That Wasn’t the Plan
The Bucs lit up the Packers secondary like Uncle Leo’s cigar to the Christmas tree in the Chevy Chase film “Christmas Vacation”. Even with the loss to Tampa Bay, there’s a small chance Green Bay can still sneak into the playoffs. Joe Barry’s job is certainly under intense scrutiny. With the offense averaging 21 pts per game, the defense in my opinion is clearly the Achilles heel of this team right now. A blown assignment in the secondary allowed the Bucs to regain some momentum in the 3rd quarter, with a passing touchdown to Rachadd White. This was the theme all game, unfortunately, causing it to feel like Jordan Love was playing against his own defense in a way.
Many fans were eager to hear Matt LaFleur say that Barry would be relieved of his duties after this loss but got a different response. Coach LaFleur responded to the media question “Will Joe remain your defensive coordinator for the year?” with the response of, “Well that’s the plan right now.” Some fans are obviously unhappy with that answer, however, I think there’s still a change to come. When LaFleur say’s “That’s the plan right now”, he’s being diplomatic. Most people can agree or relate to leadership changing in the workplace, shaking things up this late in the season just isn’t productive. Rewiring things this late is just going to cause more chaos than needed when there’s still a slim shot at the playoffs. It’s better for our guys to play at a high intensity, get the young guys reps and gel time, and look at a coordinator change in the offseason. That’s what I heard when Coach LaFleur said he’s to remain the DC, the plan for now.
On the other side of the ball, the offense had some bright spots. Jordan had a solid QB rating of 111 despite the loss, 2 TD’s and no INT’s. Love, playing with that confidence lately, had a “Mahommes-like” side arm throw to the endzone that was dropped. The anticipation throws are really improving for him lately though, like the back corner connection to Reed to answer back. He even spread the ball around to 8 different receiving targets, not to mention some needle-threading through traffic. Anders had a nice field goal to mop up an empty possession as well, he looks to have a solid kicking game going forward.
Week 16 has the Pack traveling to play the Carolina Panthers, should be a good rebound week for our defense, SHOULD be… Hopefully, we don’t have “Decaf Joe” in the coaches box this week, get him some caffeine. The Panthers’ defense is the more solid side of their game right now, holding the Atlanta Falcons to 152 yards of total pass offense and an interception last week. I think this would be a good way to sharpen our offense, playoffs or not. Jordan had a solid QB rating of 111 despite the loss, 2 TD’s and no INT’s. Panthers rookie Quarterback Bryce Young has had two of his best drives come during the final drive, game-winning scenarios. We better get a handle on this one early.
Go Pack!
