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Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff Writer
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Blaine Gabbert isn’t coming back to help Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur do what they did in 2018, when he led his new team to an unlikely victory after becoming the Tennessee Titans‘ starting quarterback in Week 2 after Marcus Mariota was injured in the opener.
What Gabbert can do, however, is offer some perspective and perhaps a little comfort in knowing that Malik Willis isn’t facing an impossible task if he is indeed thrown into the QB1 spot for Sunday’s home opener against the Indianapolis Colts (1 p.m. ET, Fox) after Jordan Love suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee during Friday’s 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
After all, with LaFleur as his offensive coordinator in Tennessee, Gabbert was able to keep the Titans from an 0-2 start. The Packers haven’t started 0-2 since 2006.
“The best part about Matt is he’s going to do in his game plan what the strength of the quarterback is,” Gabbert said in a phone interview this week. “That’s the sign of a great coach, and Matt’s one of the best I’ve been around, and you’ve seen that since he’s been in Green Bay.
“So he’s going to put Malik in the best position possible. Malik still has to go out and execute that game plan. There will definitely be some bumps along the way, especially with him getting there like 15 days ago.”
At least Gabbert, who is currently unsigned after playing for the Chiefs last season, had a little more time in LaFleur’s system when he helped the Titans to a 20-17 win over the Texans, though it was his first start for Tennessee and LaFleur’s first season as a playcalling offensive coordinator.
“It’s not the first time I’ve been a part of a team where we’ve had to rely on our backup quarterback,” LaFleur said.
It’s not even the first time he’s had to do it in Week 2, but it is the first time he’s had to do it with a quarterback who still doesn’t know his way around town — let alone the intricacies of LaFleur’s offense.
The Packers traded for Willis on Aug. 26 — just 18 days ago. At least Gabbert had been with the Titans that entire offseason.
“He ended up playing a decent amount for us that year,” LaFleur said of Gabbert, who appeared in eight games. “You’ve got to try to figure out what can put your team in the best possible position, what he feels most comfortable with and get him the reps throughout the course of the week.”
Gabbert wasn’t lights-out in that first start (13-of-20, 117 yards, 1 TD), but he didn’t turn the ball over. And though the Titans also won the next game with Gabbert as the starter, he left early because of a concussion.
“The biggest thing is don’t try and do too much,” Gabbert said. “You don’t have to try to win the game in the first quarter, the second quarter or even the third quarter. Stay in it. Get your feet under yourself. It’s a new system. It’s going to be moving fast, and you’re going to be processing it a tick slow, just trying to get the playcall in the headset, regurgitate the play in the huddle and get to the line of scrimmage. Take your time.”
One of the best recent examples of a backup quarterback having success is Cooper Rush, who has a 5-1 record as a replacement starter for the Dallas Cowboys, including a 4-1 mark in 2022 that kept his team in playoff contention.
Rush echoed Gabbert’s thoughts on how Willis should approach it.
“Don’t do too much,” Rush said. “You’ve got to trust in yourself. You’re here for a reason. You can play at this level. Go be yourself. Just play smart football and … just be smart was part of the mindset. Yeah, just go out there and play and not worry about much.”
Gabbert also suggested that Willis spend as much time as possible with LaFleur this week.
“Really get together with him, so you’re confident in the plays being called and that they’re the ones that you know and you trust yourself to execute at a high level,” Gabbert said.
When asked whether he’s told LaFleur what he is or is not comfortable with at this point, Willis on Wednesday said: “I’m not sure that we’re there yet. We’re just taking it day by day, and we’ll get to that point closer to game time if that’s necessary.”
Said LaFleur: “He’s got to communicate to us and let us know where he’s at. And certainly we’ll go through it at the end of the week and probably ‘X’ out some things, if he’s not very comfortable with it, and star the things that he really likes and that he has more comfortability with.
“It’s not like we’re dealing with a rookie here that has no background. A lot of these offenses do similar things. It’s just how do you do them? When do you do them? Who are you putting where? So we take that all into account.”
ESPN’s Todd Archer contributed to this report.
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