that repetitions have been working. Alexander interrupted Love during an interview, calling him “the best QB in the league, right here.”
Even though Alexander is arguably the best player on the defense, Aaron Jones may be the best player on the offense right now. He’s one of the top running backs in the league. He made it very clear that he and the rest of the team will support Love.
“Guys are in here telling him, ‘Jordan, we got your back,’” Jones said. “‘We’re going to make this easy for you as you’re going to make this easy for us, and we’re all going to feed off of each other.’”
He actually wanted to build that chemistry with Love so much so that the two spent the offseason in California training together.
Just because Love is building chemistry with his Packers teammates doesn’t mean that he will have a good season. But it will help him develop into the quarterback that Green Bay needs. Firstly, building chemistry between teammates can improve communication and reaction time because it will allow them to determine what to expect from each other and how they can impact each other’s performance. That’s how development works, combining your strengths and weaknesses with others’ strengths and weaknesses to learn and evolve yourself and your team.
Secondly, chemistry between athletes in team sports is important because it often manifests as passion. If they go to battle for their fellow teammates, they are much more likely to execute at a higher level because they don’t want to let others down. If they play or go to battle just for themselves or their own gain, they can develop an ego that can hinder their overall effort.
Lastly, with strong communication and passion for your squadmates, you can build up a large support structure within the team that picks players up when they’re down. It can boost confidence and give players a sense of family within the team. When players feel great, they play great.
It would be awesome to see Jordan Love march into Soldier Field on September 10 and throw for 350 yards and four touchdowns. But, in reality, it will most likely take time during the season for these guys to develop the level of chemistry that can lead to steady success.
It may also take a few years for these guys to develop the type of chemistry that Rodgers and Adams shared with each other. If the Packers start off slow, just be patient. Because if the chemistry is as good as it looks right now between Jordan Love and the rest of the squad, then watch out.
