Playing pretty well for a month of the season and almost sneaking into the playoffs as the 7 seed shouldn’t keep the Green Bay Packers from making the sweeping changes that are needed after the iconic franchise took a step back for the second year in a row. If general manager Brian Gutekunst and head coach Matt LaFleur aren’t blinded by that four-game stretch of relatively good football from the first week in December to New Year’s Day and look at the state of the team objectively, there are many things that need to be done. Numero uno should be to replace defensive coordinator Joe Barry.
Barry was handed seven No. 1 draft picks (cornerback Jaire Alexander, nose tackle Kenny Clark, edge rusher Rashan Gary, free safety Darnell Savage, corner Eric Stokes, linebacker Quay Walker, and defensive end Devonte Wyatt) and a handful of other highly-paid veterans (Adrian Amos, De’Vondre Campbell, and Preston Smith) and he produced a very mediocre unit. The Packers finished the season 17th in both yards and points allowed. That can’t be considered good enough.
While it’s true the defense played better down the stretch, that doesn’t make up for being shredded through the air by the likes of Daniel Jones (Giants), Zach Wilson (Jets), Taylor Heinicke (Washington), and Ryan Tannehill (Tennessee) and surrendering an embarrassing 157 yards rushing to Jalen Hurts (Philly) earlier in the season. Had the defense played at a higher level against some of these QBs, the entire season would not have come down to one game at the very end of Week 18.
Speaking of that one game, Barry’s unit wasn’t the biggest reason why the Packers lost to Detroit, but it certainly was part of the problem. After grabbing a 16-13 lead late in the third quarter, the defense promptly allowed a struggling Jared Goff to lead a 70-yard drive for the go-ahead TD and then let the Lions hold the ball for the final 3:27, including picking up 14 yards on 2nd-and-17 and way too easily converting a 4th-and-1 that ended the contest and the Packers’ season.
Sure, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the offense were bad, but the Packers did lead 16-13 with 18 minutes left in the game. Two or three more stops by the defense and the 80,000 fans at Lambeau Field would’ve been partying in their seats when the final gun sounded instead of quietly exiting the stadium as yet another season ended in sadness and frustration.
Barry’s defense didn’t do what needed to be done to win the game against the Lions, and a similar thing happened a year ago when another middling quarterback (sore-armed Jimmy Garoppolo) led San Francisco 44 yards in nine plays to kick a walk-off game-winning field goal in the divisional round of the playoffs. Those were three of only six points allowed on a brutally cold Wisconsin night, but once again, it’s as much about when the points were scored as the total amount.
As for “holding” the Lions to 20 points, it should be mentioned that they came into the game averaging 19 points away from climate-controlled Ford Field, and none of their previous seven road games were played in sub-freezing temps. What I’m trying to say is that the defense didn’t play all that well; it just played better than the offense, which was putrid.
If Gutekunst and LaFleur ever want the results on defense to match the level of talent, a change has to be made. And with the season now over, all the best candidates will be available. Unlike the past three seasons when the Packers played at least two weeks longer than all but a few teams, LaFleur won’t have to pick through the leftovers. He’ll have the opportunity to hire whomever he wants. Vic Fangio, Jim Leonhard, Brian Flores, Steve Wilks, Vance Joseph, Gus Bradley, and Ejiro Evero are just a few of the interesting names that are already or could soon become available.
There’s no question that LaFleur should fire Barry in the coming days, but will he? I have my doubts. For one thing, he’s already dumped three coordinators (Shawn Mennenga, Mike Pettine, and Maurice Drayton) and a position coach (Alvis Whitted) since January 2020, and adding a fifth name to the list would reflect as badly on the person doing the firing as it does on the person getting fired. For another, one could argue that Barry actually had a better season than LaFleur. Be that as it may, the head coach isn’t in danger. But he soon might be if he doesn’t upgrade his defensive leader.
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I watched Mike Wahle/Ahman Green’s podcast last night as they reviewed the Lions game. Both said that outside of Bahktiari the OL was awful. Wahle didn’t even know the names of Detroit’s DT’s and he said they looked like All-Pro’s. They commented on the poor footwork, something they’ve seen repeatedly this year and then commented on coaching.
One of their fears is the staff blames the players and absolves themselves. They’ve pointed out numerous coaching breakdowns this year. The Amari Rodgers fiasco, soft coverage, putrid offense, etc. Neither believes Joe Barry should be invited back and they certainly aren’t enamored with Jerry Gray. The 4th down and short where our CB’s are playing off left them both incredulous. They pointed out on another crucial short yardage situation at game’s end where Amos is backpedaling towards the endzone ON THE SNAP when Detroit only needs a couple yards to ice the game. They have no explanation for it.
Mediocre coaches like Barry will always revert to the mean. Barry’s D played well in the San Fran playoff game but came up short at game’s end. He then starts the 2022 season playing soft zone for the first ten games. They always revert back to what they’re comfortable with not what’s best for the defense. The players literally had to go to Barry and tell him how they needed to play defensively. LaFleur said they improved as the season progressed. Yes, but not because of anything Barry did, the players demanded it.
We watched Savage intentionally whiff on tackles and now Rasul Douglas is doing it. That’s on Barry and the staff. Think Rasul Douglas would just stick an arm out to tackle if Dan Campbell were coaching ?
Wahle/Ahman were very critical of LaFleur’s game plan. The end arounds, no play action, empty sets, spread, shotgun handoffs, etc. They said LaFleur’s offense has been a mystery to them all year. They refuse to play to their strengths. They talked about Elway at the end of his career becoming more of a game manager and relying on Terrell Davis running and play action off of it. We should be doing the same and gives a much better chance of success. Both Wahle/Ahman think there could be issues in the locker room.
Eric Barancyzk of the Green Bay Press Gazette said Rodgers looked old against Detroit. He said Rodgers still thinks he needs to carry the team and make highlight reel plays. Those days are long gone but will you ever convince Rodgers or LaFleur for that matter ?
LaFleur gets a mulligan for the past season but that ends in the 2023 season. One more season like last and him and his buddy Joe Barry will be riding off into the sunset. LaFleur has zero ability to self-evaluate or evaluate his staff/players. Maurice Drayton, Amari Rodgers, Royce Newman, Aaron Jones sitting on the bench, etc. My guess, he makes no staff changes, blames the players and hopes a couple extra pieces will rebound the team.
Wahle/Ahman said it last night, the problem is systemic, far deeper than player personnel. I think we’re finding out why Tennessee wasn’t exactly all broken up when LaFleur left. LaFleur now states player discipline will be a focus in 2023. Funny, he said nothing about coaches being held accountable in 2023. 1265 is in desperate need of an outside entity coming in and evaluating this entire organization.
Not a fan of Barry’s style of defense at all and would hope we move on but we have been battling this issue on defense in what seems like eternity, perhaps the GM and scouts don’t have a clue how to bring in and scout the right players to accomplish the goal. Sure we have good players in their own right but maybe collectively its a bad mix. In my opinion we have been lacking a stout D line that controls the line of scrimmage which doesn’t allow the inside backers to flow to the ball and we have a backfield with 3 non tacklers ( Stokes, Savage, and often Alexander). You cant build a brickhouse out of straw and the issue at hand is as much on the Gm and scouting staff as the coaches. Time for them to take a hard look at themselves.
I couldn’t agree more. I think Barry stinks, but maybe the mix of players also isn’t very good. Good coaches need a good GM and vice versa. I’m not sure the Packers have either.
i think that, despite an incredible start to his pro coaching career, Matt LaFleur still has to prove himself. it seems that the obvious need to improve special teams got a boost with the hiring of Rich Bisaccia last year. is there a DC candidate who can give the defense a similar boost?
LaFleur’s coaching style is clearly way different than a Belichick. LaFleur allows the people around him to be themselves. that style works when everyone is bought in and talented. it has generally worked in the relationship with AR12. LaFleur’s comment that next season will bring an emphasis on discipline strikes me as a significant change for LaFleur’s coaching style. it also occurs to me that this may signal an end to the LaFleur/Rodgers era of head coach/player coach democratic culture which has marked the last 3 years in Green Bay. or, it may be the head coach is unrealistically thinking he can deviate from the coaching style which has brought him to this point.
i don’t expect LaFleur to become a Belichick. as a coach, LaFleur is analogous to the “game managing quarterback”: he needs the talent around him to bring in excellence, and, he has to not over-extend his involvement. he is, rightfully, dependent on others around him.
LaFleur’s idea that he has to bring discipline to Green Bay may be a personal over-reach.. it may not fit his style. however, LaFleur could hire the right DC for the moment.. someone who can bring in the culture of discipline that LaFleur is seeking. this might work for the organization. it may be a move that, for the moment, saves LaFleur’s career.
The problem is at the top. Mark Murphy was still a “rookie” during the Favre saga, and judging by how the organization is handling Rodger’s twilight, I’m starting to think Murphy saw how they handled Favre’s end and thought it was done wrong. Rather than trade Rodgers when he still had value, we gave him money and at least one roster spot (Cobb). Rather than find an outside GM, we just next-manned-up’d Guntekunst, and the results of that have been telling. I heard plenty of rumors about the organization being stingy with assistant coach pay and that is why we tend towards internal hires or the buddy system.
One of the few good parts of the way the Packers are run is that we shouldn’t be stuck with crappy owner. Maybe the board will wake up and fire Murphy… Of course, if Murphy’s mandate isn’t wins or championships but rather finances, he’s doing a fairly good job, so I don’t expect to see changes.
Murphy isn’t going to be fired, but he faces mandatory retirement in 2025.
Murphy won’t be fired because he’s a success. The organization continues to thrive and be financially successful, and that’s (probably) his main focus in his role. A Lambeau with 1/2 empty seats, bleeding cash, and losing national relevance would get him fired… but as long as AR is around, that’s not going to happen. Seems like AR gave job security to everyone!
Hopefully 2025 gets here soon!
I keep hearing about how much better the defense played late in the season. It helped that the Bears and Rams are helpless on offense, Tua was concussed, and two dome teams visited Lambeau in January. I guarantee LaFleur wouldn’t be bringing his buddy back if his job was on the line next season, but a long-term extension gives him the security that in all honesty, he hasn’t earned.
During Rodgers career he sure has made a lot money for some average front office staff, coaches and some players. Any other team could have put Rodgers on the field and came away with a 10 win. He was that good. Surely Gutekunst thought He could ride Rodgers into the post season again. Just as any reasonable packer fan could see the many holes in the roster, so could he and that’s why I have little respect for a GM without balls. ( Rodgers didn’t wan to part of a rebuild heading into the 2022 season and it was the perfect opportunity for both sides to move on )My only concern now is if the Dopey GM panics and make things worse.
Sorry for some poor sentencing ( I should read it before posting )but you get my drift I’m sure.
How Gutekunst make things worse? We’re chained to Rogders for at least one year unless he retires. I think we can get out of his contract next year post June 1 without cutting a quarter of the team, but we are screwed for 2023 unless he retires or lets us trade him… and I’m not 100% sure what cap penalties we acquire if we do trade him. I don’t see how we put together a better team next year with no cap and the same crew in charge.
They had a plan to move on via Love, and they backtracked on it. It’s hard to simultaneously plan for the future and take care of the now in less competitive areas of life than football. I don’ think it’s possible to do both in the modern NFL. Maybe an exceptional GM/owner/coach combo could pull it off, but I’m struggling to think of an example in the current NFL. Pats got by with the best QB ever either taking less or getting paid under the table via his company. Everyone else I can think of lately didn’t have sustained success or entered a rebuild pretty quickly after their SB. Or even the very next year in the case of the “F them picks” Rams.
Everything was set in place perfectly going into the 2021 season. The Packers voided the last year of Rodgers contract so they could easily move on to Love in 2022 and then somebody or somebodies chickened out. Even that I could defend. What I will never defend is giving Rodgers $100 million guaranteed. It’s like the decision makers didn’t think it was possible that an almost 39 year old quarterback could hit the wall at any time. They foolishly gave Rodgers all the power and now the organization is at his mercy.