Zero2Cool
a year ago

GREEN BAY – Last summer, a group of young and hungry Packers receivers flew out to California to run routes for Jordan Love and spend some time with their new starting quarterback.

As the 2023 season enters the December stretch, Green Bay's receiving corps hasn't stopped going the extra mile to build chemistry, and camaraderie, with Love.

For the past month, Love and the wideouts have met on their own to take stock of the Packers' offense and discuss the upcoming opponent. The idea was thrown out by players in the midst of the team's four-game losing streak earlier this season.

Recent results would suggest the extra cram sessions are working. The Packers have won three of their last four, while the offense is averaging 391.0 total yards in those games.

During that stretch, Love has completed 90 of 138 passes (65.2%) for 1,107 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions for a 103.1 passer rating.


A lot has gone into the Packers' turnaround, including a shift in the team's weekly schedule, but rookie receiver Jayden Reed feels the Tuesday get-togethers between Love and the receivers have contributed to the offense's progress.

"I think that helped tremendously, just us understanding where everyone is coming from," Reed said. "We're seeing everything from the same eye when we go out there and play our opponent. Definitely is the main reason we've shown development and the way we prepare. We practice hard. We follow the game plan and we're doing much better executing."

Reed has played a big role in that. The second-round draft pick received back-to-back nominations for NFL Rookie of the Week honors after catching five passes for 84 yards and a touchdown in Pittsburgh and then amassing 92 total yards with a TD in a 23-20 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11.

Last Thursday, Reed scored the opening TD during Green Bay's 29-22 Thanksgiving win in Detroit after Love hit his 5-foot-11 receiver in stride on a 10-yard slant through heavy traffic.

Reed currently leads Green Bay with 497 receiving yards this season. His 36 catches and five receiving TDs are second only to second-year receiver Romeo Doubs.


"It definitely went straight through me and Christian (Watson) and Jordan just made a great throw. He put it right on my number," said Reed of Love's throw. "That was definitely like a catch you don't see every day. He just made a great throw and put it where I could make a play."

It hasn't just been Reed, either. Undrafted rookie Malik Heath made four catches for 46 yards in just 11 snaps against the Lions, while Christian Watson posted season highs with five catches for 94 yards and a TD.

One week earlier, it was Dontayvion Wicks' turn. The rookie fifth-round pick led the Packers with three catches for 91 yards against the Chargers. He missed the Lions game due to a concussion but has since cleared the protocol.

Wicks agrees with Reed that the extra meeting time with Love has helped Green Bay's young wideouts get on the same page with the QB. There's a free-flowing exchange of ideas, which has also promoted team bonding and cohesion.

"Just talking to the quarterback, we know what he wants. We know what he's looking for," Wicks said. "We just make our routes based off of that. We know the plays going into the week, so just studying that more and knowing the details and routes and the blocking we gotta do."


Whether it was traveling to California to run route with Love or meeting as a position after a loss in Pittsburgh, the Packers' receivers have left no stone unturned in their pursuit of improvement and the method has worked for the rookie wideouts.

Reed, Wicks and Heath have combined for 61 receptions 881 yards and six TDs through 11 games, while Love has provided a steady hand through all of it.

When the wins and production weren't there earlier this season, Love told his receivers to keep believing in and playing for each other. When necessary, Love also hasn't been shy about correcting his receivers.

The Packers' coaches have noticed a difference, too. Earlier this month, receivers coach/pass game coordinator Jason Vrable remarked the team was having some of its best practices during his time in Green Bay.

Following Monday's bonus practice, Vrable praised his wideouts for how they've attacked various points of emphasis throughout the year but also reminded them that they "have to set the standard."


That isn't always making a big catch, either. Sometimes it's as simple as a receiver running 20 yards downfield to pick up a teammate after a run or catch.

"There's just an energy and total belief in one another that's special and it's showing up more and more and more," Vrable said. "The excitement on the sideline during the Detroit game when someone else makes a catch, that stuff is infectious. Confidence is contagious and so is winning and you can see our guys starting to build that nucleus."

https://www.packers.com/news/packers-rookie-receivers-continue-to-go-the-extra-mile-2023?1 



Title isn't accurate. Read the article. It's good.
UserPostedImage
yooperfan
a year ago
I love reading good news and this article is loaded with good news.
I'm excited to see these young players improve as the season winds down.
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dfosterf (25-Jul) : Resulting in an actual drop of net revenue of 12.5%. She is from Minnesota. Just sayin'
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Any plans to hold Maureen Smith (CFO) accountable for a 95% drop in investment revenue?
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : In your face, HBO!
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : @ByRyanWood Mark Murphy: “A great source of pride of mine is that we were never on Hard Knocks.”
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : *years
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : @mattschneidman Mark Murphy says he anticipates “many Packers games” being played in Germany, Ireland and/or the U.K. over the next 5-10 yea
dfosterf (25-Jul) : *cafeteria* I have hit my head also, so I sympathize
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Possibly hit his head leaning into the glass protecting the food in the cafateria
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Maybe a low flying drone
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Did Savion Williams run into a goalpost or something?
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : also, no bueno when a guy starts getting concussions right off the bat in his career
Zero2Cool (25-Jul) : Concussion is worse. Banks probably vet off day via back booboo claim
Mucky Tundra (25-Jul) : @AndyHermanNFL Jordy Nelson out at camp today. No word if he’s in play for one of the two open roster spots ; )
dfosterf (25-Jul) : Is that better or worse than Banks bad back?
Zero2Cool (25-Jul) : Savion concussion ... not good.
packerfanoutwest (24-Jul) : Aaron Rodgers’s first pass of first team period was picked off
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : tbh I didn't hear of his passing
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Cosby Show. Malcom Jamal Warner I think is real name
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : I was thinking of Ozzy and Hulk
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : Who's Theo?
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : How is Theo alliteration?
Mucky Tundra (24-Jul) : Bad week for people whose names are alliterations
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Hulk Hogan gone too.
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Oh, it's toe injury
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Hope it's not serious. that would stink
dfosterf (24-Jul) : Sounds like an ankle not a knee for Fields
dfosterf (24-Jul) : Ya Flaccp on Browns
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Maybe Tyrod Taylor instead
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : He's on Browns, right?
dfosterf (24-Jul) : They would probably go with Flacco is my guess if Fields out
dfosterf (24-Jul) : Fleece 'em again!
Zero2Cool (24-Jul) : Malik Willis might be someone Jets come after
packerfanoutwest (24-Jul) : Packers introduce 1923-inspired classic uniform, leather-look helmet
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : Both LB Quay Walker and Rookie DB Micah Robinson have passed their physicals
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : Happy to see site feels more snappy snappy
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : No sir. I did not.
dfosterf (23-Jul) : You didn't get free childcare when you were at work?
wpr (23-Jul) : These guys make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Pay for their own childcare.
dfosterf (23-Jul) : 2nd issue. Number 1 issue was no gameday childcare. 1 of 3 teams not providing it
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : Suppose if locker room is main issue, we sitting pretty
wpr (23-Jul) : I thought so Mucky. In those useless player polls GB always rates high overall. Locker is a part of it.
Mucky Tundra (23-Jul) : Wasn't the locker room just updated like 6 or 7 years ago?
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : I have forum updated on different site. We'll see how this one goes before going to that
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : Elgton Jenkins has a back injury, is expect to end contract dispute
wpr (23-Jul) : It's funny the PA complained about the locker room. It wasn't that long ago it was top shelf. Things change in a hurry.
wpr (23-Jul) : The site is much more better.
Zero2Cool (23-Jul) : NFLPA report said Packers lockerroom needed upgrade. Whining bout where you change?
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