To Keep Pressure Off Love, Pressure’s On Myers

When Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love faced the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021, he was blitzed on 21 of 39 dropbacks.

That’s how esteemed defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo rolls. One of the most aggressive coordinators in the game – the Chiefs rank sixth in blitz rate this season – he’s the architect of defenses that have won two Super Bowls and advanced to at least the AFC Championship Game in each of his first four seasons with the team.

“Whether it’s corner blitzes, nickel pressure, safety pressure, they’ll blitz the linebackers, they’ll have different front structures,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “They do a good job of playing multiple personnel groupings to whatever you put out there. I’ve been going against Spags for years now, and I think he’s one of the best in the business.”

Spagnuolo’s blitz-heavy schemes won’t just test Love. They’ll test Josh Myers, who like most centers is the first line of defense as far as making line-of-scrimmage adjustments.

“I’m in charge of the calls – run and pass – and then I’m able to be trumped by the quarterback at any point,” Myers explained. “So, if there needs to be an adjustment or whatever, then he makes it.”

As the point man for getting the offensive line organized to combat whatever challenges the defense is presenting, every week means extensive study for Myers. This week is a bigger challenge than usual, though, given the history of Spagnuolo and the power of a pass rush that ranks second in sack percentage.

“It certainly is,” Myers said. “They’ve got a lot of looks, they run them well, they disguise them well. They play super-hard. This is a tough defense. So, yeah, there’s definitely a lot of preparation going into this game.”

The offseason transition at quarterback from four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers to first-time starter Love wasn’t just about the ability to throw with accuracy while making the right coverage reads. It also was about handlin the mental gymnastics at the line of scrimmage.

With 15 years as the starter, Rodgers had seen every conceivable look countless times. There were times when he’d leave defenders confounded because he knew the blitz that was coming before the defense had even lined up. He almost never was fooled, which is why opponents typically blitzed the Packers less frequently than other teams.

It’s been a different story this year. According to Pro Football Reference, the Packers were blitzed 137 times last year. This year, they’ve already been blitzed 130 times. That’s a pace of 201. The change in approach stands to reason, with coordinators like Spagnuolo wanting to put Love to the test.

So far, the new battery of Myers and Love has held up well. Even without premier left tackle David Bakhtiari after Week 1, Green Bay’s offense has the sixth-lowest sack percentage.

“He’s done a really good job this entire season handling all that – the protection calls and adjustments and things like that,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said of Myers. “And Jordan has, as well. We put a lot on those guys’ plate to get the protection with all the adjustments, get everyone on the right page. He’s done a great job with that, but we’ll be tested a lot this week, so it’ll be a good one.”

No offense is going to get it right every time. A defense can have multiple blitzes (or non-blitzes) from the same look. Stenavich said 60 percent or 70 percent accuracy is good.

That doesn’t mean all hell breaks loose on the rest of the snaps.

“As long as everyone’s on the same page with the adjustments and the quarterback knows where he’s hot, it usually works out OK,” he explained. “The times you get in trouble is when you cut a guy lose or half the line’s going one way and the other half’s going the other, or the back’s not on the same page as the offensive linemen. That’s usually where the protection breakdowns come from, but we’ve been doing a good job so far of staying on point.”

Myers has been the quarterback of the offensive line, so to speak, dating to his days at Ohio State. It’s his favorite part of being a center.

“Targeting-wise,” he said, “I’ve felt pretty good this year.”

Stenavich said the offensive line and quarterbacks meet “several” times every week to watch film and discuss protection adjustments.

Ultimately, on Sunday, it’s up to Myers to put hours upon hours of preparation focused on blitz looks and third-down packages to work. All while crouched over the ball and with linebackers and perhaps defensive backs moving around the line of scrimmage to hopefully sew the seeds of confusion in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse.

“Depending on the call we have on it, it certainly can be,” he said. “There are times where we all have to flip the call because they’re walking around. But there are also calls where we’ll make it and, really, they’re just wasting their time and it doesn’t matter. So, it kind of just depends on the call, you know what I mean? But, yeah, we certainly have to adjust that sometimes.”