Jordan Love and his Packers teammates got a taste of wild success back in January, when they dominated the Cowboys and nearly upset the 49ers during their improbable playoff run. And it was supposed to be a transition kind of season.
Now, Love and the Packers are brimming with confidence. Sure, it is only late March. We’re months away from the start of the NFL season. It isn’t even time for mini camp. But that doesn’t stop the big talk. Love is thinking Super Bowl. So Green Bay fans, start looking into those flights to New Orleans.
“It’s a great feeling, man,” Love said this week on the The Pivot Podcast. “We’re all very hungry for this upcoming year. Like you said, the confidence from top to bottom is there. The organization believes that it’s the perfect time to have a chance to win a Super Bowl this year.
“Those conversations we had after that 49ers game were ‘Work harder, try and find ways to get better, because next year we’re gonna do it,’ “ Love said. “There’s no more ‘we’re a young team,’ there’s no more of those what ifs. People know what we’re about now. Obviously, we’ll have that target on our back now, people are gonna want to beat us. We’re hungry.”
It seems so long ago that Packers fans were pondering whether Green Bay could compete in a post Aaron Rodgers world. But Love matured throughout the season. He led the Packers to three straight wins to finish the regular season. They clinched the No. 7 and final seed in the NFC bracket, only to reach the divisional round.
So why are the Packers so sure of themselves right now? They opened free agency with some big signings. The main ones are running back Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney. Coincidentally, both of them were teammates at Alabama. Jacobs won the NFL rushing title two seasons ago when he was running the ball for the Raiders, Meanwhile, McKinney started at safety for the Giants.
Both said Love was a big factor in them signing with the Packers.
“Obviously, young quarterback, young skill guys, good offensive line,” Jacobs told reporters. “So, for a running back, [teams] can’t load the box, and when you do, you still got guys that can move people around. I think that’s the thing that kind of excited me the most.
“To have a guy so young and playing as well as he has, and a guy that’s going to be around for a long time, it’s fun to have something stable and know what you’re going to get out of a guy week in and week out. So that’s very exciting for me.”
McKinney added “it’s a competitive league and you need an elite quarterback to be able to even have a chance. I believe that he is an elite quarterback. Obviously, I played against him and I watched him play, and I think he’s really good and the sky’s the limit for him.”
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