Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK

Packers QB Jordan Love admits to making a 'mortal sin' at OTAs

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 6/9/23

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love isn't going to be perfect, especially compared to his predecessor, Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers was known for his uncanny ability to rarely throw interceptions — sometimes to the detriment of the offense's production.

Love was drafted by the Packers and tabbed to be Rodgers' successor because of his athleticism as well as his "gunslinger" mentality. The Packers are hoping he'll be more Patrick Mahomes and less Brett Favre in that regard, but that doesn't mean Love won't throw picks and make errors.

Love, unfortunately, made such a mistake in a recent OTA, though.

Jordan Love on the run to his right, throws across his body deep into the end zone over the middle and Tarvarius Moore jumps in front of Christian Watson for the interception.

Practice ends on that.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) June 6, 2023

It was so egregious, apparently, that he felt the need to be frank about it with reporters in Green Bay.

"That's a mortal sin — late and over the middle. That's exactly what I did," Love said, via Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. "There is a time and a place depending on the coverage, things that are going on, if the DB falls. Given the circumstances, that was exactly a mortal sin right there. Late, over the middle, ball kind of floats [and] the DB has a chance to go get it."

Especially in OTAs, where players are trying to improve rapport and figure out their rhythm going into the season, interceptions aren't anything to worry about. It's one thing to throw a pick that seals a game, and it's another to throw one to your defensive teammate while trying out a concept in practice.

What no quarterback should ever do, though — whether in practice or in a game — is throw across his body. That's bad fundamentals, and it leads to interceptions more than not, especially at the NFL level.

Love will need to clean up that decision-making if he wants to have a successful campaign in his first official season as the starter in Green Bay. He'll already have all the pressure in the world on him trying to replace Rodgers, who replaced Favre.

The chances Love becomes Green Bay's third straight Hall of Fame quarterback are slim, but in order to be a good starting quarterback for the Packers, he'll have to avoid doing things he knows will lead to disastrous results.

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