Packers rewarded for faith in MVS
GREEN BAY - The past nine months, all the offseason drills and trainingcamp reps, the constant insistence he had never lost his confidence, the constant admissions from his coach and teammates that he had – everything boiled down to this moment for Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Ball in the air. Valdes-Scantling running down the right sideline inside U.S. Bank Stadium. Cameron Dantzler, the Minnesota Vikings rookie cornerback, trailing one step behind. Here was another opportunity for the young Green Bay Packers receiver still trying to reach
his potential. Would he catch it? That always seems to be the question.
“The biggest challenge for MVS,” his quarterback said in August, “is always going to be himself.”
Dantzler, unmistakably, was not a challenge. Dantzler was torched. And when Valdes-Scantling pulled in Rodgers’ pass for a 45-yard touchdown, he let Dantzler hear it.
Valdes-Scantling stared at the rookie corner, still sprawled out on the field below him, and let loose with a string of words Fox Sports’ broadcast was surely thankful its microphones did not catch.
“That’s just who I am as a person,” Valdes-Scantling said later. “I’m a trash talker. It’s the Florida in me. I’ve been like that ever since I was a little kid.”
He’s been brimming with talent ever since childhood, too. That talent has been clear ever since the Packers drafted Valdes-Scantling in the fifth round three years ago. He’s 6-4. He ran a 4.3 at the scouting combine. His game-breaking touchdown was just the latest example of that size and speed.
This was Marquez Valdes-Scantling, highlight maker. Evidence he’d turned the corner from last season.
At least until his next target. That one, Valdes-Scantling would like to erase from the game film. The Vikings’ secondary was admirable in its social distancing, leaving Valdes-Scantling uncovered as he crossed the middle of the field. Rodgers threw it to him on third-and-6, an easy first down. Only problem: He dropped it.
Rodgers went back to Valdes-Scantling on the next drive’s first play. For all the talk of trust with Rodgers, the need for receivers to earn his respect, he has shown unwavering patience with select few trying to get their careers on track in the past. He did it when Davante Adams hit his sophomore slump in 2015. He has done it with Valdes-Scantling in the past year.
It looked like Valdes-Scantling would reward that trust. He beat the Vikings secondary deep, a few steps ahead of safety Anthony Harris. Alone at the 10yard line, Valdes-Scantling had a touchdown in his hands, like he had a touchdown in his hands on the opening play last season against the Chicago Bears, but couldn’t hold on.
Rodgers’ pass deflected off ValdesScantling’s fingertips. The Fox cameras cut to Rodgers looking bewildered, confused, disgusted.
Adams, who knows the feeling, approached MVS on the sideline.
“I said, ‘Man, I forgot you even dropped it,’” Adams said.
He might’ve been the only one. The sense of dread, the oh-no-not-again déjà vu, was thick after those two drops. They suggested Valdes-Scantling might never figure out how to be the consistent playmaker the Packers need. At least, of course, until his next target.
How you felt about Valdes-Scantling’s debut probably says more about you than him. If you’re the skeptical type, those two drops will be hard to forget. They were egregious, both bouncing off his hands like a Shaquille O’Neal free throw, and they were important. One killed a Packers drive on third down. The other cost six points.
But Rodgers didn’t stop there. Five plays later, on another third down, Valdes-Scantling blew past Vikings corner Mike Hughes off the line of scrimmage. He used a stutter step to pass Hughes 5 yards downfield. At 10 yards, he had a full step. Valdes-Scantling caught Rodgers’ pass at the 15, and Hughes lunged to save a touchdown at the 2.
By then, MVS the highlight maker had his second big play of the day, a 39yard catch.
“To be honest,” Rodgers said, “it was never about, ‘I’ve got to go back to him after the drop.’ And that’s a tribute to him. I never thought twice about throwing him the ball down the seam or throwing him the go route at the end of the first half, and that’s a tribute to the way that he performed in training camp.
“Now he’s got to prove it every single week.”
It’s hard to know what to make of Valdes-Scantling’s debut in what the Packers hope is a resurgent season. He had four catches, 96 yards, one touchdown and two drops that were directly reminiscent of 2019, when his hands abandoned him and, teammates believe, his confidence along with it. One game is not a rebound. It’s also not a setback. For Valdes-Scantling, it will take every single week to show where his career is going.
What’s striking, though, is the unwavering support Valdes-Scantling has gotten from teammates. It isn’t unwarranted. “I don’t put my name on just anybody,” Adams said. It’s clear Adams and Rodgers believe in the young receiver. Maybe Adams sees a bit of himself in Valdes-Scantling, an obvious talent who is taking time to find his potential. Adams believes Sunday was an important step.
“For him to come back and respond the way that he did,” Adams said, “and catch that ball on the right side, great release. Everything about it was perfect. That shows me, more than anything, I’m more proud of him for that than if he would’ve caught the initial ball and scored, honestly. Because me being another receiver, I know exactly how difficult it is to bounce back from something like that.”
Valdes-Scantling’s challenge isn’t apathy. He cares deeply about his craft. He might, Rodgers suggested, care too much. Valdes-Scantling badly wants to make plays. He knows his importance to the offense. Rodgers got the praise Sunday, Adams got the headlines, but Valdes-Scantling gave the Packers a second weapon. Four yards shy of their second 100-yard receiver.
Rodgers said he started seeing signs of Valdes-Scantling’s growth in the abbreviated training camp. He caught the football smoother, cleaner, a more natural receiver. Bad habits are hard to break, and they resurfaced Sunday, but the Packers are bound to push ValdesScantling to his potential. Adams said he noticed Rodgers didn’t hold back after Valdes-Scantling’s drops, throwing the same passes – with the same force – that he would his top receiver.
Afterward, Rodgers said he had a conversation with Valdes-Scantling, letting his young receiver know those passes will keep coming.
“Trust is the most important thing,” Rodgers said. “It’s a two-way street. But I also told him I think he needs to show himself a little kindness at times, too. He sometimes is his biggest hindrance because he is hard on himself. I think every great player is hard on himself and is self-critical. I think he needs to be a little kinder to himself because he’s got so much ability and talent.
“You saw the kind of plays he can make, that we saw and you guys saw as well during training camp, in that game on Sunday.”