After rethinking about Sunday’s game against the Patriots, here are three things worth discussing:
1) The biggest knocks on Joe Barry have always been that he’s not very aggressive and that he’s either unwilling or unable to make adjustments. The Packers’ second-year defensive coordinator lived up to, or more accurately, down to those criticisms the first three weeks of the season, and Sunday was a new low. Facing a rookie third-string quarterback, Barry still refused to deviate from a vanilla scheme that relies on getting pressure with four rushers and using a two-high shell to limit explosive plays. And while Bailey Zappe completed only 1o passes for 99 yards, the former Western Kentucky star never seemed rattled and turned the ball over just once. Worse than Barry’s lack of aggressiveness was his failure to react when the Patriots employed a tackle at tight end. Even though his front seven was getting gashed – Rhamondre Stevenson and Damien Harris ran for 152 yards – he never put an extra lineman on the field. Yes, the defense deserves credit for stepping up late in the fourth quarter and in overtime, but there’s no way an offense led by Zappe and Brian Hoyer should’ve scored 17 points against a unit that boasted five No. 1 picks, an All-Pro inside linebacker, and one of the best edge rushers in the NFL. That only occurred because Barry allowed it to occur, and if he doesn’t change, there’s a decent chance he’ll wind up being this year’s Mo Drayton – the biggest reason the Packers go home early for the 12th straight January.
2) The offense continued its Jekyll and Hyde routine on Sunday. A week after going more than two quarters without scoring against the Buccaneers, a unit led by MVP Aaron Rodgers managed only a field goal in the first 30 minutes against the Patriots. Fortunately, that side of the ball woke up after halftime and scored 24 points. Coach and play-caller Matt LaFleur, along with his superstar quarterback, need to figure out why the offense goes through such long stretches of ineffectiveness. The Packers managed to win these last two games, but they won’t be facing an offense without its top three wide receivers or without its top two quarterbacks come January. Nevertheless, I’m not overly concerned – at least not yet. That’s because things should improve once tackles David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins round into form following very long layoffs and rookies Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson gain experience. Right now, the protection is unreliable, and there are too many mental and physical mistakes being made by the raw pass catchers. Also, Rodgers still looks like a guy who didn’t participate in OTAs and minicamps and sat out the entire preseason. He’s already thrown three interceptions, which is only one fewer than he threw in 18 games a year ago. So while it’s frustrating to see the offense look inept for quarters at a time, there’s definitely reason for optimism. There’s also a chance general manager Brian Gutekunst could add a proven weapon if need be prior to the trade deadline in November.
3) While LaFleur has made some highly questionable decisions in his three-plus years on the job, pretty much every one of them could be justified to some extent. But what he did late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game couldn’t be defended by legendary lawyer F. Lee Bailey. Throwing a challenge flag after Doubs clearly didn’t maintain control of the ball in the end zone could’ve and probably should’ve cost the Packers a win. Even the most diehard Cheesehead in the world knew the former Nevada star didn’t complete the catch after falling to the ground. Heck, LaFleur was even told that by one of his assistants in the press box. And yet he still went into his pocket and tossed that red piece of cloth. He allowed himself to be led by his heart and not his head. That’s OK if you’re a contestant on The Bachelor, but it’s not OK if you’re the head coach of a professional football team. Fortunately, his players bailed him out. LaFleur admitted his mistake to reporters following the game. That’s a good thing, but it doesn’t make me feel a whole lot better. Wasting a timeout cost the Packers 40 seconds, and had Rodgers had that extra time to work with on the last drive of regulation, the game probably wouldn’t have gone into overtime, where the Packers were one New England first down away from a likely crushing home loss. LaFleur allowed his emotions to supersede his common sense. That absolutely can’t happen again.
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Interesting comments on the game. But to take it a step further, what should have been done?
I’ve read comments that Barry should have gone to four DL especially when New England went to six offensive linemen. Perhaps given that they played three DL on 34 of 58 defensive snaps. Should they have taken out an inside linebacker to go to four DL?
Walker is a work in progress when it comes to run defense. He seems to get caught up with blockers far too much. Would Barnes have been a better choice for early downs against New England? Is he ready to come off IR after next game?
I’ve also read that Gary, despite all of his very good pass rushes, did not handle runs at him very well. Fortunately, New England did not handle Gary well when the runs were away from Gary. What should they do to improve Gary’s run defense?
While I think that playing Jenkins at RT is the best option right now, I tend to think he is a much better LG than RT. His footwork and use of his hands and arms seems to be much more suited to an interior OL. If Tom, Walker or Nijman can do an adequate job at RT next year, Jenkins’ added value may be greatest at LG. Jenkins pass protection play yesterday reminded me a lot of Nijman’s pass protection the first half of last year.
I envision Myers improving as the year progresses. Newman, not so much.
There always seems to be excuses and justifications from 1265 Lombardi Ave. Since 2010, the Packers have won a lot of games. Nevertheless, when it counted most they’ve come up short. Regardless, for the most part, they’ve refused to do things much different than what lost them the chance at another Super Bowl championship.
Joe Barry won’t charge and he’s a mistake just waiting to be shown the door. He’s what he’s shown in previous stops as defensive coordinator. Which is not good enough. He’s playing just like the man he replaced. Which is timid and afraid. The Pack can’t stop the run even when they know the other team is going to run. It’s an embarrassing situation. Especially given that he was supposed to bring an aggressive approach to running the defense. Yet, he hangs back and hopes and prays that some minor miracle occurs. The team almost lost to a third string QB, and a banged up Buccaneers team. They very easily could be sitting at 1 and 3. They need to wakeup. This is extremely ridiculous.
Unfortunately, I don’t hold out much hope for anything to change. They’ll continue to make excuses and justifications. While hoping for Devine intervention.
Oh, they’ll win enough games to make the playoffs. However, unless they change their approach they’ll be sitting at home when it comes to another Super Bowl.
MLF will figure out Barry can’t coach a couple years from now, right after his incompetence costs us a trip to the SB. Right about when Rodgers hangs it up, and it’ too late. There isn’t one DC that would play a soft shell, straight four man rush against a rookie 3rd stringer. How MLF watches this clown rarely run a stunt, rarely blitz and constantly wants a Defense with four legitimate All-Pro caliber players to rock back on their heels on every down is mind blowing. It’s pretty obvious why Barry has been with multiple teams.
I could get a better KR/PR off the street. Right now, today. I don’t care he’s a 3rd rd pick and I don’t care about Gute’s ego. He can’t play. He’s small, slow, has no quicks at all. There’s easily 10 guys on PS’s around the league better than Amari Rodgers.
In overtime, our final drive to win the game guess where our BEST OFFENSIVE WEAPON was ? That’s right, good ol #33 was on the bench for “3 yards and a cloud of dust”. MLF is turning into McCarthy. The fact that he refuses to play his best offensive weapon is as mind boggling as Barry playing soft zone against a 3rd string rookie QB. Do we have a RB’s coach ? If so, someone teach Dillon to lower his shoulders on contact. He runs straight up into contact.
I’d like to see a couple passes go Watson’s way. He needs to get incorporated into this pedestrian WR corp. If OBJ can play this winter, it’s a no brainer to bring him in.
OBJ will probably re-sign with the Rams once he’s healthy.
You’re probably right. But hey, look at the bright side, Gute will save himself a million or two while we lose in the playoffs again.
Everybody makes mistakes, but that challenge can’t happen in that situation. What makes it even worse is that LaFleur was told not to throw the flag and did it anyway. In his fourth year as coach, his decision-making in close games should be better by now.