Last week on NFL Live, while talking about the Green Bay Packers, Booger McFarland paused and asked Dan Orlovsky a question.
“Dan, I’d love to hear your opinion on this…you’re right the second half of last season Jordan Love took his game to the next level so now what’s next for him? I think the next thing for him is regardless of man, zone, regardless of the coverage in crunch time can we win because of you not because of the system? Can you go above the x’s and o’s and start to make plays because of your performance? That’s what the great ones do.”
Without hesitating Orlovsky fired back.
“Here’s the thing with that Boog, in this system, the Kyle Shanahan system, I often say quarterbacks that are the best at it let the system be the star. So if you’re Jordan Love you got to continue to let Matt LaFleur and the play calling and the system be the star and then in moments certainly have those big time performances, but if he makes it about me and my growth and my development that’s when I think he can get himself into trouble this year.”
Orlovsky is properly stating what those close to the team and within the organization have known for a long time. This team is no longer about quarterback star power and that’s how they want it.
The most successful offensive football in the NFL(outside of having Patrick Mahomes) is being played in cities with young head coaches running modern systems. We knew for years that Aaron Rodgers and LaFleur were not a match. We knew the moment Rogers was gone we would see what LaFleur truly wanted things to look like. Last year was a glimpse that they are headed in the right direction.
So instead of trying to create another Rodgers the organization is smart to allow the coach, the system, and the quarterback to exist in a partnership that elevates the whole offense.
They had a run in Love’s debut campaign with unproven players all over the field, nearly as exhilarating as any they had during Rodgers last run. If Lafluer’s system can star and Love can grow they have a strong chance to outdo those great Packer teams that couldn’t get a title.
