Green Bay Packers: The Bucs humiliate them in Week 15 and Joe Barry has no defence for his defence.
After an embarrassing 34-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers are now 6-8. The majority of the game saw Jordan Love and the offence play well, but the Packers defence once again gave up historic numbers to an opponent’s offence. Baker Mayfield, the quarterback for the Bucs, made history at Lambeau Field by becoming the first visiting quarterback to record a perfect passer rating. There isn’t another quarterback who can do that except Aaron Rodgers.
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Naturally, the media and fans alike immediately blamed defensive coordinator Joe Barry, who has long been despised by the fan base. Head coach Matt LaFleur has stuck by Barry despite the defense’s inability to generate stops when it mattered most—the NFL Playoffs.
But after the game, LaFleur was clearly annoyed with his defence and appeared, if only briefly, to be willing to let Barry go before the season ended. He responded instead with his standard line, “I have to look at the tape,” paired with the phrase “Now is not the time for that.”
But the reality is that the Packers could miss out on a postseason trip thanks to Barry and his defensive scheme, and if LaFleur sticks with this unquestioning devotion to him, the head coach might lose his job.
Joe Barry, the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers, is the only one at fault.
Joe Barry, defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers
At Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Sunday, October 3, 2021, during the first quarter of the team’s game, Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry is seen. Pittsburgh Steelers were defeated by the Green Bay Packers 27–17.
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Every week, it seems like a different aspect of the Packers’ defence needs improvement. They allowed 200 yards of rushing (for the fourth time this season) and failed to apply any pressure to the quarterback in last week’s loss to the New York Giants. They had five sacks and kept the opposition’s running total under 100 yards in their defeat to the Buccaneers.
Regrettably, the defense’s pass defense—which many have regarded as its strongest point—let the team down. Given the responsibility of covering Chris Godwin for the majority of the passing plays, De’Vondre Campbell gave up 135 passing yards himself.
The Campbell statistic raises the question of why he was assigned to do that to begin with. And why didn’t Barry switch up the play class when it wasn’t working?
As LaFleur stated in his press conference, there are no satisfactory answers to this. There is only one person at fault, Barry, and there is just no justification.
Of course, one could argue that LaFleur bears some responsibility for Barry’s initial detention. However, that is unimportant at this time. After this season, if Barry is kept on, maybe LaFleur will start acting more responsibly.
But to concentrate on Barry, it should be mentioned that in most of the games this season, he has not even attempted to prepare his defence. While some may place the blame on the players, how can the coach be held accountable for so many defensive players’ inadequacies?
It is comparable to instructing. If one out of every thirty students performs poorly on an exam, it is most likely the student’s fault. If half the class does not pass, it is the teacher’s fault; they did not teach the material well.
This also applies to the defence of the Packers. One could argue that the players in that position group are insufficient if they performed poorly the entire season. However, this season has been tough for every position group. Not a single unit has performed well for the entire season—some more so than others.
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