Cheese Curds, 6/5: Can Jordan Love do ‘same exact thing’ as Aaron Rodgers did in 2022?

The raw numbers for Aaron Rodgers’ 2022 season — his final year in a Green Bay Packers uniform — look oddly similar to those from his first year as a starter back in 2008. Take a look:

• 2008: 341/536, 4,038 yards, 28 TDs (5.2% TD rate), 13 INTs (2.4% INT rate), 93.8 passer rating
• 2022: 350/542, 3,695 yards, 26 TDs (4.8% TD rate), 12 INTs (2.2% INT rate), 91.1 passer rating

Those are remarkably similar numbers, though Rodgers put up the 2022 season in an environment that’s somewhat more conducive to passing than the NFL was in his rookie year. And to make matters worse, his yards per attempt number was way down at 6.8, the second-lowest mark of his career and 0.7 yards lower than that average in 2008.

The reason for presenting these numbers once again relates to Jordan Love and a certain comment from one of his young wide receivers. Romeo Doubs, in his availability during last week’s OTAs, suggested that Love can do what Rodgers did last season. As the numbers above show, he would need to put up a stat line similar to the one that his predecessor did in his own first year as a starter — hardly a given, but certainly plausible.

One way the Packers can help Love achieve that goal is to help keep him protected. But Love also needs to perform a bit better under pressure than Rodgers did last season, as we’ll see in one of the links in today’s cheese curds below. Check out that and more below, which also includes the passing of two notable people around the league over the weekend.

Packers WR Romeo Doubs believes Jordan Love can do 'same exact thing' as Aaron Rodgers | NFL.com
By "the same exact thing," Doubs apparently means he expects Love to maintain the level of play that Rodgers displayed last year. Given that 2022 was a rough season for Rodgers, putting him around the middle of the pack among NFL starting quarterbacks, that could well be an achievable goal for Love.

Jordan Love is under pressure to perform under pressure | SI.com
One area where Love could certainly improve on Rodgers’ numbers is when he’s pressured, as Rodgers was in the bottom half of the league in most metrics under those situations last year. Love’s only start (in Kansas City back in 2021) was ruined in large part by the Chiefs’ pressure packages, but hopefully the Packers will have a plan to protect him better as a full-time starter.

Packers top pick Lukas Van Ness brings power and disruption to OTAs | Packers Wire
Kenny Clark is impressed so far with Lukas Van Ness and is convinced that “he’s going to be great.” He’s also showing a good ability to diagnose plays and set the edge in the run game, which is an excellent early sign.

Norma Hunt, matriarch of Kansas City Chiefs, dies at 85 - ESPN
Norma Hunt, who was the wife of the late Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt, passed away at the age of 85 this weekend.

Former Packers scout Jesse Kaye passes away at 79 | Packers.com
Kaye was Ron Wolf's first director of pro scouting and was Ted Thompson's boss for two years, then went on to work for the Jets, where he tried hard to sell that team on drafting Tom Brady.

How Australian cyber spies used 'Rickrolling' to disrupt Islamic State militants in Iraq - ABC News
These Australians clearly decided they were never gonna run around and desert their colleagues who were fighting out on the battlefield.