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Packers QB Jordan Love reflects on his time as Aaron Rodgers' backup

The two quarterbacks take center stage on Sunday Night Football in Pittsburgh

QB Jordan Love and former Packers QB Aaron Rodgers
QB Jordan Love and former Packers QB Aaron Rodgers

GREEN BAY – It's impossible for Packers quarterback Jordan Love to fully summarize what he learned serving as Aaron Rodgers' backup for three seasons, because it went so far beyond the basics.

Certainly with everything from footwork and fundamentals, to film study and decision-making, to consistency and leadership, Rodgers provided a great example on a daily basis as Love's pro career got underway.

But Love also grew intrigued by all the other high-level, not-for-everybody elements to his game he'd see all the time – the no-look passes, tricky arm angles, off-balance throws, last-second checks at the line, cadences to keep the defense off-balance … and the list goes on.

Love isn't Rodgers, nor is he trying to be him. But as he prepares to play Rodgers' Steelers on Sunday Night Football in Pittsburgh, he reflected after practice Wednesday on their three years together and a level of influence that has pushed Love to become more than just another quarterback.

"He's one of those guys that breaks all the rules," Love said. "But at the same time it was cool for me to see some of that stuff.

"You're taught your whole life how to play the quarterback position a certain way, and you see a guy kind of break some of those rules and make some of these passes … obviously some of it is just him being a freak, being able to do stuff other people can't, very talented. But I think in the back of your head it makes you be like, 'Man, I want to try some of this stuff.'"

Love did try some of the more unconventional or daring moves on occasion in practice, but he did it as the scout-team QB, where it was "a little bit less risky," to see what might work or what wouldn't. He credited Head Coach Matt LaFleur and former QB coach Tom Clements for giving him that freedom to experiment, knowing it wasn't his primary focus but fully aware he would be in Rodgers' shoes someday.

Today, Love's grateful for those opportunities because in Year 3 as the Packers' starter he's off to his best beginning to date, with a 108.1 passer rating, 69.3% completion rate and 10 touchdowns against just two interceptions through six games.

During his maturation process under Rodgers, there were plenty of times Love was told to simplify the game and not overthink it or try to play the way Rodgers did. But the chance to use the practice field at times for some trial-and-error helped him see and process the game more like Rodgers did, and that became part of his growth.

"A-Rod was obviously at a different level, so it's something I had to build up into," Love said. "But it was cool to be able to watch him do some things, and it just gave me perspective on how to play the position and how to be able to handle a lot of different things."

Their respective games will be front and center Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium in front of what promises to be a massive national TV audience.

Rodgers, whose 15 years as Green Bay's starter included four league MVP awards and a Super Bowl title, was traded by the Packers three years ago to make way for Love. He told the Pittsburgh media this is not a "revenge game" for him and he's looking forward to seeing a lot of former teammates he considers friends.

Love definitely qualifies, as the two still keep in touch periodically via text and by getting together in the offseason. Love even took a page out of Rodgers' book Wednesday by downplaying the head-to-head quarterback matchup and stressing each QB is going against the other team's defense.

That's how Rodgers used to talk about big matchups when the opposing QB was another future Hall of Famer like Tom Brady or Drew Brees or … the longtime Packers QB he replaced, Brett Favre.

It's been well-documented how the two starter-backup relationships were very different, mostly because Rodgers made sure to welcome Love to the team in a way Favre didn't.

Rodgers also made sure Love wasn't just a listener and spectator during film sessions in the quarterback meeting room, as Love was initially reluctant to be asking too many questions that might interfere with Rodgers' game preparation.

"I was real quiet in the quarterback room," Love confessed. "I was trying to just sit back and watch him. I tried to stay in my lane, but A-Rod was great at trying to find ways to incorporate me into the room and give me little pointers.

"And I think as the years went on, the relationship got better. I kept trying to ask him more questions and pick his brain on things. It's definitely something I had to work my way up and talk more in the room."

Now all that seems like a long time ago, as both quarterbacks currently have their teams in first place in the respective North divisions.

Love said multiple times how much he's looking forward to seeing Rodgers in Pittsburgh and competing against him. All the hype surrounding the matchup is beyond his control, but he expects it to be a "fun game."

It can't be easy to take the field against his mentor, but Love has been in tough spots before. Having to step into Rodgers' huddle three years ago was no simple task either, but he took the right approach then and will do so again Sunday.

"It was definitely difficult … understanding who you're taking over for," Love said. "The main thing for me was just trying to block all that out and understand that for me, this is a great opportunity. Something I've been waiting for, for three years behind him, watching him.

"So I knew in the back of my head I was ready, and (I focused on) how best can I go out there and try to block all that extra noise out and just play my game, and make my own name here."

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