Fire Joe Barry? Three Overreactions from Packers’ Loss to Buccaneers

The defense must be blown up beyond replacing Joe Barry. That and more following the Packers’ humiliating loss to the Buccaneers.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Cleveland Browns gave up on Baker Mayfield. He wasn’t good enough for the lowly Carolina Panthers. He couldn’t save the Los Angeles Rams.

On Sunday, the Green Bay Packers’ defenseless defense turned Mayfield into the best possible combination of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Dan Marino.

With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers embarrassing the Packers 34-20 on Sunday, the only thing that could stop Mayfield was the scoreboard. The Buccaneers had nine possessions. They scored on six and passed up a seventh when Rachaad White gave himself up rather than tacking on another touchdown in the final moments.

Here are this week’s Overreactions.

1. This One’s Not an Overreaction

The Packers have eight first-round draft picks on their defense. Six of them were on the field on Sunday. Preston Smith and De’Vondre Campbell weren’t first-rounders but they’re highly paid veterans.

By the names on the backs of their jerseys, Green Bay’s defense should be good. Maybe even really good. It’s not. It hasn’t been.

And it’s not going to be unless drastic changes are made.

Coach Matt LaFleur must replace defensive coordinator Joe Barry. Whether it happens in the next 3 minutes or after the final three games is irrelevant, to an extent, though it certainly could be argued that if a move is going to be made, make it.

If LaFleur does it now, it’s fair to wonder who’d step into that role to close out the season. What part of Green Bay’s defense is playing so well that that particular position coach seems primed to take over? There is no wise, respected assistant like Jerry Gray on this staff to take the reins to end the season.

The run defense has been awful for years, so not longtime defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery. Certainly not anyone from Green Bay’s uncoordinated secondary. Kirk Olivadotti’s inside linebackers were supposed to be dominant, with one of those first-round picks, Quay Walker, joining Campbell, but that hasn’t been the case, either.

Whatever. With back-to-back dismal defensive showings against the Giants, who ran for 200 yards, and the Buccaneers, who would have thrown for 400 if it was needed, hopes for a surprise playoff bid have gone down the drain.

LaFleur not only needs a new defensive coordinator. He needs new position coaches, a new scheme, a new vision and a new mentality.

Blow. It. Up.

Open the team’s overflowing vault to get the best possible coordinator. Give that coordinator the power to hire his assistants.

“Right now, we’re looking for solutions,” LaFleur said. “As soon as we leave here, I’m going to go right into my office and get to work on that because, like I said, it’s extremely disappointing to have a home game against a team that’s right in the thick of it in their division when you’re holding onto one of those spots and you get manhandled in the second half of a tight ballgame. It’s extremely disappointing.”

Will LaFleur Fire Barry After Loss to Buccaneers?

2. Dominant Dontayvion

If there was one bright spot, it was the play of rookie receiver Dontayvion Wicks.

Playing through an ankle injury sustained in the fourth quarter last week, he caught 6-of-7 targets for 97 yards. Had the Packers actually gotten a stop, he might have become the Packers’ first player to have a 100-yard game as a runner or receiver this season.

Wicks was one of those fascinating players in the 2023 NFL Draft class. In 2021 at Virginia, he looked like a legit top-50 prospect after catching 57 passes for 1,201 yards with nine touchdowns and a 21.1-yard average. In 2022, he looked like a late-round prospect after his totals plunged to 30 receptions for 430 yards with two touchdowns and a 14.3 average. The only number that increased was drops – five in 2021 but nine in 2022.

So, which player did the Packers select in the fifth round?

Definitely the 2021 version.

By our count, Wicks has forced 10 missed tackles. That’s as many as the rest of the team’s receivers and tight ends combined. It’s hard to say what was more impressive on Sunday: His toughness to play through pain, his ability to get open on a bad wheel or his taking Buccaneers’ defenders along for the ride following a couple catches.

Incredibly as we look ahead to next season, Green Bay’s receiver corps will have gone from a young, unproven question mark to the unquestioned strength of the team. The emergence of Wicks is a major reason why.

Report Card: Barry, Defense Earn Low Marks in 34-20 Loss to Bucs

3. The Big Picture

According to The New York Times, the Packers have a 26 percent chance to qualify for the playoffs. Teams that can’t stop Tommy DeVito and Baker Mayfield have no business in the playoffs.

That said, the arrow for this team is pointed up.

Jordan Love wasn’t good enough on Sunday, though it’s hard to quibble with 29-of-39 passing. The future looks incredibly bright with Love throwing passes to the likes of Wicks, Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Malik Heath, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. That is a formidable group today; it’s going to be really hard for defenses to handle that group when this year’s experience turns into next year’s production.

For this offense to reach peak efficiency, it’s going to need a couple linemen and at least one running back.

The defense is going to need a cornerback – perhaps in the first round, as it’s fair to wonder if Jaire Alexander will play another game for the team – a safety and a couple players who can stop the run.

That’s a large shopping list, to be sure, but the Packers aren’t too far away from being a playoff team and probably are closer to being a championship contender than you think.

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