Packers coach Matt LaFleur seeks ‘solutions’ after defense ‘shredded’ in loss
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Matt LaFleur has fired three coordinators during his nearly five seasons as the Green Bay Packers’ coach. If Joe Barry is going to be No. 4, LaFleur is going to need some more time to think about it, even after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers “shredded” and “outcoached” — LaFleur’s words — his defense Sunday.
LaFleur was peppered with questions about the defensive performance in the 34-20 loss and Barry’s status after Baker Mayfield turned in one of the most dominant performances by a visiting quarterback ever at Lambeau Field.
“Uh yeah, now’s not the time for that, to be honest with you,” LaFleur said when asked whether he would consider a change at coordinator.
When asked why not, he repeated: “Because now’s not the time. I’m trying to find solutions and I got to go back and take a look at the film.”
Perhaps LaFleur meant that immediately after the game wasn’t the time to consider that. But it’s also possible that LaFleur meant he wouldn’t consider taking action until after the season. It wasn’t until after past seasons when he moved on from defensive coordinator Mike Pettine (after the 2020 season) and special teams coordinators Shawn Mennenga (after 2020) and Maurice Drayton (after 2021).
Barry’s hire in 2021 was panned in large part because of his previous stints as a defensive coordinator in Washington and Detroit. His defenses finished ranked between 28th and 32nd (last) in the NFL.
In Green Bay, however, Barry was supposed to have better talent than in his previous stops. The Packers have had as many as eight first-round picks playing on that side of the ball at various times during his tenure.
Typically during Barry’s tenure, the defensive problems have been more with stopping the run. The Packers ranked 31st in the NFL in rushing yards allowed coming into Sunday but were a respectable eighth against the pass despite playing most of the season without All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander, who has been healthy enough to practice despite a shoulder injury but was inactive for the sixth straight game Sunday.
This time, however, it was mostly in the passing game. Mayfield became the first opposing quarterback to ever post the maximum passer rating (158.3) in this stadium, and was the first visiting signal-caller to throw four touchdown passes and complete 75% of his passes at Lambeau all time, playoffs included.
Barry committed to playing a heavy amount of zone defense against the Bucs, and Mayfield picked it apart. He completed 22 of 28 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns. Barry played zone 66% of the time, according to ESPN Analytics/NFL Next Gen Stats, and Mayfield went 16-of-20 for 255 yards and two touchdowns against it. That was the most allowed by the Packers while playing since ESPN began tracking it in 2017.
“Going into the game, I feel like we’ve got the right game plan, feel like we’re going to be able to execute and come out on top,” Packers outside linebacker Rashan Gary said. “But to see the breakdown of the game, see how things went, right or left, I have to go back and watch film, which I’m about to do in a couple of minutes, to see where we went right or wrong. And like I said, come back, we make them corrections and get to work.”
While the Packers sacked Mayfield five times, the coverage had too many holes. Receiver Chris Godwin, who had 10 catches for 155 yards, averaged 4.06 yards of separation on all of his targets. That’s compared to the league average of 2.95, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Among LaFleur’s comments that could be considered bad signs for Barry were:
Several players said Packers outside linebacker Preston Smith spoke to the defense after the game.
“We all talked,” Smith said. “And we know there’s a lot of things we’ve got to fix, and there’s a lot of things we can improve on to be a better team and a better defense.”
The Packers, who came into the game with a hold on the seventh and final playoff spot in the NFC, have lost two straight after getting to .500 at 6-6 and on the outside looking in with three games to go. Their playoff chances fell to 27%, according to ESPN Analytics.
When asked if he thinks Barry’s message and plan has become lost on the players, LaFleur said, “All I know is this: We’ve got three weeks left. We’ve got three games and every game is a playoff mentality. Who knows what will happen? But we can’t get it all back at once, you’ve got to earn it every day. You’ve got to get back to practice and just give it our best shot from here on out.”
