"Lately, I feel a surging wave of Jordan Love over-optimism among most Packers fans. While I'm all-in on Jordan Love, I do feel that many are getting way ahead of themselves."

I must admit I'm one of these "Over-optimistic" Packers fans. The biggest reason is MLF, which ties in with Al's coaching points. LaFleur DID bring a different offense to GB in 2019, one that he "Settled" on with #12. Obviously there were compromises by both AR12 and MLF, but those compromises came fewer & fewer each year with Rodgers the last couple of years. But the main reason for my optimism is when the offense is ran the way it's designed by LaFleur, it makes guys like Purdy in SF LOOK like Rodgers at times. Okay, so that's a BIT of an exaggeration but you get the idea. It's MADE for just about ANY QB to succeed. And Love will too!

Position Battles... I'm excited to watch the position battles but I'm equally excited to watch the 2nd and 3rd year jumps. As great as it will be to watch the O-Line and WRs sort things out, it will be possibly more amazing to watch jumps from guys like Watson, Doubs, Tom, Wyatt, and Quay Walker to name a few. Watching this TE group will be interesting as will the safety group. Watch Anthony Johnson...He'll knock your jockstrap off. The dude CAN tackle! #7TH ROUND STEAL.

Tom Clements... One of the absolute best things to come out of last season was Tom Clements coming back. IMO we DID see a difference in Love. While Love deserves some credit himself, Clements deserves much of it. I have a feeling this will be Clements last season in the NFL. I just hope two years with Tom Clements was enough. Hopefully the rumor I heard from a friend who has friends in the organization this will be Toms last season is wrong.

Joint Practices...As long as nobody gets hurt from EITHER side I'm okay with it. Something tells me when you have 180 young men trying to fulfil a lifelong dream, something is bound to happen. Lets hope not!

--Add D line to the list of position battles. many snaps to fill from last season (Reed, Lowry).
-- I agree, I'm also tempting my love expectations (that didn't sound right) inexperienced QB with all young receivers, I just want to see progress as season unfolds.

Great stuff again, Al.

My biggest takeaway from this comes down to the one word you brought into the conversation of many conversations. The perfect, unquantifiable and often elusive component to success: CHEMISTRY.

I believe this young Packers team has that in spades.

There are so many positions up for grabs. The competition for roster spots & starting positions alike is through the roof. Gutekunst loaded this team with quantifiable talent. High production players… abound within this 90 man roster.

Just look at the production numbers at WR with Reed & Wicks, at RB with Nichols lll, at DE/DT with Brooks, at EDGE with Van Ness. Etc. High production has become a premium these last two drafts/UDFA periods. These players walk in with innate skills to get the job done.

Do they know everything? Of course not. But, the floor with all these players appears to be high, with ample ceilings for growth. 24 new players added via the draft alone in the last 14 months, with another 11 or so projected to be added in 2024. That doesn’t count FAs/UDFAs.

The bar has been raised in competition, and every player added appears to fit what looks like a good team chemistry being built for a new era. Seeing all of this as OTAs are underway, I can’t help but feel excited about this new Packers team being assembled. (Hit it, Warren! - if you know, you know).

There is a lot to be excited about. All 3 phases of the game in Green Bay. Chemistry doesn’t just happen, but we’re seeing it forming all throughout this young team.

Well put, Al.

To sum up Al’s comments which I agree with, let’s just enjoy the ride. Hopefully we see the team come together as the season progresses. Go Pack Go! Thanks, Since ‘61

I'm always excited for training camp. I am always excited to see the new rookies and see how ready they are. I am always excited to see how the rookies from last year change for this year.
This year for me the most exciting part is seeing the influx of talent brought into the receiving positions. 3 WR's and 2 TE's from this draft. 3 rookie WR's from last years draft. Its going to be exciting to see how they look.

Love, Love, Love -
I find it funny seeing pictures of Love from over the weekend with people complaining that he was partying with his teammates. And then you have others calling him a great leader hanging with his teammates. You can take 1 picture and have many different interpretations of it. I feel like he is bonding with his teammates and that should only be a good thing. Whether this leads to wins, we have no idea. But when things get tough, times like these should help them get through them.

Boat ride -
The Love boat lol. I almost forgot about that lol.

Coaching -
A good coach adjusts their schemes their playbook around the players they have. LaFleur did that when he came to Green Bay. He set up his playbook around Rodgers. He built it around the players he had and didn't have. When they had Tyler Ervin they added the jet sweep. When they didn't have him or a player of his ability they didn't run it as much. I have no doubt that LaFleur will set up his offense around Love and his abilities. I am excited for that.

Position Group Battles -
Safety and WR are wide open. Playing time at TE and DL will be wide open as well. But I feel like there is 1 true open spot on the OL, and 2 spots that if someone emerges there will be a battle. Bakhtiari, Jenkins are penned in at LT and LG. Myers, and Runyan are penciled in at RG. And RT is open.

Joint Practices -
I think its smart having a 2nd joint practice. It will only help the team in the long run. Especially the young offense.

Zenmaster Clements -
Funny thing is I just recently had this discussion with one of my youth softball teams I coach. That it all starts with their feet. Regardless of the sport, footwork is a major key to the performance.
So my question. If footwork was all that it took for Love to improve, why didn't previous coaches work on that more? Why did it take Clements to come to get the footwork corrected?

I have to say, I find myself thinking pretty much as you do on everything you have to say. Not often I can say that about any opinion piece.

One comment on joint practices is that a major reason in their favor is particularly important with an inexperienced group. That is the insertion of unpredictability. Practices with team mates, conducted by the same coaches inevitably gradually produce less surprises and one starts to anticipate tendencies. In reality, a key ability is to see who can and learn to adapt on the fly.

Practicing against new opponents does that in lots of little ways that test actual awareness and technique. Exposure to that should help players and coaches prepare for the reality of the season better and figure out who is really ready. Yes, there are down sides to joint practices, but this year I’m definitely happy to know we are going to be participating in them.

Al's first paragraph about anticipation frames this season perfectly. I was having the same conversation with buddies of mine yesterday - this is the first season in awhile where I am truly excited about watching the Packers. The last few seasons were an odd mix of hope, dread and resignation for me as I knew the Packers would be good enough to get to the playoffs, but likely fail at a crucial point. This season is all hope and excitement. GoPackGo

Great reasons to be optimistic about Jordan Love.

First round draft choice.
Time to develop behind one of the best.
Demonstrated progression in performance.
QB friendly offensive system.
Very high potential skill position players.
Top 10 offensive line.
Great schedule and weak division (bad defenses!)

Get ready to be impressed!

Love this column as I always do even if it had a "Rocky" start, lol. I share your "...antici...pation" for the coming season. How wonderful to not have any distractions other than football at OTA's!

Though it’s only practice, I’m with MLF on joint practices. Going against your own defense doesn’t really give you a somewhat realistic view of how good your offense is. And vice versa. The caveat is a slightly increased risk of chippieness can’t be disregarded.

Love, Love, Love -
I am excited to see a new player taking the snaps in GB. I like what I have seen of JL's talents and I an bullish on his rapid ascention to NFL ready. I hope the WR and TE can keep up!

Boat ride -
The Love boat lol. Don't forget the whizzinator - that was a viqueen too!

Coaching -
Less room for optimism here, but I am hoping that MLF will bloom now without a foil at his side peddling influence. The staff certainly needs to perform better as well, from the coordinators to the position coaches there is a lot of room for improvement and they all have some really nice clay to work with. Let's hope that they are all master sculptors!

Position Group Battles -
I like a team with lots of battles in the summer. Too many "set" positions leads to complacency. I am interested to see how many "veterans days" are awarded now with AR and his lack of enthusiasm for practice gonzo. I feel that the parade to the sidelines was led by AR and that his penchant for "sitting things out" poisoned the rest of the veterans on the squad. I could see only Bakh getting a vet day off, but with his lack of playing time over the past 2 seasons, I wouldn't sit him much.

Joint Practices -
I suspect that a joint practice was a contributing factor to the downfall of Jace Sternberger. I get the purpose of a joint practice, but if you want to reduce the exhibition games (and eliminate those snaps) what is the difference between 2 sets of joint practices and a 4th exhibition game? Besides, with the term "joint practice" and the legalization of MJ, I would sweat the NFL drug testing afterwards...

Zenmaster Clements -
Tom Clements is Yoda - position feet you must... succeed or fail, there is no 'try'

Well Al, this time I believe there is not much to add to your thoughts. For me, they are all on spot (or at center of the target!).

But I want to share one of my opinion on MLF. As one of the less experienced fans and with lowest knowledge of football, I never put in doubt knowledge of MLF and his capabilities to make good play designs. What worried me was his, as it looked from time to time, complete submission to his than starter QB. I understand that he had to take in consideration some of ACR wishes regarding play design, but to allow him to constantly change the plays he called through the games was mind boggling. As his submission when ACR was injured to not overturn ACR demand to play, even injured (well, you all knows that I do not believe in broken bone, not even hairpin broke! I can accept injury, like tendon strain or partial tendon rupture, but not broke bone.)

As we all hope, now when ACR is not with the team anymore, I hope MLF will show that he can and is good HC. HC who will held everybody, and himself too, accountable and prepared for adversity that can hit the team during the season.

MLF questionable adjustments (and Joe Barry's too) at the half time is still under the question mark. But, to be honestz we do not know if he directed team in adjustments, just to be denided on the line of scrimmage. That is the big question mark.

Also, I believe that Packers decision to announce Rich Bisaccia Assistant HC was perfect use of Rich Bisaccia skills and hope that he and MLF will find a way to split the HC duty on the best possible ways for Packers.

"While I'm all-in on Jordan Love, I do feel that many are getting way ahead of themselves. "

I've been more on the "run the offense, take what the defense gives you, and make big plays when they're there to be made" side of the Love situation. He doesn't need to be 2011 ARod or 1995 Favre, he needs to be himself and be a leader who grows (quickly) into that lead dog role...but a lot of people out there are expecting ARod out of the gate. Statistically, we might get ARod 2022...but that's a start, and I think we'd all take those numbers from 10.

Boat Ride--it was a family excursion, and included wives. Players are people, too, and if you or I like spending a day on the boat chances are they do, too. People need to involve their time and respective angst for things that actually have meaning.

Coaching--bottom line here is that the Packers need to look different on both sides of the ball in 2023. They need to be more aggressive defensively--ratchet up the intensity--and they need to be efficient (7s, not 3s!) and productive offensively. The personnel have changed enough on the offensive side of the ball that they MUST evolve and look different--and if they don't, that tells you all about LaF. There haven't been the usual signs of a coach on the hot seat for LaF (churning assistants, regular questioning of job security from the media, etc.), but the NFL no longer tolerates consecutive losing seasons well.

I laughed at this fluff piece from a NY sports outlet yesterday....

https://www.wgrz.com/article/sports/locked-on/lo-new-york/ny-jets-show/n...

Position groups--OL, WR, and TE will be fun to watch this camp. I think we can probably guess what the right side of the OL will look like and be correct, but with Runyan and Nijman both in contract years--and the Packers trying to bail out their cap situation--I think they'll think long and hard before they extend them. My dark horse--based on little more than a hunch--candidate for RT is Rasheed Walker. Also interesting to note Rhyan working with the C in OTAs...maybe signaling the end of Hanson in GB (please!).

The one position group that I think WON'T be fun to watch is the S group. It could be they'll pull a quality starter out of their asses from that group, but Savage being up and down (and also in a contract year) next to a potential dart throw really points a high chance for an MD Jennings level train-wreck in the middle of the defense. I can't remember who said it, but I quote it a lot: if the middle of your defense is bad, your whole defense is bad--and S is one of those positions where one real bad S can drag down the play of the other S.

Of this, I feel confident...The Green Bay Packers team that takes the field to play the Bears in September will not be the same team that takes the field in December. Those talented youngsters we have on this roster will have months of developing their skills and fighting together as teammates. I expect dramatic improvements in these 1st and 2nd year players as they mature and develop their skills to play effectively as a unit...as a team.

Just glad and excited to see a guy listen and not some big head one just pissin!

I'm sure Clements is very good at what he does, but in reality the whole footwork thing is all about fundamentals. What Clements talks about with the footwork should be what every QB coach focuses on & with this being the NFL I'm sure every QB coach focuses on footwork. Understand....I am not questioning Clement, or his ability and I am certainly glad he is back this year working with Love and the other QB's. However, I sometimes wonder if Rodgers had not been instrumental in talking Clements up & involved in bringing him back whether Clements would get nearly the recognition he is getting. Jordan Love did look impressive in the Philly game but it was also his 3rd year in the league. No doubt he improved being in his 3rd year and with Rodgers skipping most all the offseason activities in 2022.

Regardless......

Now tomorrow is June 1st, so with the occasional comments over the past couple of months regarding David Bachtiari possibly being traded to the NY Jet's after June 1st.....will it happen, or were all those people mentioning the possible trade all wrong? I am going to be curious in the coming few days to see what happens. I'd prefer DB stay unless there is pretty good draft compensation along with a Jet's OL included. If a trade in fact did happen I'd be okay where the Jet's trade LT Becton (who has angered the Jet's coaching staff as he refuses to play RT) is included along with a draft choice in 2024. With the Packers already guaranteed the Jet's #2 pick next year with it possibly escalating to their #1 pick how any trade compensation is structured would be interesting.

I am excited about this team too. It's all on MLF. No player intimidating this year everyone is just a few years apart, age & experience. A couple "older" players sprinkled in, but overall this group has years ahead to grow & develop together. All seem to have positive outlook about their own development & sense of teamwork. A positive looking team mentality & physically. Stay healthy and this is going to be fun team support.

Al, I'm not "over-optimistic", I'm VERY optimistic. I believe Love will come out strong. I also realize that he'll have to do some high hurdles and might get tripped up now and then. I'm very optimistic that he'll get back up running.

Even experienced QBs have rough stretches they have to overcome. I don't think he'll have any trouble overcoming the pitfalls of last season, so what do we have to lose?

Very excited optimism.

This is a good and realistic article. We are likely to see more change in GB this coming season than we have in the last 4 seasons combined in my opinion.

I agree that the expectations and hype over Jordan Love are being set too high. He just hasn't seen enough reps for me to feel comfortable at this point in time. How many times have GB fans been "oversold" on many aspects of the team before the start of the next season? Look at last season where the GB defense was supposedly forecasted to be a top defense in the league? It didn't come even close to happening. I don't want to see Jordan Loves' start suffer the same fate when it doesn't have to.

There are going to be a lot of positional battles this season on this team. That, in itself, should signify to fans that we should not be overly optimistic for a favorable won-lost record. Don't believe that we will challenge for the division title as in previous years. Don't expect a playoff birth. We can want these things. Just don't expect them this season.

Significant change in GB is overdue - whether it be the QB, coaches, salaries or philosophies. Change is not bad, just inevitable. Lets accept it and keep our expectations lower this season. We will probably enjoy the season a lot more I suspect...

The over-optimism surrounding Love might be warranted if we had a more experienced receiving/TE crew. In Favre's final season, we had three WRs who tallied at least 600 yards. In Rodgers' first year as a starter, two of them accumulated over 1000 yards. I'm confident Watson could reach this if he stays healthy, but the rest of the receiving distribution is going to be a bit of a developmental smorgasbord. So cautious optimism is probably the order here.

No doubt some of these position battles will be interesting to watch, but can the winners hold them, and for how long? I'm hoping not see too much in the way of musical chairs on the OL or at safety, but we can probably expect a little of it.

Excited, no. Relieved of the Rodgers drama, yes. For me, it will be interesting to see how potential talent performs on the field. And, to see how well the coaches uses that talent. With a stable OL and good RB'S, I can see good games where the Packers will score enough to win. I think Lafleur has that ability to lead the group. On defense who knows what Barry will do. I think Barry lost his players last year with an overly cautious scheme. I see 5 - 7 games playing against subpar quarterbacks. If Barry fritters away those opportunities with cautious play, Lafleur better have a short leash and move on in mid season.

If I see that improvement, I will be optimistic.

Ignore this one

Thank you, Al! I was on another site...2 of their 5 lead articles were about Rodgers' still dragging his Packers' grudge chains through the media like Jacob Marly.

Then I come to CHTV and get analysis for the upcoming season and reasons to be optimistic...and have fun as a Packer Fan.

Like Al and many here, I am excited for this Camp...most excitement in many years. How the O comes together with Love will be fun to watch.

For me, the key to success this year will be the Defense...making camp and preseason for these players and coaches as important I can recall. The DL and S position battles are wide open.

Clark, Wyatt, Slaton, Brooks, Wooden have potential for the DL to set the tone on Defense. And if they can, more plays will be won.

Safety is going to be fascinating to watch. The talent is that room is quietly taking away my concerns of Safety as the weakest link...to maybe being a pretty good group. Savage, Ford, Owens, Johnson, Moore...some excellent skillsets to mix and match during camp. This position could surprise us.

GPG!

57+ million dollars in dead cap hits. Let’s clean that up in the future and build from there. We have a young and talented group coming up and as the cap improves then build on it.

First year starting QBs have so much to learn from playing. I expect ups and downs with a record around .500. I expect the offense will out perform the defense even with a young QB. Barry has no excuses this year.

My unfounded optimistic outlook is that I expect Love to look better in the packers offense than AR did last year. AR was king of regular season with MLF, then looked indecisive and would disappear in playoffs as he looked for only one option. So change was needed, because I just don't think the packers could win another superbowl with AR, due to ego and set in his ways. I do think AR can win elsewhere, just look at his participation in offseason this year with jets. He was an unmotivated calculating headcase and a drama queen at end with packers.

The NFL is not a static league. So for those teams/organizations/ management who are resistant to forward movement, action and change - are often left behind – chasing the game. We saw this last year in GB with a QB who was comfortable with his old habits. Also a DC who had difficulty in adjusting to opposing offenses.

This year, the potential for change is great – especially given the youth and eagerness of many of the players. I find this both refreshing and exciting. However the big question for me is what is the quality of the change management – especially the coaches? Can they facilitate the conversion of vast potential into impressive performances? Frankly, I have my doubts but I'm willing to keep an open mind.

Interesting. I didn't realize that there was a contingent of Packers fans that questioned why Jordan Love was out having fun with his teammates over the holiday weekend. I would have been more concerned if he WASN'T hanging out with his teammates. Some people are never happy.

The 'gurus' at ESPN are giving the Packers a 12% chance to win the NFC North. Lions are first. The Lions are loaded with talent and have an excellent coach, but it's nice to be underestimated. The Lions were the pick to win the North followed by the Vikes, Bears and Packers.

Dan Orlovsky at NFL Live had the guts to say the main reason for the Packers season last year was Joe Barry's 'passive' defense and I couldn't agree more. If they play that way this season then they will finish 4th. The defense has oodles of talent. Barry just has to learn to play aggressive. If you play aggressive and get beat it's understandable. Playing passive and getting beat is not understandable.

Hope y'all had a great Memorial Day Weekend!

I just got back from my first ever Helicopter Hog Hunt! Left Friday afternoon, (first time I've left the property overnight since my father passed away in May of '19.) Hunting out of the Chopper on Saturday! Came home Sunday around lunchtime... It was wicked fun!

Shout Out to OPERATION PAY IT FORWARD! (Any Veterans out there, ought to check them out!)

Note to self: Don't drink a fifth of bourbon the night before the Hunt! (Wait until after the Hunt for the real party!)

Feel like a new man though. I need to find an old, retired guy to look after the property/dogs more often, so I can get back to my old ways.

I too am very excited to see what this year brings Al... I think we'll win the division and go farther than many believe, but that's just me.

Go Pack Go!

Position battles and coaches developing everybody are everything right now. When's the last time we had that?

I hope to see everybody but veterans to play meaningful downs in preseason, that'd be a major change too.

"While you could likely blame Rodgers for that, you can't absolve LaFleur for letting it happen, HOF quarterback or not."

Absolutely!

Excited for all the change with youth & fresh faces all wanting to show what they have, as well as to prove the NFL wrong. Without question the Special teams should be better by far with the biggest question being the FG kicker and how he performs. The defense IMHO should be better even with some questions at Safety & the interior of the DL. The addition of Van Ness and several DL in the draft and the FA's at Safety encourages me combined with the growth of year 2 & 3 players. The offense is oozing talent albeit young & inexperienced talent. To properly harvest this talent and for it to grow is to properly manage/coach the talent and to play to it's strength. I have concerns with MLF being creative enough & knowing when and how often to allow this young offense to open it up. This is a team in a major transition with a look more to the future than possibly 2023. Be bold and play to the teams strengths and do not try being too conservative. The 2023 Green Bay Packers should NOT play conservatively to not lose, but instead as young talented players/team they should be taught to play to win! This is an offense that eventually will become explosive and one of the scariest offenses in the league IMO. Let's hit the ground running and keep defenses on their heels! Whatever we accomplish in 2023 is going to significantly help prepare the players/team for 2024.

I am more optimistic for this offense as a whole than I am for Love as an individual. Fun fact: Since the start of the 2017 season, theres been 6 top-10 scoring offenses with either Jimmy G or Jared Goff quarterbacking a Shanahan-style offense. Lafleur was actually the OC for the 2017 Rams team with Jared Goff and they had the #1 scoring offense in the NFL. And none of those offenses featured a dominant passing season. Goff had a couple good years but nothing crazy. The crux of the offense is efficiency through balance and creativity where everything is built through the run game. We saw some of it here in 2020 too. Love can absolutely do what Goff or Jimmy G did with those teams in this offense and its not crazy or farfetched to say so. I fully expect a top 10 offense this year. Not because Love will be some kind of revelation, but because they will finally have a balanced and complete offense capable of winning in a multitude of ways.

I like Love spending off-season time bonding with teammates. If instead, he had chosen to be reclusive and unavailable like you-know-who did, that would've played out very poorly.

Vikings' party boat. Forgot about that. BUT...it then made me remember the infamous 'whizzinator'!!

Is this - or is this not - a key question Vikings' brass ask potential draft picks during NFL combine interviews:
'Cultural fit is very important to the Vikings. Which of the following best describes what you'd bring to the team:

1) I'd resurrect the Party Boat activity
2) I'd buy each player his own whizzinator
3) I'd teach members of my position group creative ways to moon the crowd like Randy Moss did
4) Other - I'd bring a new scandal to the team. I would... (fill in the blank)