The Green Bay Packers are now 6-8 following their embarrassing 34-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon. While Jordan Love and the offense played well for the majority of the game, the Packers defense, once again, allowed an opposing offense to put up historic numbers against them. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield became the first visiting quarterback ever to post a perfect passer rating at Lambeau Field. Aaron Rodgers is the only other quarterback to do that, period.
Of course, the reaction from fans and media alike was to point the finger at defensive coordinator Joe Barry, who has long been held in disdain by the fan base. Despite the defense’s inability to get stops when it has mattered most (i.e., the NFL Playoffs), head coach Matt LaFleur has remained loyal to Barry.
After the game, however, LaFleur was visibly frustrated with his defense, and seemed, at least for a brief second, to be open to moving on from Barry before this season ends. Instead, he went with his typical response, “I have to look at the tape,” combined with, “Now is not the time for that.”
The fact of the matter, though, is that Barry and his defensive scheme may cost the Packers a playoff berth, and if LaFleur continues with this blind loyalty to him, it could cost the head coach his job.
Green Bay Packers Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry Has No One to Blame But Himself
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It seems as if the Packers’ defense has a different problem area every week. In last week’s loss to the New York Giants, they gave up 200 yards rushing (for the fourth time this season) and could not get any pressure on the quarterback. In their loss to the Buccaneers, they held their opponent under 100 yards rushing and logged five sacks.
Unfortunately, the pass defense, which many have considered to be the strength of the defense, let the team down. De’Vondre Campbell allowed 135 passing yards himself as he was given the task of covering Chris Godwin for much of the passing plays.
The Campbell stat brings up the question: why was he tasked with doing that in the first place? And when it was not working, why didn’t Barry change up the play class?
There are no good answers to this, as LaFleur mentioned in his press conference. There simply is no excuse and there is only one person to blame: Barry.
Sure, the argument could be made that LaFleur is at fault for keeping Barry in the first place. But that’s neither here nor there at this point. If Barry is retained after this season, well, then perhaps LaFleur becomes more responsible.
But to focus on Barry, it should be noted that he has completely failed to prepare his defense in the majority of games this season. Some may blame the players, but how can so many defensive players fail to do their jobs without it being the fault of the coach?
It is like teaching. If one student out of 30 does poorly on a test, it is likely that the fault is that student’s. However, if half the class fails, it is because the teacher failed to teach properly.
Such is the case for the Packers’ defense. If one position group was bad all season, it could be argued that the players there are not good enough. But every position group has struggled this season. Some more than others, but there has not been one unit that has been good for the full season.
That’s on coaching.
That’s on Joe Barry.
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