There was plenty of hype surrounding the Green Bay Packers’ defense entering this year because of the amount of legitimate talent they have on that side of the ball. However, skeptics cast doubt on the hire of new defensive coordinator Joe Barry, whose previous stops in Detroit and Washington were dreadful. After one week, the skeptics have the upper hand. The defense looked no better than it has in years past.
The defense in the Dom Capers era (2009-17) had grown so stale that fans were starving for something, anything different. They just wanted change. That wish was granted in the form of Mike Pettine in 2018, and at the time of the hire, the general indifference about Pettine was offset by the frustrations that had built up for years. Three years later, Pettine was gone.
Barry’s defenses have been horrible in the past, but with some caveats.
His first stint as DC came with the Detroit Lions in 2007 and 2008. In both years, his defenses ranked dead last in yards and points allowed. He later took over as the defensive coordinator for Washington in 2015 and 2016, and his unit ranked 28th in yards allowed in both years. He didn’t exactly have a sterling resumé when he was hired by the Packers this offseason, and many questioned the move.
The biggest X-factor here is that there was very little talent on those defenses he coached before. Conversely, Green Bay is littered with top-tier talent, including the likes of Jaire Alexander and Za’Darius Smith.
But the end result on Sunday didn’t look any different.
Green Bay’s defense was embarrassing against the New Orleans Saints. The most bizarre part was that the Jameis Winston-led offense didn’t do anything too special. Winston was 14-for-20 for 148 yards. Alvin Kamara had 83 yards, but it took him 20 carries. Kamara only had three receptions for eight yards, a far cry from what he did a year ago against the Packers. Yet the Saints put up 38 points on Barry’s defense.
That’s because the Packers didn’t generate any pressure on Winston all afternoon. The Saints’ offensive strategy is best described as “death by a thousand cuts.” New Orleans pieced together two separate 15-play drives in the first half that resulted in touchdowns. It was the first time a team had done that in 21 years (the Minnesota Vikings in 2000). Green Bay had no answer for a pretty simplistic Saints scheme.
The major gripes about Pettine were his lack of aggressiveness in the play calling and tendency to put his players in a position to fail from the get-go. Barry’s defense looked like a carbon copy.
Green Bay was flat, the scheme was vanilla, and Winston looked like an MVP candidate throwing for five touchdowns. Sean Payton is a damn smart coach who realized early on that they didn’t have to make things too complex for Winston’s first start with the Saints. And the Packers were doing more than enough to help make it easy.
Winston wasn’t sacked once all day and only took one real deep shot down the field. It was a connection with Deonte Harris that resulted in a 55-yard touchdown. The cornerback who got torched? None other than Kevin King.
King became a scapegoat in Pettine’s squad, and while he was miserable like everyone else on the defense on Sunday, getting torched when Green Bay was already trailing 31-3 in the fourth quarter was a cherry on top of this disaster of an opener for the Packers.
It isn’t time to panic. It’s Game 1 of 17 for the Packers. However, this contest gives those who doubted Barry a platform to voice those concerns. And they deserve that microphone for now.
It’s baffling that a defense with Alexander, Smith, Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, Adrian Amos, Darnell Savage, and Preston Smith could look so abysmal to start the season. It’s even more concerning that you’d be hard pressed to find anything that positive with the unit’s performance on Sunday. The run defense was bad, the pass coverage was gross, and the ability to get off the field was nonexistent. As a result, Barry rightfully faces an early dose of pressure entering Week 2 against the Lions.
New Orleans’ offense won’t be the best Green Bay faces this year, but it sure looked the part. If there isn’t a turnaround fast, the noise will only get louder.
Green Bay didn’t hire a defensive coordinator with an incredible track record. Instead, Matt LaFleur chose someone he’s familiar with. Now the pressure isn’t just on new defensive coordinator but on LaFleur as well, lest his choice doesn’t pan out.
