Matt’s Bleacher Shots - Defensive issues at 1265 Lombardi Avenue go way beyond Joe Barry

Matt’s Bleacher Shots

Matt Frey

I’ll get this out of the way, Joe Barry must be replaced as defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers.

No need to add to the pile of scathing social media posts, statistical data and media takes that are already out there. It’s pretty clear a change is going to to be made in the off-season because the Packers’ 537,000 or so owners aren’t going to stand for another season of Barry, no matter how much head coach Matt LaFleur wants to keep his friend on the staff.

Barry’s previous credentials didn’t warrant him getting the job in the first place, and it shows. Enough said.

What hasn’t been said enough in these last few weeks is the Packers’ defensive problems go so far beyond Joe Barry. The poor guy is just one piece to what has been organizational dysfunction for much of the last quarter century. Unfortunately for Barry, he’s the easy target in the vicious social media era.

It’s bad for Barry, but this should be good for Pack Nation. Why? Because this off-season becomes the perfect time for an all-hands-on-deck –– from the top of the food chain in Mark Murphy to the bottom guy in the scouting department, the quality control guy in the film room, outside help –– analysis within the halls of 1265 Lombardi Avenue to figure out why this organization that does a lot of things right cannot figure out defense.

Since the Super Bowl XXXI season of 1996, years or just stretches of championship-level defense have been rare. With the Packers’ offenses, championship-level hasn’t even meant being a top-five unit. The befuddling part is, it’s not like the Packers haven’t tried.

Think about the draft capital the Packers have invested in defense. Let’s start with 1997 since that was when Brett Favre was at the height of his career and, ever since, the offense has been anywhere from slightly above average to excellent, other than a couple of blips.

In those 27 drafts, the Packers have used 21 firstround picks on defensive players and 11 more secondround picks, a number which kinda surprised me.

We’ve all heard the argument that the Packers have continually drafted low in the first round due to their consistent winning records, so we shouldn’t expect stardom from all of the first-round picks. Maybe. But allpros come from all rounds of the draft and some aren’t even drafted. A GM’s percentages to hit should be better in the first round, whether it’s pick 10 or pick 31.

Of the 21 first-round picks, there have been only six that I would call home runs, or at least extra base hit picks. Clay Matthews was the best defensive pick Ted Thompson ever made. Kenny Clark was a pretty good one. Other big hits GMs have made in the last 27 years would include Rashan Gary, Jaire Alexander, BJ Raji and Vonnie Holliday.

The four most recent number ones –– Lukas Van Ness, Quay Walker, Devonte Wyatt and Eric Stokes –– are still to be determined. I would call four picks basehits. They are Nick Perry, Nick Barnett, Darnell Savage and AJ Hawk.

That leaves seven absolute busts in the first round. They are Antuan Edwards, Jamal Reynolds, Ahmad Carroll, Justin Harrell, Datone Jones, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Damarious Randall. What were other draft options those years? There was Dré Bly instead of Edwards in 1999, defensive tackles Marcus Stroud or Casey Hampton over Reynolds in 2001, Bob Sanders instead of Carroll in 2004, Eric Weddle or LaMarr Woodley over Harrell in 2007, Darius Slay over Jones in 2013, DeMarcus Lawrence over Clinton-Dix in 2013 and Landon Collins or Eric Kendricks over Randall in 2015.

I’m not talking Hall of Fame guys, but these are all above-average playmakers that were taken not far behind the Packers picks.

What about the 11 second-round picks since 1997? You could argue eight were absolute busts. Nick Collins was, by far, the best second-round pick by Thompson in 2005. It’s been often said the Packers’ defensive troubles accelerated when Collins suffered a career-ending neck injury in week two of the 2011 season. Darren Sharper was an All-Pro pick for Ron Wolf in 1997, of course ignoring Sharper’s prison sentence, and Casey Hayward was a good pick by Thompson in 2012 though he did best work after leaving Green Bay.

The busts? Fred Vinson, Patrick Lee, Mike Neal, Jerel Worthy, Quinten Rollins, Josh Jones, Kevin King and Josh Jackson. Kevin King has the dubious distinction of being acquired by Thompson’s trade down, which allowed Pittsburgh to grab Wisconsin’s own TJ Watt in 2017. A criminal offense for sure.

The other personnel move that bit the Packers was failing to re-sign free agent defensive back Micah Hyde following the 2016 season. Hyde didn’t have all the measurables but there was no doubt in his four years as a Packer that he was just a smart, play-making football player. Give Thompson credit for signing Charles Woodson and Julius Peppers to free agent deals.

The decision makers in Green Bay have to ask themselves why do they miss on defensive personnel so often, especially in the draft? What don’t they see in players that other teams do? And vice versa. My simplistic view is the Packers have a tendency to pick players that either fit their measurables requirements in pre-draft workouts or fill some perceived versatility requirement they set in their prospects and, at the same time, they overlook the play-making, heart and violence requirements needed (TJ Watt) to be a great defensive player. The Packers just won’t touch guys with mean streaks, at least not since Wayne Simmons in 1993.

Of course, it’s not all on the players. Great defense is a combination of strong coaching and good players. Since Fritz Shurmur led the Packers’ championship defense of 1996, the Packers have never had an exceptional coordinator. Shurmur also had Hall of Famers Reggie White and LeRoy Butler to work with.

Dom Capers was the best coordinator of the last 27 years, holding that position from 2009-17. His defense in 2010 turned into a turnover creating machine down the stretch and that’s why the Packers won Super Bowl XLV. He also had a wealth of NFL coaching experience before he took over. But Capers’ 2011 defense turned into an embarrassment after Collins’ injury and ruined a 15-1 season and he was in control for the Collin Kaeperinck embarrassment in 2012.

Ed Donatell debuted as a defensive coordinator from 2000-03. Fourth and 26 sealed his fate. Bob Slowik in 2004 had previous coordinating experience with bad teams from Chicago and Cleveland. He promised aggressive blitzing play. Turned out his defense was the only one that got blitzed, even though the flawed Packers won the NFC North. I don’t even remember Jim Bates in 2005. Bob Sanders in 2006-08 was never a coordinator before coming to Green Bay and wasn’t one after leaving. Mike Pettine (2018-20) had experience and was OK, but he’ll never live down the Scotty Miller touchdown right before halftime in the 2020 NFC Championship against Tampa Bay.

Currently, the Packers seem to have another ascending offensive unit, one that should remain relatively intact for awhile. People are now throwing out numbers that show Jordan Love is right there with league’s MVP candidates. Let’s not get carried away. He’s accomplished the year one goal of showing he’s a legitimate starting quarterback. Let’s see where it goes from here.

But the Packers can’t screw this up again in the off-season when it comes to the defense. Special teams is another area that even the great Rich Bisaccia hasn’t been able to really fix either. There has to be a defensive coach out there who wants to come to Green Bay, knows what he’s doing and knows how to get players to buy in. Matt LaFleur and the Packers’ braintrust just have to be able to figure who that is.

Matt Frey is the Sports Editor at The Star News.