Joe Barry has been no stranger to criticism in the past couple of years. Last year, the Green Bay Packers’ defense came into the season with lofty expectations. The amount of talent that had been infused into the defense made fans salivate at the idea of dominating that side of the ball. Dominance didn’t happen. The defense struggled mightily at times to stop average offenses. In a press conference today, Barry talked about what went wrong in 2022.
“The inconsistencies were the things that really got us.” Real talk from Joe Barry about his defense in 2022.
— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) May 16, 2023
Joe Barry On The 2022 Green Bay Packers Defense
Barry targeted one thing as the problem, inconsistency. “The inconsistencies were the things that really got us,” he said in a recent press conference. He isn’t wrong. Players would make stellar plays but then miss easy tackles leading to big plays. The pass rush lost its teeth after Rashan Gary went down with an ACL injury in the middle of the season. The secondary took a step back, especially at the safety position where both Darnell Savage and Adrian Amos struggled. The defense just couldn’t find its identity and was wildly inconsistent.
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Make Or Break Year
The Green Bay Packers defense added another first-round talent in Lukas Van Ness. There are no more excuses. This group has to be able to perform. Defensive coordinators have done infinitely more with less talent on the field. If the defense struggles again, I cannot see who else to blame but Joe Barry. It was shocking to some that he was kept on for another year but the end of the season surge from the defense may have saved his job. Now, he has to prove that last year was not a fluke and that another year with this group is the key to unlocking success.
The Green Bay Packers defense needs to help out Jordan Love this year. If Love can have the confidence of a defense behind him, it will do wonders for his development. While there are not many Barry fans in Wisconsin, we all have to hope that he can figure it out in 2023.
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1 Comment
Joe Berry is the Achilles Heel of this defense.