In the offseason, the Packers made it clear that their defense was different this year. When the season began, it looked like more of the same. Joe Barry has not been able to unlock the potential of this defense and it apparently is bothering him a lot. With the amount of talent on the defense, it seems like they should be able to be at least middle of the pack. Joe Barry talked about “sleepless nights” thinking about the struggling defense.
Joe Barry says he's had sleepless nights wondering why this #Packers defense hasn't reached its potential and expectation this season. He can't target any one thing for its failings, he said. Indeed, there's been a lot more problems than one.
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) December 1, 2022
Joe Barry Thinking A Lot About The Struggling Defense
Barry is apparently losing sleep from wondering how this defense hasn’t reached its potential. He can’t figure out the one thing that has led to the struggles. Ultimately, there are multiple reasons for the struggles. Many players have taken a step back. Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes have not played as well as last year. De’Vondre Campbell, when he has played, is not playing to his All-Pro level. Adrian Amos is having his worst season as a Packer and it seems that no one can make a tackle. All of these things are true but there is one other person that is to blame and that is Joe Barry.
Lack Of Accountability
One of the things that I admire about Matt LaFleur is that he always takes a part of the blame. He understands that he is the leader of the team and therefore he shares the blame when things are not working out. Joe Barry seems to be taking the opposite approach. In the same press conference, he said that he never has second guessed anything. He is having sleepless nights and doesn’t seem to consider that maybe he might be a part of the problem. His answers in today’s press conference seem very tone-deaf.
Joe Barry should look in the mirror when trying to diagnose his struggling defense. After giving up a historic amount of rushing yards to the Eagles, the Packers will have to regroup fast to try and stop Justin Fields and the Bears’ rushing attack.
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