Packers Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry’s impressive first press conference was held this week. Almost a month after his hiring, he spoke with the Green Bay media and seemed to say all the right things and prove why Coach Matt LaFleur hired him as the Packers Defensive Coordinator. His 20 years of NFL experience showed.
Why This Time Will Be Different For Coach Berry
The biggest criticism on Coach Berry getting hired was his past experiences as a defensive coordinator.
His two seasons, 2007 and 2008 with the Detroit Lions, didn’t go as planned. In his second season with the team, they were 0-16, the most historically awful season in NFL history.
In Washington, he was fired after his second season as defensive coordinator, and then he served on the rams staff as their assistant head coach and Linebackers Coach.
But Berry addressed those fears of a repeat result in Green Bay, saying, “I’m really proud of my scars. You’re hardened in life by tough experiences. If you grow from it, you don’t have to wear sleeves and cover them up.”
Packers Defensive Coordinator Joe Berry is committed to learning from those mistakes.
And He has something he didn’t have in those two other stops as defensive coordinator. A young defense who has proven to play well together!
He has great players at all three levels of the defense and standout stars in Jarie Alexsander, Darnell Savage, Kenny Clark, and Za’daruis Smith.
What his Defense Will Look Like
Middle Linebacker
A big question mark on Defense for the packers is the Middle Linebacker spot. Guys like Krys Barns and Kamal Martin played better than most people’s expectations.
But Berry will expect more, and he could be what they need to excel in NFL.
Berry had this to say on that position in his Defense: “I consider myself a pretty good LBs coach…good linebackers are given with instincts and awareness. You can’t coach that.”
We will have to wait and see if Barns and Martin can make that jump with Berry.
Missed Tackles
Missed tackles have plagued the Packers for years. It will be something
Packers Defensive Coordinator Joe Berry will have to emphasize in training camp this summer.
The Packers averaged six missed tackles a game in 2020. That is something that needs to be addressed, and berry did just that, saying, “I’m not making a bunch of promises, but I’ll promise the guys will tackle.”
That is a big promise to make in your first press conference in a new city. Let’s hope he is a man of his word!
The Scheme
Multiple reports this off-season said that Matt Lafluer was looking for someone who carried a Multiple style of Defense and had a lot of scheme elements from Denver broncos Head Coach Vic Fangio.
And Berry had this to say about what Defense he would run: “We will be a 3-4 base. We will. We’re built for that currently, and we will continue to do that. But you have to understand. you’ll have that nickel corner on the field 80% of the time. 3-4/4-3 doesn’t matter. You’re in base, maybe only 15 snaps per game.”
This type of Defense is right in line with what Vic Fangio and the Rams under Brandon Staley like to do. Stayley was a Fangio assistant for three seasons.
Here is what Coach LaFleur had to say about Berry’s Defense: “It’s a pretty multiple scheme. It was one of the more difficult schemes to scheme against. All great coaches need to be able to adapt to their personnel and put guys in their right positions. I think it’s multiple enough for us to do that.”
If the Coach of the Top offense of 2020 says it was the most difficult to scheme for, then it’s good enough for me and other Packer fans.
Closing Thoughts
Packers Defensive Coordinator Joe Berry had a great first press conference and seemed to say the right thing on almost every question. He also didn’t use a lot of boring coaches speak. He spoke from the heart and gave great insight.
The Packers need a guy like this to install fundamentals and bring an aggressive nature to the Defense: “Defense is about guys killing blocks and getting off blocks. It’s about tackling, taking the ball away. It’s about playing with not just effort but relentless effort. That’s what we’re going to do here, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re 3-4 or 4-3.”
There is so much to be excited about from all the things Coach Berry said. If he can deliver on what he said he would do, this team can bring home a Super Bowl back to Green Bay.
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As Always
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