Embarrassing Packers top player has no defense for his defense in…..
The Green Bay Packers fell to 6-8 after trouncing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 34-20, on Sunday afternoon. For the most part, Jordan Love and the Packers offense played well, but once again, the Packers defense gave up historic numbers to the Buccaneers offense.
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield posted a perfect passer rating of 158.2 against the Packers on Sunday afternoon. It was the first time a visiting quarterback ever had a perfect passer rating against Green Bay. The only other quarterback who ever had a perfect rating against Green Bay was Aaron Rodgers.
Of course, the response from fans and the media alike was to blame the defensive coordinator, Joe Barry, who the fan base has long viewed with contempt. Even though the defense has not been able to generate stops when it has been most important (i.e. in the NFL Playoffs), the head coach, Matt LaFleur, has stuck with Barry.
LaFleur was clearly unhappy with his defense after the game, and for a brief moment, it looked like he might be on the verge of parting ways with Barry before the season’s end. Instead, all he had to say was “I need to watch the tape” and “this isn’t the time.”
The truth is, Barry and his defense are the reason the Packers are in danger of missing the playoffs, and LaFleur’s continued loyalty to Barry could cost him his job as head coach.
Joe Barry and the Green Bay Packers’ defense have no one to blame but themselves
The Packers’ defense seems to have a different issue every week. Last week, they allowed 200 yards rushing to the Giants (their fourth in a row) and were unable to get pressure on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The week before, they allowed just 100 yards rushing to the Buccaneers and had five sacks.
The Packers’ pass defense, widely regarded as the team’s strength, let them down in both of those games. On Sunday, they allowed a season-high 135 passing yards to Chris Godwin, who was in coverage for most of those passes.
It’s like teaching. One student in a class of 30 doesn’t do well on a test; it’s probably the teacher’s fault. But if half of the class doesn’t pass, it’s because the teacher didn’t teach well.
The same is true of the Packers defense. One position group didn’t play well all season, and it’s easy to say that the players aren’t good enough for the position group. But all the position groups have struggled this season, some more than others. And there hasn’t been a single unit that’s been good all year.
It’s not coaching. It’s Joe Barry.
