I'm late to this party and been a long while since I posted anything in this forum.
Reading this thread from start to finish, the summary I take away from the balance of posts (being fair/consistent with the ideas of various posters) is:
1. Gute has been consistently effective at the top of the draft
2. Gute could be better in finding and developing talent selected in the 3rd round and later
3. Gute has been effective in pro scouting and FA acquisitions (both big ticket and budget)
4. Could have been quicker to push MLF to transition special teams leadership/coaching
5. Singularly most polarizing decision was to spend draft capital to obtain Love
On the Love question, here are my thoughts:
Rodgers had been good, but wasn't performing at that MVP level. The rumours about wrapping up in GB had been floating for a couple years by that draft too. He did have the collarbone issues despite having been otherwise durable and healthy, and it wasn't clear whether those injuries would further decrease or limit his level of play from getting back to MVP form.
Love was drafted because there was both smoke that Rodgers could pull rank and demand out, and some legitimate concerns about whether he could get back to the elite play he'd previously delivered.
I remember when Rodgers was drafted. TT was booed in many corners because Favre was a legend still playing at a high level, but the "will he or won't he play" rumbles were growing loud and an annual source of controversy.
Once Rodgers was drafted, whether it motivated Favre or not, his play didn't fall off and he appeared to grab tightly of the QB1 job here again, which was good for the team. In the meantime, Rodgers played sparingly, and when he did? He didn't exactly exude greatness. Once Favre was done and Rodgers was the man, it took some time before he looked like he could be the guy and approach Favre's level. He had lots of early doubters.
I agree that no one can project definitively whether Love turns into a player who can consistently approach the level of play that Rodgers has generally delivered. But there are some striking similarities in their development journey.
Both will have enjoyed significant/extended time to learn behind a QB playing and preparing at an elite level. Both will have benefited from significant/extended time being coached up in the team's offensive system and philosophy under an early tenure coach doing creative, effective things that delivered results. Both will have been exposed in a limited way to playing time without the full weight of expectation as a starter to complicate being on the field or in the huddle.
It's ONLY my sense, but I think that being patient with Love will have similar benefits for him and the team that we've witnessed with Rodgers. Whether or not he can meet the level that we've enjoyed under Rodgers remains to be seen, but I tend to think that he will be firmly prepared for that test when it arrives, and that there are worse spots to be as a franchise dealing with the question of "can we succeed after an elite QB is gone" than where we'll be with Love- imagine having only the hope of trading for a huge dollar FA or soon to be FA. That comes at a steep premium for the team. The list of teams that mortgage the present and future to get a near elite or elite QB and get over immediately is short. Only one I can think of top of mind is Tampa, and let's not forget that Brady didn't look like a worldbeater on his way out of NE either.
Thanks for the thread all. Stay safe out there.