Jordan Love may be hurt by the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator and other players if he fumbles in week seven.
The Green Bay Packers offense is in desperate need of a spark as we enter Week 2. Jordan Love, the quarterback, sprints and scrambles for a gain of 24 yards to deliver it. He has to decide whether to slide or try to gain a few more yards as defenders close in on him. He stumbles forward, takes the blows from the defenders, and makes an effort to gain more ground.
Matt LaFleur, the head coach of the Packers, encourages Love to slide the next time after returning to the sidelines. Love responds, “The team needed some juice,” and he supplied it to them.
Love has carried the ball 18 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns this season. Love, a quarterback who can make plays with his feet and isn’t scared of contact, is an athletic quarterback who isn’t as mobile as Lamar Jackson but still has good mobility.
And the Denver Broncos are prepared to injure him on Sunday if he rushes (without sliding), as they are aware of this.
Denver Broncos Players Are Hoping to Put the Hurt on Green Bay Packers Quarterback Jordan Love
To be clear, there is a significant distinction between “hurt” and “injured,” particularly in the context of the NFL. The Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson wrote that the Broncos are not trying to hurt Love, but that their defense wants to make him “think twice” before sprinting without sliding.
Veteran Denver defensive tackle Mike Purcell told reporters about the team:
“You make the quarterback suffer the price if he refuses to slide, per se, certainly within reason. So, you try your luck whenever you can. That is his decision. Of course, it’s our responsibility to stop them, but if he refuses to slide and we have the opportunity to shoot, we will.
Defensive coordinator Matt Henningsen added:
Being a young quarterback, he has strong legs and the ability to run with the ball. He runs around. He can take a hit since he doesn’t like to slide, so we must absolutely counteract that. … If he refuses to surrender, we must stop him; simply knock him to the ground and strike him; perhaps the next time, he will slide.
You approach [quarterbacks who don’t slide] as a runner, a running back, even though you’re plainly not looking for him. They are exactly that. They won’t receive that protection if they aren’t sliding and aren’t shielding themselves. Young quarterbacks typically don’t slide as much, but as they age, this tendency increases. That’s how it is.
Darmarri Mathis and Jonathon Cooper, two defensive backs for the Broncos, were also mentioned in the story as saying they intended to deal with Love physically if he decided to run.
Once more, there is a distinction between hurting and injuring the quarterback. However, it goes without saying that head coach Sean Payton is fully aware of that. Due to the infamous Bountygate affair, in which his defense was accused of going after quarterbacks with the intent to damage them, the former head coach of the New Orleans Saints was suspended by the NFL for a whole season.
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