A core element of the Matt LaFleur offense is attacking the middle of the field, something that Green Bay Packers first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love did often throughout the offseason programs.
Between OTAs and minicamp there were ten total practices, five of which were open to the media. Although I was not charting every throw that Love made, I will say that the majority of Love’s pass attempts during team drills were over the middle of the field, whether that be with slants, crossers, or in-routes. I also want to point out that, in part, this was by design as the Packers go through their basic offensive installs this time of the year, which given how the LaFleur offense operates, provides ample opportunities over the middle.
Attacking the middle of the field provides the offense with YAC opportunities by getting the ball into the pass catchers’ hands while on the run and with a lot of room to operate. With the additions of rookies Luke Musgrave and Jayden Reed, two slot options, the Packers have added quite a bit more speed and YAC ability to attack the middle of the field. Christian Watson and his 4.36-speed was one of the more efficient slot targets in football last season, averaging 2.29 yards per route run, which ranked 15th among all slot receivers, according to PFF.
Play-action is also an important part of the LaFleur offense and, when done effectively, opens up the middle of the field as well, with the linebackers creeping towards the line of scrimmage. We are seeing defenses around the NFL, including the Packers, are utilizing Cover-2 schemes much more often because of its ability to limit the big play. However, where this coverage can be attacked is over the middle of the field.
The LaFleur offense stems from the Kyle Shanahan offense in San Francisco, where attacking the middle of the field was a huge part of their week-to-week game plan. Dusty Evely of Packer Report crunched the numbers and found that of the 67 quarterbacks since 2019 who had at least 100 non-RPO pass attempts that went past the line of scrimmage, Jimmy Garoppolo — the former 49ers quarterback — led that group with 58.4% of his pass attempts going to the middle of the field.
Brock Purdy, who took over for an injured Garoppolo and Trey Lance as a rookie and led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game, also had 58.4% of his pass attempts come between the numbers per PFF. This level of usage over the middle of the field will be a bit of a different approach for the Packers’ offense. While Garoppolo was frequenting the middle of the field the most, Evely found that Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, ranked 65th during that same time span out of the same 67 quarterbacks.
Although there may be the opportunity to exploit defenses and YAC potential over the middle, there can also be congestion and crowded passing lanes, which can lead to interceptions. For a Packers team where the margin for error is likely very small, Love and his decision-making will have to be sound because this probably won’t be an offense that will be able to overcome losing the turnover battle frequently.
With Love under center this season, there, of course, are going to be some differences in how this Packers offense operates. Given what took place over the last month of practices, along with how we’ve seen the Shanahan offense really leverage the middle of the field with their quarterbacks, throwing between the numbers will be one of the more noticeable differences for the Packers in 2023.
