When the Indianapolis Colts play, will Jordan Love suit up? Malik Willis, will it be?
Nothing ‘Questionable’ About Packers’ Jordan Love Strategy
Will Jordan Love play against the Indianapolis Colts? Will it be Malik Willis? Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur is doing what he can to create at least a little doubt.
If the goal for Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur is to sow the seeds of uncertainty by listing quarterback Jordan Love as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, it’s working.
At least a little.
“It’s interesting,” Colts coach Shane Steichen told reporters in Indianapolis on Friday. “Obviously, you’ve got to prepare for both, right? Whether Love possibly plays or Malik (Willis) plays, obviously, you’ve got to have a plan for both because they’ve got different styles. So, defensively, we’ve got to be all over whoever’s out there.”
After suffering a knee injury against the Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paulo exactly one week ago, Love did not practice all week. LaFleur’s gamesmanship notwithstanding, it seems exceedingly likely that Willis is going to get the start at Lambeau Field.
To prepare for Sunday, the Colts can lean on the large volume of information they have on Love. He started 19 games last season. Given his prolific end to the season, Colts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley logically would have spent part of the offseason focusing on Green Bay’s stretch run in putting together a preliminary game plan.
The Colts have no Packers-specific information at all on Willis, who was acquired in a trade 18 days ago.
“That’s fair to say,” Steichen said.
What Bradley and his staff have been doing is examining Willis’ strengths and studying Green Bay’s bread-and-butter offensive schemes to triangulate how LaFleur might attack.
“Right now, we’re studying Malik and getting prepared for him (and) kind of the style when he did play,” Bradley told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s tough, right? You don’t know exactly (how) they (are) going to utilize him.
“Some of the skill-set that he had from college? Are they going to have him be the quarterback and then say, ‘Hey, this is our system. Let’s go operate it, but we may throw a few wrinkles or two in there.’ So, we’re looking at him now, just the style of play, the athleticism that he has and the styles of throw that he makes and what he’s good at. Then we’re getting back to really the scheme that Green Bay is running.”
It goes against Green Bay’s way of doing business for Love to play on Sunday. The Packers are conservative in their return-to-play policy, regardless of circumstances. While the Packers don’t want to fall into an 0-2 hole, this isn’t exactly a do-or-die game, either. There’s no need to turn a three-week injury into an eight-week injury, which really would torpedo the season.
And, of course, there are 220 million reasons not to rush the face-of-the-franchise quarterback on the field.
Willis gives the Packers at least a credible option. While he struggled in three starts as a rookie – he failed to reach 100 passing yards in any of those games in 2022 – he’s a former third-round pick with an excellent combination of arm strength and athletic ability.
“He likes to escape the pocket. He’s really good with it – escaping the pocket and trying to extend plays,” Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. “We’ve got to do a good job upfront when we get the opportunity to rush him, to really keep him in the pocket and keep him contained in there.
“We’re expecting, obviously, a heavy run game, especially with what we put on film last week because they’ve got Josh Jacobs and he’s a really good back. They probably don’t want to put the game in Malik Willis’ hands. So, just expecting a lot of run game.”
Last week, the San Francisco 49ers ruled out star running back Christian McCaffrey about 90 minutes before their Monday night kickoff against the New York Jets. As it turns out, backup running back Jordan Mason knew on Friday that he’d be starting.
If that sounds like it’s flouting the NFL’s injury rules – and it certainly does – the NFL gave the Niners a free pass on Friday.
So, what’s the harm in LaFleur creating just a sliver of doubt, even if it means potentially sending out an updated injury report on Saturday and downgrading Love to doubtful or out?
Will any of it work? Probably not, but it’s worth a shot – though the real intrigue would have been keeping the Colts guessing between Willis and Sean Clifford.
Given LaFleur’s track record, the Colts are taking nothing for granted.
“If you look at what he’s done in Green Bay (and) his history, he’s had a lot of success,” Steichen said. “Obviously, going from (Aaron) Rodgers, who’s a hell of a player, and then Love had a ton of success last year at the end of the year – and obviously Week 1. I think he does a really good job of adapting to his players. So, whoever’s out there, whether Love plays or Malik plays, we’ve just got to be ready for either one.”
