I think the play call was designed to stop a short throw, as he was thinking the Buccaneers would be going for a quick play and closer FG attempt.

Of course, he was dead wrong ...

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Not to jinx, but I'd still take Barry over Capers or Pettine.

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Capers yes.  But over Pettine, I am not so sure....the jury is out.

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I think with Joe there is a fear of trying things. He's afraid if he tries something, it might not work. 

Imo, trying things is how you find out what works. Just start doing it and let it flow from there.

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I think I'm on a similar thought. Not that he's unafraid to try something, but that they game planned all week to stop something, and he's afraid of he gets off that game plan, they'll then nail whatever it was they game planned to stop.

Say they game planned to stop the deep ball, it works. Then the other teams goes run heavy and has a lot of success, Barry doesn't want to adjust to stop the run, as that might not open up the deep pass which was their game plan to stop. And if the defense can't stop it, the offense is basically on their 3rd adjustment when Barry finally adjusts to stop the run, but the defense always seemed behind and reactive in play calls, not proactive. And part of that is the scheme, but also part of that is a play caller not pulling the trigger fast enough on adjustments.


I know Barry got a lot of hate after the first Vikings game and refusing to go man coverage. But I do think they had a great point, saying they're comfortable with Alexander in man coverage, but they weren't sure the rest of the team was ready for Alexander in man coverage, and them in zone coverage, as it potential could create a lot of confusion for the other guys if they didn't game plan and prepare for that possiblity.

And with the way some of the DBs were playing, not sure you want all of them in man coverage last year. As Stokes and the Safeties were getting smoked at times.

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I forget who said it, but a defensive player said something about "just because we practice it all week doesn't mean we need to keep doing it during the game if it isn't working" or something to that effect. 

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I am not sure he had me to begin with. And I am not sure what he's actually responsible for. I know he's the defensive coordinator, but does Matt LaFleur overrule him on anything? Like aggressiveness, bend don't break, playing man, playing zone, playing press, playing soft? Does Joe Barry give the assistant coaches the reigns on those things or even which player plays over another player? 

My understanding has been a naïve one. I believed the coordinator (offense or defense or special teams) was responsible for the scheme and play calling. They would teach their assistants their scheme and what they wanted out of each position to maximize the scheme AND the players talents. And then the assistants would ... assist ... in doing just that.  As I've grown older and learned more. I am understanding that some position coaches can pull guys or plug guys in and make tweaks here and there such as playing press or playing soft, etc. 

So, I cannot answer the question, even though it is a good one. I will say for the Packers defense to win my confidence, I want to see less (preferably zero) finger pointing because that whole 'communication breakdown' remark has just pissed me off. And it screams "I'm not doing JUST my job, I'm trying to do someone else's job too" and that's not how good teams are built. You gotta do your 1/11th and trust the other 10 to do the same.  I would also like to see more form tackling than the shoulder bump/push stuff. Wrap your arms around the ballcarrier and bring him down. Stuart Scott is gone, there's zero reason to try to get on SportsCenter anymore.

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